Do You Know Rose Tarlow?

I'm just getting around to Rose Tarlow. Her name is mentioned as one of the greats of interior design.


Exotic by birth, and reared in New Jersey, with a west coast base, she embodies the citizeness of the world.



She is wildly successful, with a flag ship store in Los Angeles. She has furniture and fabric lines available to other designers and decorators. She is respected as an antiquarian, which comes from her life long love affair with collecting beautiful old things.


Her appearance is particular, and often remarked upon. She is an impeccably groomed woman. Her personality is warm, and quirky. She is not a client whore, that is she only takes on projects of she which describes as fun, and mostly doing the work for friends. I often wonder if I would prefer working with someone I don't know (at first), as to working with a friend on a project. Who would be more demanding?


I just ordered her book from amazon, The Private House.
The reviews either praise it as the second coming, or pan it as a pile of over rated junk ha ha.
She sounds like my kind of gal...


These images are pretty, and intrigue me. But more than the pretty rooms, the woman herself has a fascinating story to tell. You can read more HERE


Architectural Digest has a pretty good interview where she tells all HERE
BTW did you know that AD is the new domino? The domino web site is gone forever, and when you try to go to it you are automatically directed to AD! It's kind of funny since domino readers liked to distance themselves as far as possible from the AD aesthetic.

Getting to know Rose

April 3 - Hi Everyone - There was a little confusion on my part about the images I used. As I said, I am getting around to knowing Rose Tarlow, and maybe after I get her book, my eye will be more attuned. My apologies to both designers, and to the readers of this blog.

Anyway a faithful and very kind reader cleared it up for us and I thank her:

From Things That Inspire :

I thought this was a beautiful article in Veranda, and the good news it that Veranda now has a great revamped website. Here is a link to the article:http://www.veranda.com/room-decorating/paris-inspired-interior-design. I can understand why Rose Tarlow was connected with these pictures, because designer Betty Burgess (who lives in Atlanta and used to work with Dan Carithers) used some of Rose Tarlow's exceptional furniture line in this house. The dining room table is by Rose Tarlow for Melrose House.I am a huge fan of Rose Tarlow's furniture line (as well as Betty Burgess' work), and have my eye on that side table that was in 'Something's Gotta Give' - it is beautifully crafted, but very, very expensive. Have a great weekend!

Does Anyone Really Care?

I've been busy for the past few days, and sadly haven't been able to read the daily blogs, so I'm sure this is old news by now ha ha. Does anyone care that Domino is kaput?

The Paris Apartment does. Read more HERE and see a great selection of Domino eye candy. And so does Live In Full Color HERE

What will happen to my 25 year subscription ha ha? And no wonder my e-mails to them checking some facts for a posting I've been working on, and keeping on hold, haven't been answered.

from The New York Times reprinted for you right here:

Domino, Shopping and Decorating Magazine, Closes

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

Published: January 28, 2009

Domino, a three-year-old shopping and home décor magazine, will stop publishing with its March issue, Condé Nast Publications announced Wednesday.

The publisher, Beth Fuchs Brenner, and the editor, Deborah Needleman, will leave Condé Nast, a company spokeswoman, Maurie Perl, said. A handful of staff members will be placed in open Condé Nast positions, but most of the staff of about 80 will be dismissed and will leave the company within a week.

“We tried to create a marriage between the beautiful image magazines and the useful service magazines,” Ms. Needleman said in an interview. “Editorially, we did what we set out to do, and in this economy, sadly, that’s not enough.”

Domino was not profitable, and its ad pages were falling — they dropped 26 percent in the December/January 2008 from the December/January 2007 issue, according to Media Industry Newsletter.

In a recession and a housing market crash, finding advertisers to promote furniture and housewares was difficult, despite Domino’s popularity — its circulation was a sturdy 800,000.

“The current model is built so that advertising keeps magazines afloat,” said Robin Steinberg, director of print investment and activation for the media-buying firm MediaVest. “It’s unfortunate, because the consumer loses out in the end.”

As of two weeks ago, Condé Nast was publicly supporting the magazine, announcing an organizational change that had Domino reporting to a top executive and discussing “the brand’s vitality in the marketplace.”

Ms. Perl said recent economic news had changed that opinion.

“In hindsight, in continued evaluation, perhaps we would have asked to take the last two weeks back,” she said. “The economy just drove the decision to discontinue the publication.”

The home design category has suffered at almost every major publisher in just over a year. Time Inc. closed InStyle Home and Cottage Living, Martha Stewart Omnimedia closed Blueprint, Meredith closed Country Home, Hearst closed O at Home and Hachette Filipacchi Media closed Home.

Domino had a lively feel, with affordable products and do-it-yourself projects.

“What Domino did that none of the other higher-end magazines did was to make décor more accessible,” said Cassandra LaValle, who runs the home décor blog Coco+Kelley (cocokelley.blogspot.com).

Domino, which began publishing in April 2005, is the third Condé Nast magazine about home décor to go under in about a year. Condé Nast closed Vogue Living, a supplement to Vogue, in August and House and Garden in November 2007.

These were not the only steps the company took to cut costs. In October, it asked each magazine to reduce its payroll and budget by 5 percent, which resulted in a handful of layoffs at almost every publication. At that time, the company also folded Men’s Vogue into Vogue and reduced the number of issues of Condé Nast Portfolio.

Ms. Perl said other Condé Nast magazines with ad-page declines, including Portfolio, were still stable.

My Own Domino Effect

Fornasetti Newspaper and Mariposas

I got the November issue of Domino today, and besides doing a nice feature about a dozen of the decor bloggers, the issue has some other goodies too.
There is a nice spread called Inspired Irreverence about Temo Callahan's apartment in New York City. Like many creative types, he makes his small apartment come alive in a few kooky and quirky and beautiful ways.
The thing that really caught my eye is his kitchen, and the stove!
An artist friend painted the cabinets, and Temo says he doesn't use the kitchen very much.
I am so intrigued by the stove! It looks like newspaper is glued to it! I love using newspaper to make hats, and boats, and wrap presents, etc.
I have never seen a stove decoupaged before, and here goes my own domino effect: If you can make a hat, why not cover a stove?
Pierro Fornasetti was covering Gio Ponti furniture with newspaper way back in the day, his own domino effect of a surreal art play on words. I have been a longtime admirer of Fornasetti.
His son Barnaba did up a Milan apartment, revamping his father's original design of newspaper covered furniture (and floor!) with hand painted butterflies.
I went to art school, and have a little surreal paste pot fun in me too, as you can see by my own kitchen cabinets. The ugly and worn white Formica doors were either removed or covered with trompe l'oeil wallpaper.
Where do the real plates end, and the phony ones start? Ha ha ha.
The joke is on me, because I am stuck with a really ugly stove that came along with the house. It works fine, so I just decided to make-do with it. I hate the ugly and impossible to keep clean black glass door, backsplash, and part where the knobs are. I don't think it's much of stretch from wallpaper to newspaper!
So I'm thinking about getting out the Modge Podge and slapping some newspaper on the stove! Maybe some Paris editions! I don't care about the stove at all, so if it really sucks, it may finally be the motivation to get a new one. The dishwasher is a Bosch, and is really in great shape too. I have not been able to find the replacement panel for the worn out front, so it may get a paper delivery too!
What do you think? You know I'm crazy, but....

James Noel Smith

I recently did a posting about Domino The Book Of Decorating HERE
I used the charming drawings from the chapter openers by James Noel Smith.
Fascinated, I found my way to his web site where there was nary a word about a book that seemed so important to all of us. There were many beautiful drawings, but nothing about James when you clicked on "About Me" - no bios or credits, but thankfully there was contact information.
So I shot off an e-mail and asked him if he was indeed the artist.

He answered me:

JAMES: Well, I DID do a Domino decorating book recently but I don't know what they decided to call it...Yes, indeed, I am the guilty party that produced those illustrations...If you've perused my web site, you probably realized that the Domino stuff isn't really typical of my style or what I normally do, but I like the challenge of something different.


VV: How did you get to do the Domino book?

JAMES: I just checked out your blog, and it is Tres Kool. Do you by any chance know Joanna Goddard, who also does a really neat blog called A CUP OF JO? VV: I know her blog, and she's fabulous!

JAMES: She used to be editor at a wonderful (unfortunately now defunct) magazine called BENE, about all things Italian. I loved working for that magazine--the subjects were always fun and they really let me have a lot of freedom and use my sense of humor. That's how I met Stella Bugbee, who used to be art director there and who then went to DOMINO, and it was she who recommended me to do the book. She's a terrific art director and great to work with. Doing the book was intense because because it was a huge amount of work in a short period of time but a good experience because the DOMINO folks are so appreciative and pleasant.

VV: Isn't it amazing how generous people are, how connections are made. I find the blog girls (and guys) so supportive. Do you have a blog?

JAMES: Actually, I am going to start a blog...well, I guess you could call it a blog. It will be called PAINT THE DAY and will feature oil paintings of whatever I happen to be interested in at the moment. I'll do the paintings in series, and when one is over, I'll start another. The paintings will of course be for sale...reasonably priced for the average art lover, and small enough to fit on my scanner. My son has designed a very cool-looking masthead for me and it will have its own 'store'...Anyway, with two kids in college right now, the emphasis is on making lots of money, so I can't really get much into 'painting the day' until next year, after kid #1 graduates and gets a job, my house will also be paid for by then, so the pressure will be off and I can start doing what I want to do & less of what other people want me to do. What a concept!
JAMES: On a side note, I'm reading A WHOLE NEW MIND by Daniel Pink, a fascinating book that theorizes that the future of work belongs to creative, empathetic right-brained people--industrial design and nursing are very high on the list...yessss!

HERE

VV: Are you working on any projects?

JAMES: I am really into landscaping and creating outdoor living spaces...this winter I hope to create a patio, etc. for my wife Michele's studio which will be like a little corner of Provence and Tuscany. Let's say it's right on the border between the two...if you take out a large chunk of northwest Italy and the Alps. I'm also beginning to mess about with creating a Japanese garden in an isolated part of the yard with it's own tinkling little stream and koi pool. With 10 acres to play with, one can procrastinate forever before remodeling parts of the INSIDE of the house. Winter is mild here, so that's my fave time for doing this stuff...too hot and humid to do anything but mow grass in the summer. I just bought a new camera, so my thought is that I will document all this and who knows...maybe it will turn into a book or something.

VV: You said your were making a patio for your wife's studio. Can you tell me more about her?

JAMES: My wife has 4 chihuahuas and 3 cats in her studio. Oh, and 3 horses in the barn. Some day she will be one of those cases you read about in the oddball news...'elderly woman found in filthy house with mountains of newspapers and 835 starving cats and dogs'...her website is www.michelewarner.com ...she does lots of portraits of animals and people and their pets, etc....She's a pretty wonderful painter. And good lookin' too!
VV: By the looks of the drawing Gabrielle did of you for your web site, you're kind of cute yourself, and of course you're a pretty wonderful painter too! Any upcoming painting projects?
JAMES: Right now I'm working on some illustrations about Hungarian wine for CONDE NAST TRAVELER, an executive portrait of a dead guy, and an architectural rendering of, believe it or not, a 'green' National Guard armory. Grass on the roof, solar panels, the whole deal. Who knew. OH, and I'm writing a hillbilly detective novel, set in the fall of 1960, during the month of the Kennedy-Nixon debates. It involves UFOs, drug smuggling, the CIA, the civil rights struggle, and a small town sheriff..the character is based largely on my dad, who was a military cop.
VV: Since I have a decor blog, may I ask you what your house is like?

JAMES: Hmmm...my house....it's really a construction zone right now, so not really too picturesque. It's a big plain-looking brick rancher, a realchallenge to make look interesting, but it's on 10 acres in next to the National Forest and surrounded by the spectacular mountain scenery of northeast Tennessee. We're getting ready to enter "Phase Two" after raising two kids (who are away at college) in our now empty nest. My wife works downstairs & I work upstairs. She really has the decorating knack and has collected a lot of nice antiques and art over the years. We're planning to remodel the kitchen, re-do all the hardwood floors and a lot of other projects. Hopefully, we will have enough energy to tackle it all.
VV: It sounds lovely!

JAMES: If you want to see what it looks like here, check out a zombie movie my son Daniel (who is a 2nd year industrial design major at SCAD) did with his film major friend, Trevor Wild. It's called 8 DAYS LATER...you can see it on the Vimeo website (www.vimeo.com)..do a search for Trevor Wild and you'll find it. They wrote, shot and edited it over a weekend on Christmas break last year...That's my house (including the sink full of dirty dishes) in part 4, where it's snowing. About 10,000 people have watched it on Vimeo so far. While you're at it, look at Daniel's site called MEEDEOR (www.meedeor.com) which is sort of a Facebook / Myspace on steroids. I'd better not leave my daughter out--she's in her final cycle of nursing school, doing her med surg and clinicals. At least one member of the family is sure to have a steady job!

VV: You are so interesting! I love all the stuff you are working on, and your entire family is wildly creative. I'd love to hang out with you guys! Is there anything else you'd like to say?

JAMES: This is probably way more than you care to know, but let me know if there's anything else you need. I have tons of jpgs of drawings and paintings too.
VV: James you are incredibly generous to share your work and tell me all about yourself!
You know I love your work, and especially the watercolor of the dress shop that you sent. It looks like a walk in closet and dressing room any girl would love to have!
Did you see the wonderful one that Patricia Van Esshe, of PVE Designs did for me?
I hope you feel you've made a geeky blog friend, and that we stay in touch! Thank you so much for your time!

JAMES: Luego!

Am I Blue? Kitchen Edit Part Two

If you read my blog, you know I have been revamping things around the house. The most recent addition are dining chairs and the kitchen edit.
After I rearranged things, I thought about adding a different color to an accent wall. This swatch of chintz is the fabric my kitchen, dining area, and office curtains are made of. So this was the starting point in the paint department. In the store the blue colors in the fabric looked more green than blue, and the best match was a color called Milky Jade.
To me it was more green than I wanted, because I was also pulling the accent wall color from the Majolica plates and one spectacular Majolica pitcher, and also from one stripe of blue in a painting, and also from the blue of a Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle. Can you guess which color I chose? Those of you who I have already told are not eligible for this guessing game ha ha.
The paint chips I considered were: Milky Jade; Wading Pool; Vintage Aqua; Atonement; Arcadian Blue; Always Aqua; Blue Bottle; Forstoria Glass, and Saltwater (wouldn't you love to have the job of naming paint colors!).
Other color inspiration included a blue box from Tiffany's, and the color of the new Domino book.

Now

Then

Here is a view from the breakfast area looking into a side entry hall, and into my office (that was once the dining room). The chintz curtains are in the red room as well as the kitchen, including a small panel over the transom of the side door.

You can also see the aqua blue streaked lamp, and the Majolica plates (with touches of the same aqua as the ones hanging over the fireplace) hanging over my desk from the kitchen. Even though I use alot of color in my house, the colors repeat in some form in another room, so that the effect is unifying.
Here's a view of the fireplace. There used to be one in every room when this house was built over 100 years ago, and they were the main heating sources in winter. This is the only one left, perhaps not a room one would prefer to have a fireplace be in. I find it charming to have it in the kitchen.
You also can get a good view of all the color inspirations for the accent wall. Do you see the blue stripe of color in the Michalopoulos painting?
Do you see the blue glass of the gin bottle on the little bar in the corner?
I love the folk art painting perched on the bar. The tango dancers are Alberto and me, done by Charles Gillam and given to me on my birthday by the hubs.
Here you can really see all the aqua blues in the Majolica plates.
Some of you ask how I can just up and change things so quickly. It comes from my days as a stylist, when you had to make something happen to get the shot that day, in fact many shots in one day. The clock was always ticking, and the budget might have only allowed for that day's photo shoot. I always had to improvise on the spur of the moment, and this carries over to decorating. Once I get an idea, I can usually execute it quickly.
Paint is the easiest and cheapest quick change. And doing an accent wall is pretty easy.
I have mixed feelings about accents walls, but when they work, they work. My mother used to do them all the time, either painted or by using wall paper. What do you think of accent walls?
Jane Seymour used to do a commercial for Clairol Hair Color. She would quip in a perky continental accent "It's just a little box of hair color..." whilst trying to sell the idea to women to just take the plunge and color their hair. Well that's how I feel about paint (and hair color). If it doesn't work out, you can change it right away.

Jane Seymour as the Bond girl
Solitaire, in Live And Let Live

I'm pretty happy with the accent wall color. I think the newly reupholstered faux white leather settee and chairs are so fresh looking that they needed a fresh infusion of color to enhance them.
Here's a close up of the fireplace. I used the flash, so you could see the Majolica tiles, and the details on the hearth panel, especially the Fleur de lis. There are a few tiles missing, and I 'm always on the look out for them.
We only lighted this fireplace once. It was Christmas Day and it snowed in New Orleans! This is extremely rare in this sub tropical climate, and it hadn't happened in 25 years.
Alberto tells the story that when it snows again in Buenos Aires (which has very much the same climate as New Orleans), another Carlos Gardel (a very famous iconic tango singer and super star who died in the 1930's, and is revered and loved like a saint) will be born again.
We thought perhaps on this snowy day in New Orleans, another Louis Armstrong might have been born.
We haven't ever lighted the fireplace again. Katrina blew a few bricks off the chimney, and if it wasn't a fire hazard before, it certainly must be now, so we won't chance it. The fireplace remains a charming piece of decor that we enjoy very much.

Domino The Book Of Decorating - My Two Cents Worth

Domino The Book Of Decorating: How To Become Your Own Decorator

Domino Magazine came on the scene in 2005 just three short years ago. It melded fashion and decor and immediately energized the shelter magazine market, appealing to 20 to 40 year olds, and finding an even wider Baby Boom audience. Its hip and refreshing "how to" attitude to creating your own pretty decor soundly resonated.
Even the professional designers presented had a homey approach using revamped flea market finds, big box store items, and their own personal products.
It provided a "power to the people" approach. Everyone can shop at a flea market, Target, CB2, or eBay, etc. The message is: Everyone has access to a happy looking and pretty home.
Domino The Book Of Decorating is written by the magazine's editors, and it continues the grass roots philosophy of the magazine, using their own homes and thought processes and sources as examples.
The book is written is a fun and breezy manner, and it reminds me of another book: Decorating Is Fun! by Dorothy Draper. This 1939 (!) classic has recently been reissued, and it's enduring advice is timeless and current. I think DTBOD has the same appeal and chance to become a classic of it's time (and possibly a candidate for a nostalgic re-issue 50 years from now).
The book is published without a dust jacket, a compact volume, very beefy and satisfying in the hand. It reminds me of a text book, and indeed it could be considered as such for anyone who loves decor, whether you are the home decorator, layman, or professional.
So do buy this enjoyable book, and get happy being your own decorator!
If you are lucky enough to be able to hire a professional (and please do!), this book will help you understand the nuts and bolts of decorating, and allow you be a proactive participant in this fun and exciting process.
Chapter opener and furniture illustrations By James Noel Smith from Domino The Book Of Decorating.