Real Estate Stalking | Loving Love?

Look Familiar?  It should.  This four story West Village townhouse once belonged to Steven Gambrel and has graced the cover of Elle Decor and Steven's new book Time and Place.  I urge you to pull out your January/February 2009 issue of Elle Decor if you need to refresh your memory.  I did just that last night and to be honest, I don't know if I'm horrified or intrigued by Love's updates to the historic home.  It definitely has a more bohemian free-spirit feel to it.  The former dining room is now prayer room and Gambrel's iconic military jacket-inspired curtains now hang over small-scale Farrow and Ball Lotus paper.  Courtney made quite a few updates considering she only rented the home for 6 months.  You can read all about it over at xojane.  And if you happen to have an extra $11.4M laying around the house is up sale, check out the listing here.  Any takers?  I'd buy it if I could, the bones are perfection!  I want to marry those mouldings and lacquered doors.

(images via xojane)

Runway to Room | J.Crew + Steven Gambrel

Offbeat, mix-and-match layering, loads of saturated hues, classic prints and scrumptious textures – I can’t help but notice the similarities between the looks in J. Crew’s Fall presentation and designer Steven Gambrel’s interiors.  J.Crew's head designer Tom Mora, who was inspired by photographer Irving Penn, perfected the brand's classic eclectic-preppy aesthetic and created a plethora of perfectly tailored pants that rival Gambrel's line of custom upholstery.  These looks have me praying that Jenna Lyons' interior obsessions and dreams of a J.Crew home line come true!  

(Images Style.com // Steven Gambrel)

Brace Yourself

I'm trying to decide what to do with the large wall behind my dining room table. The space isn't big enough for a piece of furniture and there isn't much room in the budget for a large/expensive piece art.  I want something with big impact so I'm thinking a grouping of wall brackets might look nice. I like the look of Miles Redd's design pictured above. He used plaster wall brackets to display Celadon vases from Middle Kingdom. I like the repetition and how the monochromatic vases add depth to the wall. Steven Gambrel also used plaster brackets in his design pictured below.  Although nice, there's something about the arrangement that is throwing me off...maybe the lack of symmetry.

Celerie Kemble used acrylic wall brackets from plexi-craft to display a group of small potted plants.  I like how they sort of disappear and make it look like the plants are floating.  Plexi-craft sell these shelves in a variety of sizes on their website.  At $12/each, it would be fairly inexpensive to recreate this look, I'd just have to kind a way to keep the plants alive...

(Images: 1, 2, 3)

Why Don't You...

...cover the back of your bookcase with a copper leaf wall covering?  Whether a bookcase, a hutch, or a built in, being creative with the interior is a great way to add a little sparkle to a space and to the objects which one wishes to display. Here Steven Gambrel shows how using a contrasting reflective surface can add life to a mahogany bookcase and help showcase precious objects and beloved books.  It's Dazzling!
Image: William Waldron for Elle Decor

Smitten | Decorative Jewels

As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted a vanity. This one from Steven Gambrel's Designer Visions showhouse is particularly stunning.  I love the idea of hanging your necklaces and jewelry on the walls as decoration - all you'd need is a box of shoulder hooks like this. 

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