Let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into this weekend.

What does everyone have planned? Hope it’s on the decadent end of the spectrum!

image via the life of Polarn Per

Artist Emanuela Ligabue creates these one of a kind hand painted books for her online shop. We love the whimsy of them, and seeing as how books have become a staple in interiors styling and showroom design at the various furniture and accessories shows, we think these could spark a new trend- bespoke creations tailored to your own taste…

Thanks to Joyce, of JBlack Design, for the tip off!

A few months ago we got a visit from the incomparable Ron Fiore, Creative Director of Hickory Chair. Ron is a sort of superstar in the furniture industry, a creative genius quietly living outside of High Point, NC. It was just after this past Spring market when he came by our studio with our friend and photographer, Kenton Robertson. We were chatting about Hickory Chair and how the Suzanne Kasler line came to be and the story he told us was so interesting, we thought we’d share.

Prior to Suzanne’s line for HC, there weren’t many furniture lines rep’d by large companies that had great feminine appeal. Ron and Jay had been talking about the future of HC, and how they needed to tap into the female buyer- what did she want, what did she need, what was she looking for? Women still spend 85% of a household’s income, and while we personally see more husband-involvement in client purchasing now than ever before, it’s true that women hold the purse strings.

One night Ron had a dream, and woke up thinking “POWDER BLUE”. Powder blue, powder blue- it was just stuck in his head, this color, some kind of significance was attached to it in the dream -but he didn’t know it’s meaning.

The next day he was standing in the reception area at Hickory Chair. The door opened, and in walked this woman- precisely dressed in powder blue Prada drivers, a powder blue Prada bag, wrapped in a powder blue pashmina.

POWDER BLUE! It was Suzanne Kasler.

Suzanne had come to Hickory Chair to present a line based on her personal collection of antiques and a few custom designs she had completed for clients. Ron told us that they were so impressed with her vision, which tapped right into the need they were seeing in the marketplace at that time. Since then the Kasler line has been a complete success, starting the move toward designer lines produced and sold by Hickory Chair. We have to admit, there’s hardly a piece of her line that we couldn’t use in any of our current projects.

Here’s a pic we shot that day of Lisa & Ron (who, we’ve heard, is rarely seen sans Yankees cap). Thanks, Ron, for sharing that little bit of serendipity with us. Even in the world of design it seems there are sometimes greater forces at work!

…useful to boot!

Repetition meets practicality in a graphic display. Love it when necessity turns into something beautiful!

Happy Weekend, everyone.

image source unknown

After seeing this dress on the Valentino Fall 11 Couture runway (via the Terrier & Lobster) we started thinking about this oft-neglected shade of green. Peridot is hard to pin down- it’s not lime, it’s not chartreuse, it’s not a saturated color but it still has it’s own distinct depth- especially in a silk, satin or velvet where there’s luster involved.

When we started digging for peridot used in interiors, we came up empty handed. So- what do you think? A trend worth starting or a color best left on the Valentino runway?

As an aside, Kathryn’s eyes went right from the dress to the pattern under the model’s hemline. More details on this, please!

images via terrier & lobster, Maisons Cote’ Sud via Aesthetically thinking (RIP, sweet Charlie), & NYmag

 We love the way Sibella Court puts a story together. Her new book is just what it says it is- a stylist’s guide to NYC.

We’re curious to see what out of the way places she’s found, as well as her view of the old stand-bys.

images via the striped tee & this is luster

Yes, It’s the season for showing more skin. But What Katie Ate is ruining our figures, and we don’t even care.

If you aren’t following her blog let us tempt you into heading over there:

Just as stylish as they are delicious, her recipes keep us coming back for more.

Ok, we lied about the “good”.

We try not to be Negative Nellies (is that a thing?) but sometimes we have to put a poor unsuspecting pic on the Wall of Shame. We’re not going to point fingers or name names; Let’s just say you should NEVER Swarovski your bidet.

DO NOT get us started on the shag in the bathroom.

From our recent trip to NYC- such great style, she was kind enough to pose for a snap…

All in a days work. We had to go to East Hampton for a client visit. And when we asked her to recommend a good local place to stay we had to take her word for it. And we’re so glad we did; the Maidstone, a B&B style hotel, is equal parts sophisticated & comfy. It’s the kind of place you’re quite happy to return to at the end of the day.

This Greek Revival style mansion is over 150 years old, and has been both private residence as well as a tannery & then eventually an inn. In 2008 it was purchased by Swedish hotelier Jenny Ljungberg. The current incarnation boasts 19 suites which have been decorated to reflect the Scandanavian heritage of its owner.

 Leo, our bartender, one of the highlights of our stay- the staff here was lovely:

…and a fantastically thick slab of carrara on the bar. The rose wine was from a local vineyard, a component of the “slow food” model they use for “the Livingroom”, the restaurant at the hotel. Most of the produce is organic and comes from local sources when possible. The entire property is moving towards eco-friendly options, and considers itself the Hamptons greenest hotel.

The hotel interiors and grounds are an interesting mix of classic Hamptons architecture and detail with modern color combinations & artwork, eclectic furnishings and a healthy dose of Josef Frank. The feel is overall very unique and homey.

A few more pics of the grounds, and the Kronan bikes – complimentary for guests:

Another benefit of the Maidstone is that it is extremely dog friendly. We’ll remember that next time we need to pack up our pooches! After we met with our client (who, by the way, we love – we say this all the time but we are SO LUCKY with our clients!) we took a quick swing down to Southampton’s Mecox Gardens outpost. Let’s round out our account of this trip with some more shopping shots, shall we?

We could have and would have sat here all day. But, once again, it’s back to the daily grind! Let’s squeeze in a weekend first… Have a great one, everybody!