SANITY FAIR: The Small Side

Showing posts with label The Small Side. Show all posts

Sunday

THE QUIET OPULANCE OF MAUREEN FOOTER

In 2011, House Beautiful featured the New York City apartment of designer Maureen Footer. An opulent, french-inflected space, Footer's apartment is actually a one-room studio. At a mere 650-square feet, her home, adorned with chinoise Gracie wallpaper, an antique commode designed by Madame de Pompadour's cabinet maker, Migeon, and a 17th century tapestry, is layered with rich decoration, and reminiscent of a time when attention to detail was the crowning glory of decor. Let's stroll into the Orient Express of apartments:

How fabulous is that apricot and lime green combination? These photos are from New York Social Diary, not House Beautiful; the HB photos had a much less washed-out quality and I would imagine are closer to the actual hues.

The HB story:

HB photo of the same vignette (and yes, that's an iPhone photo of a magazine - sorry folks):

A commode worthy of Madame de Pompadour.

Wonderful interview with Maureen Footer over at the New York Social Diary HERE. Below are a few images from her portfolio. I love the luscious color parings and luxurious materials; it's rare to see work of Footer's style where spaces are fine without being fussy. And, while I don't imagine they could ever be mistaken for "democratic" (i.e. inexpensive), her rooms don't proclaim: I Have Money And I Spent It. As Auntie always said, quality speaks for itself.

Vestibule

Kipps Bay Show House

Park Avenue Duplex

Executive Office

/Images/ New York Social Diary unless otherwise noted/ Footer's portfolio images from her website, MaureenFooterDesign.com/

Monday

STACKING UP

Aside from rather reminding me of Diana Vreeland's fanciful red living room, which she referred to as a "garden in hell," I was rather taken with the ivory nesting tables stacked along the wall of this red-on-red room. Ming nesting tables have been in vogue so long they're now elevated to the status of a classic, but these sets are less often seen piled up as a makeshift etagere. I love the look!

This set is so sculptural, it barely requires decoration.

Lilly Pulitzer Home Collection features the pagoda stack on the right. I don't know if it breaks down into individual sections, but it's charming.

Let's go shopping, shall we?

Beautiful etagere from Highland House with nailhead detail.

Modern stackables from PB Teen.

Another sorbet shaded option from Home Decorator's Collection.

How glamorous would this gold set look stacked high? From Z Gallerie.

Or, take this mini set of mings and make a short etagere on a table top.

/Images/ Domino Magazine/ unknown/ Lilly Pulitzer/ all products, as attributed above/

P.S. This is a great small space solution, especially for those awkward corners or alcoves where normal furniture is too large, but a little visual pizzazz would go a long way (and let's not forget you can store things on them).

Tuesday

GOING TO THE SMALL SIDE: ALIXE LAUGHLIN

Ever since I saw Alixe's apartment featured in Matchbook Magazine, I've come back to her photo spread again and again. The small size and bizarre soffit-ing gave me a boost of hope that I could pull off a similar vibe of beachy chic and casual elegance in my own digs. The rooms also showed new nesters how to slip in a lot of style with little stuff; the apartment is actually fairly spare and packs all its punch in color. Bold, beautifully patterned color. Secretly, I think I love this apartment because it looks like an ad campaign for Quadrille. Of course, it helps if, like Alixe, you work for Quadrille and have access to the world's most wonderful (and presumably deeply discounted) fabrics. But I digress.

Lucite lamps! Chinoiserie! Java grande fabric! Zebra! What's not to like?

A small selection of fabrics are the only tête-à-tête in this space - the walls, coffee table, and art in soft neutrals simply listen in.

The sideboard is from Circa Who, a marvelous store in West Palm Beach, but they deliver anywhere. Such as my DC living room. I love the side table I ordered from them!