On my recent trip to Chicago I visited the Merchandise Mart. It was my first time at this major Design Center. It is huge and is said to be the second largest building in the US, The Pentagon is the largest. It also houses the Gift and Home Market showrooms. The Interior Design showrooms are on three of the18(+/-) floors. I had a quick (all day Friday) cruise through the 18th floor and the Main level floor (didn't have a chance to visit the other floor as time didn't permit). Of course I visited my favourite showroom: Michael Taylor as well as many others. I will collect my thoughts and inspirations and do some posts in the week to come. But some of the themes I saw that stick out in my mind right now are: Lucite tables, mirrors & lamps; beautiful scenic & mural wallpapers; wonderful fabrics & Christian Liaigre furniture at Holly Hunt; lots of indoor/outdoor fabrics. In shopping on the "Magic Mile" I did notice fall fashions in black and white hounds tooth check for coats and capes. There is a resurgence of capes for fall (very 80's). Everyone was wearing flats, especially the monogram ones by Tory Burch, and lots and lots of little girls all lovingly carrying their newly purchased dolls from American Girl Doll Company. These dolls are so beautiful. They have old fashioned cloth bodies and beautiful eyes that open and close, and matching outfits can be purchased so the little girls can wear the same clothes as their dolls, or is it the other way around? The average purchase in this store is said to be $400.00. There is lots and lots of selection and inspiration in the Interior Design arena...stay tuned more to come on this.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Chicago Inspiration
On my recent trip to Chicago I visited the Merchandise Mart. It was my first time at this major Design Center. It is huge and is said to be the second largest building in the US, The Pentagon is the largest. It also houses the Gift and Home Market showrooms. The Interior Design showrooms are on three of the18(+/-) floors. I had a quick (all day Friday) cruise through the 18th floor and the Main level floor (didn't have a chance to visit the other floor as time didn't permit). Of course I visited my favourite showroom: Michael Taylor as well as many others. I will collect my thoughts and inspirations and do some posts in the week to come. But some of the themes I saw that stick out in my mind right now are: Lucite tables, mirrors & lamps; beautiful scenic & mural wallpapers; wonderful fabrics & Christian Liaigre furniture at Holly Hunt; lots of indoor/outdoor fabrics. In shopping on the "Magic Mile" I did notice fall fashions in black and white hounds tooth check for coats and capes. There is a resurgence of capes for fall (very 80's). Everyone was wearing flats, especially the monogram ones by Tory Burch, and lots and lots of little girls all lovingly carrying their newly purchased dolls from American Girl Doll Company. These dolls are so beautiful. They have old fashioned cloth bodies and beautiful eyes that open and close, and matching outfits can be purchased so the little girls can wear the same clothes as their dolls, or is it the other way around? The average purchase in this store is said to be $400.00. There is lots and lots of selection and inspiration in the Interior Design arena...stay tuned more to come on this.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Chicago
I leavin' on a Jet Plane .... I am off to Chicago for a little business and a lot of shopping!!! Back on Monday. Four days...too short... so much to do... and so much to see.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Michael Taylor - Good Design is Timeless
With the possible exception of Hollywood, no single force has brought California to the world more powerfully than Michael Taylor. More than a quarter of a century after he created the California look - Taylor, for many, still epitomizes West CoastStyle.The James Dean of decorators is how Diana Vreeland described West Coast designer Michael Taylor
I was a student in Design School when the picture below of Michael Taylor's work was published in Architectural Digest . I was totally in awe of his work. Nothing had been done like this before. It was revolutionary and very fresh. I became totally mesmerized by all things "Michael Taylor". The fixation is still going on. In the project I did that was featured in Architectural Digest I used Michael Taylor fabric on a sofa that I custom designed. Whenever I am in LA or San Francisco I make it a point to visit his showroom at the Design Center. He was one of my greatest mentors that I drew inspiration from and wanted to emulate. It was interesting to me to learn that his 3 greatest mentors were women: Syrie Maugham, Elsie de Wolfe & Francis Elkins. I just wish that he had lived longer. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 59.
Consistently denouncing the cluttered and pretentious, he had a simple ethos: "When you take things out, you must increase the size of what's left." This spawned the widely emulated California Look, which in the latter part of his career was characterized by oversize furniture and signature elements, including Yosemite slate and fossilized stone; plump geometric cushions; logs; wicker; and lots of mirrors, all against a muted backdrop of white on white or beige on beige.
Michael Taylor was born in Modesto, California in 1927 and found early inspiration at a neighbor's house, where he first saw the work of Elsie de Wolfe.
Syrie Maugham, the British decorator who helped create the all-white look popular in the 1920s, provided another source of inspiration to him.A third influence was American decorator Frances Elkins (Taylor acquired a substantial portion of Elkins' estate, including pieces originally from Syrie Maugham).
Schiaparelli sofaTaylor rivaled the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland in his use of maxims - "Red and green should never be seen!" was one of his favourites. "If in doubt, take it out!" was another.
Taylor believed that white was the most efficient color for capturing natural light. 
This is a room Michael designed circa mid 1950's in Modesto, California
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