Educated by Rita

I've been an admirer of Rita Konig since I first saw her apartment in Bright Young Things London and her cute little book Domestic Bliss but recently it seems like she's everywhere!

She has her blog, Girl About Town, on Domino and now you can tour her apartment in New York on their website as well. All the Best has a great profile of Rita this week as well.

For those who don't know, Rita is the daughter of renowned British interior designer Nina Campbell. Her London flat is pictured below. I love the pale turquoise walls that would certainly cheer me up on a grey and dreary London day.

Nina Campbell also has a full line of products available on her web site including a few things I've seen in Rita's apartment like colorful match strikers and file boxes. She also has a collection of fabrics, wallpapers, rugs and carpets.

The wallpaper below in Rita's New York apartment looks like it might be Nina Campbell. But hey, if my mother had a fabulous line of products, I'd hit her up for some too!

Photos by Francesco Lagnese and Angela Moore

Closet Confidential

So what's a girl to do on a rainy Sunday in the city when her plans to go to the beach for the weekend have been cancelled? I decided some serious closet cleaning was in order. This is the time of year when the fall clothes are starting to arrive in stores and I get tired of my summer wardrobe and it got me thinking about those whose closets I envy.

Although I have a big closet compared to most in NYC, I think Aerin Lauder's closet/dressing room/office is bigger than my entire apartment!

Not only is her closet huge and ridiculously organized, look at those jeans, and I thought I was anal, but it is lined in ridiculously expensive hand painted wallpaper from Gracie. It is beautiful though and apparently very popular, Tory Burch also has it in her entry foyer.

Vivre owner Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti's closet that has been featured in Domino among others, is a bit more reasonable in size but no less well organized. I love the mirrored doors on her eveningwear closet. It's a great idea for less worn items.

Sally Perrin's closet in LA that was recently featured in Bazaar looks more lived in and less styled to death. I love all the personal items and photos on her dresser.

Photos by Anders Overgaard, ?, and Dewey Nicks.

Mix it up!

I'm not sure which is worse, my obsession with House and Garden or my obsession with Domino. I think Domino edges out H and G because they have more photo galleries on their website.

These photos are from their editor Tori Mellott's apartment and I love what she's done with a bland little studio and how she's mixed tradional and modern elements. This is a similar vibe to my apartment and my favorite designs always have a mix of different elements. Designers who stick to one style bore me. Good thing the designer I work for knows how to mix it up!

Photos by Annie Schlechter

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight

I spent this past weekend in Southampton and the old adage "red sky at night, sailor's delight" really is true. We saw the most amazing sunset Saturday night and on Sunday the weather was just gorgeous!

I need to work harder so I can afford a beach house on Meadow Lane with a view this spectacular!

Photos by Moi

Chic Getaway

It's almost the weekend which makes me think about getting away. I'm going to the Hamptons this weekend but one of my favorite places for peace and quiet is Maine, where many chic New Yorkers also go to getaway. One of those chicettes is Patricia Herrera Lansing and her family.

I love how the outside of the house looks like an old fashioned barn with antique wicker furniture on the porch, while the interior is open and modern with a mix of antiques and contemporary furniture.

I love how the antique farm equipment, painted in bright colors by Patricia's mother-in-law, looks like sculpture outside the entrance to the main house. What an original and creative idea!

Photos by Eric Cahan

White Done Right

I dream of marrying an architect like Derek Sanders. An amazingly talented architect who not only creates beautiful spaces but also co-owns one the chicest restaurants in NYC, La Esquina. Too bad he already has the perfect wife in Michelle Kessler Sanders, the newest head Miu Miu USA. Sooo not fair!


The Sanders loft reminds a little bit of Sally Hershbergers home in California with the white backdrop to the warm brown of the furniture that create the perfect tranquil hideaway.

I love how sleek chrome plays off the warm brown in every room. I think this should serve as a great example of what you could do in a plain white rental if you weren't allowed to paint.

Photos by Jacques Dirand

Absolutely Beautiful

I'm a sucker for anything blue and orange and over at Absolutely Beautiful Things today, Anna has posted photos of a bedroom she has just completed in St. Lucia, Australia.

I love this look so much that I think I might be inspired to wallpaper my bedroom too!

Secret Chic

I recently stumbled upon this great article, The Secret Source is Out, in the New York Times online edition, about how regular people are now able to access great design resources that were once only available to the trade.

One new "decorator" profiled was Cheryl Guibone from Connecticut who decorated her entire house herself and is now being hired to help out others. I love her inspiration board and living room! I'm a sucker for a zebra skin rug though. Her style is very clean and she has a great sense of color. You know it's only a matter of time before she's in Domino!

Photos by Thomas McDonald for The New York Times

Chic Swirls

Samantha Boardman Rosen and Aby Rosen's apartment is another example of the very chic Paul Smith Swirl carpet and Andy Warhol silk screens that seem to be popping up everywhere. I mean, I knew Andy's factory was prolific but I didn't realize he was that prolific!

P.S. I know this isn't the best photo because of the fold but I couldn't bring myself to tear up my premier issue of Vogue Living! The photo is by Jonathan Becker.

Loft Living

Everyone at work knows how much I love Domino, so I was excited to see editor Deborah Needleman's loft profiled in New York Magazine this past spring.

The funny thing was that I knew I had seen her bedroom somewhere else and I was right! They used it in a photo spread in the magazine below and as part of the "great bed makeover" video online! Sneaky! Very sneaky! Personally, I love the yellow look best.

I'm going to have to devote an entire post to pink girly bedrooms soon because they seem to be very in fashion. Note the LOVE pillow that we're seeing everywhere and the Paul Smith Swirl rug by The Rug Company that is also very popular...and VERY expensive!

Photos by Melanie Acevedo

Pop Paradise

Who else but Lisa Perry could envision a pop art paradise in a former monastery on Long Island. Originally published in Hamptons Cottages and Gardens, her family's home has been transformed with "bright, primary colors, glossy surfaces and playful minimalism". The LOVE pillows can be found at Calypso home in New York.

Maimekko pillows dress up custom sofas in the "sunset room" above. I think I'd sit in there no matter what it was called!

While George Nelson bubble lamps look like sculpture hanging above the Tucker Robbins dining table and Eero Saarinen chairs. Hope their guests don't drink too much at dinner and fall into the exercise pool!

Photographs by Martin Sobey

Modern Chic in Paris

The Paris apartment of children's wear designer Cordelia de Castellane is a a colorful and modern mix of luxury and frivolity that definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.

Photographs by Pascal Chevallier

Vintage Chic

This is one of my favorite images from the Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer profile in Vogue Living from Fall/Winter 2006. It was shot by Eric Bowman at the Hamptons house that once belonged to her grandmother, Estee Lauder.

I live in New York City and rarely drive, but if I did, this is exactly the car I would buy!

Habitually Chic Store - Coconut Company

Coconut Company

250 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10013

212-539-1940

Sleek and Chic

To me, celebrity hairdresser to the stars, Sally Hershberger, epitomizes hip downtown New York style so I was surprised to find out she has a Beverly Hills home and even more surprised that I love it!

The white backdrop perfectly sets off the warm wood of her vintage furniture and her enviable art collection.

Above a 70's Warhol hangs proudly in the hall, while an Italian Chandelier hangs above a vintage photo of Marilyn Monroe below. I love how the colors compliment each other so subtly.

Photographs by Robert Tractenberg for House & Garden

Habitually Chic Book of the Week

If there is one book that is prized above all others for it's beautiful cover, it's Osa Johnson's I Married Adventure. It's part of my library above and is often styled for magazine shoots like the Vogue photo montage below.

Besides being chic and pretty, it's actually a great read! Martin and Osa Johnson lived an extraordinary life of travel and adventure that is still to this day inspriring. Just recently, American Eagle launched a clothing line called Martin + Osa, based on their fearless exploration.

I found my copy of I Married Adventure from a book dealer but there are always editions to be had on eBay. Get your copy today and be inspired!

Q&A with Kelly Wearstler

While I was perusing the House & Garden Web site, I came across a very interesting Q&A session with designer Kelly Wearstler.

Kelly is one of my favorite interior designers and is definitely always habitually chic...except maybe when she crimps her hair but she's so talented that I might just let her slide on that one.

At Home With...Carolyn Murphy

I'm obsessed with House & Garden magazine! So obsessed, that I end up buying it on the newstand before my subscription copy to arrives, because I can't stand to wait! One of the perks of living in NYC is that many of the new magazines arrive on the newstands before other cities. (This is actually not a perk to my bank account.)

The August issue was no exception. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. The cover with Carolyn Murphy's home in Venice Beach is so beautiful. Not only do I want to look like her but I want to be her and live in her "chic bohemian hideaway"!

I'm glad I checked out the article on the House & Garden web site because this photo of her vanity wasn't in the magazine version.

Photos by Eric Cahan for House & Garden

My First Post!

Hello! Welcome to Habitually Chic!

I am a stylish young woman living in New York City and working for a top interior designer who also owns a small gallery. I am constantly surrounded by habitually chic people, places and things that I have been dying to write about so I finally decided to take the plunge. I have been reading a lot of other people's blogs recently and realized that although so many of them are wonderful, few are based in New York with the access that I have to so much great design and inspiration.

While everyone was dying to see the new Charlotte Moss townhouse, I was walking past it everyday on my way to work and surveying it's progress. I read about people dying to meet Albert Hadley. Guess what? I have! And he works right across the street! I get to see him everyday! And if I get excited about these things, I thought others might too!

I am inspired by so many beautiful things and experiences that I am excited to share them with others and I hope you enjoy them!