High Style for the Home

Get your checkbooks ready. The mother of all sample sales is coming up this weekend.

The Washington Designer Center is opening its doors on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving the public access to showrooms that usually just designers and architects can shop at.

Showrooms including AmericanEye, Baker, Knapp & Tubbs, Robert Allen | Beacon Hill, will have furniture, rugs, lightings and accessories up to 75 percent off.

I have a Lee Industries armchair in my bedroom that I bought at a past sample sale, which is held every fall and spring. The custom upholstery just happens to match all the colors in the room, but we got it for a song – a story I love to tell anyone who sees it.

So if you don’t want to hire an interior designer just to get a designer rug, Saturday’s your day.

If there’s anything that can make you feel regally warm and cozy with the advent of fall, it’s Ralph Lauren’s luscious wool and cashmere throws, hearty dishes in strong colors, and sturdy, all-enveloping sofas, easy chairs, and beds.

We got a chance to see all the variety last night at Ralph Lauren’s Chevy Chase, MD, store, which celebrated the new fall line for Ralph Lauren Home. The “Hudson Valley” collection is profiled in this month’s House Beautiful, and its editor in chief, Stephen Drucker, was in Chevy Chase to talk about it.

Drucker praised Ralph Lauren for his ability to capture the essence of French and English antiques and turn them into furniture and accessories that are uniquely American.

“We may like the idea of antiques, but what we really like is a piece that will hold our cashmere sweaters and a bottom that won’t fall out,” he said. Real antique chairs and sofas are rickety and small, he added, and we Americans want furnishings that are sturdy and big. “This is what Ralph gets the best. Ralph has a way of taking an antique and adapting it to American life. He makes a chest that can hold all your cashmere sweaters in every color,” Drucker continued. “A lot of fashion designers have tried to make their way into the home world and they haven’t succeeded quite so well.”

For a look at Ralph Lauren Home’s fall collections, which are on beautiful display in Chevy Chase, keep reading.

Ever since I first bought Anna Cote’s delightful botanical calendar last year, her art has provided me with a burst of color and design every day. And now she’s just reminded me that her 2009 calendar is out – equally gorgeous.

Anna is among a proliferation of talented letterpress designers who are producing dramatic, eye-catching work, and many of them have 2009 calendars. Most sell out by the time you might actually start thinking about a calendar for next year, so act early if you can, and the reward is something much more inspiring than you would ever find at the local office supply or stationery store. Keep reading to see more.

In the “little goes a long way” category: Beaded metallic wallpaper.

It could work on a tiny section of wall with a nice vanity, or even an entry foyer.

This “Beadazzled Leaf” pattern is among the fall offerings from Maya Romanoff, who is known for using almost anything in wallpaper except paper.

Maya Romanoff also introduced a new Mother of Pearl Chevron pattern…

… and the Ajiro Sunburst wood veneer.

Like I said, a little goes a long way. A lot? Well, as we see above, it’s a whole lot.

But this London dining room, with the fireplace surround papered in Maya Romanoff’s Mother of Pearl, is a total home run:

If you’re interested in seeing all manner of wallpaper and its myriad possibilities, check out this blog by an industry insider: Wallpaper Weekly. Love it.

Open house lovers, this is going to be your weekend. Gorgeous early-fall weather is predicted for Saturday and Sunday, when the Northern Virginia Custom Builders Council is opening the doors to 36 custom homes in Virginia and Maryland for the 11th Annual Parade of Homes.

Whether you want to take advantage of the down market and look for a deal, or if you’re like me and do it for voyeuristic purposes, your $20 ticket will help raise money for HomeAid Northern Virginia, which builds shelters for homeless children and families.

Here are some of my favorite homes after a quick peek at the Parade of Homes’ online directory: One ticket will get you and your family into all the homes. 


Artisan Builders, McLean, VA
Seeing that Pierre Deux did the interior design is all the excuse I need.

Change is, quite literally, in the air. Temperatures are dropping. At the farmer’s markets, tomatoes are moving aside for Virginia winesaps and acorn squash. On feet, calfskin boots are replacing espadrilles. And online, holiday airfares have already gone through the roof.

With the economy dominating the headlines, people are making some adjustments to their holiday traditions. (I know folks who are actually planning their Thanksgiving dinners a weekend early to cut airfare costs.) It’s a season for gathering and merriment, but perhaps not a stay at the Ritz. So you may want to think about how you’ll put everyone up.

Enter the sleeper sofa. I know what you’re thinking: Chiropractors aren’t cheap. But as downsized dwellings have become de rigueur, so has multitasking furniture. Sleeper sofas have advanced since the thin, sagging mattresses propped up by metal bars.

Natalie sleeper sofa by AU Furniture

AU Furniture by American Leather is an oft-blogged name in sleeper sofas – the mattress is uniform high-density foam in a strong wood frame. AU gets bonus points for having most designs available in six sizes, from cot to king.

HGTV got a plug last night on NBC’s season premiere of “The Office,” when Pam, in New York for three months to take design classes, tells Jim back in Scranton, PA about her evening plans in the big city: staying in to watch HGTV.

I think that was supposed to make Pam look pathetic. But if you’ve ever watched that channel, you know how addictive it is. You start watching it, and all of a sudden, you’ve watched three shows before you even know the first one ended. When I used to work there, I was shocked by how many people wrote in to say how the network had changed their lives. Yes, that’s the language they used.

So, I’m going to take this opportunity to indulge myself once more. I went to the site for the first time in a while, and it looks like the 2009 Dream Home – in Sonoma, CA – is already getting a lot of traffic.

If there ever was a reason to buy pink For the Cure, the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Phillipe Starck are giving you one now. Design Within Reach on Monday announced the auction of five classic chairs, with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, which raises money for breast cancer research.

The auction is being held on eBay, where the bidding is already active even though it doesn’t close for at least a week. Here’s where it all stands:

Swan Chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, is in the lead with 25 bids so far. The high bidder is offering $2,025, more than double the starting price of $750, but still less than the $3,045 retail price.

The Tulip Stool by Eero Saarinen for Knoll has 16 bidders so far, and the price is at $1,275, way up from the starting $350 price and also over the retail price of $1,014.

The Eames Management Chair also has 16 bidders, with the bid up to $1,875, just shy of the $1,999 retail. Bidding started at $750.

Twelve bids are in place for the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer for Knoll, and the current bid of $2,025 has surpassed the $1,824 retail price. Bidding started at $500.

The Heritage Rocker by Phillipe Starck for Emeco is the clear sleeper hit here, with just 10 bids up to $510, still below the $825 retail price, and not much above the starting price of $350.

Of all the dozens of products that have come out to raise money for breast cancer research, these classics are by far the coolest. But in case you want more pink in your home, you can also get KitchenAid appliances such as a toaster or stand mixer. And for an occasional flash of fuchsia, try the Orek vacuum.

OK, maybe I’m going a little overboard with this faux thing, as I realize I just wrote about faux florals a couple weeks ago. But I was doing some catch-up reading of last month’s Metropolitan Home this morning when I saw this gorgeous Hollywood Hills home with the most pristine postage stamp of lawn separating the terrace from the infinity pool and the city down below.

Photographs by John Ellis

It’s fake!! I thought artificial turf existed only in football stadiums and on putt-putt golf courses. Not only is this lawn beautiful, but think about it: no mowing, no watering, and no pets turning it brown when they do their business.

The article quotes outdoor designer Tory Polone, who used SYNLawn – “the most realistic imitation she could find. ‘The homeowners have three dogs, so this was our only hope for keeping it green and lovely,’ Polone says.”

Here are some other residential projects from SYNLawn.

I adore my artificial Christmas tree, which is pre-lit and looks much more dazzling than I could do with the real thing, and I don’t have to water it, and I don’t have to vacuum fallen pine needles every day. I wonder what my husband would think if I asked for fake grass, too? (“Dear Jim,” my editor, Trish Donnally, writes in reply. “Just say NO!”)

There’s a reason car dealers use scantily-dressed women to sell hot cars to wealthy men. It works. And it’s the same reason Napa Home & Garden uses these adorable pooches to sell dog beds to those of us who can resist cute and cuddly pets. 

Have you ever seen a dog ACTUALLY smile at you? “I can always get dogs to smile. I am a dog person!” writes Martyn Fernambucq, director of merchandising and marketing for Napa Home.

I’m not a dog owner, but I’m sold. Too bad these adorable dogs aren’t included.

The Washington Design Center unveiled its Fall 2008 Design House yesterday, allowing members of the press to see the eight rooms that carry the theme of “Casa Couture: Designers in Vogue.” The Design House opens to the public next Friday, Sept. 26, and runs through Dec. 13. Unlike designer show houses that raise money for charity, this tour is free.

Here’s a sneak peek of the rooms and their designers (all photographs by Timothy Bell). 

Entry/Foyer: Yvette Piaggio, Piaggio’s Loft
“European Transitional”

Living Room: Emily Bishop, Emily Bishop Interior Design
“Think Café de Flore meets Studio 54 meets Velvet Lounge”

Family Room: Brad Weesner, Brad Weesner Design
Combines looks from the last century with cutting-edge gaming technology.

Dining Room/Bar: Michelle Pilon, Michelle Pilon Interiors
“Dining Menu: Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow”

Kitchen: Todd Martz, Todd Martz Interiors
Clean style of the cabinets and furniture is warmed by the collection of outsider art.

Bedroom: Michelle Miller, Jenkins Baer Associates,
Natural fabrics such as silk, linen, velvet and wool in tonal shades of gray.

Gentleman’s Retreat: Wayne Breeden, E. Wayne Breeden
Textiles from Kravet and Lee Jofa in shades of moss, cement, putty, ivory, and celery.

Photographer’s Study: Tami Hatch and Pattie Gunter, Gunter-Hatch Design Group
Inspired by runway trends with dressmaker details for world-traveling photographer.

The Lorton prison is getting lots of press today over the opening of its long-planned conversion into the Workhouse Arts Center, borrowing its name from the original Occoquan Workhouse that opened there in 1910.

I grew up in the DC area, and I vividly remember all the terrible stories about that place, which the government ultimately shut down in 2001, so it’s nice to know the structure has a new lease on life. Check out today’s story in The Washington Post, for starters.

There are already 125 artists whose work you can peruse during its grand opening week, which starts today. I did a quick survey online, and was taken by David Barnes’ “Springtime” glass art:

But I really fell in love with all the photography.

Designer Barry Dixon, whose new furniture collection and book we feature in our fall issue, is becoming more relaxed in his personal style, according to the current issue of House Beautiful.

Dixon and eight other designers were asked to comment on how their homes have evolved over the last 10 years. Here’s what Barry said:

“My home is a lot more relaxed, less rigid. As I’ve ‘matured,’ I’ve gotten comfortable with the serendipitous migration of things. I’m less of a slave to putting things back where they belong. The chairs used to have to sit at perfect right angles to the sofa, but, you know, it’s nice when they’re angled so I can look out the window or see the TV more easily. It’s great to loosen up. And I notice that people are more at ease when they come over because it’s not all too-too perfect.”

Here’s his family room – I’d definitely feel relaxed in here! This and other images of Barry’s home, Elway Hall, are in his new book, Barry Dixon Interiors.

Here’s another thing Barry Dixon fans will love – you can be his friend.

Barry recently jumped on the social networking bandwagon and opened an account on Facebook. He really needs friends, too – he only had 38 at last count, but we know he has so many more!

If you ever wondered if it were possible to create an atmosphere for your children that was stylishly devoid of puppies and duckies and soft pastels, check the stores on Oct. 1 for Designed for Kids by Phyllis Richardson (Thames & Hudson Inc., $34.95), a sourcebook for great kids design and décor.

The publisher sent us an advance copy, and as a mom, I quietly cursed not having this at my fingertips when my sons were born. In addition to fabulous products, Richardson also interviews top designers about their kid-design philosophies. Yet for all the gorgeous objects in this book, some of them are literally too good to be true. I pounced on a car seat that can swivel to the side so you don’t have to contort yourself reaching around to get the strap fastened, but psych! You can’t buy it in the U.S. And I LOVED a “modern playshed” with mid-century lines, but some quick checking proved that it’s been discontinued. Same thing with a Lego building table that I would have bought on the spot. I would still recommend this book – just curb your enthusiasm until you type in the Web address to see if you can actually obtain the item. Here are some of my favorites:

The Sleepi line from Stokke includes a crib that transforms later to a toddler bed or day bed, and a changing table that converts to a desk. I’m all for baby equipment that grows with the child – especially when it looks so good. 

Speaking of conversions, this “Tea Pod” children’s furniture not only provides the kids with different shapes to play and sit on, but the tray on one of the elements serves kids and adults equally well.

I’m lovin’ this change in weather, the excitement of kids going back to school, and the refreshing sense of emerging from the languid summer. And so are a lot of people who call the shots in home and design, for the Web is abuzz with new trends to expect, and most of the predictions are on the same page (or in the same living room?).

Here’s what I found:

The Washington Post just issued its predictions last week, which includes bold yellows and purples and gray-toned wood, in addition to intense pattern, nailhead trim, and the use of text in art and on furniture.

Missoni Home Collection

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Colton cocktail table