interior glass doors: 2008-04-20

Habitually Chic Designer: David Lawrence

There was a considerable buzz in the office yesterday afternoon after an email arrived from a former employee announcing the new website for his interior design studio and it was justified. David Lawrence has a great eye and a very sophisticated design style. He credits his passion for classic and timeless lines to my current firm and it shows.

David Lawrence

For a minute I thought had come out of nowhere but then I recognized the apartment he helped rework for Domino magazine March 2006 cover girl Haylynn Cohen. I always loved that living room!

I really love how David tailors his designs to the space and the type of project. Sometimes what works in a city home isn't the same as what works in the country and it takes a good designer to adapt their style accordingly.

I hope you will check out David Lawrence's designs and website. I really enjoyed his "process" section where he outlines his approach, the specification & ordering phase and the installation process. I think every designer should spell out exactly what is involved when they hire an interior designer.

He's also hiring a design assistant and intern if anyone is looking for a new job!

David Lawrence Studio

20 East 68th Street, #3D

New York, NY 10065
212-794-9222

www.davidlawrencestudio.com

Also on my agenda this weekend is the Spring International Art & Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory. It runs from April 25th -29th and should be a great show. You will check it out if you are in the area!

The annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York starts today, Thursday, April 24th and runs through May 22nd. This year, not only is the "house" 2 blocks from my apartment, but it's also not really a house. I was under the assumption that the Show Houses were always in a townhouse but that's not the case this year since it's taken over six apartments in a huge condo building at 200 East 66th Street.

I will be visiting the Show House this weekend and will post some photos early next week but until then, I thought it would be fun to revisit last year's Show House. I will also add designer credits later when I have more time! Until then, enjoy a look back at 2007 and get ready for 2008!

The new May 2008 Domino is on the newsstands in New York. Woo hoo! I'm not going to tell you anything that's in it lest I get accused of ruining it but I will say that it's chock full of great designs! Hope you get yours soon!

I think maybe by now you've realized that my tastes range from the high brow (auction previews, independent movies, beautiful books) to the very low (US Weekly, Real Housewives, Kid Rock), but I'm not exactly sure where my love of Gossip Girl lies. It seems to straddle the line and I love it! Sure I'm too old to be watching but so are you probably. But they wear clothing more expensive than most adults and they frequent the same hangouts as well so why wouldn't I watch! Monday's episode mentioned Socialista which means that the restaurant that was already impossible to get a reservation for will be even more impossible to get into now. (Thanks Gossip Girl.) The show is my guilty pleasure and if it's yours too, then you'll love the article about it's popularity and appeal in New York Magazine entitled The Genius of Gossip Girl. Apparently, I'm not the only person not in high school who watches the show! Admit it, you know you love it!

¡¡¡¡¡¡Gracias Pilar !!!!!!!!

El tiempo pasa que vuela y tanto es así que mi amiga Pilar y yo hacía algunos meses que no nos veíamos . Eso sí , sin perder el contacto que ya tenemos desde hace unos pocos años.
El otro día compartimos un ratito juntas con motivo de mi cumple , charlamos de nuestras cosillas ,hablamos de nuestra rutina diaria... como siempre la tarde pasó en un suspiro.

Ella me obsequió con un bonito libro de esos inspiradores, un bolso primaveral que me viene de perlas y una divina funda con un maravilloso abanico a juego , obra de Angeles Alarcón

¡ Me puse más contenta que unas pascuas ! ..... y es que el abanico es algo que no falta en mi bolso en cuanto empiezan los primeros calores.... y ahora encima lo tengo con mi nombre.
Podéis ver aquí el artículo que hizo Pilar al respecto.

Para el final he querido dejar esta maravilla que ya no se ve por ahí. Y digo maravilla porque Pilar, siguiendo el modelo de Veronique Maillard " ma petite mercerie" , del que otras veces he hablado , me obsequió con un clavel en ganchillo, como no en rojo , de los que se utilizaban antes para guardar dentro el dedal . Lo podéis ver en la foto.

Cuando el día de la celebración del cumple, le dije a mi madre que cerrara los ojos porque iba a enseñarle algo , exclamó bien alto " ¡Madre mia! ". Y es que ella había llevado uno similar "hecho con hilo Dalia " sujeto al delantal de coser , con el rabito más largo para llevar las tijeras, siendo aún una niña........... y que desapareció con el tiempo.

Una vez más gracias Pilar tus preciosos regalos y por tu amistad que celebraré por muchos años.

Did you know that New York actually has a very low carbon footprint compared to the rest of the US? "The city's emissions were just under one percent of the nation's, with about 2.7 percent of the national population of 300 million. That means the city emits only about one-third as much as the rest of the nation does on average, mostly because of its strong city and metro region public transit." The city was one of the first to switch to "clean fuel" buses which is a huge help but I also like to think it has something to do with the fact that Central Park accounts for 843 acres of the city. There are also many other parks and green areas, including the median on Park Avenue above that blooms every spring with tulips. Happy Earth Day!

I sometimes have a hard time explaining to people what it's really like to live and work in New York. The amount of wealth here is staggering but it's kind of like living in fantasy land. I decorate summer homes that are bigger than most American's main homes. It's a bit ridiculous and you really just have to laugh sometimes at the absurdity of it all. Especially when you start to think that a $500, 000 studio is actually quite reasonable. That's why I recommend reading The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan by Steven Gaines.

One of my favorite stories is about One Sutton Place South (above), whose residents included Bill Blass, Sigourney Weaver, Carolyne Roehm, and of course, C.Z. Guest (below). Guest lived with her family in the famous penthouse apartment which was unceremoniously stripped of it's former glory by hedge fund president Richard Perry and his wife Lisa. It was featured in September 2002 Vogue and the slick and stark white modern monstrosity can also be seen in the new Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People.

If I've learned anything from the interior design world in New York, it's that nouveau riche don't understand history nor do they care to learn. Hence the proliferation of historic homes that are razed to make room for McMansions. But I digress. The chapter on Sutton Place is also filled with great stories about the popular interior designers of the day including Dorothy Draper and Elsie de Wolfe that I know my fellow design junkies will appreciate. The book might also make you realize that how the other half lives isn't all it's cracked up to be.

If anyone embodies the notion that anything is possible in America, it is the story of how Bronx born Ralph Lifshitz who started out selling ties became Ralph Lauren, a man, a brand, and a lifestyle. I recently ran across photos from his Bedford, New York home that epitomize the Ralph Lauren style with a level of perfection that is probably unattainable to the rest of us mere mortals but it sure is fun to look. Enjoy!