StyleCarrot

Fine Print: Kelly Wearstler Rhapsody

Beverly Hills-based interior designer (fashion designer, “Top Design” judge, trendsetter, cool chick) Kelly Wearstler has a new book—Kelly Wearstler: Rhapsody (Rizzoli New York, 2012). The glossy, glamour-filled book, her fourth, will be released next Tuesday, October 23rd. It profiles Wearstler’s latest residential designs (previously unpublished) and her sumptuous new hotels, as well as her creative process. I have a copy already and I’m thoroughly enjoying the photographs, though I wish there was more information to accompany them.

Kelly Wearstler: Rhapsody
Rizzoli New York, 2012

Flash sale site One King’s Lane is offering the boook for pre-order today for only $38 instead of $55, starting at 11 am ET. (If you need an invite email me.) The second Kelly Wearstler “Tastemaker Tag Sale” also goes live at the same time this morning. The sale will feature home accessories from Wearstler’s archive.

Kelly Wearstler “Tastemaker Tag Sale” launches today.

R H A P S O D Y

Inspiration trays: A library of all the elements in a given room. Each piece is loose and free-gloating to accommodate changes during the course of a project.

Artful hand-painted wall covering in a guest bedroom.

“I wanted to create something very free-form and alluring in this space. The organic sweep of the staircase juxtaposed against the graphic features of the grand stair vestibule manifests a kind of sexual tension.”

Wearstler aimed to mirror the movement of the rug pattern with the black and white photography hung on the wall, in a varying frame and matte sizes. Fuchsia alligator chairs are the focal point.

A punk-inspired girl’s bathroom.

A boy’s bathroom in black and white stone.

Bold hand-painted silk wall covering in a private receiving room.

Art deco-inspired ski carpet and espresso-brown 1960s Italian leather chairs.

“If there is one thing I know, it is that the color of a room has a profound impact on the mood and energy of its inhabitants.”

Sunday Bouquet: Aerial View of Wildflowers and Eggs

Photo by 5FT INF

Saturday Say It: I’ve Always Said

via Evelien van der Ven’s “Words” board on Pinterest

For more insightful & irreverent sayings visit my “Words” board on Pinterest

and click through to the other Saturday Say It posts

Fine Print: Miles Redd The Big Book of Chic

I’ve got a ridiculous stack of luscious design books on my (Heywood-Wakefield) coffee table. I may have to start posting twice a day in order to work them all in. If you’re on top of things, you’ll note that a couple of these came out in the spring.

Let’s start with NYC interior designer Miles Redd’s The Big Book of Chic (October 2012, Assouline), which I don’t even actually have IRL. However, Assouline provided me with a digital version and press images. Plus, I found a nifty video on their site in which Miles waxes poetic on the roots of his personal style and his vision for this printed masterpiece.

“This is a book about dreams coming true; the curiosities in the rooms I have decorated; and the people, artists, and places that have inspired me.”

There are some good glimpses of his character and aesthetic from this video. He’s quite appealing. There are also stills of the pages of color-drenched, carefully curated rooms. My favorite nugget:

“I think my love of color came from my mother’s love to dress me up in like, pastel jeans. . .She just would go crazy [with] apricot sorbet color sweaters and mattress plaid pants. I took to it pretty quickly.”

Hailing from Atlanta, Redd moved to NYC to study film at NYU, though his true interest lay in set design. After graduating he worked for antiques dealer John Rosselli, and then assisted decorator Bunny Williams. I plan to meet later this month when she’s in Boston promoting her new line of furniture. I shall ask her about him! Redd established his own firm in 1998.

“Great rooms are made up of great objects.”

Photo credits clockwise: © Doug Friedman; reprinted with permission from House Beautiful © 1997 Hearst Communications, Inc., all rights reserved, photo by Oberto Gili; © Paul Costello; © Quentin Bacon; © Martyn Thompson.

A few of the rooms in the book:

Courtesy of Marlyn Thompson

© Francesco Lagnese

His use of color is spectacular, dont you think?

Site Spotlight: Zara Home

Zara Home has launched online shopping. There doesn’t seem to be an exact aesthetic. Some of the items are trendy cool, like the metallic and sequin pillows. Others, like many of the bed linens, are white and somewhat frilly. Other pieces are more tailored, like the wide band, colored-rim dinnerware. It’s like they started with Anthropologie and mixed in a bit of Urban Outfitters, and some Ralph Lauren for good measure. The price points seem a little higher than the clothing; wish I had a sense of the quality. In any case, my top 12 picks, all of which I’d be happy to have in my home, especially the plexi tray table.