Interior Design 101 - Interior Design Process

After seeing the great reaction from my roundup of Window Treatments Galore I thought I would put together another collection of my posts on Working with an Interior Designer and some thoughts on the putting together lighting schemes and mood boards.

Happy reading!

Interior Design 101 - Window Design Treatments



You asked and I listened!
All of your favorite posts on Window Treatments in one GIANT post...
Click on the images to go to the full posts and get all the visuals along with it!

So many of you pin, repin, share and comment on my Interior Design 101 posts that I thought it would be nice to share them all with you in an easy 'go-to' post.
DO you have a favorite drapery style? Are you more drawn to classical or more modern curtain design? Do you let the architecture speak to you and lead the way, or is there a specific fabric or detail that you just must share with your clients?

Let me know and share YOUR drapery design with me on Instagram .. lets use the hashtag #Drapery101 and on Facebook... 

Home is Where the Heart Is - Gail and Anne Tarasoff

The Designers - Home is Where the Heart Is - via New York Social Diary

As I mentioned in my last post on this showhouse, Home is Where the Heart Is, some of the designers took part in both this event and the Ronald McDonald Showhouse this season and to great results!


Today's post focus' on the work of the mother and daughter team based in Manhasset, Gail & Anne Tarasoff.


The Laundry - Gail & Anne Tarasoff (Home is Where The Heart Is)

Filled with color and joy, this mud room / laundry room has very creative treatments on the windows and walls that I am sure many could reproduce themselves for all those DIY Lovers Out There!

I really love all horizontal stripes, and here with the mixed use of wallpaper, trim and paint .. it not only seems extremely practical but adds that perfect detail with the right dose for this space.

there is a built in home for the family dog, which of course should not be left out..

and my favorite detail.. the Ronald McDonald House T-Shirt hanging in the laundry area..

which brings us to the other project that this mother and daughter team worked on and that is the bedroom with decorative painted wall pattern in soft blues and neutrals which created this soothing escape for the families that will be using it.

Bedroom - Gail & Anne Tarasoff - Ronald McDonald House

Transitional Bedroom by Manhasset Interior Designers & Decorators Anne Tarasoff Interiors

Although this showhouse has ended, it is in support of the American Heart Association and you can always stay tuned for more work to benefit this great cause as well as next year's showhouse!

Gail & Anne Tarasoff in their space

Tomorrow, I will share another team that took on these two showhouses all for great causes. 'Tis the season for giving back!

Alexa Hampton of Mark Hampton LLC is the 2013 Honorary Showhouse Chair.Kim Hendrickson-Radovich of Kim E. Courtney Interiors & Design is the 2013 Showhouse Design Chair. Gabor Karsai of Landmark Realtors Inc. is the 2013 Showhouse Community Chair. The Showhouse is happy to announce that Luxe Interiors + Design is the 2013 Media Sponsor. LX.TV Open House is the 2013 Television Sponsor. The 2013 Design Sponsors are Country Carpet, Downsview Kitchens by the breakfast room, ltd., Farrow & Ball, Kravet Inc., Robert Allen and Silestone by Cosentino.

The American Heart Association’s mission is building healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke– America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers. The Association funds cutting-edge research, conducts lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocates to protect public health. By 2020, the Association’s impact goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20%, while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stoke by 20%. To learn more or join in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit heart.org.

For more information, please visit www.americanheartshowhouse.com.

Designer Visions: Carlos Aparicio for Veranda

Walker Tower, is most definitely one of Chelsea's most beautifully newly converted condominium, with it's strong Art Deco lines originally designed in 1929 by Ralph Thomas Walker.

Now, with over 47 incredible apartments (sign me up!) this 24 story building opened its doors to three fantastic interior designers ~ Jamie Drake for House Beautiful and Alessandra Branca for Elle Decor and today's feature, Carlos Aparicio for Veranda.

Cuban born, Carlos Aparicio is principal and founder of Aparicio + Associates, and is a trained architect from the Rhode Island School of Design and also has a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University. Honing in on his love of the decorative arts, he also is the owner of Gallery BAC, which he founded in 2001, offering a curated selection of 20th century European antiques.

"The narrative is what attracted me the most to this project" - Carlos Aparicio.

In complete contrast to the design from the apartment I shared with you in Part 1 and Part 2 by Alessandra branca, Aparicio's design for Veranda showcased his love of antiques, especially 20th century furniture.

Hanging Fixture in Brass and Crystal with Linen Shade by Carl Westman, Sweden, 1910s, from Gallery BAC

He tells us that it was the views from the apartment that truly "blew him away"... and so as he imagined the art collector that would live in this space as his muse, constantly thriving off of the energy of Manhattan.
The importance of painting all the walls and ceilings in the same tone of chalky gray by Benjamin Moore, Perspective® Aura on all the walls and ceilings would serve as a backdrop, a canvas, for which to sketch out all the ideas.. as "the Old Master tradition in painting an all-gray grisaille before applying glazes of color, the wall colors are the foundation of the composition for this interior."

Also quite deliberate, was the selection of the raw silk panels in the windows, with its Mondrian-esque hatches intended to mimic the lines of the windows in the view of Chelsea beyond the panes of glass.

With the personality of his collector in mind, Carlos Aparicio maintained the constant balance of "what was in and what was out" throughout the composition of furniture throughout the apartment. The allocation of furniture, and deciding to place the dining space by the windows, was in direct correlation to how this collector would live among his antiques, and not necessarily considering the needs of raising a family in this home.

A sense of poetry that was very important to convey in this space, and achieved with the floating light fixture in Brass and Crystal with Linen Shade by Carl Westman, Sweden, from the 1910s, and designed for the artists' brother remains one of Aparicio's favorite pieces.

The "muscular, and yet feminine" Swedish bleached mahogany cabinet below, by Otto Schulz anchors the opposing window walls, in the Dining Room which ideally would also serve as a Library; a place to read and allow for that thoughtful contemplation of the city below to occur.

Collection of Danish ceramics with bronze lids and books are carefully placed on the Danish Kaare Klint dining table, and here the idea was to expose the collaboration between the ceramist and the metal worker.

As we move into the open living area, Carlos Aparicio placed the "large museum-like Parchment-Covered Daybed, by André Arbus from France in the late 1940's to help ground the environment, and framed it with a pair of very elegant Persane Gilt French Iron Sconces by Jean Royere and an oak mirror in the Style of Jean-Michel Frank.

Appearing as a favorite of Aparicio, who through Gallery BAC, created an exhibition of Jean-Michel Frank in Argentina, in the end of 2010 and shares many pieces attributed to Jean-Michel Frank throughout the design, such as the dining room chairs, the screen hiding the kitchen, and the tripod Gueridon below. Frank, a French interior designer from the turn of the century, where he then owned a shopfront with Adolphe Chanaux in Saint Germain, and began to decorate for the Rockefellers and Guerlains while designing furniture.. a very well rounded and long lasting icon, for modern day design.

The living room is simple and quiet, but with the only pattern stemming from the set of Architecture Graphique Lithographs by Francis Deswarte, reflected in the mirror above, as well as the large Swedish Hand-Knotted Wool Carpet.

Flanking this space, and hidden by a folding screen, the kitchen not to be left out of the collectors thoughts, home to a Swesidh Etched Glass Lantern and a pair of stools with "Yo-Yo Legs and Soccer Ball  Feet" by Jean Royere.

We transition from the kitchen into the Master Bedroom, another oasis of serenity, with a special large plaster Shell light fixture floating above; a piece that Carlos Aparicio in France from the 1930s.

                                   

Once again the importance of each functional piece of furniture, to also be one that was a unique addition to the collection, including the Rosewood bed, by Jules Leleu.

                                               

An ample bedroom, with a reading area by the open windows, as well as beautiful en-suite bathroom

are all part of the luxuries provided by the great interior architecture of these apartments.

Hallways with simple details, flooring that here is seen in it's natural tone, while in the apartment for Elle Decor, it was stained throughout in a dark walnut finish, also makes for a very different backdrop throughout.


We move into the guest bedroom in neutral tones of grays and blacks, where Carlos has placed an Iron and Wicker daybed by Mathieu Mategot flanked by a pair of Gueridons in Painted Iron by Jean-Michel Frank once again.





On the opposite side, a warm set of leather armchairs are here once again, showcasing the play between strong and soft, the hardness of the iron frame against the supple nature of the leather.

                                                                            

Painting in Oil on Canvas by Cindi Johnson, USA, 20th Century, from Gallery BAC                                          

This completes the tour of Carlos Aparicio's design for Veranda at Designer Visions.

Please visit tomorrow, where I will continue on through the apartments in the Walker Tower, one of Chelsea's most beautifully newly converted condominium, with the work by interior designer Jamie Drake for House Beautiful.

*all images are my own. please feel free to share, but only with the proper credits ~ 
Jennifer Mehditash for Dec-a-Porter

Designer Visions - Alessandra Branca for Elle Decor - Part 2

Continuing from the living areas of the apartment designed by Alessandra Branca for Elle Decor from yesterday, today we explore the bedrooms and bathrooms of this stunning apartment as we continue the tour.

We begin in the damask upholstered Master Suite, with it's walls and drapery panels all in this fresh acid green "Anna Damask" which is part of Alessandra's new line of fabrics for Schumacher.

Pair of Carved Giltwood Table Lamps in the Form of Pineapples
(Attributed to Jansen France, ca. 1940), from Atelier Branca

A Michael Taylor Canopy Bed in Carapace Finish with Upholstered Headboard takes advantage of the high ceilings and wide open space, anchoring the room.

A comfortable living space, in front of the bed with a set of 2 "smoke" velvet upholstered Bergeres and Matching Canapé would be a wonderful place to sit and read your favorite magazine or book.. or perhaps even a little late night conversation
à deux. 




Another example of pattern play, as Alessandra uses the backdrop of the damask walls, for her Hand-Painted French Silk Panels proving that pattern upon pattern works wonders in every room!

But I think I might have a favorite in this room, and that would be the pair of Louis XVI Grey Painted Oval Back Side Chairs in which have been upholstered in Pistachio Domino Patent Leather by Moore & Giles.. I think they are divine! 

The warm Tiago Sisal Area Rug by Patterson, Flynn and Martin // Details of drapery in acid green "Anna Damask" by Schumacher

The spacious bathrooms are all beautifully designed, in marbles, granite and metallic accents...

and also take advantage of the spanning views from each of the many bathrooms throughout the duplex.

The first bedroom is framed with a central canopy bed with a velvet base and "L’Indienne" fabric coverlet. The striking Pink Cameroon hangs central within the white outline of the frame, and against the Coachman’s Cape® Aura rich walls. It's such a warm color combination.  

Coachman’s Cape® Aura rich walls - B. Moore; Upholstered in Gainsborough Velvet Fabric in Pewter with Kenmare Linen Plain Fabric Piping in White by Schumacher, and Cambridge Strie Braid Trim in White by Samuel & Sons, Pimento Grey Diamond Sisal Area Rug with Grey Linen Binding by Studio Four NYC with Alessandra's Pink Cowhide Rug.

Once again, old meets new, with a Louis XVI fauteuil from David Duncan Antiques covered in Branca for Schumacher "Elizabeth" Chintz in Rouge/Grey all loosely placed on the Pimento Grey Diamond Sisal Area Rug with Grey Linen Binding by Studio Four NYC and the final layer with Alessandra's Pink Cowhide Rug.
It's layer upon layer of fun in this room!

Pair of Chrome and Glass Gueridons (Side Tables) by Maison Jansen, France, ca. 1965, from Atelier Branca

 Pair of Romano Table Lamps by Christopher Spitzmiller with Branca Custom Lampshades with Velvet by Schumacher.  Ziggy Small Pendant Light Fixtures by Arteriors Home

As in yesterday's post on the living areas, Branca has once again created gorgeous window treatments in every bedroom. Here in L’Indienne fabric she pairs it with Alexander Tartan Fabric in Fuchsia also by Branca for Schumacher.

Branca Window Treatments in L’Indienne Fabric in Fuchsia/Grey and
Alexander Tartan Fabric in Fuchsia by Branca for Schumacher

Walls in High Gloss Twilight Advance by Benjamin Moore act as great backdrop in this second bedroom, for the Headboard in Prussian Blue/Rouge Melograno Fabric by Branca for Schumacher and with the collection of four Plaster Framed French antique 19c. intaglio on mirrored backs that hang overhead. 

The Prussian Blue/Rouge Melograno fabirc repeats on the drapery panels, and bedskirt and is the star of the room.

This completes the tour of Alessandra Branca's design, for Elle Decor. Please visit tomorrow, where I will continue on through the apartments in the Walker Tower, one of Chelsea's most beautifully newly converted condominium, by interior designers ~ Carlos Aparicio for Veranda and Jamie Drake for House Beautiful.

*all images are my own. please feel free to share, but only with the proper credits ~ 
Jennifer Mehditash for Dec-a-Porter