Shopping in the men's department is nothing new, but these polished, menswear-inspired pieces are sure to give your space a handsome look for Fall. In rich, classic fabrics like wool and tweed — and featuring timeless plaid and pinstripe patterns — these picks are a great way to add crispness to your style. Whether it's a cozy den, a library, or a cabin retreat, these items add warmth and tradition.
New York-based interior designer Purvi Padia founded her design firm on the idea that luxury and style are available to everyone, and can vary depending on the project or person. Thinking of these concepts as creative works of art, she merges modern and traditional concepts and designs to create beautiful interiors for her clients.
Many of Purvi's clients are based in New York, and her designs reflect the need for serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. Presenting interiors that are a reflection of the city, yet simultaneously a refuge from its more overwhelming tendencies, Purvi creates homes that are balanced, serene, and positively gorgeous.
Purvi recently took time out of her schedule — she's just about to take maternity leave — to chat with us about design trends, her dream projects, and her philosophy as a designer. Keep clicking to take a look at Purvi's portfolio and to read the interview!
My nominee for Elle Decor's Bloggers' Choice feature, Amber Lewis, is the founder of Amber Interiors, a design firm that mixes gorgeous textiles with one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect Amber's design philosophy that "chic should be comfortable and functional."
Amber started her career when she turned her love of mixing bold textures and patterns into a small textile and pillow company. After spending time at fashion school for textile design, Amber attended UCLA's Interior Design program and created her first interior design firm shortly thereafter.
LA born and bred, Amber adores her home city. She notes, "I grew up in LA, at the beach to be precise, so I have a love/love relationship with this city. I have traveled all over and I always love coming home. There is something about the weather in LA that is like nowhere I have ever been. It is 74 degrees pretty much every day, 365 days a year. We live outside of LA so it feels a bit removed from the hustle and bustle, but I know I am a 30-minute drive from the city or the beach. It's really a special place."
Amber's currently crazy-busy with multiple projects, and she's launching an online shop soon that will sell pillows, rugs, and extraordinary finds. Make sure to keep checking her blog for the launch date!
Amber recently took us along on a house tour of her gorgeous 1960s California ranch-style home, which she and her husband bought from the original owner. Amber admits, "the decor and layout was awful but now it's open and airy and just what we wanted." See how she adapted the house to meet her aesthetic (and to look fashionable even while living with pets and a toddler) when you keep clicking!
In a recent interview on Dering Hall, Los Angeles-based designer Peter Dunham shared his thoughts on his line Hollywood at Home and offered excellent decorating tips.
One of my favorite tips from Dunham concerns scale — and the fact that we should consider it more carefully when decorating. Scale is just as important as pattern and color when decorating a space.
Dunham says,
In a high-ceilinged room, use an oversized chandelier. De-electrify it and just use it with candles so it becomes a piece of sculpture rather than a glaring light fixture, and it anchors the space. In a small room, choose a bold, big-pattern print and cover everything in it, the French way: walls, curtains, upholstery, et cetera. It gives the room vibrancy and glamor. Also, use large, but fewer, pieces in a small room—like a sofa that may seem too big—so it feels luxurious. In a large room, use smaller-scale pieces to create several areas and bring the space more to human scale.
I love the way that Dunham plays with scale in the room above, using a bold patterned print for the walls and matching sofa. It's an important lesson to remember when redecorating a room — keep scale a playful, and important, consideration.
San Francisco-based interior designer Martha Angus is the first West Coast designer to curate a boutique on Gilt Home. When I asked Martha about her inspiration for the boutique's look and product line, she noted, "We try to be true to ourselves. We love graphic things — you know black and white and color — and we just thought that was our signature. We just felt like more color, more punch, would be fun. And we feel like we have done pretty well with it."
Martha offered some fun tips for decorating your home, pulling some of her favorite designs from the sale. Keep reading to get inspired to refresh your home's look in 2012!
With influences ranging from Coco Chanel to Robert Venturi and Tony Duquette, interior designer and founder of 50 for Fifty Noa Santos's style is modern, fearless, and refreshingly lacking in minimalism. Noa's business, 50 for Fifty, charges clients $50 for 50 minutes of personal design consultation, making the possibility of interior design much more accessible to a range of renters and homeowners interested in creating a stylish home.
Noa explains: "50 for Fifty is a chance for me to help young New Yorkers like me who are fighting to make it here. Everyone deserves to love where they live, no matter how much they make and I’m determined to make interior design accessible to those who really need it. Before I started 50 for Fifty, I did some work for a few friends and saw how, by creating a space they loved, their lives changed— they enjoyed coming home, they entertained more, they were more organized. Young New Yorkers have so many challenges to face in this city — creating a home shouldn’t have to be one of them."
Noa recently opened up his home to CasaSugar readers, sharing a sense of his style and some of his tips for creating a vibrant, personal sanctuary, no matter how big or small your decorating budget may be.
All photos courtesy of Francisco Aguila
Last week, Hearst magazines unveiled three different apartments at 1212 Fifth Avenue in New York, designed by three different firms, and inspired by three different films, at its Designer Visions 2011 event. House Beautiful teamed up with Heather Moore for Jed Johnson Associates to design an apartment inspired by the movie Factory Girl while Veranda worked with Thomas O'Brien on an apartment inspired by the film Someone to Watch Over Me. And finally, Town & Country featured a home by Carrier and Company inspired by Igby Goes Down. Take a peek at each of the three apartments in our slideshow!
Photo by Max Kim-Bee
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Are you tuning in tonight for the season premiere of The Rachel Zoe Project? If so, keep an eye out for new styling assistant Jeremiah Brent, whose interior design background will lend a hand in styling on the show. Recently, we caught up with the busy Mr. Brent to ask him a few questions about design, the new season of the show, and his passions.
An artist from an early age, Jeremiah taught himself how to both design and build furniture. After making furniture for friends, he began his own interior and furniture design firm. Now, he's taking his career in a slightly different direction on The Rachel Zoe Project. Here, he shares his thoughts on fashion, interior decorating, designing for Rachel, and the new season of the show.
Photo by Stephen Busken
Just like the rest of us, Lauren Gold and Sasha Adler, design directors at Nate Berkus Associates, are looking forward to Summer weather. But beyond beach days and outdoor garden parties, these two are more focused on ways to Summerize the interiors of our homes. They know there are some easy ways to add Summer flair to every room of your home. Here, Lauren and Sasha offer some quick tips on ways to “summer-ize” your home. Take a look at their ideas, all of which are easy and inexpensive ways to add a bit of Summer style to your home turf.
