Designers and Celebrities Create for Women In Need.

With the holidays approaching we are all busy making our lists and checking them twice, worrying about what to give and well... what we will get.  This time of year it is hard to not indulge in our first instincts, which are to revert back to a childlike state and rush to Santa's lap to ask for parcels of cashmere and gobs of goodies, but now more than ever we should be aware of those in need.  Designers such as Issac Mizrahi, Diane Von Frustenberg and Kate Spade have joined celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Becham to create papier mache houses benefiting the Women In Need organization. Women In Need strives to shelter homeless women and their children throughout the NYC area.  The houses are being auctioned online till November 30th.  Here are some houses to be sure to bid on:

This one by Jennifer Lopez is fit for the diva herself with lots of bling. Well, with the current bid at $1,050 it better.

Although these houses are mini, if we were really decorating I would love to put this Ray Motif Mirrored Console in the entranceway.

Not to be out done by his ex, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs created his own version of a bling-tastic house equipped with his very own heliport!  I'm really into the bronze studs and the exposed zipper trim throughout this creation.

This would surely be the party house on the block, so keeping that in mind I would set up a nice big old bar and surround them with our Babe Bar Stools.  These stools are classic, but with the silver piping surrounding the edges these "babes" will toughen up the interior.

One of my favorite finds is this house designed by the man, the myth, the Mizrahi.  Issac Mizrahi's house is fun, colorful and detailed; he even remembered the shrubbery! Owning this house is relatively easy, just engage in a bidding war that is already up to $2,500!

This house would look great in a little girls room accented with a lighting fixture like this one.

Another great is from Dian Von Furstenberg (not a big shocker).  Her house should be called "Urban Crawl" for fusing city sophistication with animal instincts.

Not surprisingly this house is begging for our Zebra Rug.  If you want to see more DVF inspired designs read our review of her Spring 2010 line.

Don't forget to visit Charity Buzz and see these houses and many, many more; the cause couldn't be better!

A Modern Classic: The Bedford Post

Bedford is a postcard town in the heart of Westchester County New York. An hour north of New York City, Bedford consists of three Hamlets (Bedford Hills, Bedford Village and Katonah), which cover 39 square miles and house 16,000 residence. Historically, Bedford is known for its large estates and dairy farms but today, functional dairy farms have fallen to the wayside in favor of  hobby horse rings.  This equine heritage is taken very seriously in these leafy parts; pop into William Nicholas, Table or Bedford Village Gourmet and you will be hard pressed not to find someone donning well worn jodhpurs and muddy riding boots.

Above: Martha Stewart for Vanity Fair at her Katonah Home while she was under house arrest.  Not the worst place to be held captive

Below: Ralph Lauren's Guard Hill Road Estate in Bedford Village

Above and below, the Bedford residence of Judy and Michael Steinhardt as pictured for Architectural Digest

Bedford is where rugged and refined meet to form a tapestry of brown leather, tweed and waxed cotton. Not surprisingly, Bedford has become a retreat for influential designers and celebrities like Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and now, Richard Gere.

 

Rather than simply retire from the limelight in the cushy confines of Bedford, Gere and his wife Carey Lowell have founded the Bedford Post Inn. The eight room, eco-friendly inn boasts two restaurants (The Barn, a more casual dinning experience and The Farmhouse, formal dinning with a modern American menu) and a yoga studio. The longtime Westchester natives have their pulse on the trends; even in Bedford the Equestrian population is still into going green and downward facing dog.

 

Above, some shots of the Bedford Post's exterior and yoga studio.  Below the more casual "Farm" restaurant. 

 

 

 

Recently, the owner of The Well Appointed House, Melissa Hawks met friends for dinner and drinks at the Farmhouse Restaurant, pictured below.

 

Melissa had the Crudo of Japanese Hamachi and the Maine Halibut Roasted with Prosciutto di Pama.  The one downside of this order... she brought back no doggie bag!

 

Gere's star power is undeniable, as his ability to still make women weak at the knees.  "Richard Gere was walking inside the restaurant as we were pulling up in the car.  He walked us into the restaurant.  He spoke to us in the lobby, he was very charming!" Hawks told me.  "Wearing Jeans... very casual... very down to earth and nice.   He was picking up take-out for himself (and I assume Carey Lowell) since they live on the property.  Richard seemed nice and not at all affected.  He couldn’t have been more normal."

Melissa said of the scene, "The food was delicious, the service good and the atmosphere lively."

And of course our interiorista couldn't help but notice the decor.  She told me:

"The farmhouse style décor placed an emphasis on horses.  The equestrian theme was throughout.  There were fabulous photos of horses dating back to the late 1800’s that I looked at as I was waiting to be seated.  The bar is chic and modern and a great place to have drinks before dinner (especially while watching Richard get his take-out – the bar has a great view of the doorway!) People can hitch their horses at the Bedford Post...in fact...Martha Stewart did!"

That sounds pretty Bedford.

At The Well Appointed House we have a large section of equestrian themed items, like the ones Melissa saw at The Bedford Post, and with our revamped website it is easier than ever.  Visit our decor section and select the "equestrian theme" option and all of our equine products are right there for you!

Here are some ones you must be sure not to miss:

I used these plates as art in our story on Hermes inspired interiors.  All are different but the trim around the plate makes them look coordinated, and lets be honest, matchy-matchy can get tiresome!

This chip and dip platter is adorable.  It would be perfect to use when entertaining the day of a big race.

This rendering of this horse is very on trend right now.  The strong lines and lack of romantic details makes this a modern piece and therefore can transcend design aesthetics.

You don't need to be a horse lover to love this blanket.  Made of 100% cashmere this throw has a genuine deerskin suede border. I would say I'll take two, but since it's reversible... there's no need.

We hope you take a look at all these products and more at our new site!  Don't forget to become a follower and enter to win a $250 gift card to The Well Appointed House.  It only takes a second, just click to become a follower and enter your email.

Designer Profile: Elise de Wolfe

Should Elise de Wolfe (also known as Lady Mendl) lived today she would surely be a fixture in weekly celebrity periodicals more often than not for her eccentric habits, open relationship with a woman and, if for nothing else, showing up to a black tie function in Paris dressed as a Moulin Rouge dancer... doing handstands.  Perhaps to be such a creative talent and female pioneer of the design world she needed to be so outlandish; de Wolfe started her career in design after leaving the stage around 1905 to shake up the drab Victorian era color palette.  In her memoirs she calls herself a "rebel in an ugly world."


"I was an ugly child and I lived in an ugly age. From the moment I was conscious of ugliness and it’s relation to myself and my surroundings, my one preoccupation was to find my way out of it. In my escape, I came to the meaning of beauty.”



Responding to her mother's constant comments on her physical appearance de Wolfe, "just what ugly was she did not know... Now she was to know." Referring to her mother's sad attempts at interior decorating.  In a dramatic third person account of discovering her parents had redone the drawing room she says:


She ran [in]... and looked at the walls, which had been papered in a [William] Morris design of gray palm-leaves and splotches of bright red and green on a background of dull tan. Something terrible that cut like a knife came up inside her. She threw herself on the floor, kicking with stiffened legs, as she beat her hands on the carpet.... she cried out, over and over: "It's so ugly! It's so ugly!"

At the age of forty she left acting center stage in favor of creating sets backstage.   By 1905 she was working with family friend Stanford White, the architect of The Colony Club, on Madison Avenue in NYC as the building's interior designer.  In 1926 she made the front page of the New York Times for marrying Sir Charles Medel, and not because she was marrying a diplomat.  For sometime de Wolfe had shared a Sutton Place address with Elizabeth Marbury.  Marbury was famous for being one of the first theatrical agents ever counting Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw as clients.  The two were prominent fixtures throughout New York Society; gossips called them "The Bachelors."


Despite the rumors and her new marriage de Wolfe was able to keep her interior design work on par with her notoriety, decorating homes for some of the world's wealthiest socialites like Anne Vanderbilt, Anne Morgan and the Dutchess of Windsor.  She chose to disregard the ominous looking portraits that hung on Victorian styled walls in favor for beautifully framed mirrors in gold and silver finishes.  In order to best entertain she de-cluttered her spaces and replaced clunky arm chairs and sofas with delicate chaise lounges.  

It was for entertaining de Wolfe, or Lady Mendl as she now was, really made a name for herself. She was the premier hostess in New York, London and Parisian society, in fact, she created  the cocktail party as we know it, making formal balls passé.


Throughout her extensive travels to London and Paris she melded abroad sensibilities with  American Living.  Her book, The House is Good Taste, is considered one of the most important books on interior design to date.

A look inside Elise de Wolfe's The House In Good Taste.

Her impact on the interior design community was felt just as strongly as it was in the fashion world. de Wolfe was famous for always wearing three strands of pearls and the finest fabrics such as cashmere and silk. In 1935 she was named the best-dressed woman in the world for choosing clothes that fit her best regardless of what was en vogue. She did stick with her neutral, light color palette however; upon seeing the Parthenon she exclaimed "It's beige-my color!"

Despite being impeccably styled, she was, for a lack of a better phrase, a little out there. At her home in France she had a dog cemetery where each tombstone simply read "The one I loved the best."

Lady Mendl has been immortalized in song by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Berlin writes in his song Harlem On My Mind, how he prefers the Harlem way of life to "high falutin' flat Lady Mendl designed" and perhaps you will recognize this Porter lyric: "When you hear that Lady Mendl, standing up/Now turns a handspring landing up-/On her toes/Anything goes!"

Today The Inn At Irving Place in New York City offers a taste (literally) of de Wolfe lifestyle at their Lady Mendl's Tea Salon.  The furnishings and food all work cooperatively to give the feel of the her time.  Five course Afternoon Tea features finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones and a variety of worldly teas at $35 per person.  

Perhaps what we are meant to learn from de Wolfe's legend was best, and most fittingly, the words she embroidered on pillows: "never complain, never explain."

With that in mind here are a selection of products from The Well Appointed House that de Wolfe surely would've included in her member profile.

1. A modern take on the chaise. We could totally see Lady Mendl feeling a bit overwhelmed and needing to hold herself up on either side of our Designer Lampert Lounger 

2. Since she was a dog lover with eclectic tastes we think she would salivate over this Handmade Needlepoint Pillow

3. It was de Wolfe who made put mirrors like this on the map

4. This antiqued mirrored stool is an adaptation of several originals that were designed by Serge Roche, and supplied to Elsie de Wolfe, among others, in the 1930's

List of references:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_de_Wolfe

2. http://www.innatirving.com/default.aspx?pg=dining-mendls

3. http://www.canadianinteriordesign.com/kwi/Page_2/Elsie_De_Wolfe.htm

4. http://www.biography.com/articles/Elsie-de-Wolfe-9273579

New Website for The Well Appointed House & The Power of Blogging

Hello to our friends, fans and followers!

I am pleased to announce that our new website has launched. Please take a look at www.wellappointedhouse.com.  When I first launched The Well Appointed House in the Spring of 2001, I started out on the Yahoo!Store platform.  It was quick, easy to use and great for beginners.  I started with just a few products and the site began to grow.  After about two years, I was up to about a thousand products and today in 2009, my site has grown to a selection of over 9,000 luxuries for the home.  I decided that it was time to bring the website completely in-house and off of the Yahoo!Store platform, which had many limitations.  Migrating 9,000 products stored in an RTML format over to a whole new, more modern website was no easy task!  We have had a team working on this since May.   It has been consuming and we are thrilled with the result.  Here is a preview, but please go to the website to see the real thing:

Customers can create Member Profiles, upload photos of their favorite design projects or items from the website, share this information with friends, make product reviews and store them with their profiles and even "friend" other customers from The Well Appointed House.  Interior Designers will soon be able to register with the website and receive special discounts and incentives.  They, too, can create profiles and store photos of their design projects and share with friends from The Well Appointed House.  Since we attract top interior designers from all over the country, it is a great place to be and profile yourself and your firm.  So, if you haven't been to our new site, please take a moment and check it out!  To celebrate the new website, we have a big 25% OFF CELEBRATION SALE in progress!  Take advantage and do your holiday shopping now!

In addition, here is a virtual 'cheers' to the power of blogging!  I have been pleasantly surprised at the reception our blog has received, launched in September.  I have been tracking our visits through Google Analytics and have enjoyed watching our following grow to visitors from all over the globe - as far as India, Australia and Japan.  Saturday morning, while preparing breakfast for my kids, I received a FedEx box from Van Cleef & Arpels!  I was not expecting anything from them and my husband shot a glance at me from across from the room that implied, "Oh No!  What have you bought now, Melissa?!"
I opened the box and inside was a hand written note from Emmanuel Perrin, The President and Chief Executive Officer of Van Cleef & Arpels.

He said that he has become an "avid reader of your blog"...and that he discovered "with amazement and pleasure the place given to our iconic Alhembra Collection."  He went on to say a few other nice things and enclosed as a gift their new book, "The Poetry of Time".

Thank you Emmanuel for your support of the blog and for your fabulous jewelry.  We included a note about Van Cleef also in our blog entry on Vogue's Fashion's Night Out in New York City September 10, 2009.  Here also is a photo of me with my friend, Fiona, that evening at Van Cleef.

Emmanuel, we love your collections and were happy to write about the place of the Quatrefoil in architecture and design in our entry, The Quatrefoil: From the Byzantine Era to Van Cleef to Your Home.   On behalf of all of the bloggers writing for The Well Appointed House, we appreciate the kind gesture and hope to meet you soon!  We are so happy to see that our blog is being read by those movers and shakers who influence design in so many ways.

-Melissa Hawks, The Well Appointed House, LLC

Tory Burch Features The X Bench, A Glamorous Girlie Inspired Closet Ensues

While perusing the Tory Burch Holiday collection online last night I instantly noticed our designer X-Bench in Volumes of Velvet Fuchsia used prominently as a prop.  The Well Appointed House and Tory Burch are far from alone in our X-Bench love: Margaret Russell and Elle Decor featured the X-Bench on the cover of her new book Style and Substance and it landed the number three spot on Jonathan Adler's 10 Commandments for happy chic.

Tory Burch has made her brand synonymous with modern sophistication, so it might be interesting to find how open she about drawing upon inspiration from the past.  Using pictures from Jerry Schatzberg's Paris 1962: Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, The Early Collections and Audrey Hepburn's perennial style  she came up with a collection steeped in black lace, chiffon and a little sparkle of leopard metallic.

Paris 1962 is without a doubt some recommended reading for the fashion and interior design buff in your life.  Click on the link above to view book details at Amazon.

The inspiration board behind Burch's Holiday Collection

Ever since we revisited J-Crew's Creative Director Jenna Lyonns' dressing room we haven't been able to shake the idea of decorating one of our own.

Using Tory's Parisian chic collection and Lyonns' ultra girlie changing station I created one using our favorite items from The Well Appointed House.  (X Bench included).

Dressing Room by gkatz featuring Tory Burch shoes

Items in this set:
Tory Burch flats, $225
Wellappointedhouse.com, $2,618
Wellappointedhouse.com rug, $1,050
Tall Four Panel Mirrored..., $3,747
Designer High Side Lampert..., $2,400

We love our new Old Hollywood Mirrored Jewelry Cabinet! Check out the rest of our new products being added daily at our new website here.

A Light Bulb Moment Brought To You By The Well Appointed House

At The Well Appointed House we strive to always bring you the latest, most cutting edge products found in the design world, as best reflected in our luminous lighting department. A new lighting fixture can transport your room from dated to daring in one flick of the switch, which means choosing a lamp or chandelier should be just as important as choosing the fabric for your window treatments or sofa style.  We love this Large Clear Glass Star Chandelier for a holiday house: it would look great illuminating a screened in porch in the Adirondacks or in the mud room at your ski house.

The metal edges add a toughness to an otherwise very delicate glass fixture.

One of my all time favorite chandeliers to use in polyvore sets is the Capiz Shell Chandelier.  Its bone colored flakey shells are layered on top of one another and catches the light beautifully.  We also carry a square version, which is just as stylish.

This chandelier could work as well in a Malibu beach house as it would in a trendy New York City loft.  It's always important to combine different textures when creating a well appointed room, which is another reason to love this chandelier.  Shells on the ceiling?  It's where innovation and style come together to create something beautiful and unexpected.

Other chandeliers with the same unexpected wow factor are our Coral Chandelier, Multi Bowl Chandelier in Nickel Finish and the very fun Jelly Fish Chandelier.

The possibilities are really endless when it comes to where to put this one of a kind, hand made papier mache chandelier.  It would look great in an under the sea themed children's room, a sea side retreat's kitchen or bathroom... even a great accent in a sea food restaurant.  Pictured in Bahamian Blue, it is also available in white, black, aqua, pink, and Yorktown green.

When it comes to finding the perfect chandelier for your kitchen you need look no further than our Multi Bowl nickel fixture.  Made to look like giant ladles, its modern nickel finish makes it a sharp, sleek and sexy addition to your cooking space.

We used this piece to decorate our Jeff Lewis inspired space because we thought the house flipper and TV personality would appreciate how the designer used a classic kitchen icon and gave it a modern, unexpected update.

The Coral inspired Chandelier is a fine example of craftsmanship and a alternative way to bring art into your space.  Who says it has to be hung on the wall to make it a masterpiece?

It doesn't have to be hung from a wall to be considered art, nor does it have to be hung from the ceiling.  Buffet or table lamps can sometimes get overlooked when it comes to decorating, but it's important to not run out of decorating steam when it comes to the lighting.  This Clare Glass lamp is a nice take on a very classic shape.

Its ombre blue effect is both calming and can fit easily into a number of different rooms.

If you aren't afraid to push the envelope and travel safely into "out there" territory, then you will get a kick out of our Green Polka Dot Bird Cage Lamp.

It would look adorable in a little girl's room, not to mention a conservatory or garden themed room.  As if its bright green color wasn't fun enough, the quirky  bird cage base, handmade in Mexico, sets it apart on the fun-o-meter.  If you want to customize your quirkiness you might like our Tree and Bird Lamp with which comes in a bevy of different shade and base color combinations to fit the color palette of your room.                                                 

Beautifully done floor lamps are replacing statues more and more when it comes to adding vertical interest to your space.  Our Bamboo and Bird Floor lamp was featured in the April 2009 issue of Traditional Home Magazine and it's not hard to see why.

We love the birds perched on their bamboo ledges and so will your guests!  It would look great in a beach house or an eclectic chinoiserie styled room. 

We hope that some of these lamps may have sparked some decorating ideas for you!  Be sure to log on to our new, redesigned Well Appointed House site and join our Member community to keep track of your wish-list, purchased products and interact with other members for further decorating inspiration!  Have you become a follower yet?  Click on the follow button to become a follower and enter to win a $250 gift card from the Well Appointed House.  Drawing scheduled for December 1st, just in time for the holidays!

The Quatrefoil: From The Byzantine Era to Van Cleef To Your Home

You may know this image as a four-leaf clover, an Irish symbol of good luck, but you may not know that this Quatrefoil is a historical architectural element used since the medieval era.

The quatrefoil is formed by four circles overlapping on the same diameter, however a less popular variation of the quatrefoil is four circles combined with a square as you see below.

The four circle shape received a great deal of architectural attention in the Renaissance and periods, appearing in the stained glass and arches of countless churches and cathedrals across Europe.

In America the quatrefoil is a Military symbol, adorning the top of officer’s peaked caps. Legend has it that the quatrefoil was used as an identifier, put on peaked caps to discern between American marine sharp shooters and enemy sailors. The quatrefoil is also used as a symbol of the Phi Mu sorority and the Bishop James Madison Society, which was founded in 1812 at the College of William and Mary. It isn’t a surprise that through a deep history in architecture and American culture the shape has become the hottest symbol in interior design and the fashion world.

The quatrefoil has been made iconic by legendary French jeweler Van Cleef and Arpels. In 1896 Frenchman Alfred Van Cleef married Estelle Arpels, daughter of Soloman Arpels, a fine stone dealer. In 1906 Alfred joined his in laws and founded a company, specializing in precious stones. That same year Van Cleef and Arpels moved into a boutique at the swanky 22 Place Vendome address and from then on became a staple among the rich, royal and fabulous. More stores began to pop up around European resort communities like Nice and Monte-Carlo. In 1968 Van Cleef debuted its Alhambra necklace and the quatrefoil began to characterize the company. Just as Chanel has the interlocking Cs, Hermes is brown and orange, Van Cleef is known by the quatrefoil.

The Alhambra Necklace as it would've been seen in the late sixties. Do you think Don Draperwould've given one to Betty? It's a favorite style of owner Melissa Hawks!

Recently there has been a great deal of press surrounding the unauthorized use of the quatrefoil. Van Cleef has been extra protective of its symbol shutting down knock off manufactures and even suing model-mogul Heidi Klum. In August of this past year Klum announced that she and designer Pascal Mouawad were discontinuing the Heidi Klum jewelry line rather than engage in battle with Van Cleef. Klum said the following regarding her legal woes with the Jeweler:

“…they wanted to have the clover, even though our designs had never matched, I don't know how many designs I had done in five years, maybe 800 different designs -- but they just wanted to own the clover motif. So they went after everyone who does that -- Louis Vuitton! -- they said, "We own the clover." And I was like, "Then who's the person with the clover and the person with the heart?" I think when you're a small company, which we are, we're not a Van Cleef -- they have a thousand lawyers. I'm a small fry next to that.”

Above: Klum pictured in earrings from her line. Below: Klum really does have to kiss that pendant goodbye

Below a current version of the Alhambra necklace available through Van Cleef and Arpels

Luckily the one place you can feel free to use the quatrefoil without infringement is in your home. Countless manufacturers and designers use the quatrefoil in their textiles and incorporate the shape into their overall design. At The Well Appointed House we have a great selection of personalized Lucite accents and gifts that come in the quatrefoil pattern. The “Happy Tile” or “Happy Hexagon” print can be customized with your initials in number of different products including our hostess tray, frames, notepads and evensalt and peppershakers.

Since the quatrefoil is a descendent of the four-leaf clover it brings good luck, so don’t forget about these products when looking for a special gift because, lets call a spade and spade and a quatrefoil a quatrefoil… who couldn’t use a little luck?