Milan versus Paris

the fall/winter 2013 European menswear collections review

Gucci …………………………  “Style is the answer to everything.  A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing.  To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it.  To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art.”
 – Charles Bukowski  ………………………… For the fall/winter 2013 collections, … Continue reading Milan versus Paris

LEPERE’s Latest Austere Offering

Piet Boon's 'Concrete Wallpaper' Collection

Piet Boon ‘Concrete Wallpaper’ #3 ……………………….. Throughout the history of the decorative arts, the technique of creating faux finishes has always held a level of popularity and preference.  In fact, regardless of the cost of the real material, the painterly approach to depicting boissiere, stone blocks or applied textural building materials has been just as popular … Continue reading LEPERE’s Latest Austere Offering

McMillen Inc. 2013

Master Class with Ann Pyne, the firm's current President

House Beautiful February 2013    Decoration by Ann Pyne of McMillen, for her mother, Betty Sherill ………………………… McMillen, Inc. was founded in 1924 by Mrs. Drury McMillen, a young married woman from St. Louis who’d moved to New York City.   She operated out of her townhouse at 148 East 55th Street, selling 18th century furniture sent … Continue reading McMillen Inc. 2013

Hollywood Innovator

Cedric Gibbons ~ Art Deco's Guru

‘Grande Hotel’ 1932 ………………………… The Golden Age of Hollywood was defined by the excesses of talent, scandal, and fantasy.  From the lifestyle of the players, to the creative geniuses who flocked to Southern California at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was unlike anything the average person had ever experienced.  Today I’d like to … Continue reading Hollywood Innovator

‘The New Guard’

Timothy Brown of Timothy Brown Studio

………………………… As a rule, I avoid trendy Manhattan restaurants at all costs.  You have to understand I moved to the city in 1983, at the height of ‘Nouvelle Cusine’.  Paying $40 for 3 ounces of poached salmon and 3 blanched snow peas at Richard Lavin’s joint on 39th Street revolted me.  So when I was … Continue reading ‘The New Guard’

‘The New Guard’

Michael Kao of San Francisco's MAK Studio

………………………… I’ve heard it said that designing successful minimalist space takes more effort than any other stylistic genre.  When structure and surface elements stand alone, they must be carefully chosen, and artfully arranged by someone who understands them intimately.  There are a few dozen architects and interior designers who do it masterfully.  A few weeks … Continue reading ‘The New Guard’