Washington Spaces blog

It’s been a charmed week at Washington Spaces – on Tuesday we met the White House decorator and toured the W, and last night we had the privilege of celebrating the winners of our 2009 Best of Architectural Spaces competition in the lovely, recently expanded KONST showroom in Bethesda, MD. (See the winning projects and all entries here.) The event was high-energy, as architects, designers, builders, and vendors chatted about projects and traded ideas.

Architect Alejandro Carreño of Terra Design Studio Inc. and General Contractor Agustin Garay accept the award for their project, “Dream Home at Difficult Run,” from Washington Spaces Associate Publisher Heather Heider and Editor in Chief Trish Donnally.

Megan Petratis of KONST and Washington Spaces Senior Account Executive Emilia Philip

KONST owner Jonas Carnemark and winning Architectural Designer Anthony Wilder of Anthony Wilder Design/Build Inc.

For many guests, the sophisticated (and largely green!) installations and SieMatic cabinetry at KONST were a new find. “I work three blocks away, and never knew this [showroom] was here,” commented Architect Nuray Anahtar of NOA Architecture Planning Interiors.

Frank Connoley of Ilex Construction and Washington Spaces Senior Editor Jennifer Sergent

Tom Wells, CEO of Integrated Media Systems Inc., chats with Designer Barry Dixon of Barry Dixon Interiors.

Deron Bennett, sales associate from Ann Sacks in Georgetown and Sharmell Anderson, senior designer with Marriott International

Mark Sanders and Bret Anderson with Pyramid Builders, Photographer Greg Hadley, and award winner Joe Burton of J.A. Burton Architecture Inc. 

More party pics after the jump…

If only we could all put the delightful (and gorgeous!) New York Designer Amy Lau on our couch for cosmos and conversation…

But now, with her funky new fabric line for S. Harris, we can import some of her taste and style into our homes.

Amy was in town last night to launch the line at the chic PS 7’s in Chinatown. She was there with Ann and Jim Lambeth, and the whole crew from J. Lambeth, which will represent her here at The Washington Design Center.

Just after Michael Smith’s talk at the Corcoran Gallery of Art last night, select local designers and architects met for a private tour and cocktail party at one of DC’s most dazzling and hospitable perches, the W Hotel. Los Angeles-based Designer Dianna Wong updated and energized the old landmark (formerly the Hotel Washington, built in 1917), which is practically within toasting distance of the White House. Its rooftop bar has unparalleled views of just about all of DC’s big attractions.

Michael Smith and Ali Wentworth, flanked here by Washington Spaces Editor in Chief Trish Donnally, and Washington Spaces Associate Publisher Heather Heider, had cocktails in the W rooftop lounge after his talk.

Pinstriped upholstery, corseted lighting, repurposed antiques, and an “Alice in Wonderland”-themed lounge – the hotel is full of ideas.

The group looks on at an art piece and what could be called a “telefire” – rather than wood, the fireplaces at the W show images of logs burning.

To borrow one of Michael Smith’s favorite terms, the White House decorator is extraordinary. And despite his high profile, he’s extraordinarily down to earth and fun to talk to.

We sat with him yesterday before he gave an hour-and-a-half talk at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, – with Ali Wentworth jumping in as his hilarious sidekick – to a sold-out crowd.

Michael Smith poses at the Corcoran before giving his design talk. All photography by Matthew Dandy.

Sadly, he stayed mum on his work for the Obamas’ private quarters in the White House. “I never really talk about any of my clients,” Smith demurred. But we managed to squeeze in a few White House questions that he did answer.

Furniture makers are taking the recycling trend to a whole new level. Just say you heard it here first: Truck tarps and old Army tents. That’s what we’re finding on high-end upholstery these days.

Let’s start with Thomas Bina, the designer I wrote about yesterday with a new collection for Four Hands. Most of his work is done in wood and metal, but he has a few upholstered pieces with fabric from Brazilian truck tarps.

“After it’s been on the back of a truck for 40 years, it’s pretty much waterproof,” Bina said. They boil, treat, and dye those tarps into a soft, almost suede-like finish, but it’s all cotton. And, Bina adds, “these patches are all authentic, original patches. We didn’t do a thing to them.”

Here’s a close-up of the hastily-sewn patches, which look oddly artistic.

Four Hands founder and CEO Brett Hatton, left, stands with Designer Thomas Bina.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em – or get ’em to join you. That was Brett Hatton’s approach after Hatton, the founder and CEO of Four Hands, a furniture manufacturer and importer based in Austin, TX, saw the work of Thomas Bina.

“I’ve been a fan of Thomas Bina for 15 years,” he said recently at the furniture market in High Point, NC. Earlier this year, Hatton and Four Hands President Matthew Briggs persuaded Bina to start designing for them.

The result is a new line of furniture made from an incredible array of salvaged wood from South America, Indonesia, and China – three stops on Bina’s career-long travels across the globe.

“That’s my true passion – sourcing and developing the materials,” Bina said. “That’s what I look for – I look for the next material that I can turn into something new.” His sources include downed telephone poles and 1,000-year-old wood reclaimed from 100-year-old flooring.

Bina’s interest in building furniture came from spending 10 years in Indonesia and learning the craft. He has much in common with Hatton, who spent many years doing the same thing in India and Pakistan. “We went to the same school together,” Hatton joked.

How’s this for a diploma:

I was at a photo shoot the other day with Interior Designer Dana Tydings, and ever the perfectionist, she arrived with bags of accessories to help style the rooms. She’s a fan of Anthropologie for its home goods (who isn’t??), and she brought a stack of some gorgeous books that she’d gotten there. They are the classic Brontë books, but that was beside the point – the outsides were done in magnificent swirls of orange, yellow and teal. Perfect for home decorating!

Other decorative offerings from Anthro. Reading is optional.

I know. Purists will say it’s sacrilege to view books as mere props, but it seems as if everybody’s doing it these days.

When I was at the furniture market in High Point, NC, earlier this week, books featured prominently – and most creatively – as decorative elements in showrooms.

These lovelies were at Bliss Studio

When I hear people say that Washington is a slow town, an early town, a low-energy town, I think there must be something wrong with their coffee. This week is particularly hopping – as DC Design Week events peak and the art auction season gets rolling.

Tonight, celebrate DC Design Week’s “Night Out” and head to Coverings Etc. on 34th Street to check out Cache, an installation by local artist Alberto Gaitán, whose high-concept work often focuses on issues of perception and memory. At 5:30.

From Remembrancer by Alberto Gaitán, courtesy Curator’s Office

At 6:30, visit neighboring Boffi Studio for Capitol Pecha Kucha Night to give your brain a good, efficient tickle – Pecha Kucha is a Japanese-style exhibition wherein several presenters show 20 images for 20 seconds apiece. It’s a visual feast.

Design events and lectures continue through the weekend; visit the Design Week Web site to get the full menu. RSVP by e-mailing rsvp@designweek-dc.com.

Until 9 p.m. tonight, just down the street, see (and purchase!) the work of 50+ local artists at Hickok Cole’s Art Night, benefiting the Washington Project for the Arts. Several featured artists have also been featured in Washington Spaces:

Margaret Boozer,

White Dirt Drawing

Trevor Young,

Infrastructure

Colin Winterbottom,

Old Executive Office Building

Frank Hallam Day,

Koreshan 51

Noelle Tan,

Drawing

and Joan Konkel.

Mere Reflections

And plenty more we love, such as Kate Hardy,

5 Views

Foon Sham,

Wrapture (detail)

and Tory Wright.

Obsession

At Hickok Cole, 1023 31st St., NW, Washington, DC.

Thom Filicia wears Spanx – or at least he said he does.

Thom Filicia poses for a second in front of the Saratoga sofa in his showroom.

Designers Filicia and Alexa Hampton were guest speakers at a breakfast in High Point, NC, over the weekend and when Hampton was introduced, it came up that in addition to all of her work – she designs collections for Hickory Chair and Stark Carpets, among other projects  – she has three children under age 3. Hampton turned to the audience and said, “I’m currently wearing a pair of Spanx under my skirt.”

Filicia, known for his appearances on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, his celeb clients including J. Lo and Marc Anthony, his show Dress My Nest, his designs for W Hotels, and his namesake furniture collection, was next. Following his introduction, Filicia quipped, “First, I’d like to say, I’m also wearing Spanx.”

His sense of humor alone made me beat a path to see the new Thom Filicia Home Collection that’s manufactured by Vanguard Furniture. All kidding aside, I like Filicia’s thoughtful approach to design. “It’s about honesty in design. Years ago, homes were about who we wanted to be. Today, our homes are about who we are,” he said. “It’s about connecting with yourself.”

As promised yesterday when we blogged about New York designer Mariette Himes Gomez, who has been selected to decorate the presidential yacht, we’ll look at her elegant, eclectic style today.

Mariette Himes Gomez designed this space integrating an antique console.

The essence of Gomez’s designs is a purity and simplicity that’s hard to pinpoint. She often integrates exquisite antiques, which provide character to the rooms she designs, and she prefers muted tones, especially an array of whites that whisper. But to her credit, Gomez lets the lifestyles of her clients guide her designs rather than inserting herself in them too much. You don’t look at a room and automatically know she designed it. Rather, you look at a space and your eye lingers – you wonder, “What is it that makes this so appealing?”

Gomez, author of Houses, Inside and Out (2003, HarperCollins), and Rooms, Creating Luxurious, Livable Spaces (2007, HarperCollins), will launch Apartments, HarperCollins, in February, 2010. She gave a fascinating talk at the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, NC, on Sunday, and used images from her books to illustrate her points.

The distinguished designer has an unfailing eye, and the spaces she designs are superbly edited. She selects art and furnishings for clients because she knows they’ll work well for that specific client, not because of their provenance.

Mariette Himes Gomez’s former flat in London includes a mirror that reflects the beautiful ceiling.

For example, Gomez once chose a particularly distinctive bookcase for a client because “he was a man who needed interesting things; they had to have integrity. I love art, I love great furniture. I don’t mind putting time into [searching for] that,” she said. “When you’re that earnest about things, you want them to have soul.” Gomez didn’t learn until years later that the bookcase she had found for her client was by Paul Frankl, the renowned Austrian art deco furniture designer, and was one of only two of the now famous Skyscraper bookcases he had made.

Gomez’s clients often request English antiques. “Everyone thinks that English furniture is so elegant and so serious and so wonderful.” She paused, and then said, “Well, some of it isn’t.”

The designer, who was reared in a small town – Alpena, MI – has a great love and appreciation for American antiques. “We forget that we have so little… Most of it is in museums.” She has often built entire rooms around a single rare and important antique, including here in Washington. “It’s to the credit of these people who can afford these things to actually live with them and not treat them like they’re in a museum.” She adds that serious furniture needs to be complemented with serious draperies and rugs, and art appropriate for the era of the furniture.

Bedrooms are among Gomez’s favorite rooms to design. This one’s a beauty.

Gomez’s boudoir chair for Hickory Chair is the perfect bedroom chair.

Subtlety reigns throughout Gomez’s designs. You won’t find bling. Instead, she works with nuances, such as ambient light. “We always ignore the immense possibilities of a lamp table… I have a thing about that… We always need more lamps and less recessed lighting,” she said.

Naturally, the designer understands scale. “All men need a good-sized desk, whether working in London or New York,” she said, while showing the image of the large round table in a London flat with a Knoll chair at it.

Gomez designed the Belle mirror and Continental demi-lune cabinet seen here for Hickory Chair.

Gomez loves mirrors. “Never underestimate mirrors. They open up any room – the bigger, the better.” Louvered shutters can provide privacy, plus a lot of light, she added.

For a spectacular room she decorated that has a water view, Gomez purposely chose spider-back chairs that don’t block the view.

Gomez was inspired by her flat in England when she designed the London arm chair for Hickory Chair.

Gomez introduces a large-scale circular artifact in this room that somehow feels just right.

It will be fascinating to see how Gomez decorates the Sequoia, the classic 1925 Trumpy yacht. She’s already taken hundreds of photos. When she’ll fit it into her schedule – between decorating homes for clients, designing a collection for Hickory Chair, and overseeing her store, The Shop in Manhattan, will be a challenge. But we expect smooth sailing from this international design star, who is expected to have the Sequoia shipshape by the spring of 2011.

Mariette Himes Gomez has been asked to decorate the presidential yacht, the U.S.S. Sequoia. Gomez was named a Giant of Design by House Beautiful in 2004 and a Dean of American Design by Architectural Digest in 2005. The great respect for American antiques she has revealed throughout her career shows that Gomez is an excellent choice to decorate the Sequoia in time for its 85th anniversary in 2010-2011.

Mariette Himes Gomez

What does Gomez think of being selected? “Major! To do something that’s this important that’s part of our history is major,” she said today. “I really think of it as a museum. I’m very honored and very humbled,” she said, as she was preparing to fly back to New York from the furniture market in High Point, NC.

The U.S.S. Sequoia

Gomez had a lengthy visit to the Sequoia. “I saw it in dry dock, I spent a couple of hours there,” said Gomez, who has designed the interiors of yachts and jets in the past. “You have to do something in a very different way for something on the water.”

The Sequoia was last decorated by Carleton Varney 25 years ago during the Reagan administration. The historic yacht is currently docked at the Gangplank Marina on the Potomac. “It’s been there for several years and is used for special events,” said Jack Cassidy, director of the board of the Sequoia Presidential Yacht Preservation Trust. “It’s continuously used and every year it goes through an intensive inspection by the Coast Guard.”

Stay tuned for more on Mariette Himes Gomez and her design style tomorrow.

I brushed off my public speaking skills at Color Wheel in McLean, VA, yesterday, in which we sponsored a color-coaching talk by Farrow & Ball’s national sales associate and color consultant, Ann Pailthorp. I got to introduce Ann, and at the same time fawn over Farrow’s line of paints and wallpapers, some of which is being used across the street at the CharityWorks GreenHouse.

Here’s a sampling of their subtle, yet deeply pigmented hues (which are all eco-friendly, thank you very much):

The store was delightfully outfitted for the talk, which included more than a dozen primly dressed interior designers.

Ann, below left, and U.S. Stockist Manager Sandra Cohen (don’t you love those British titles?) stand in Color Wheel’s Farrow & Ball display area. This little store in McLean, which has been in the same spot since 1965, was the first in the United States to stock this venerable English paint.

While promoting her paint, Ann dispensed lots of helpful tips on using color in general.

Interior Designer Annette Hannon recently sent us pictures of this really cool addition to a Great Falls, VA, home. What I love most about it is that she blends items from Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn with high-end choices such as custom works by David Iatesta.

Here’s a view of all the new spaces, looking from the living area to the dining area, through to the study on the left, and a hallway back to the kitchen on the right. I love the mix of materials – iron chandeliers, brick wall, giant painted wood trusses, and warm hardwood floors – all enhanced by the subtle colors of upholstery and window treatments – and illuminated by the gigantic skylights and windows. All photography by Angie Seckinger

The homeowners, who have three grown daughters, two sons-in-law, and two young grandsons, wanted their addition to be family friendly and big enough for entertaining. “They really wanted to have the kids come home – to create a great place for the kids’ vacation,” Hannon says.

And to make sure there was room for everyone, Hannon had David Iatesta create a huge dining table topped by equally impressive chandeliers.

Come closer, and you’ll see that the side chairs at this table are lovely – and they come from Crate & Barrel. Yet Hannon paired them with higher-quality armchairs at each end by Rose Tarlow for Melrose House. The Indian dhurrie rug is by Carpet Impressions in McLean, VA.

Interior Designer Nancy West  sent in pictures of this charming bedroom she redecorated for a recent college graduate living with her parents in Middleburg, VA. Not only is the space adorable, but it’s incredibly sentimental: She incorporated furnishings and fabrics from the young woman’s mother and grandmother into the design.

But let’s start at the beginning. Here’s the “before” picture.

Clearly, West needed a lot of imagination to go from “before” to “after.” Let’s see how she did it.

Quick: What comes to mind when you think of all the things about the ’80s that you don’t miss?

Mauve, perhaps?

I’ve heard commentary over the past couple years that this gray-pink/dusty-rose (call it what you will – it’s still mauve) was coming back, but I’ve been in a deep state of denial. Then an elite interior designer, setter of trends, guru of style, like John Saladino had to come along and declare that it’s here.

Why, John, why?

Notable in Saladino’s new line of fabrics for Savel are several shades of mauve. From the top: Silk velvet in Vintage; Parchment in Fog; Limoges Mohair in Dove; and Villa Merletto in Dune/Gray. They are available to the trade through Niermann Weeks.

“I’ve seen inklings of this trend in Los Angeles,” and it’s working its way east, says Julie DeAngelis in Saladino’s New York showroom. Those warm tones in pinks and corals (read: mauve) are “a little off the path,” she notes. “I think it would be a lovely trend.”

Well, if anyone can turn mauve into lovely, it would be Saladino. Witness:

Jane Seamon, vice president of John Saladino, says he’s always used calming tones, and mauve fits right in with his sensibilities. She notes that he just finished a big project in the desert that features this shade prominently – somewhat of a departure from the periwinkles and celadons for which he is better known.

Saladino, by the way, isn’t the only one out there with visions of mauve.