Lady Noire

Okay, so I know I'm in love with a lot of things this week, but I just had to share this. Seems like advertising alone is not enough for the Couture Fashion Houses anymore. Not that I mind, because it gives people like me who are more obsessed with furniture than fashion a glimpse at what an interior done by John Galliano or Karl Lagerfeld might look like. I'm not sure if the sets from Lady Noire (the first, it seems, in a trilogy of Lady Dior short films) are by Galliano, it doesn't matter to me, they are beautiful regardless. The room below, from the opening scene, is so glamorous. That pleated screen in the background is to die for!

Watch the entire Lady Noire short film here...

Fabulous Fabergé!

Totally loving these images I found of the new Fabergé store in Geneva, designed by Spanish superstar Jaime Hayón. Not quite what I would have guessed from a company that is well over 100 years old now, its quite contemporary. I love the colours and the mix of furniture though. In fact, I spy a few favorites, including sofas by Sé and chairs by Ceccotti.





What do you think? Does it inspire you to buy a jewel encrusted egg?

David Collins sneak peek!

I am way beyond excited to be able to share with you some pics of a recently completed David Collins Studio project - The Limewood Hotel in Hampshire, England.

Unveiled in August '09, the Limewood is a quintessential English Country House Hotel set in a National Park, a little under 2hrs southwest of London. The architecture is classic Georgian, and the interiors are just sublime.

Collins has used his signature blend of elegance to create a relaxed but luxe ambiance. The soft muted colour palettes blend in with the surrounding landscape. Local materials such as ash and stone are skillfully blended with silk wallcoverings and dip-dyed curtains and another of Collin's signature touches - a mix of antique and bespoke furniture and lighting.

Each of the sixteen guest rooms are a different configuration and have been decorated individually. There are four different drawing rooms to relax in, a bar, a courtyard garden, and if all this is not enough, there are two dining rooms to chose from, one with a Michelin star chef! And that's not even mentioning the stunning landscape...

Says Mr Collins himself of the project: "Rarely do designers meet clients who are prepared to create something of quality, integrity, and style. We were fortunate in being able to bring our aesthetic to the interior of Lime Wood working within a framework of a re-imagined 18 th Century home but updating it and reinventing the so-called English Country Style. We have taken a simple subtle palette of colours, materials and textures and integrated them into the building and importantly the landscape to create something special that will evolve with time and use".

But don't take our words for it...check out these lovely images - or treat yourself to a weekend away if you are in the area!

The Guestrooms

Two different bathrooms

One of the Drawing Rooms

Corridor

The Bar

The Courtyard

All photos taken by Michael Paul, courtesy of David Collins Studio.

Antiquités Chinoises

Seeing Anouska Hempel's new London home reminded me of another old favorite - the Paris apartment of US based furniture retailer, Holly Hunt. I first saw this in Elle Decor's Margaret Russel's book "Designing Women" published a few years back. I fell in love with this apartment and may well be what first introduced me to the work of Jean-Michel Frank and the other French moderne masters. And as I had never heard of Holly Hunt, it may well have also been my first introduction to the work of Christian Liaigre and Axel Vervoordt (there are pieces by both in the apartment). That's a lot to learn from one apartment! But this place certainly has style in spades.


I absolutely fell in love with this cabinet when I spotted it. I'm sure I'd never seen anything like it at the time and while I couldn't quite put the style into words I knew immediately I was onto something. Did you spot the books on top? I certainly did. Monographs on Jean-Michel Frank and Eugene Printz sparked my curiosity as did "Les décorateurs des années 40" . I was living in Tokyo at the time and tracking down copies of these books took me forever! In fact, I've only just got my hands on the Printz monograph recently.

The rosewood and parchment cabinet was designed by Hunt. Its obvious, as I came to learn later on, that the design is highly influenced by the work of Jean-Michel Frank. He was so ahead of his time...

I fell in love with the sense of relaxed glamour in this space. Everything looks so stylish and so comfortable at the same time.

And lest you wonder how all this loveliness reminded me of Anouska Hempel's home...these lovely Chinese antiques fit right into this space along with the over sized sofas and the french moderne pieces. It's no wonder Jean-Michel Frank was such a fan of Chinese antiques, they can be incredibly modern looking, depending on their surroundings.

All photos taken by John M Hall for "Designing Women: Interiors by leading style makers" by Margaret Russell.

Did you see this?

Anouska Hempel's stunning new home in London photographed by James Mortimer for World of Interiors Feb 2010.

Dark green lacquered walls + marble floors + Chinese antiques = stunning!

These elements are definitely trademark Hempel signature elements, and totally what I would have expected her home to look like - in a good way. And 3 dining rooms? So decadent! I love entertaining... how will I ever again be satisfied with just 1?

I just loved this feature on Hempel's London home, so nice to see how her hospitality design influences how she decorates her own home. And its totally made me re-think Chinese antiques. They look perfect amongst all those dark greens - inside and outside the room. Don't you think?

Lanvin love

I'm more than a little in love with the jewellery from the house of Lanvin lately...so, so, in love.

To me they seem so deco inspired, yet so modern. Bold and substantial, and glamorous all at the same time. Divine. A little out of price range at the moment, so I'll keep dreaming for now!

Christian Lyon & Matsuoka

One of my all time favorite Interior Designers, Christian Lyon (who also happens to be an Aussie) has a website - finally! There isn't much on there yet....but as they say, patience is a virtue. Seems that on top of the international projects he has been working on Mr Lyon has also found the time to design a furniture collection or two for the Japanese furniture company Matsuoka. And not surprisingly, every piece is stunning! I'm loving these images of their showroom space...

From the new Christian Lyon designed collections I would have to say these two are my favorite pieces...


The drinks cabinet (above) I have been drooling over ever since I saw it in Vogue Living a few years ago (below) and posted about it here.

Above image taken by Lisa Cohen for Vogue Living Australia, May/June 2005 issue. All other images courtesy of Matsuoka International.

Ben Brown Fine Arts

Venerable UK fine arts dealer Ben Brown has opened a Hong Kong gallery, which is good news to me, and to anyone else in here who is tiring of the Chinese contemporary art scene. They have a space above Shanghai Tang in Central, which I'm yet to check out. However, I saw the temporary space they have in IFC over the weekend with an exhibition of Ron Arad's pieces that will be there until the end of this month. These were a few of my favorite pieces....

Box in Four Movements, 1994-98

Patinated and stainless steel, Edition of 20

Ping Pong Table, 2008

Mirror-polished stainless steel and polished bronze, Edition of 6

Two Legs and a Table, 1989

Patinated and Stainless Steel, Edition of 20

This piece in particular is quite stunning up close. I might have to put this one on my wish list for my new office!

A new year, a new you. A new decade, a new...?

I'm sure I echo everyone else's sentiments by remarking on how fast last year seemed to fly by...let alone the whole decade. I still think of the 90's as a few years ago...how frightening! I am so excited about the possibilities for this year though, starting the new year in my own business venture is quite thrilling. I won't bore you with my resolutions...or lack of....but I will fill you in on a few plans and news.

1) The Studio Annetta website will soon be finished! A bio and the beginnings of a portfolio will be available online by the end of the month, so anyone wishing to hire me will be able to take a look. My contact details are already there, and a more comprehensive CV / Portfolio is available upon request.

2) As part of my portfolio I will be uploading the remainder of the "Studio Apartment" renovation project I posted about last year here, here and here for everyone to finally see (Thanks for your patience!), along with a project I've been working on recently.

3) Move into an office space. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying working from home, especially while the weather is so cold. And as much as I love having my two cats here with me all day...I'm discovering that is not easy sharing a space with two animals who have a mind of their own. Between them wailing at me for food or cuddles or more food and perching themselves on my lap or the desk (their preference is between the keyboard and the monitor, or right on top of the mouse...) its not an environment conducive to working at the moment. And then there are the multitude of books, magazines and samples that have overtaken our spare room. So this goal is definitely a priority...and I certainly wouldn't mind if it ended up looking something like the space below.

So stay tuned for more news and updates, and thanks as always for tuning in!

Gallerist Patrick Seguin's stunning Paris apartment photographed by Marc Seelen for Elle Decoration (UK) Feb 2010 issue.

Macau

I spent New Years Eve in Macau - one of my favorite places in Asia. Some of you might be surprised to hear me say that...its not all about the casinos and shopping...but that does make up a large part of it these days. While the casinos lack the atmosphere of their Las Vegas counterparts - I'm not sure if that's a cultural thing, or just something time will fix - it's still very Portuguese in parts, and to me really feels like a tiny bit of Europe right on our doorstep (it's only an hour ferry trip from Hong Kong). In fact, we found a lovely looking Portuguese restaurant that we had never been to - which is rare, because all we ever seem do when we're in Macau is eat and drink! Michelin recommended Antonio's is definitely on our must-eat list for our next trip.

So how did you see in the New Year?

Top 3 images in order are: the crazy ass Venetian (the largest single structure hotel building in Asia, the fourth largest building in the world by area, and the worlds largest casino - all in one!), view from our room at the Pousada, and the street lights in Taipa village - all photos taken by me. Bottom image from Antonio's website.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2010 brings all that you dare to dream for!
All the best,
Suzy x