Featured
England
Anthropologie to Open First London Outpost Oct. 23
Anthropologie will open its first European outpost, and the first outside of North America, in the heart of London's West End on Oct. 23. Anthropologie has made a habit of seeking out architecturally distinct spaces for its stores, and this one will be no exception.
Love It or Hate It? Heather Mills's One-Hue Home
Heather Mills's three-bedroom London home is on the market for nearly $6.2 million, less than one year after she purchased the property for nearly $3.9 million. She's what we'd call a flipper. In most cases houses that have been flipped are designed with the buyer in mind, but I don't know how many people would find this shiny beige spread appealing.
Home Away From Home: London's Haymarket Hotel
I have died and gone to hospitality heaven. London's Haymarket Hotel, designed by Kit Kemp, is a stunning example of the sort of marriage between contemporary and traditional design I have been searching for. In this case, it's classic English style that gets a modern lift, as traditional furniture shapes, including many antiques, are updated with bold patterns, playful scale, and thoughtful palettes.
Coveted Crib: Lovely and Light Near London
Sometimes we get so caught up with trendy accessories and of-the-moment palettes that we forget to consider the feel of the homes we're creating. It's no secret that all-white rooms have a relaxing effect. But throw natural materials, well-loved hardwood floors, worn upholstery, and a collection of vintage and antique accessories and furnishings into the mix, and what you have is a home that's not concerned with the latest and greatest, but is simply content as is.
Coveted Crib: Abigail Ahern's Tongue-in-Cheek London Home
Of course, I would expect nothing less than fabulous from the home of British stylist, interior designer, and shop owner Abigail Ahern — especially after seeing how she helped redesign her sister's apartment — but I'm blown away. Dousing her walls and hardwood floors in a cool gray paint as a simple base, she's allowed herself to go wild with the furnishings. She flawlessly mixes colors, styles, eras, materials, and finishes in a way that is both inspiring, calming, and livable.
Madonna Wants to Re-Create Her Former English Manor in NYC
Since her split with Guy Ritchie, Madonna has parked herself in an Upper East Side apartment, moving on from their shared historic estate in Wiltshire, UK, the Ashcombe House. But, according to the Mirror, she misses the English countryside so much that she's asked her architects to re-create her country home room by room in her NYC digs. Let me add that the Mirror is not always the most reliable source, so this news bit still has rumor status.Apparently, she's hired people "to go out and troll the Upper East Side boutiques for candelabras, side tables, and period chaises" and even had the wood floors of her new Georgian-style townhouse "ripped up and replaced with terracotta tiles, similar to Ashcombe."
Sienna Miller Lists Her London Home For Less
Sienna Miller has put her 2,095-square-feet, two-bedroom, three-bath home in St. John's Wood, London, on the market for $1.6 million — about $750,000 less than she paid for it in 2007. The digs are as bohemian as her wardrobe, with a mix of furnishings both traditional and modern, industrial and rustic.
Home Away From Home: The Langham in London Reopens
One of the largest, oldest, and best-known "grand hotels" in London, The Langham, reopened yesterday after a $130 million refurbishment. Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the hotel's managing director Katie Benson officially reopened the hotel yesterday with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. The historic hotel was built in 1865, and over the years, has been frequented by the likes of Mark Twain, Napoleon III, and Oscar Wilde, and even became the set of several of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
Coveted Crib: Black and White and Modern All Over
I love too many colors and styles to ever go only black, white, and modern, but I applaud he who has the restraint (and the balls) to do it. I spotted this large Georgian house in Tetbury, a small town in — believe it or not — the Cotswolds, and was blown away. Short of a dab of yellow paint in some artwork and its plush green lawn, the house is all black, white, and gray, and each room is essentially either entirely black or white.
Designer Couples: Robin and Lucienne Day
Today, I'm continuing wedding season with another designer couple, Robin and Lucienne Day. You might say the pair are the Eameses of the UK. Like the Eameses, they're most celebrated designer couple of the post-war era, although the Days designed in different fields.
More on CasaSugar
Fall Award Season
Top Brands
Untold
Princesse Tam-Tam
Kenneth Jay Lane