interior glass doors: 2010-02-28

All things Belgian

Essentiel is one of my favorite Belgian fashion brands.

The people behind the in 1999 created label are the Belgian couple Inge Onsea and Esfandiar Eghtessadi from Antwerp.

Essentiel offers a variety of styles, ranging from very casual to elegant.

Click on logo to visit the Essentiel website.

All images Essentiel website.

Summer collection 2010

If you want to meet Inge Onsea, the woman behind the label, watch the video of the 10 years existence party of Essentiel.

Inge Onsea

Click on picture of Inge Onsea to watch the video “Woman behind the label” = “De vrouw achter het merk”(= Dutch).

Scapa is another Belgian label. You will discover Scapa Fashion and Scapa Home

Click on logo to visit the Scapa Fashion website.

My favorite!!!

All images Scapa Fashion website.

Summer collection 2010.

Click on logo to visit the Scapa Home website.

Scapa Home furniture and decoration.

Scapa Home bed linen

Scapa Home furniture

Scapa Home household linen

Scapa Home scents

Scapa Home outdoor furniture

All images Scapa Home website.

Sweet Coffee is one of my favorite Belgian music groups.

One of their songs I love is titled “Special Kind of Feeling”. I included the video of that song here.

Sweet Coffee “Special Kind of Feeling”

Enjoy!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Greet

Now that the weather is starting to warm up and there is a touch of spring in the air, it's time to lighten up my nail polish color. My favorite light shade is Potato Fields by Essie but I am loving the new Essie Art of Spring collection. The fun shades are named after artists and styles and include Van D'Go, Neo Whimsical, Red Nouveau, Tart Deco, Pop Art Pink, and Lilacism. The highlight of New York Fashion Week for me was meeting Essie founder, Essie Weingarten backstage at the tents. I gushed about how much I love her polishes and hinted that I thought Habitually Chic would make a great polish name. She said she'd think about it so I'll be keeping my perfectly manicured fingers crossed for luck! Bon Weekend!

I'm off to meet New York Closet Company at one of my projects so we can plan out the dressing room. For inspiration, I'll be taking along the March 2010 issue of Canadian House & Home magazine that featured not one, not two, not three, but four fabulous closets! The pièce de résistance being the "dreamy dressing room" of Kelly Wearstler. I'll be staying at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills which she recently redesigned when I am in Los Angeles so I will soon have more of her work to share with you! Bon Weekend!

I love the light and airy feel of this closet and the details of the built-ins.

Every dressing room should include a chair for putting on your shoes or holding a handbag.

Here is a look inside Kelly Wearstler's enviable dressing room with what I assume is a carpet of her own design.

I love the idea of adding dividers to keep bags upright and neat. My shelf of clutches looks like a jumbled mess unlike this one!

Kelly's collection of hats and shoes are as colorful as her design work and her new book! Wonder what size she wear.

My client has a lot of jewelry so we'll definitely be planning jewelry drawers that will be lined with velvet just like Kelly's.

Since black has become a popular color in the design world, it's no wonder that it has extended into the closet. It looks really elegant and we're also going to add a chandelier to my client's dressing room. You just have to make sure it gives off enough light so you can see what you're picking out in the morning! The closet below is more clean lined and would look great in modern apartment.

All photos from Canadian House & Home

In the snowy winter months in New England I often find myself daydreaming about visiting beautiful, warm locations. I was fortunate to be introduced to this lovely stone villa in the south of France called La Bastide.

The villa has been restored and is filled with antiques. The owners are collectors and as such the home is filled with interesting and unique items. A neutral palette allows you to focus on the gorgeous stone walls and period details. Notice the fireplace and the fabulous arched wood fragments flanking the it on either side

The upholstery is tightly slipcovered in natural linen. I love the coffee table and the wonderful white washed side table that has a lazy susan top.

But, the pièce de résistance of the room is surely the fireplace. The original mantel is one we only hope to copy here in the States. I love the lines of it, detailed but not too fussy. I also like the interesting assortment of items which line the top of the mantel. Clearly this is a home of collectors.

From a different angle you can see the introduction of color. The orange/coral throw and pillows bring the earthy outdoor tones we see from the window views indoors. In the height of summer we could change the throw and pillows to shades of lavender and give the entire room a different feel. This is why I am such a fan of neutrals.

As we head into the the kitchen you can peek through the doorway and see the fireplace. I included this shot to help you visualize the lay out. The zinc topped table is a dream - wine rack only an arms length away. I can just taste the local cheeses, olives and fresh baked bread.

Standing in the doorway you have a full view of the kitchen. The antique plate rack and and marble topped table are to die for!

The zinc topped table and vintage Tolix chairs are fabulous. Black steel windows and doors lead you out to the patio and terraces. Enameled street signs grace the walls.

Standing back in the living room we can spy a bedroom through the passageway to the left of the fireplace.

The room is classically appointed with painted amoire, steel table, slipcovered arm chair, and the owners collection of vintage hats.

A gauzy canopy hangs over the bed creating a very romantic atmosphere... as if just being in a stone villa in the south of France isn't romantic enough. Notice the bunches of lavender and the lavender silk pillows, see how different this room feels versus the coral pillows?

Gorgeous unlined linen and lemon cypress in a terracotta pot on the windowsill. Notice the window hardware. In my next life all my window hardware would look like that.

Exiting the bedroom is a lovely vignette of local artwork and antiques.

The outdoor areas are also a sight to behold with a wonderful stone walls, cypress trees, lavender and a pool.

Finally a small stone terrace with wonderful rosemary hedges.
Thanks for traveling with me - it was a welcome escape from the snow.
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Read about another wonderful French Villa at Boxwood Terrace click here.

(all photos property of beachstudios.com)

Yesterday, I was inspired by Reese Witherspoon's casual style and today it's Anna Dello Russo's over the top elegance! That's just how my mind works. Tommy Ton has posted some fabulous photos of Anna's favorite things in her apartments in Milan on his Jak & Jil Blog. And yes, I said apartments plural. One of them is entirely devoted to her clothing archive! What I swooning over is the beautiful photographic wallpaper of what looks to be a French chateau or maybe it's an Italian palazzo since Anna is Italian after all. Whatever the case, it's to die for and going in my inspiration file for future reference! But right now I'm off to the not quite so glamorous day of meeting with my upholsterer. Ciao for now!

Photo by Tommy Ton

I've already been warned by numerous friends that I'm going to have to tone it down a notch or two (or maybe 10!) when it comes to my outfits for LA. It's a much more casual city than New York so jeans are appropriate everywhere and heels are almost never worn during the day. I always like to fit in when I travel so I'm doing my homework and looking to Reese Witherspoon for guidance. She seems to have the California casual chic look down pat. Looks like I'll be packing lots of jeans and flats which is fine by me. Now I just need to find out if the no white after Labor rule is applicable in LA and more importantly, where I can find Jake Gyllenhaal when I get there! I don't know what she was thinking!