Tomorrow marks the start of the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City, where both well-known and upcoming designers will be sharing their latest work. The event will feature more than 420 exhibitors, and we're offering a sneak peek at some of the most unique, design-savvy products from 10 of the designers. Before the showcase begins, take a look at these stunning, can't-miss pieces!
While the onstage action during Oscars night keeps us glued to the screen, it's the celebrity greenroom backstage that always piques our curiosity. For the 11th year, Architectural Digest was given the task of spearheading the design of the greenroom, and their team is letting us in for a behind-the-scenes look!
Architectural Digest chose designer Madeline Stuart to execute the room's vision, which evokes the glamour of Old Hollywood with a modern twist. "My goal was to design a space where contemporary stars wouldn't be surprised to bump into Cary Grant or Katharine Hepburn," says Stuart.
For her muse, Stuart looked to the art-deco-influenced interiors designed by art director and production designer Cedric Gibbons. Aside from bagging 11 Academy Awards for art direction, Gibbons is also responsible for designing the iconic Oscar statuette!
Built-in upholstered banquettes, polished black floors, and stepped walls and ceilings are just a few of the Gibbons-inspired design elements Stuart incorporated into the greenroom. Even the furniture (all from Baker) and lighting selections mimic his luxurious yet tailored style and are influenced by a recent project for the new owners of his iconic 1930 Santa Monica, CA, home (talk about a real-estate score!).
In a recent article in Architectural Digest, San Francisco designer Grant K. Gibson offered some practical and economical advice for making a rental home shine. Instead of making big budget renovations, Gibson offers great options for making the most of your leased surroundings. Check out the tips below, and then tour the entire apartment on Architectural Digest.
Photos courtesy of Architectural Digest
Donny Deutsch, the renegade advertising exec and frequent morning television show guest, talks a big game on air, and apparently at home, too. After five years of renovations, the adman opened the doors of his contemporary Upper East Side townhouse to Architectural Digest, revealing a light-filled home outfitted with plenty of glass and modern furniture. The shining glory of the home, the fourth floor "princess floor," is where his two young daughters reign supreme. It's outfitted with bright pink and purple bedrooms and a playroom packed with fun cupcake, gummy bear, and cloud-themed pieces that every kid would love. Check out the rooms and see how you can incorporate some of the pieces into your lil one's lair.
Photography by Nikolas Koenig for: Architectural Digest
I'm excited to present a post from one of my favorite sites ShelterPop!
Fashion muse and self-proclaimed "geratric starlet" Iris Apfel's apartment is overflowing with personal style (and an incredible antiques collection). Take a peek:
While Iris Apfel wears many hats — muse, jewelry designer, Old World Weavers co-founder, street style icon — it's her star turn as interior decorator that's most impressive. After a stint working for a designer and finding that she could out-decorate (and out-shop) her easily, Apfel started her own firm and attracted clients with her remarkable style. "I guess people thought if I could decorate myself I could decorate a room or two," she told Architectural Digest.
There's the legendary Apfel in her living room, surrounded by an 18th-century French bleached oak boiserie, a chair covered in Old World Weavers tapestry fabric and plenty of singerie -- fashionable monkeys satirizing human behavior.
In the library, a Louis XVI daybed sits below a Dutch painting and pale green molding. Extra points if you can count all the patterns.
No surprise here — the woman that inspired a 2005 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a to-die-for closet . . . that lives in its own separate room.
Want to see the rest of the amazing home? Head over to Architectural Digest to see the full slideshow, a Q&A with Apfel or take a closer look at her style.
Here are a few more of my favorite posts from ShelterPop lately:
Photo courtesy of Roger Davies for Architectural Digest
Yesterday, I read a fascinating interview with Architectural Digest's new powerhouse editor in chief (and former editor in chief of Elle Decor), Margaret Russell, by the founding editor in chief of Elle Decor, Barbara Dixon. I've long been a fan of Margaret, and in her short time with AD so far, she has already infused vitality and inspiration into its pages — both of which were dwindling. In any case, I decided I wanted to learn more about this very elegant, influential woman, so I spent a few too many hours doing some research.
Here are 10 things about Margaret Russell that I bet you didn't know!
Last week I gave you a sneak peek of LA-based designer Michael S. Smith's rendering for the Architectural Digest greenroom at the 83rd annual Academy Awards, and now we've finally got a look at the completed room! The concept this year is an elegant, 1940s-style library with a sophisticated color palette and furnishings celebrating Hollywood's golden era.
Here are a few quotes from Michael about his design!
On his inspiration for the room:
I think I was really influenced and kind of inspired by movies of the '30s and '40s which sort of show the background of Hollywood behind the scenes. And I think that's a great place because I think those kinds of movies and that era sort of established what we think of as Hollywood glamour.
On choosing a library setting:
Having worked for a lot of actors and people in the movie business, there's something so kind of comforting and cozy about a library, about a paneled room, and it felt that at the Academy Awards where there's so much bustle and activity going around and kind of so much energy in the air, it felt that a library would be a great retreat to kind of collect your thoughts before you go out and have to be on screen for millions and possibly billions of people.
On the color palette:
We chose colors which were kind of golds and browns and blues, colors that traditionally kind of give you a sense of coziness, of comfort, that are not too warm, not too hot, not too cold, just kind of very comfortable and very kind of relaxed.
Want to see a time-lapse video of the room being decorated? Head to my Twitter page!
Photo by Roger Davies for Architectural Digest
The Oscars are really closing in on us! Architectural Digest has just announced that it has chosen interior designer Michael S. Smith to create the Architectural Digest Greenroom at the 83rd annual event. The greenroom is the backstage lounge where all the Oscar presenters and honorees will relax and rehearse before their big stage debut at the Kodak Theatre. The choice seems fitting for Thomas, who says, "Having lived in California my whole life, I have always been thrilled by the movies, and the design and architecture that surround them. I am always inspired by film. It is an honor to participate in the most prestigious of all Hollywood events."
It's also no surprise that Smith, a good friend of the magazine's new editor in chief, Margaret Russell (formerly of Elle Decor), was chosen to do the honors. "Michael’s signature style made him a natural choice to create the Greenroom on behalf Architectural Digest this year," says Ms. Russell. "And though his design reflects midcentury Hollywood glamour, his interpretation of the space is state of the art."
Until now, Michael's claim to fame has been has his post as the Obamas' White House decorator, but this certainly tops the list, too. In any case, there's no doubt he's gotten comfortable around celebrity. Though The New York Times somewhat slanderously called Smith's design for the Oval Office "too brown, too dowdy, too ho hum," in an article called "The Audacity of Taupe," he is by far one of the most talented and sought-after designers in the States today.
I'm afraid to say Smith's greenroom rendering isn't a far cry from NYT's description, yet it is undeniably sophisticated. The room is designed to be an elegant, 1940s-style library with a warm, reserved color palette with a mix of traditional and Art Deco era Hollywood-style furniture. As for the resources, Smith has chosen pieces from Baker, Cowtan & Tout, Phillip Jeffries, Questroyal Fine Art, and Samsung Electronics. Even if the Oscar gowns of the evening feel uncomfortably confining, the guests are sure to feel at home in Smith's greenroom.
Interested in some architectural eye candy? Then make sure to check out Sheryl Crow's home, featured in the March issue of Architectural Digest. The musician's romantic Hollywood Hills estate, which sprawls over 11 acres and includes a 1926 Spanish Colonial hacienda, a 1909 Craftsman bungalow, and a picturesque 19th century cottage, is absolutely lovely, and it includes a lot of great facts about how Crow developed her home's unique look.
