Gift Guide | The Luxe List

1. Nothing says luxe like a rich, brown Faux Fur Throw $128 | 2. This solid brass Round Match Striker is the perfect coffee table accessory $190 | 3. Assorted pearls, smoky quartz and pyrite make the Ready Steady Girls Necklace the ultimate statement piece $736 | 4. Cabernet Cashmere Snood will keep you warm when you can't get your hands on a glass of wine $168| 5. This Leather Bulldog may not be a real but at least you don't have to let it out  | 6. It's hard to belive that this limognes malachite-patterned pot houses a candle $125 | 7.  Add a small but powerful shot of modern glamour to your dresser with this Mini Bauble Box $150 | 8. The Hermes scarf hanging system (available in stores) comes complete with five wall mounts that magnetically hold scarves in place—without damaging the silk  $305 | 9. Inspired by Florentine stone tiles just about every piece in the Pierre Hardy Cube-Print Collection is on my wish list $895

The World of Aerin

Last week I received an email inviting me to check out the chic existence that is the "World of Aerin".  One click and I was hooked.  Inspired by her grandmother and role model, Estée, Aerin Lauder's new site provides everything from advice on simple, chic entertaining to shopping and family musings.  In each entry Aerin comes across as modest, thoughtful, family oriented, and effortlessly cool.  Her entries are so personal and genuine you'll feel like you're reading an email from a good (very chic) friend.  I cannot wait for the launch of her brand Aerin--she will unveil small decorative objects, like this sea urchin, for the holiday season, a home line in the spring, and soon thereafter, jewelry and other accessories--but in the meantime, I’ll be heading back to aerin.com for my daily dose of chic!

Office Envy | Aerin Lauder

Last spring Aerin Lauder announced the creation of her new home-furnishings-and-fashion company, AERIN. The brand will include tableware, fabric, housewares, and jewelry much of which will be inspired by pieces owned and collected by Aerin's grandmother, Estée Lauder.  Though the collection is not set to launch until this fall, if the Jacques Grange-designed AERIN headquarters are any indication of what's to come then I know it's going to be great!

The space, featured in this month's issue of Architectural Digest, packs a colorful punch.  "Estée always loved color--living with it, wearing it, entertaining with it--so I've never been afraid of it.  I've always embraced it," says Aerin in the AD feature.  Jacques layered the former art gallery with colors and textures to make it look very personal and inviting.  The main room, anchored in neutral sea-grass carpeting and filled with a mix of modern and classic furniture, feels more like a private residence than an office.  For me, the moss-green velvet back-to-back sofas steal the show--well, those and the vintage brass vitrine filled with prototypes...time to pull out the magnifying glass!  If I had this office, going into the office would be better than working at home.

(Photography by Pieter Estersohn for Architectural Digest + Aerin)

The Elements of Aerin

Animal prints, velvets and vintage china...there's no denying that Aerin Lauder is a lady after my own heart. I've posted about my love of her Wainscott, East Hampton family house before but after seeing these images on Vogue.com I couldn't help but revisit the topic. The home, which once belonged to Aerin's grandmother Estée, has been seen in Elle Decor and House & Garden but as with any home it seems to have changed and evolved with time. Many of the elements have remained the same but furniture has been rearrange, bedding has been replaced and walls have been repainted giving the home a whole new look.  The living room which was once a lovely orange color is now a rich charcoal grey. And who can forget the sofa? Oh what I would do to own that leopard number (upholstered in Cambridge Guepard by Georges Le Manach) -- leopard and green velvet are one of my favorite combinations!  While decorating my house I'm sure I will continue to refer back to these photos for inspiration because the house is elegant, inviting and as chic as ever!

(Images claiborne swanson frank for vogue.com)

Aerin Lauder's Devine Bedroom

The first time I was this picture of Aerin Lauder’s East Hampton master bedroom I just about died.  It's been one of my favorite rooms since being published in the December 2007 issue of House & Garden (and later, Elle Decor).  The Gramercy fabric on the walls and the bed is just "devine".  Michael Devine, that is.  If I could replicate this exact room in my home, I would.  It perfectly encompasses my layered, granny-chic aesthetic.  And those linens.  Although I love pattern, when it comes to bedding I tend to gravitate towards crisp, whiteness and no one, in my opinion, can dress a crisp, white bed quite like Leontine Linens.  Oh how I dream of being a Leontine Lady.  Mom, Paul, Birthday Fairy?  If your reading this, two euro shams with an oversized Maxwell monogram would make my 26th year of life a memorable one!  Add in a fur throw and I'd be one smitten kitten!

Gramercy by Michael Devine

Leontine Linens' Maxwell monogram

Aerin Lauder's Holiday Chic

Sadly, the December 2007 issue of House & Garden was the 100-year-old magazine's last issue ever.  As a teenager I loved flipping through my mom's copies but I realize now more than ever that the magazine always had a timeless quality.  This spread, featuring Aerin Lauder's Greek Revival home, is no exception.  Lauder’s weekend retreat, which she inherited a decade ago from her legendary grandmother Estée Lauder, features beautiful blue-and-white Chinese porcelain in several rooms, and many of those rooms remain exactly as her grandmother and decorator Mark Hampton left them. 

Lauder honors Estée's love of blue and white with an unexpected and modern twist. The dining room is a lively shade of Donald Kaufman china-blue edged in white trim; a crystal chandelier outfitted with azure candles repeats the motif. That striking color combination appears again, vividly, in what was Estée’s bedroom and another guest room, in fabrics used for curtains, bedding, upholstery, and even on the walls. Lauder describes her style as "heritage with a twist". I think her description is dead on - the home is a lovely example of how you can tweak tradition to create a young, fresh space. Equally beautiful pictures of the East Hamptons home have been published in Elle Decor but there is something about Christmas decorations and a fire burning that really makes a house feel like a home. I'm smitten!

(Images via Habitually Chic and unknown)