Spring International Art & Antiques Show

Also on my agenda this weekend is the Spring International Art & Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory. It runs from April 25th -29th and should be a great show. You will check it out if you are in the area!

Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse - Part One

The annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York starts today, Thursday, April 24th and runs through May 22nd. This year, not only is the "house" 2 blocks from my apartment, but it's also not really a house. I was under the assumption that the Show Houses were always in a townhouse but that's not the case this year since it's taken over six apartments in a huge condo building at 200 East 66th Street.

I will be visiting the Show House this weekend and will post some photos early next week but until then, I thought it would be fun to revisit last year's Show House. I will also add designer credits later when I have more time! Until then, enjoy a look back at 2007 and get ready for 2008!

It's Here!

The new May 2008 Domino is on the newsstands in New York. Woo hoo! I'm not going to tell you anything that's in it lest I get accused of ruining it but I will say that it's chock full of great designs! Hope you get yours soon!

You Know You Love It!

I think maybe by now you've realized that my tastes range from the high brow (auction previews, independent movies, beautiful books) to the very low (US Weekly, Real Housewives, Kid Rock), but I'm not exactly sure where my love of Gossip Girl lies. It seems to straddle the line and I love it! Sure I'm too old to be watching but so are you probably. But they wear clothing more expensive than most adults and they frequent the same hangouts as well so why wouldn't I watch! Monday's episode mentioned Socialista which means that the restaurant that was already impossible to get a reservation for will be even more impossible to get into now. (Thanks Gossip Girl.) The show is my guilty pleasure and if it's yours too, then you'll love the article about it's popularity and appeal in New York Magazine entitled The Genius of Gossip Girl. Apparently, I'm not the only person not in high school who watches the show! Admit it, you know you love it!

Happy Earth Day!

Did you know that New York actually has a very low carbon footprint compared to the rest of the US? "The city's emissions were just under one percent of the nation's, with about 2.7 percent of the national population of 300 million. That means the city emits only about one-third as much as the rest of the nation does on average, mostly because of its strong city and metro region public transit." The city was one of the first to switch to "clean fuel" buses which is a huge help but I also like to think it has something to do with the fact that Central Park accounts for 843 acres of the city. There are also many other parks and green areas, including the median on Park Avenue above that blooms every spring with tulips. Happy Earth Day!

How the Other Half Lives

I sometimes have a hard time explaining to people what it's really like to live and work in New York. The amount of wealth here is staggering but it's kind of like living in fantasy land. I decorate summer homes that are bigger than most American's main homes. It's a bit ridiculous and you really just have to laugh sometimes at the absurdity of it all. Especially when you start to think that a $500, 000 studio is actually quite reasonable. That's why I recommend reading The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan by Steven Gaines.

One of my favorite stories is about One Sutton Place South (above), whose residents included Bill Blass, Sigourney Weaver, Carolyne Roehm, and of course, C.Z. Guest (below). Guest lived with her family in the famous penthouse apartment which was unceremoniously stripped of it's former glory by hedge fund president Richard Perry and his wife Lisa. It was featured in September 2002 Vogue and the slick and stark white modern monstrosity can also be seen in the new Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People.

If I've learned anything from the interior design world in New York, it's that nouveau riche don't understand history nor do they care to learn. Hence the proliferation of historic homes that are razed to make room for McMansions. But I digress. The chapter on Sutton Place is also filled with great stories about the popular interior designers of the day including Dorothy Draper and Elsie de Wolfe that I know my fellow design junkies will appreciate. The book might also make you realize that how the other half lives isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The World According to Ralph

If anyone embodies the notion that anything is possible in America, it is the story of how Bronx born Ralph Lifshitz who started out selling ties became Ralph Lauren, a man, a brand, and a lifestyle. I recently ran across photos from his Bedford, New York home that epitomize the Ralph Lauren style with a level of perfection that is probably unattainable to the rest of us mere mortals but it sure is fun to look. Enjoy!