Inspiration

…I’m back. Did you miss me? Life got in the way for a few weeks – I blinked and BAM, two weeks went by without posting. To be honest I wasn’t feeling like myself and needed R&R after work instead of B&B. Side note: If you’re looking to binge watch a yummy historical series, look no further than Vanity Fair on Netflix. Two words – Tom. Bateman. Look him up.

Speaking of rest and relaxation, though, John Derian’s East Village apartment would be the chicest place to Netflix and chill on a snowy winter night. Featured in the February issue of AD, it’s everything a downtown New York apartment should be. Guys, if this was what my apt in New York looked like back in the day – with every inch decked out in wares from John Derian’s E. Vill shop – I would 1,000% still be living there. Jordan and Ina would be city folk too and the three of us would meander over to Abraço on E 7th for Saturday morning lattes.

I’ve been a fan of John Derian’s shop for years and adore his aesthetic – eclectic, relaxed, and collected not decorated. It’s just what I want my house to feel like.

Enjoy the pics below [all via Architectural Digest].

Meet me in the E.V., won’t you?

-Laura

I like to add to my collection of art and design books by buying a book every month. I don’t notice the cost when I buy one at a time (1 book = 5 oat milk lattes) plus it helps me to stay on top of the latest and greatest so I know what book to buy next. I just ordered Isabel López-Quesada’s first book – Isabel López-Quesada: At Home – and can’t wait to study every page.

Isabel López-Quesada is a Spanish interior designer based in Madrid who’s worked on projects all over the world. She’s been published in pretty much every design magazine you can think of and is one of Architectural Digest’s prestigious AD100. Her look is all about the juxtaposition of contemporary and traditional with antiques and modern pieces side-by-side. It’s feminine but funky using lots of textures and subtle colors. Her rooms appear airy, light and infinitely livable.

I’ll post more pictures on Instagram once I’ve poured over my copy of Isabel López-Quesada: At Home but for now here are some of my favorite images of Isabel’s work.

Enjoy!
Laura

I was meandering online the other day and came across the most EXQUISITE photos of Christian Louboutin’s home and gardens in France that are too good not to share.  The iconic shoe designer has owned the 13th century Château de Champgillon for over 25 years and has been steadily turning it’s 17 acres into a floral oasis. Who knew that Christian Louboutin almost made his career in landscape design? Yep, he briefly designed topiaries and gardens in the late 80’s before opening his eponymous shoe store in Paris in 1991. I love what Louboutin had to say to The Telegraph about how gardening and design are intertwined for him:

“When you’re a designer you look at the line structures, forms and color combinations of everything you see…Many designers think of paintings, but if I close my eyes I would see nature. The colors and the textures just add up for me. A magnolia is a thick leather, probably patent. A pansy is definitely suede or velvet. When I think of what colors look good together on a shoe, it’s usually ones that I have thought look good together in the garden. I don’t make moodboards, this is how I research.”

These photos are by photographer Jane Hilton and are part of a series commissioned by Rakesprogress for their magazine and a pop-up exhibit in London late last year. Jane’s photography and Louboutin’s home and gardens are an absolute DREAM. Chinese and Japanese wisteria trail the property, a 19th century orangerie grows kumquats and mandarins, and I read that there’s even an archive holding 8,000 pairs of Louboutin’s creations.

Ooo la la!
-Laura