There is never a dull moment in New York from the second I step off the train into the throngs of people to the mad dash to the subway and push myself into the car. However, a week or so ago I had a new experience in our 58th Street showroom. We were quietly working away when the alarms in our building started screeching.  Because this is New York, everyone carried on as if nothing was wrong.  We all covered our ears with our hands, “kept calm and carried on”. However, it was not long before the incessant alarm was too much and clients began exiting and all the rest of us decided we should get out too. All of the building’s occupants emptied on to the street (thankfully on a warm sunny day) and before long two gigantic fire engines came flying on to 58th Street.

Clearly, I am newly obsessed with wallpaper.  It has been years since the word has been in my vocabulary.  Today, it seems a new and fresh concept especially for the bath.  It can add color and pattern and even architecture that is often missing in a space. If you are timid about installing multiple rolls of wallpaper in a large master bath, you can take baby steps by papering a powder bath.  The space will be transformed. And no need to be subtle with your choice of wallpaper. If you decide in a year or two that it is overwhelming or you have changed your mind about pattern, just take it down.

I recently went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to revisit the Islamic Wing now called Art of the Arab Lands. I am always inspired by color, texture and pattern and what better place to find it than in the magnificent woven textiles, painted pottery, wood carvings and hammered metal from the various Islamic dynasties and empires. The collections range in chronology from the 7th century Damascus and Baghdad to Moorish Spain, the Ottoman Empire and 16th century South Asia. It could easily take days or weeks to study the collections and my few pictures are merely meant to whet your appetite to have a look for yourself.

Layering textures and materials is one of the most important ingredients in creating a bath that is both serene and sensuous. This bath, with its sculptural burnished tub sitting next to wood furniture, is refined, rich and timeless. The mosaic floor adds texture and a hint of color simply because of the variation inherent in the stone. The wainscot slab material has elegant, whispy veins while the paint color is gentle and brings the room together.