The Perfect Lake House

Elle Decor Dec/Jan

At the Ketchum, Idaho, home of Mary Lynn and Rusty Turner

Photographer: Miguel Flores-Vianna

Kate and Andy Spade by The Selby

The Divine apartment of Kate and Andy Spade by The Selby

Advice from the house cleaner of every major decorator in NYC.

 My Mom told me about this fantastic article in the NY Times about  the home-cleaning queen Barbara Roche Fierman who runs New York’s Little Elves, a cleaning service used by some of New York’s fanciest designers. 

Her company often does show houses and cleans up after multimillion-dollar renovations; her clients include interior designers like Victoria Hagan and Jeffrey Bilhuber and Clodagh and Thom Filicia.

“We are not housekeepers,” Ms. Fierman says. “It’s a whole different world. The housekeeper cleans the bathtub and sink; she doesn’t have time to empty the medicine cabinet, clean the cabinet, clean the medicine bottle that you haven’t used in six to eight months and gets a little gritty. We do a post-renovation for Jamie Drake, we take apart all the new cabinetry in the kitchen and bathroom, we remove the drawers, we clean the runners.”

When she got into an acident she had a decorating ephiphany  -

“When I came home from the hospital they gave me my X-rays,” she says. “They didn’t waste time in the emergency room — they left the jewelry on. I had this X-ray with 18 pieces of jewelry on this human being: I had several chains, I had a belly chain, I had an ankle bracelet, I had rings.”From that day, I realized how” — a few earthy adjectives deleted here — “stupid that was. What did I need 18 pieces of jewelry for? Now I wear a Timex. ”

Her furnishings have been reduced to the few things she feels she needs. She throws out books when she is done reading them; the walls are bare because she likes them that way.

“What I think I learned from the crash, and from some of my clients who are owned by their things, is that it is a ridiculous way of life,” Ms. Fierman says. “We did a job once because a contractor in an adjacent apartment had caused dust in a woman’s Park Avenue apartment. When she opened the door, she greeted us with the sentence, ‘Everything in this apartment is photographed, right down to the Coca-Cola bottles.’ She was basically telling my workers, ‘Don’t dare steal anything.’ She was owned by her things; she was so afraid that she cut the cleaning day short.”

Check out how she really lives.... this is not staged...

  

She only has 4 sets of  dishes because if she has more than that she goes out for dinner.

“It has taken me years to really realize items are not worth worrying about,” Ms. Fierman says.

Could you live with nothing?

ra Fierman's all-white East Village apartment, designed by Oskar TorreCould you s. Ms. Fierman's company, New York's Little Elves, is a high-end cleaning service for interior decorators and architects. Much of her work is done in mansions but her own living room is 10 feet wide at most.

Credit: Courtesy of Oskar Torres Inc.

What to wear to your high school reunion... This is for you LHS Class of 85

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

I keep getting emails on What to wear to my high school reunion which is tomorrow night - #25 - WOW! Don't do the math - I'm 43 and feel amazing! So it is so simple - you can not go wrong with the LBD - it makes you look skinny and sophisticated and the best way to fake good style when you have none but the best part is that you can buy a cheap one and no one will know the difference. Pick your own style icon - mine is ALWAYS Carine Roitfeld! She is one of the few people who can oooze sex without looking like a tacky tart.  Here she is in Balmain. She is 56 and the hottest women I know - I love her look the hair - makeup shoe dress - the entire thing. Now I just have to stop eating bread and sugar.

Who is your style icon?

Thanksgiving table setting - making it pretty....er

LOVE LOVE LOVE this - You? Via slim Paley

Click here for an easy step by step 

Via Manolo For The Home 

Pear seating ... nice touch Via Stylish Stems

Love the corn centerpiece Via Stylish Stems

 Kids table by whom else - MArtha!

Had to add this William Sonoma pan just because it is cool

Today's Chief Inspiration Officer... Laura Day

The rooms of Laura Day move me to my next decor moment and beyond - So love that on her site she shares where she finds her cool pieces click here   Love the poufs - they are from Calypso

Perfect example of mirrors making the room seem larger

Very Orson Wells

 The pink and orange ottomans work perfectly

 A kids room for the ultra hip mom - Love the spin art - I can do that!

This is what I call spinning! 

Tie Dye For

Via Nirmade

 Museum of Arts and Design celebrated the 40th anniversary ofMaya Romanoff and the launch of three spectacular tie-dye wallpapers. 

Via the NY Times

Via Hudson blog

Via Anthropology

Divine Martha

This table still is geniuse.

Glamour in the 1960's

Martha with Daughter

Model Martha

The hair kills me.

5 Interior Designers 50 Photographs

This morning in the NY Times there was a special section where Jonathan Adler , Thom Filicia, Laura Kirar, Kelly Wearstler and Vincent Wolf curate 50 photographs for your art collection from the NY Times Archives. Of their picks here are my favorites.

Thom Filicia 

Photo by Vincent Laforet / The New York Times Photo Archives

Aerial view of New Yorkers taking advantage of the summer day on the lush green grass of Bryant Park. - The yuckness and beauty of NYC ! 

Reflections in the still water of the St. Lawrence River on a lazy summer's day, St. Margarettes Island, New York, Aug. 7, 1997.

Photo by Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

This is my definition of downtime

Jonathan Adler:

Love this because it reminds me of how happy I was to move out of NJ! And my favorite part of living there which was being soooo close to NYC. 1951Photo by Sam Falk/The New York Times

Which are yours? To buy click here 

How Crazy is this room?

Where to Shop and Eat in LA by Very Cool Decorators

A HUGE thank you to Style Beat for today's awesome post about decorators favorite hot spots in LA . I cut and paste EVERYTHING - but there is so much more there so go visit Style Beat.  I am sooooo excited to try everything as I just moved out here and have the time to do it all!  The best part is that everything is on my side of town.

Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

Here are a few of his favorite things:

-The Anthropology store in Santa Monica is the best and has wonderful home department as does the brand new flag ship that's opened on Beverly drive in Beverly Hills.
-Richard Shapiro's chic gift department within his antique store includes beautiful books , jewels and Armand Diradourian cashmere throws.
-The new Kathryn Ireland showroom in Almont Yard is fab and Nathan Turner's pop up shop in Brentwood is brilliant-- complete with my candles.
-Fave restaurant is Mozza for the best pizza in town and for Sunday lunch, a traditional British style gathering at the Soho house along with the entire Osbourne clan.


LESLIE LOGAN HUNT INTERIORS:


- Favorite lunch spot with friends is the Thyme Cafe and Market in Santa Monica and Maison Midi on La Brea

- For coffee, Luxxe Cafe in Brentwood is amazing

- My home shopping faves include Big Daddy's Antiques, Almont Yard, JF Chen and everything on La Cienega Blvd.

- For fashion, I love Market in Brentwood and Aura Boutique in Santa Monica

- When I want a night of glam drinks, Tavern Bar in Brentwood fits the bill

- To enjoy the gorgeous California setting I visit The Getty Center gardens

- Growing up here I have places I adore like The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Abbot Kinney anytime, catching summer concert at The Hollywood Bowl, the flea market at the Rose Bowl and hiking Paseo Miramar in Pacific Palisades




Hillary Thomas

Here are her favorite things in LA:

- For lunch with the girls, Soho House. Sitting outside on the roof deck around a Koi pond surrounded by Olive trees is simply heaven!

- For Coffee, it's the Fountain Coffee Shop downstairs at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The BEST!

- For dinner and drinks, I love the Chateau Marmot for the old school feel of the hotel. Very LA! Then there is The Roger Room on La Cienega, a speak easy with a mixologist.

- I get a fashion fix at small boutiques like Church, Curve, and Elyse Walker.

KATIE LEEDE

Here are Katie's favorites:

- My morning: I walk Noodles my Schnoodle to Café Luxxe on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica for a coffee the most scrumptious almond croissant EVER.

-Shopping at L Frank, Liseanne Frankfurt’s clothing shop

-Casual, cafeteria style lunch at Lemonade or hip Gjelina’s in the garden and If I get really lucky and the stars align with our schedules, I meet the decorator gals Mary McDonald, Lizzie Dinkel, Kim Alexandruick and Molly Isaakson for lunch at the eponymous Polo Lounge

- dinner at a local hideaway for simple Italian fare, Locanda Portofino

- Shopping with clients, I head straight for La Cienega Design Quarter-the stretch of La Cienega between Santa Monica Blvd, and Melrose. You can practically decorate a house in an afternoon by hitting Todd Romano, where I just picked up a zebra rug lined in lime green felt, Hollyhock, Mecox Gardens, Jean de Merry, Paul Marra, Downtown, Lee Stanton for all things English, Hollywood at Home for groovy fabrics,Therien for surprising mid century finds, George Smith, Christopher Farr for contemporary collector carpets, Lucca Antiques, and Pat McGann


Brooke and Steve Gianetti 

Some of Brooke and Steve's favorites:

- Dinner at R&D for great burgers and martinis, Blue Plate for yummy American casual dinners

-If we're in the mood for Gnocchi or Ciopino, Spumoni on Montana or San Vicente is the place!

- We also love Babalu for Cuban food with a California twist

- Luxxe Cafe has the best coffee drinks in town!

- For a fashion dose, Rita's Rags on Montana has comfortable classics. I live in their cashmere wraps.

- My favorite place to shop for vintage and great finds are the Rose Bowl, Long Beach Stadium, and Santa Monica Airport flea markets


MARJORIE SKOURAS


These are a few of her favorite things:

- Interiors: La Cienega Blvd. and adjacent Melrose Place for great antique shops and fabulous fashion boutiques.

- Breakfast: I’ve been going to Nate ‘n Al’s delicatessen-- it’s still my number one spot for Sunday breakfast. Not hip, not chic and sadly Fred Astaire and Groucho Marx are no longer regulars, but it remains a classic spot for LA locals.

- Drinks: The Roger Room on La Cienega for drinks. The décor is fabulous and the drinks are impeccably made. A very old-fashioned, new fangled place, perfectly realized.

- Dinner: I love Jeff Klein’s Sunset Tower Hotel for dinner. It’s one of the most urbane spots in town and the lighting is incredibly flattering!

- Shopping: This girl can’t help it—I’m still a huge fan of Neiman Marcus for all the right reasons it's gracious and glamorous, with exemplary service and fabulous stuff! But lest I offend my friends at Barney’s, I must quickly add that I divide my loyalties between these two great temples to consumerism on Wilshire Blvd! I adore Mameg for their highly intelligent, exquisitely curated collection of clothes.

- Vintage: The Way We Wore is a haven for those seeking impeccable vintage

- LA stuff: Will Rogers house museum and polo field in Pacific Palisades for a sense of what LA was like in the 20’s. The newly opened Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica for great architecture, Hollywood history and inspiring philanthropy. The beach! Because being 20 minutes away from the ocean is what’s really fantastic about living in LA!

Thanks Glam Lamb for adding in - I am going to include any and all tips from my bloggies in this post.

***The Glam Lamb said...

I live in Bev Hills your lists are fab! Couldn't have said it better my self. Maybe include Father's Office in Culver City for a fun place to grab a beer with friends!! Helms Bakery in general is awesome! Also - gotta include Planet Blue as a fantastic shopping spot. The BEverly Dr. location is awesome. Also - lunch at Jack n Jills is always great too in my neck of the woods.

****Kala Roberson said...

So many new places to try! I love Abbot Kinney, not only because its walking distance for me but there's home shopping (Colcha, Plantation), clothes shopping (Principessa), great food (Joe's, Primitivo,Gjelina) and fun bars (Other Room, Beechwood, The Brig).

****The Ruckers said...

been reading your blog daily for a long time! love it. love that you moved to the neighborhood :) I live in malibu and most of these places are are within a half hour drive...love it! agree with fathers office (love the one in santa monica) it's a fun place to grab a burger and drink with friends. also...who doesnt love kitson?!? One stop shop :)

Cool Menorahs....

All Menorahs below available at The Jewish Museum

"Architect Richard Meier is unveiling a limited edition menorah and exclusive series of mezuzahs for The Jewish Museum in New York. The featured Menorah is a reproduction of the “Meier Lamp” originally commissioned by the Israel Museum in 1985; an original is part of the Jewish Museum’s permanent collection. A limited edition of menorahs will be available for $1000 for purchase through The Jewish Museum Shops beginning November 2010. Meier’s Menorah is the first of Design Edition JM, the first curated collection of modern Judaica by contemporary artists and designers.

“In the design of the Hanukkah Menorah I was trying to express the collective memory of the Jewish people,” explains Meier. “Each candleholder is an abstracted representation of an architectural style from significant moments of persecution in the history of Jews." Via Daily Icon