Production Designer Sarah Greenwood of Atonement fame has done it again with the lust worthy sets for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day! Penelope Green recently interviewed the Oscar Nominated designer for The New York Times and here's what she had to say.Q. Most of the film takes place in the fantastical flat of Delysia Lafosse, an American nightclub singer on the make. What was your inspiration?
A. It's Hollywood Comes to London, and we set about referencing a lot of Hollywood style, like Dorothy Draper and William Haines.
Q. What is that wallpaper?
A. It's hand-painted and costs a fortune from de Gournay.
Q. What's your own house like?
A. It's an 1850s schoolhouse in Brixton. Doing "Miss Pettigrew" was a flight of fancy. It's all the things I don't have in my own life, though now I do have one of the throws from Delysia's bed, a fake polar bear skin that my dog loves.
Q. What is your favorite period?
A. Anything but the one I'm working on.
The movie opens March 7th and I know I can't wait to check it out. I also wonder it might also inspire people to move away from minimalism to more luxurious designs.
The light fixtures are made from cold rolled steel which is hand fabricated and fitted with restoration glass. I think you can see it best in the photo above in another Thom Filicia interior. Each one is custom designed for the space it is to occupy. The restoration glass throws a spider web pattern on the walls when lit.
The line started when the husband and wife due of Matthew Larkin and Elaine Grant of Grant Larkin, designed a house up in the country where they live and had the notion of doing the lighting in a Japanese/modern aesthetic. The architect Gray Davis of 
They admit that they were total rubes and didn't even know what a CFA was at the time but it seems like they used it to their advantage by having almost everything custom designed and fabricated which set them apart. They used blacksmiths, bronze foundries, textile artists etc. Matt admits that it has "gone uphill (and sometimes down!) from there and says that "a great part of the satisfaction of my job is dealing with all the trades. Lainie, who has a theatre background was as ignorant as to the "workings" of the business, but has an inherent style sense that is off the charts." So the two country rubes jumped in and learned as they went and their interior design business continues to grow to this day.
If that wasn't enough to keep them busy, Matt Larkin started designing topiaries! He admits, "that came about because I was looking for an excuse to be outdoors more." A friend of his became the director of Green Animals in Newport about 15 years ago and during a visit in the winter he saw the topiary in the snow and it was just one of those moments he said. He took an adult education class in welding and figured out how to make frames which led to House and Garden naming him one of the "New Tastemakers" in 2005 for his topiary work. Are you starting to get the feeling that Matt doesn't do anything halfway?!
After that he was commissioned to do the exterior decoration of 
In the living room above, Marc Anthony's antiques hold court of the shelves in front of recamier sofas custom designed by Thom Filicia Inc., while the white lacquer bench, ebonized Lelau tables and mirror are from Holly Hunt.
Filicia said the home which was originally Anthony's retreat was a challenge because he wanted it to feel comfortable yet represent their personalities which are very different. She's obviously glamorous and he's a bit of a bohemian, as are a lot of musicians. But Lopez said she "can appreciate the bohemian side, and he also can appreciates glamorous things, so it was easy for us to meld.
The room was inspired by the 
Carleton Varney said, "I wanted to recall the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood, where the mix of white satin, fringes, mirrors, leather tufting and crystal were the components of the design." Staying true to Dorothy Draper fashion, Mr. Varney has employed her trademark use of black and white on floors, seen below at Greenbrier, and doors against glazed aubergine walls to create stunning contrast.
Alas, poor Kelly did not get to go to Los Angeles to actually install the Greenroom but she can still take pride in helping create a beautiful room in which Dorothy Draper would certainly feel at home! You can see more of the finished Greenroom in a future issue of Architectural Digest.
It was 65 degrees here Monday in New York and this brief reprieve had me craving spring even more so I decided to force the issue literally. Forcing branches is an easy and pretty inexpensive way to brighten up your home while it's still cold outside. Just cut the ends and arrange the branches in a sturdy vase filled with water and place in a warm spot.
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