Film Interiors: Addicted to Love

I recently read an article in New York magazine about design team Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of the firm Roman and Williams and was intrigued enough by their old school materials meets modern living aesthetic to re-watch the film Addicted to Love in order to see some of their early work as set designers. The movie turned out to be better than I remembered and the sets did not disappoint. Though its release date was in 1997, the images could be ripped out of today's magazines. 

Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick play jilted lovers Maggie and Sam, who camp out together in an abandoned building to watch their exes Linda and Anton through a camera obscura aimed at Anton's expansive loft. Their envious gaze falls both on the amorous new couple and on the space they share. When the apartment is vacated for a weekend, Sam and Maggie move in and comb each room for clues about who their partners have become in their absence. Though the loft takes center stage, the country house that Sam leaves to pursue Linda has plenty of charm of its own and even the shell of an apartment that Maggie and Sam share has a bit of steampunk appeal that Maggie's inventive wardrobe complements perfectly.

Sam's country home full of fresh flowers in anticipation of a dinner with Linda.

Linda's father arrives instead with a "Dear John" letter. 

The carved mantel is the showpiece of this room.

Decorative plates hang on the wall near an elegant settee.

Anton's workspace employs old metal locker bins for organization.

The neighboring kitchen features a carpenter's bench as an island.

A farmhouse table with mismatched chairs leads to a kitchen full of industrial elements--an old chalkboard, schoolhouse pendant lamps, a drafting chair and factory stool.

A vintage metal hospital cabinet is filled with fresh towels and strikes both a masculine and feminine note in the all-white bathroom.

The following are a few items on the market that channel the essence of Sam's house in Delaware and Anton's New York city loft.

Regency walnut fireplace mantel from Pegaso Gallery Design.

Plate Shelf from Silverfox Originals.

4 piece sofa set by Kai Kristiansen at Arenskjold Antiques Art.

Work bench from Lillian August Designs.

Vintage desk chair from Topsy Design.

Vintage metal locker basket from Haven Vintage.

Vintage medical cabinet from Amsuarezfl.

Film images are property of Warner Bros. Pictures.

Suitcases

My guess is that the scene in the baggage claim section of any modern-day airport just isn't what it used to be--when folks bought luggage to last a lifetime. After seeing more than one fellow passenger reach for my beige suitcase before I could get to it and then throw it back on the conveyor belt when they realized it wasn't theirs, I've taken to tying an orange ribbon around the handle of my suitcase. 

Well crafted and distinct as many of them were, vintage suitcases wouldn't last a minute under the rigors of twenty first century airport security. Better to leave them at home, stacked in place of coffee and bedside tables or attached to a wall as shelving or display. Old suitcases and trunks are a great way to add storage to a small space while dressing up a room with rich shades of leather and elegant tweeds. No travel necessary to enjoy these abundant flea market finds.

Images: Inside Out magazine, March-April 2009 issue. Contemporary Country by Emily Chalmers with photography by Debi Treloar, published by Ryland, Peters & Small 2006. Country Living magazine, September 2010 issue. Naturally Modern: Creating Interiors with Wood, Stone, Leather, and Natural Fabrics by Ros Byam Shaw with photography by Andrew Wood, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2000. Apartment: Stylish Solutions for Apartment Living by Alan Powers with photography by Chris Everard, published by Ryland, Peters & Small 2001.

Collections

Despite my passion for interior design and vintage treasures, I've somehow never given in to collecting groups of one item. I suspect that once I began, I wouldn't know when to stop. Exactly how many straw bags or enamel signs or cooking molds is enough? For me, it's safer to stick to individual items that I respond to and group them together as though they are a family.

Collections seem to spring from a desire to honor a gift that was made by someone we love (grandma's cameo or dad's fishing creel) or from a genuine passion for the pieces themselves and what they represent. A collection that can be displayed in one place, without spilling into every room of the house, is often beautiful and visually arresting. And having something specific in mind when browsing flea markets and antique shops makes the hunt that much more exciting. A collector also makes life much easier on their friends and family when gift-giving season arrives.

Images: Aged to Perfection: Adding Rustic Charm to Your Modern Home Inside & Out by Leslie Linsley, published by Hearst Books 2010. The Way we Live with the Things we Love by Stafford Cliff, photographs by Gilles de Chabaneix, published by Rizzoli 2009. Marie Claire Idees magazine, July 2010 issue. Red magazine, July 2010 issue. Inside Out magazine, March-April 2010 issue.

Shop: Rebecca Cole GROWs

This past summer, I was saddened to discover that my favorite NYC spot--Japanese department store Takashimaya--had closed its doors on Fifth Avenue. My primary reason for making it a must-see was its basement restaurant, The Tea Box, which served healthy and affordable lunches. While there, I would check in on the shop's lush garden section for inspiration and unusual ways to bring the outdoors in. Thankfully, a new shop in the fur district looks like it has plenty of great garden and design ideas to share. 

The new destination spot comes courtesy of Rebecca Cole, author of one of my favorite garden books--Paradise Found: Gardening in Unlikely Places. What is special about her work is that she outfits exterior spaces with as much thought as we usually give to indoor rooms and makes sure that indoor spaces are given healthy doses of plant life in unpredictable ways. Rebecca has a full-service design company with an emphasis on implementing green practices without sacrificing style. Her website, Rebecca Cole Design, is full of beautiful images of her shop, rooms and gardens she has designed, and events she has planned. I love seeing outdoor furniture given the Sunday best treatment (notice the tarnished metal bench topped with a row of feminine pillows for an event on the roof of Rockefeller Center).

Images: Rebecca Cole Design.

Books Arranged by Color

Family and friends know that I have an obsessive compulsive streak, so the fact that I'm attracted to great walls of color-coordinated books is no surprise. Though I've dabbled in arranging my books by color, I've never had a library set-up with all of my books on display in one spot. I still remember driving to south Philly with my friend Liz one evening a few years ago and slowing down so we could get a better look at a red wallpapered library that called to us like a beacon from the third story of an elegant rowhome. A well stocked library will always get a second look from me.

One of the many highlights in Christian Slater's apartment in the movie Bed of Roses is his tidy wall of red and black books and the ladder that he uses to reach them and his rooftop garden (above). Though it takes some effort to achieve, a library that is arranged in blocks of color becomes an artful focal point. And anything that draws people to peruse a library and then curl up with a good book is more than worth the effort.

Images: New Line Cinema. House & Home magazine, September 2010 issue. Thrifty Chic: Interior Style on a Shoestring by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell, photography by Simon Brown, published by CICO Books 2009. Living etc magazine, May 2010 and June 2010 issues.

Wallpaper

For the past year, I've been driving back and forth to Cape May to tend to my shop space at West End Garage. On my way home a few weeks ago, I noticed this amazing exposed interior wall next to a vacant lot on Vine Street in Philadelphia. I only just got around to photographing it this weekend, though sadly the sun had already set by the time I got to it.  What amazes me is that one home could have featured so many bold patterns and that a couple of them are just old enough to be current again (the blue chandelier print on the first floor is my favorite).


I think wallpaper has gotten a bad rap for the last couple of decades because so many of us have suffered through the process of removing the stuff and don't ever want to experience it again. In the past, people wallpapered every exposed surface in their home, often including closets and the inside of kitchen cabinets. The result was a visual assault that many have fought against by leaning toward the opposite extreme--all white or all beige walls. Ever since I discovered Neisha Crosland's gorgeous designs, I've warmed to the idea of papering one wall in a space or adding it to a half wall of tile in a bathroom. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie Kate & Leopold, but I'll watch it whenever it comes on cable just so I can catch sight of Meg Ryan's wallpapered bathroom (see Hooked on Houses for images). One of these days, I fully intend to paper a room--though I'll probably go with the new generation of papers that don't require pasting and can be removed and re-attached in another space.

Images: Simple Style by Julia Bird with text by Bridget Bodoano, photography by Hotze Eisma; published by Friedman/Fairfax 2003. Thrifty Chic by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell, photography by Simon Brown; published by CICO Books 2009. Living etc magazine, September 2010 issue. Inside Out magazine, March-April 2009 issue and June 2004 issue. Country Homes & Interiors magazine, June 2010 issue. Red magazine, July 2010 issue. Living etc magazine, August 2009 issue. Country Living magazine, September 2010 issue.

Foyers

Perhaps because I've lived in so many cold and rainy climates, I've always appreciated foyers as rooms of their own--even when they're really nothing more than a glorified hallway. Now that the trees on my street are shedding at a surprising rate and the temperature is showing signs of dropping, my appreciation for these little spaces is renewed. They are the home's place of greeting, the first point of respite from harsh weather conditions outdoors, and a place to drop keys and kick off heavy boots. I think it's a shame that so much new construction relegates these spaces to the back of the house and renames them "mudrooms". When foyers are treated as rooms worthy of good furniture and a few choice accessories, their charm is increased by the disarray that stray coats and shoes invite. 

Images: The Comforts of Home by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, published by Ryland, Peters & Small 2010. Country Living magazine, October 2010 issue. BBC Homes & Antiques magazine, June 2010 issue. Living etc magazine, August 2010 issue. Inside Out magazine, volume 3.