- Can Taste Be Taught? Joyce Wadler revises her living space after she receives a 10-day lesson in interiors from Bunny Williams, New York society decorator. We liked this advice: "Every piece in a room should be wonderful, but no one thing should stand out."
- Deconstruction: Recycling the Whole House. Alice Keller of Washington State avoids excessive construction waste (and most new materials) by using her former home to build the current one.
- In the Garden: In the Pumpkin Patch, an Orange Thumb. Competitive pumpkin-growing.
- An Airy Refuge From a Jam-Packed Store. The Brooklyn home of Ricky Kenig, co-owner of Ricky's beauty supply stores. Our favorite element is the giant magnetic wall in the stairwell.
- How expensive is it to have a button-tufted sofa re-covered? This article also gives some locations to find new button-covered upholstered pieces at various price points.
- Personal Shopper: Alarm Clocks.
(Pics: Ruth Fremson, Stuart Isett, Ryan T. Conaty, Albert Vecerka/Esto)
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Comments (12)
I'm about to go over to Joyce Wadler's place and help her myself!
My favorite part of the Bunny Williams article: "One of her first pieces of advice is to browse the high end auction houses, and she is not shattered to hear that my preferred furniture outlets are thrifts. “If you look at the best it helps you buy better at the 26th Street flea market,” she says."
So true! Taking time to look at all sorts of things from high end to low end, traditional to modern, etc etc is what makes for a great eye.
Seriously, it looks AWFUL! Too crowded and cluttered. I wouldn't be able to breathe in a space like that. One thing that annoys me about these socialite decorators is that they tend to make spaces look too busy. I guess they want to sell you as much as possible
Sequence - I wholeheartedly agree! and AT is a great resource for educating our eyes, high- and low-end.
Bunny Williams . . .
no one thing should stand out, eh?
so what's that arco lamp doing hanging over the desk?
upper east side, bleech!
I thought the JoyceWadler/BunnyWilliams article was most hilarious!
I think an amusing design challenge would be to have Bunny Williams assigned to decorate a home only using pieces designed post-1900.
This isn't to mock her preference of older pieces - but to see how her spatial arrangements and accesorization would look with a more modern/contemp context.
is that atlas shelving stained white in ricky's living room? I'm seeing that stuff all over these days (not just in my own apartment anymore). go brooklyn!
My favorite comment in the Bunny Williams article was :
"When she hears I’ve been unable to find a 12-inch sideboard or bookcase, or a screen, she’s delighted.
“I’m so glad you now see why it takes me so long to finish these projects,” she says. "
It takes a lot longer than clients think to get the right pieces. Good to hear it from the "horse's mouth"!
Oh, and I'm with you, guido. The first thing I thought of when I saw the photo was "wall sconces, Arc Lamp, more lamps off to the side!?" How many lamps does one need in there? Apparently, a lot.
The deconstruction article was neat. Around here, Habitat for Humanity bids on demo projects to deconstruct and reuse materials, using volunteer labor. I was on a project like that a few weeks ago. The salvaged material is what goes into their RE stores.
I liked the metal grids in the kitchen in Brooklyn. I've been thinking about something like this for a while -- http://www.archgrille.com/
Has anyone tried working with this?
I'm starting to wonder if if rooms with more 'things' don't photograph as well as more minimalistic spaces (as evidenced by the Bunny Williams photos). Something akin to the 'don't wear prints for a professional photograph' wisdom.