Novogratz For The Masses

The Novogratz have a small line of wares at CB2
Check them out and tell us what you think.

Most things pictured here designed by the Novogratz are available at CB2

Creating A Wedding With Two Types Of Flowers

I recently got to do a wedding for a client's (whose home I recently pulled together with a few upgrades) son. My clients had been married in the venue twenty-one years ago. So it was so sweet that their son's wedding was held there too. It is a superb space, with "community" rooms located in a posh condominium located right on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. The bride had two favorite flowers, white orchids and white hydrangea, so I devised a plan just using those two flowers.

The space is simple and modern, and I kept the flowers that way too. There were three zones: The outdoor space where the ceremony took place riverside with a patio for guests who wanted to be outside during the party; a room with a grand piano that would be used for dancing and buffet style dining; a third room with the bar and space for the wedding cake. No rental tables were set up. The rooms are well appointed with designer furniture, a collection of couches and chairs, and coffee tables, and I opted not to overdecorate it or turn it into a catering hall or restaurant. It was a modern lounge for a modern couple and their guests.

Single blooms of Phalaenopsis orchids were arranged on a mercury glass tray

One restriction involved a very long dining table that could not be moved. It sits in front of a wall of distressed mirror. It would be the buffet table, but the extra long length needed to be visually tamed.

The long table had to remain - I used six large mercury glasses vases to echo the distressed mirror behind the table - I arranged white hydrangea and white orchids in each vase

A detail of one of the six bouquets on the buffet table

The  long table was staged later with food

I made use of rentals for the decor (I use the excellent Event Rentals located in Gretna servicing every and any party and convention in New Orleans). I used mercury glass vases to play off the mirror behind the long table, and mercury glass trays to create modern and simple and elegant  arrangements for the coffee table. Dozens of mercury glass votive candle holders were scattered around.

A larger coffee table got two mercury glass trays of orchids

Smaller coffee tables got one tray of orchids - Each bloom was placed in a mercury glass votive holder, and battery operated tea lights were place between the blooms

The ceremony took place at sunset, and as the indoor and outdoor spaces went to nightfall, magical flickering candlelight echoed the glittering surrounding city skyline.

The ceremony area on the Mississippi River - The Crescent City Connection (bridge) is in the background - Victoria Ghost Chairs are from Event Rentals, and the two tall metal sculptures are by Luis Colmenares

The grand visual scale and lush landscaping of the outdoor space called for something more than a pair of rented ficus trees for the ceremony area. Victoria Ghost Chairs became part of the water's edge. I brought sculptor Luis Colmenares (504) 491-4854 on board to create five oversize "trees". They were made of metal, and were a combination of a candelabra and a tree. As darkness fell, they provided another layer of candle light. Outdoor patio tables were staged with huge lanterns. Anything smaller would have been visually insignificant.

The patio - I used three more sculptures by Luis Colmenares, and oversize lanterns on the tables - When night fell all became magical with candlelight

What a beautiful city venue!

The community room is well appointed - The chairs were taken away from the long table and used as pull up seating

A framed photo of the couple would be signed by the guests as a keepsake

The wedding cake table - The cake was made by Bittersweet Confections - I decorated it with the bride's favorite flowers

The room where the bar is located - Some friends of the couple were watching the LSU game while I was setting up - The console table behind the couch features a bouquet of white Dendrobium orchids, and is the place designated for the groom's cake to be served - A display of individually boxed truffles made by Bittersweet Confections are the favors

The favors - Little boxes of truffles

A close up of the wedding cake

The back of the wedding cake had the pulls for the bridesmaids

The back of the wedding cake

Baskets for the two flower girls and a box of boutonnieres for the gentlemen

For the five bridesmaids  - I made all white hydrangea hand tied bouquets

The brides bouquet - I used ten stems of Phalaenopsis orchids and several stems of white hydrangea for this large bouquet - Small crystals were nestled in between the blooms - It's resting in an ice bucket in the hotel room where the bridal party was getting dressed

I asked one of the young girls in the wedding party to hold the bouquet for me so I could get a picture - The bride was still dressing, and I am sure I will soon get to see pictures of her holding it

I so enjoyed doing this wedding. The family was fun to work with. Designer Mitchell Settoon was my excellent right arm aiding with the installation.

After so many years of planning and executing hundreds of elaborate over-the-top weddings, this simple, tailored, and elegant look was a breath of fresh air for me. I think weddings have become so overproduced lately. What say you?

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Super Beautiful Glam-Glam

Here are a couple of dates to save:

October 21 - Nate Berkus collection for Target goes on sale. There is a real cute video with uber blogger Nicole Gibbons getting to use all the Nate stuff in her apartment, and showing Nate how she styled it up.  I want a few things, especially the chevron urns,  and the tortoise shells. Here's a link to Nicole's blog So Haute.

Nicole Gibbons shows Nate Berkus how she used all his swag in her NY apartment - I love the chevron urns

Love these Nate Berkus urns! You could turn them into lamps

And theeeeeeeeeey're baaaaaaaaaack! Million Dollar Decorators Season 2 on Bravo. All five decorators from Season 1 are back. The trailer on Bravo is hilarious. Martin has another bon mot destined to become a catch phrase: Super Beautiful Glam-Glam. Save the date - Tuesday, November 13,  9 PM Central (10 Eastern).

Martin Martin Martin Super Beautiful Glam Glam

Tune in for a new season on Tuesday, November 2

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20 Things To Get For A Matisse Inspired Room

via Lamps Plus

A little while ago I did a post about the fabulous paintings of interiors done by Henri Matisse. This prompted me to choose twenty items you can buy online for my Guest Picks at Houzz this month, called "Create a Room Inspired By Matisse".

Check it out and tell me what you think. I found some pretty cool stuff, including the best camel back sofa with a bench seat very similar to mine (and the price is not too bad either).

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month New Orleans Style

Local New Orleans bakery Haydel's is doing a special King Cake in honor of breast cancer awareness. They are donating $5.00 from the sale of each cake for research for the cure. Haydel's
makes the best King Cakes, so order this cute pink King Cake today.

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Shaun Smith

A couple of years ago, a very good looking stylish young man came into the shop I was working in. He came in several times, sometimes with his mother. He always gravitated towards the most interesting and best pieces. He purchased a vintage painting, a pair of iron deer heads, and a champagne color cow hide rug. His name is Shaun Smith.

Shaun Smith interior designer

A year or so later he opened his own home furnishings shop, something that did not surprise me in the least. I featured him in a column I wrote for GoNola naming him as one of the "Designing Men of Magazine Street".  His beautiful shop is successful and his reputation as a designer is growing. Most recently his home (which he designed of course) is featured in CUE Magazine (photos by Greg Myles, story by Lee Cutrone).

I love Shaun's style, clean and fresh, mixing masculine and feminine elements, deftly mixing modern, vintage, and antique pieces. Enjoy this little round-up of photos, and go to his web site to see more of his work, and most definitely check out his shop in New Orleans (tell him the Vamp sent you).

Shaun Smith living room

The vintage painting I sold to Shaun Smith

Shaun Smith master bedroom

Another view of the master bedroom - I love how he styled the throw on his bed

Shaun Smith kitchen - The white floors throughout the house are gorgeous - He has an equestrian thing going in the design of his home, echoed in the barn style kitchen cabinet doors

Shaun Smith - breakfast area

Shaun Smith dining room - Love the mix of rough table paired with the French chairs covered in blue velvet, the rock crystal chandelier, the blue and white Chinese pottery, and the modern painting

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In Search Of Billy Baldwin

It's no secret that I among countless others are influenced by the great American decorator Billy Baldwin. His work has never gone out of style, and he remains a mentor for a the latest crop of designers and decorators and bloggers.

"Foliage" or "Fauve" or "Arbre de Matisse"?

Recently I ran across a remnant of fabric from Brick House Fabrics that got my pulse raising. It looked like the brown and white print Billy B. and his lifelong friend Woodson Taulbee designed and manufactured for Woodson's New York apartment.

I found a precious and affordable remnant at Brick House Fabrics

The photo of this apartment is beloved and it has been featured in every book on Baldwin. In "Billy Baldwin The Great American Decorator" the caption reads: "The New York apartment of Woodson Taulbee. The Henri Matisse drawing was a gift to Taulbee from Baldwin. Together Baldwin and Taulbee developed the design of the cotton fabric 'Foliage.' that is used on the sofa and slipper chair".

From the book 'Billy Baldwin The Great American Decorator" - Get it! (Thanks Sara)

In another fascinating and dishy book on Baldwin (thanks Mitchell), "Billy Baldwin An Autobiography", Billy B. himself says, "It was one of those marvelous one-room apartments in New York, and the decoration of it was based entirely upon a beautiful Matisse drawing I bought for nothing from Kurt Valentine in 1965. The drawing was of two women sitting in front of a table on which there was an open book, and behind them there was the most magical black ink tree, I said to Woody that I thought the tree wood make the most marvelous wallpaper as well as a fabric. He was terribly excited by the idea and got to work. The result was a tour de force, and we covered the furniture in his apartment with it. It was such a wild success that Woody manufactured it through the entire color spectrum, from black and white to pale pink".

This room  designed Billy Baldwin  circa 1965 is a case study in modernity  - Baldwin was instrumental in helping his friend Woodson Taulbee start a wallpaper business "Woodson Papers" - Together they designed this print called "Foliage"

I found a snip of a  discounted Clarence House fabric called "Fauve" that looked so much like the print Billy and Woody designed together. I had the best upholsterer in New Orleans, Leonels, make me a couple of pillows. I love them!

My Billy Baldwin pillow made by Leonels

As I continued to research the fabric that Baldwin originally used, I realized the vintage "Fauve" print was an expensive elegant knock-off done by Clarence House! Every source seems to attribute the print that Billy Baldwin used to a Quadrille (China Seas) print "Arbre de Matisse Reverse".

The Arbre de Matisse Reverse fabric attributed to the famous Billy Baldwin room done for Woodson Taulbee

Still I am happy with finding my vintage piece of fabric made by Clarence House. It is just one more thing in "My Billy Baldwin Living Room", that continues to cement my creative relationship with Billy B. I'm not a rich girl, and my house is humble, but I think Billy Baldwin would like my home.

Clarence House "Fauve" fabric

The "Arbre de Matisse" tree trunk is drawn slightly different than the "Fauve"

Here's a round up of some photos of the very popular fabric inspired by Billy Baldwin and Woodson Taulbee, still very much in use and never ever out of style. Be on the lookout for vintage Clarence House "Fauve" on eBay and sites like Brick House Fabrics.

This current fabric from Clarence House would make a nice companion to "Fauve" or "Arbre de Matisse" - The faces look like the Matisse drawing Billy Baldwin gifted to Woodson Taulbee

Window shade in kitchen is "Arbre de Matisse Reverse" - design by Lindsay Reid

Martha Stewart used "Arbre de Matisse" wallpaper

Bill Barr had the fabric made for his client

Club chairs in "Arbre de Matisse"

This room featured in House Beautiful has many takeaways from the original Billy Baldwin room

A sweet little bench upholstered in the Matisse inspired fabric -  You could do this if you find a remnant

From The World of Interiors - White piping is used with "Arbre de Matisse"

Tory Burch used blue 'Arbre de Matisse"

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