Celebrity Designer Photo Favs

The New York Times recently had five celebrity designers choose ten of their favorite photographs from the New York Times Store's collection. 

It was fun to look through the 50 selected photos and see the personalities and styles of the designers shine through. And that's when I came up with a little game...

Match the designer to the photo!

Each designer shown above chose one of the five photos shown below. 

Can you make a match? (Answers are below)

{Green, 2006}

 

{Black Mask, 1967}

{Parachute Jump, Coney Island, 1946}

 {Guggenheim Interior, 2005}

{The Octopus, 1912}

There are LOTS, well 45, of other photos to look at if you're interested. And they are for sale if you find one you love.

Answers: Top to bottom - Tom Filicia, Jonathan Adler, Laura Kirar, Kelly Wearstler, Vicente Wolf

Just for Giggles

So this is just a quick video that confirms Kelly Bensimon is a little nutty. If you watch The Real Housewives of NYC (yes, I do and am not ashamed!) you know what I'm talking about...

I wonder what clients would think if we showed up with jellybeans and bedazzled champagne bottles?! 

House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year: Jeff Lewis

I caught a segment about the House Beautiful kitchen of the year on the Today Show Monday morning and was so excited to see that it was designed by Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out. Bravo is the TV channel of choice in my home, and Flipping Out is one of my favorite shows! I would LOVE to spend a day with Jeff, he totally cracks me up!

The kitchen is very much a Jeff Lewis design - sleek, modern, minimal, and amazing! If you watch the show, you know that his kitchens tend to look similar, but that's okay because his signature style is both beautiful and functions well for cooking, and most importantly to him as he doesn't really cook, entertaining. He always includes amazing appliances and high-tech kitchen goodies into his designs. You must watch this video and look for the cutting board-sink-flushing-garbage disposal-trap thing in the counter. LOVE IT!

 I love the contrasting dark cabinetry and white island with the medium-tone wood floors. The open wine storage wall is a great way to create two distinct spaces, while still keeping things open and airy.

He makes me want to attempt open shelving, just don't feel like I could keep them looking neat and tidy! 

The futuristic Licht im Raum chandelier is so perfect, it is by far my favorite part of the design! And check out all the texture added by those various plants, they look great! The table was created using wood from the old Vanderbilt polo barn. Also, pretty darn cool!

{By designer Jeff Lewis, all images and video via House Beautiful}

If you're going to be around NYC in the next couple of days you should make your way over to Rockefeller Center to check out this dream kitchen. It is free and open to the public until the 23rd, complete with cooking demonstrations and guest appearances by Jeff Lewis and his Flipping Out crew. Sounds pretty fun to me!

ps...this kitchen will also be featured in the October issue of House Beautiful :)

Sweltering!

Summer officially arrived this week, and boy have I noticed! I've been spending lots of time in Palm Springs lately, but that is going to have to end. I don't do well with these types of temperatures...

Elle Decor posted a collection of photos of celebrity pools, and while I normally LOVE my regular person, out-of-the-spotlight life complete with cute family and teeny apartment, these luxurious pools make me a tad jealous of those celebs during heat waves. 

Feast your eyes below. And if you're like me, you'll just have to settle with imagining how nice the water would feel...

{Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor's Hollywood Hills home}

{View from Cindy Crawford's Malibu home}

And my two favorites...

{Elie Saab's view in Beirut...you can hardly even see the infinity pool & those mtn views are to die for!}

{Cynthia Rowley's Manhattan yard...I could take this for my city escape! AMAZING!}

If this is only the beginning, how do you plan to make it through the summer?

One of my friends recently told me he was braving the heat by sitting in front of a fan while his wife was spraying him with water. I may resort to that soon! I wonder how long it would take my 14 month old to master the squirt gun?!

Kiddo Kool

Guess who this adorable kids room was designed for...

This stylish brood...

{ps. for those to-be-mommas out there, chris martin is pushing my exact stroller (bugaboo dark grey chameleon), and it is AMAZING! }

Gwyneth Palthrow is my favorite female celebrity. She is beautiful, has great taste, an adorable family, and the best part, she deals with being in the public eye with grace and humility. I always love to watch her do interviews and check out her outfits!

If you like her too, you should definitely read her blog/website GOOP. It's all about Gwyneth's favorite things - food, shopping, trends, kids books, traveling, etc, etc, etc.

Check out some pictures from GOOP's most recent newsletter of the amazing loft that was created for Paltrow and her family in Nashville - IN 10 DAYS!

You should really read the whole article and see all the pictures. Designer Annette Joseph gives great details on how she created this space with such a time crunch, and sources just about everything. A very fun read!

***

Don't forget to enter our $60 CSN giveaway!

Design & the City

I am one of a million girls out there who are eagerly waiting for Sex & the City 2 to hit the theaters. I definitely enjoy watching the storyline, characters and fashion, but the interiors are what have me truly excited! These sneak peaks will have you drooling right along with me...

{Heather from Habitually Chic has done an AMAZING job collecting these images of the movie - and her AMAZING readers have helped her to uncover the mystery behind the textiles, wallpapers and furniture pieces.}

Carrie and Big's bedroom is perfect. I really like the shape of the headboard, and the mix of that gorgeous peacock blue and lilac-grey.

The wallpaper is Cole & Son's Rococo Damask...

And the secretary - which I totally want - is the Hallings from Hickory Chair...

Here is another view of the headboard upholstery. This Moroccan-inspired textile is Kravet's Velvet Gate Tuxedo...

I can't say enough about their perfect living room. The chair, the styling of the coffee table and that stunning blue ottoman...

Heather from Habitually Chic points out how they have interestingly arranged the coffee table books standing up. I have to agree that it looks great - definitely want to try this out at home!

Now, lets discuss that chair. Heather has done her homework and has found the EXACT 1940's chair on the 7th floor of Bergdorf Goodman in NYC! It can be yours for a measly $16,500. You can read her full chair account 'here'.

On to the foyer. I love anything with birds so Katie Ridder's Oiseau paper is a new favorite...

The dining room chairs are upholstered in Lee Jofa's Belgravia...

Lastly, a peak into my dream closet! I love how Big's side is more masculine with a medium brown stain and simple lines, while Carrie's side has a fresh feminine feel with white, beautifully detailed woodwork. This is closet perfection!

Thanks to Habitually Chic and her readers for all of their collaborative detective work!