A Great Bathroom in Paris

November 10, 2011

The water closet and bidet sculpted out of the same hauteville as the rest of the suite.Slideshow

The bath pictured in this post is one I visit nearly every time I am in Paris. The renovations and additions to her newly purchased house on the very fashionable Faubourg St. Honor was designed for Madame Jeanne Lanvin in 1924 by Armand Rateau, one of the fashion assistants in her atelier. These images are part of a suite that includes not only the bathroom but also an adjacent boudoir that is on permanent display at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. As a friend said recently, it is a bit of a hike to find this hidden gem, but well worth the effort.

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Inspiration: Mosaics in Paris

November 9, 2011

Our last day in Paris we decided to have a look at the newly restored dome of Galleries Layfayette. On the way we stepped into Au Printemps and found this wonderful encaustic mosaic in the entry. The colors are vibrant and it is a lively and welcoming floor.Slideshow

Most people go to Paris and record vistas of beautiful gardens, remarkable architectural detail and people in cafes or walking their dogs. I do that as well, some of the time. But on my most recent trip in March, I wanted to find really beautiful mosaics that were not in museums. By accident, I happened to look in an apartment vestibule and spied a really wonderful mosaic and photographed it.

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New Books: New Traditional Architecture Ferguson & Shamamian Architects

November 9, 2011

The book's cover. A glorious classical house.Slideshow

Our design and architecture clients create distinctive and timeless interior and exterior spaces from the most traditional to more modern. Their work is often featured in magazines, online, and now in the books they have written. One of the most recent additions to my library is the glorious folio of the work by the firm of Mark Ferguson and Oscar Shamamian called New Traditional Architecture: Ferguson & Shamamian Architects published by Rizzoli.

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Sticks and Twigs

November 9, 2011

The sculpture feels as if it blends with the landscape. It is placed under several gigantic shade trees and the sun creates lovely shadows all around.Slideshow

As I was thinking about writing this post, I realized that I am a sticks and stones person; natural materials are what inspire me. I absolutely loved the Bambu exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now I am excited to tell you about a tiny exhibit that I saw last summer but is still on site, called “Stickwork”, at the charming Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

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