INSPIRATION SPACES

What's the one space that you wish was your place? Have a style that would make you stay a while? Did you just see a look that's right out of your book? Since I recently moved to Washington, D.C. I'm decorating a new home - and that means a lot of looking for inspiring spaces. This apartment by Elizabeth Bauer is one of my very favorites (featured in Lonny, June/July 2010). Scroll below to discover.

Not only is it a stunning design that makes a grand statement...

But all that grandiosity is contained in a STUDIO!

The eating area is mod and vintage, white-washed and colorful... and fun to eat in.

This can't be the same apartment... but it is. The hallway leading into the main living space is layered with style.

Calling Paul Smith, your couch is ready. 

All the pretty piles! A strict color palette keeps it mesmerizing instead of messy.

All images, Lonny Magazine.

COTTAGE BEAUTIFUL

My favorite thing in the 120 pages of House Beautiful's February decor ideas was so missable - one page of snapshots and a smattering of text about HB Contributing Editor Frances Schultz' home makeover in the Hamptons. It was so much fabulosity packed into such a small space - I had to have MORE! Luckily, House Beautiful online offered more (and larger) pictures. Enjoy!

Green and white, and oh so right. Love the layered curtains and the bold, graphic patterns (stripes, plaids, botanicals - and stripes again). 

Country whimsy: a painted bee... next to a bee hive basket. 

In the former garage cum sun room, big pattern dominates a little space. Carlton Varney paper and a shade worthy of a 1940s ice cream parlor sweeten the space.

There's more charm to come! Other rooms in Bee Cottage's makeover will be featured in upcoming issues of House Beautiful. 

/Images/HouseBeautiful.com/

THE COLOR OF THE FUTURE

The latest issue of House Beautiful is on newsstands...

Makes my heart go pitter patter:  The issue is on color!

Makes my heart sink: The first article is on... whitewash? Huh?

But it's still a lovely issue - especially these daring greens.

Posting these pictures as the issue is on newsstands brings me to another subject:  the survival of magazines. I posted just these two pictures - as many conscientious bloggers do - as a teaser. Why? I love magazines, and I want them to survive. That means not undermining them by making something costly available for free. I'm not sure if House Beautiful would appreciate this thoughtful approach though - mostly since they don't employ it themselves. I didn't purchase House Beautiful, rip out the pages, scan them into a computer, and then post them here. I just visited the website. Because all of those beautiful pictures you have to pay good money for in a store are posted for free on their website. 

Why would this make sense? It's not clear - perhaps HB believes that the articles will be enough to compel people to purchase. Perhaps they believe that online won't compete with paper. Perhaps they've just given up. 

Web guru Clay Shirky has a marvelous and deeply insightful article on why print is - and will for the foreseeable future continue - failing. Essentially, not much has changed since the 1500s and the Gutenberg Bible. It's all been ink, paper, and printing. And those cost money - until they don't. The web is free or mostly free, instant, and completely eliminates the middle man. As Shirky points out: "it makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing industry, because the core problem publishing solves — the incredible difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the public — has stopped being a problem." So what will the future look like? Nobody knows. We're going through the same revolutionary upheaval in information that the first printing press brought upon Europe. I just hope that whatever the end result is, House Beautiful - and her sister publications - are still with us.

Images, House Beautiful Magazine.

SHOP YOUR (CHINA) CLOSET

China, silver, and the like are much collected and prized in the South, and being from a family that was Southern before it was American (you know, when that whole revolution thing happened) we have been collecting this stuff for a looooooong time. I've never purchased a single plate of china, but I possessed five full sets of it before I had a degree. And being both a historian and a sentimental fool (highly complimentary traits) I'll be darned if I'm going to part with a single bread plate or teaspoon. The question of course, is what to do with all of it. So I was intrigued by the winter issue of online magazine Nesting Newbies, which ran a brief article on mixing vintage pieces in with modern designs for a table setting that doesn't take you straight back to Twelve Oaks.

There are two good ideas I took away from this story, the first, obvious tip being to mix old and new. But another way to freshen things up is to mix patterns - both ideas are happening in this picture, as interior designer Jennifer Rowland Clapp puts finishing touches to her table.

Another great idea Clapp incorporates is using linens sparingly - an absence of fine threads makes the setting more casual. The touches of fabric she does use bring her floral chintzes down-to-earth with more serious, subdued colors. I particularly like the mix above with a slate grey bordering on brown.

Another shot of her simple-does-it table. Lining up food, condiments, and decoration on felt rounds in the center replaces the traditional table runner and keeps things from becoming too formal. Kate Spade offers some chic, modern pieces that would mix well with vintage items (left hand) and old standby Crate and Barrel has a variety of linens in sooty shades (right hand). If you want to more closely imitate Clapp's style, just pull the felt rounds out from between your stored china and line them up on the table. Modern AND free!

Finally, if you have a lot of modern pieces, and would like to try this in reverse by adding in some vintage feel, hit up Etsy, your local flea market, or just saunter over to the queen of new-old stuff: Anthropologie (all items above).

All images, companies and magazine as attributed above.

MODELS ARE JUST LIKE THE REST OF US

Every month, I grab the latest Vogue and Bazaar, and thumb through the spate of new fashion ads. There are ads that take my breath away, ads that intrigue me, and ads that leave me wondering... "what in the samhill is she doing in that picture?" Or "gee. That looks uncomfortable." It's true that fashion is other-worldly, i.e. not our world, so maybe we should just accept that models dwell in a rarified style garden, being clothed by famous design fairies, feeding on champagne dew drops, and prancing around in odd poses. But not me. I wanted to investigate, and see if models really live normal lives like we do. And they do! Well, not completely normal. But take a peek...

(Dolce and Gabbana)

(Gucci)

(Blumarine)

(Yves St. Laurent)

(Max Mara)

(Alberta Ferretti)

(Ekrelius)

(Miu Miu)

(Hermes)

IMAGES:  Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Bluemarine, Max Mara, Yves St. Laurent, Alberta Ferretti, Ekrelius, Miu Miu, Hermes.

Alive and Well

It's been an awfully negligent past week here at Sanity Fair, what with only two posts, one of which expired after 24 hours. But, I'm back! There are a number of wonderful things lined up for this week, including a few trend reports, great decor finds, and a special on one of my favorite accessory companies. So stay tuned! In the meantime, a little something lovely, in hopes of warmer weather...

The most recent issue of Victoria featured Gina Galvin's glass folly - a Victorian-style green house 

chocked full of whimsical seating areas and garden implements. Doesn't it make you wish for spring?

All images, Victoria Magazine.

(Dead) Magazine of the Year

Et tu, Brute?

Speaking of magazines (and I was, just yesterday), Huffington Post has a special on all the magazines that have gone boom and then bust in recent years. 2009 could be known as the Inky Massacre: more than 400 titles have gone to the big forest in the sky since last January. Yikes. Titles "gone too soon" include Southern Accents, Metropolitan Home, Gourmet, and Cottage Home. Vote for your "most missed" (sniff, Domino, sniff), and then, as the British say, pull up your dirty socks and get back on your bicycle. Oh, those British. They've murdered off their fair share of periodicals this year too.

Loving Lonny Mag

Interior design and fashion combine at the Kate Spade 5th Avenue flagship.

*GASP* *GASP* *GASP* No, that's not the sound of a fish falling through space. That's me, reading the latest installment of Lonny Mag, the super hip, super awesome, wish-it-were me online-only shelter magazine. The new edition features the new J.Crew Collection Store (YES!), Kate Spade!, Kelly Wearstler! ...and lotsa lotsa gorge photography. One of the fabulous advantages of paperless pictures is that no one begrudges you trees (or dollars) to publish them. I get the feeling flipping (scrolling?) through Lonny's generously pictorial pages that the aesthetically-inclined staff are giddy about good photos. No picture left behind! Which means there are a number of lovely exterior shots too:

Entrance to the Hotel Keppler, Paris.

I hate to keep beating the Domino drum (not really, but if anyone out there is tired of hearing about Domino, consider this my official pretend apology). Anyway, like Domino, Lonny is adept at finding ordinary people decorating extraordinary homes and apartments. The "normal folks" are balanced equally by a crew of designers (who are never normal, by any definition) displaying their own spaces. Heaven. What could be better than the inside scoop? Touring their abodes is like finding out where your hairdresser gets HER tresses done. Top Secret Stuff.

Inside the Parisian flat of textile designer Lisa Fine.

For anyone still struggling with the idea of online only, I have two words: wish list. Tell your techno hubbie (yeah, the one who suggested your wedding march down the aisle would sound great on Sony speakers... until you explained the string quartet would be live) to beat it down to the Apple store pronto, because all you want for New Year's/Birthday/Valentine's is a nice big flatscreen monitor. He'll be so delighted it won't hit him until later that you're reading an online magazine where products are available for purchase with just one click. And be sure to mention in February that you were kidding about the Valentine's part.

An interior at the Hotel Keppler, Paris.

Same colors, new place: the bathroom at the J.Crew store, Upper East Side.

The wall design is identical to Jenna Lyons' own at home.

This month Lonny covers a number of your favorite store interiors: J.Crew and Kate Spade, as above, as well as Haus Interior. Shops I'd love to see in the next issue? Bergdorf Goodman's luxurious displays, the recently restored Ralph Lauren store in NY, and especially, the Tory Burch flagship.

Heels under glass at J.Crew.

Despite being a design magazine by some great talents in the industry, the feel on each page is approachable, attainable. The "if I read a few more design books and really think this through I could pull the look off" attainment - not, "I need to rob a bank, hire Miles Redd, and move to Malibu." Although, if you ever do that, please send us pictures.

Lonny is on "newsstands" now (and free). Visit at LonnyMag.com.

All images, Lonny Mag.

The November Issue: Best of Holiday Magazines

In November and December the glut of holiday decor mags usually strains store shelves to the bowing point, and careless shopping cart drivers may find themselves buried in the check-out aisle. But this season there will be far more trees in living rooms than in the Christmas paper mill, thanks to the recession. My top holiday magazines list is therefore a bit shorter - but the quality, thank St. Nick, is still there. Here are the best books to buy for yourself or give as gift subscriptions to someone really lucky.

Canadian House & Home

America's new favorite magazine, CH&H does decor right, with nary an "eh" in sight. Former Domino readers will love the clean modern and eclectic looks, with lots of little tips and the much missed "margin scribble" - all those brilliant little side comments on various room elements that Domino excelled at. It's neither traditional nor celebrity obsessed (calling Architectural Digest - hello?). If you're working on your third vacation home or decorating your first rental, CH&H will inspire you. One year Canadian subscription $26.95. One year U.S. subscription $56.95.

Veranda

I shied away from Veranda for years - a little too formal, a little older (like Brooks Brothers for homes - I figured, it'll feel right for me in a few decades). But Veranda seems to be inviting her younger, hipper sister over for coffee more often, as casual styles and current trends are popping up. A Mary McDonald living room like this one will give you plenty of fresh ideas. One year subscription $15. Bonus: subscribe online and get a year of Elle Decor for only $5.

Victoria

Victoria is one of my most beloved magazines, and I've been reading it since childhood, in spite of its terribly misleading name. It is neither an encyclopedia of Victoriana, nor devoted to any historical era (any more than Veranda is only about porches). Victoria might better be called Bliss - timeless, exquisitely detailed stories about decorating, traveling, entertaining, and women entrepreneurs have the collectively soothing effect of a hot cup of tea. Beautiful photographs make each issue memorable, and classic copies are still coming up for bid on ebay. One year subscription $19.98.

House Beautiful

I'll be the first to admit that I used to really dislike House Beautiful. One part pretension, two parts design encyclopedia, reading it gave me the same feeling as attending a cocktail party where I didn't know the people or the gossip (oh, you haven't heard of this designer? Pity you). But I am LOVING their 2009 makeover with a fresh look and even fresher design choices. For October and November they had me at hello - bright, vibrant rooms, eclectic mixes, streamlined styles, and an abundance of chinoiserie. One year subscription $10.

All images, from magazines as listed.

Economics, Intrigue, and Dead Magazines

Southern Accents is no more this month. R.I.P., dear friend.

Start yourself off this morning with a cup of coffee (Louisiana chicory coffee, if you're lucky enough to get your manicured nails on some) and this article from Slate on publishing behemoth Conde Nast. Author Jack Shafer compares old "Conde Nasty" to the dying GM - drawing parallels between their economic models and ensuing failures: "both succeeded in segmenting the market with semi-independent divisions that were once unique and distinct but that have since faded into one, much to the confusion of consumers. Both have dramatically dumped once-valuable properties." Ouch. The truth hurts.

Gourmet: a foodie magazine so exclusive, no one will ever see it again.

Conde Nast is indeed shedding covers like so many gas-guzzling Chryslers. Dead in the water this week are Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride, and Elegant Bride. The pain! The eternal Why? (Ok - the last two magazines are pretty obvious.) Still, following hard upon the loss of Southern Accents, these changes are making October a month with no shelter. Southern Progress, the publisher of Southern Accents, lost another magazine earlier this year, Cottage Living. That's especially sad, because unlike the Detroit-like CD, Southern Progress is a thoughtful, can-do publisher based out of Birmingham, Alabama - and it also employs a lot of people.

I was mulling all this over today in my local bookstore, as I browsed the (now considerably smaller) home magazine section. To face the magazine stand is to face the growing horror that apparently our economy CAN continue to sustain no fewer than 9 solo titles on scrapbooking, such as Creative Scrapbooking. Do Creative Scrapbookers (note my respectful use of capitols) spend years in design school? Define the spaces where our most precious memories are created? Aspire to art? No. But maybe they'll at least hire all those poor home magazine employees and turn out some truly gorgeous ideas ("Hand-Painted Toile Accent Papers and Vintage French Silk Ribbons! How to Make YOUR Photographs Stand Out!").

Take it from me: this mag is FABULOUS - and there's nary a polar bear rug to be found.

But, there is a silver lining. Not the loss of talent, surely, but what that loss has forced us (me) to notice. As someone who has lived abroad, I have to say that America is GREAT at a lot of things (sanitation. freedom. food that is dead when you eat it.) but not always at noticing what else is going on other places - even on the same continent. The cavernous space opening on my local bookstore shelves has drawn my attention to new wonders: Canadian House and Home, British House and Garden, and Australian Vogue Living. What those Commonwealth folks can do!

It's a web page! It's a magazine! It's Lonny!

And finally, there's the completely new. People thinking outside the box - and outside the page. Enter gorgeous Lonny Magazine. It's exclusively online, and it's free. This is not a group of dabblers armed with MS Paint and extra time; it's a ground-breaker that comes fully-pixilated. Really, Lonny had me at hello (or, actually, "run by former Domino staffers") and the fresh and un-fussed result is delightful. Opening exclusives include Kate Towsend-Sharpe's home reveal, Eddie Ross' new digs, and (most heartening of all) ads! Big we-might-be-around-for-a-while-ads, like West Elm, Williams and Sonoma, and Benjamin Moore. So join the Lonny Facebook group, and READ THE MAGAZINE.

Lonny includes gorgeous rooms...

And great style!

Be still my heart! The good times are back online.

Images: http://www.belgianfries.com/bfblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gourmet.jpg; http://www.houseandhome.com/; lonnymag.com; or at links provided.

Lauder Beauty

Design beauty, that is. I was so inspired when I saw the latest issue of Elle Decor featuring Aerin Lauder's East Coast homes. Often when paging through magazines I see bits here or there to take away, but every now and then a home really resonates with me. There's a lot here I wouldn't hesitate to do.

Blue and white is so common and yet so powerful.The mixture of brown/white and blue/white here brings a high society look back to nature. The wall vases are antique delft.

Does this remind anyone else of Sister Parish's White House bedroom design for Jackie Kennedy? I think it's the shade of blue, tall window treatments, and gilt - not identical by any means, but the feel is very similar.

A boy's room - and it's NOT in blue! This is a fresh, citrusy look, but it's still male. The subtle jungle elements in the wallpaper are well accented by the stuffed menagerie. My only hesitation? Such a lot of white on that bedspread - I feel sticky fingers in the future...

All images, Elle Decor Magazine.