Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2014 i ELLE DECOR

Humans may be hunters and gatherers, but we are also counters and quantifiers, compilers and organizers. It seems to be a primal instinct to compare and contrast, to evaluate and rank. Plus, whatever the topic, we get the joy of applying our own criteria. If a list isn't selective, it isn't worth the paper it's printed on. And if it isn't subjective, what's the point? So ELLE DECOR's A-List may not be definitive, but it is opinionated, informed, and put together with passion. There have been some changes this year. We have made several additions, and a few designers have been elevated to Grand Master status. (I can't see how anyone could argue with this, but I'm fully prepared that some people will.) And yes, there have been a few…

STRAIGHT FROM OUR PAGES, THE WIT AND WISDOM OF SOME OF OUR FAVORITE DESIGNERS "I DON'T KNOW WHY PEOPLE PERSIST IN MIXING DRINKS IN THE KITCHEN. NOTHING SHOUTS 'WELCOME' LIKE A DRINKS TABLE RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN." —Jeffrey BilhuberAugust/September 2003 "SERIOUS IS A WORD THAT MUST BE ENTIRELY AVOIDED WHEN IT COMES TO DECORATION." —Kathryn M. IrelandFebruary/March 2002 "I'M ALLERGIC TO NOISE AND VULGARITY. I THINK NOISE IS POSSIBLY THE WORST OF ALL POLLUTIONS." —John SaladinoMay 1991 "TRADITION ALWAYS HAS TO BE UPDATED AND PUSHED FORWARD. AFTER ALL, YOU WOULDN'T SEND A DEBUTANTE TO HER 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY WEARING HER ORIGINAL DRESS." —Thomas JayneJuly/August 2008 "ENGLISH HOUSES ARE THE PRETTIEST, MOST COMFORTABLE HOUSES IN THE WORLD. WHO ARE WE KIDDING? YOUTH-QUAKERS ARE EMBRACING TRADITION, AND WHY NOT? IT'S THE…

The hand-colored picture postcards produced by the Detroit Publishing Company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries took the humble travel souvenir to the level of art. (Collectors, who call them Detroits, quickly learn to recognize their delicate tints and distinctive white borders in the ephemera racks at flea markets and antiques shops.) Led by William Henry Jackson, a Civil War veteran–turned–itinerant photographer, the firm's crew of capable cameramen captured more than 30,000 views, from tranquil Adirondack lakes to rust-colored Arizona deserts, Maine lighthouses to opulent Florida hotels, and dusty Colorado mining towns to Edenic California orange groves. The company became so successful that at one point, it ran its own postcard shops as well as a train that made publicity jaunts around the United States. An American Odyssey…

A desert home by Lake Flato Architects in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since 1984—long before green building was an idea, let alone a practice—the San Antonio, Texas–based architecture firm Lake Flato has been creating lyrical structures from local materials, thoughtfully sited in response to the demands and opportunities of their particular environments. Lake Flato Houses: Embracing the Landscape (University of Texas Press) showcases a selection of stunning residences designed by the firm since 1999. Deep porches harmonize indoors with out, limestone walls keep interiors cool, and recycled oil-field pipes are transformed into structural beams. Chapters are arranged, appropriately, by habitat: brushland, desert, hillside, mountains, city, and water. A school-house cupboard from the Skinner auction. A gift drawing and, right, Shaker chairs from the Farnsworth Art Museum. SIMPLE GIFTS WORLD TOUR…

2014 GO AHEAD—BREAK THE SEAL. DISCOVER ELLE DECOR'S FIFTH ANNUAL LIST OF THE DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS WE ADMIRE MOST, AND A SPOTLIGHT ON THE SIX NEW MEMBERS. THESE ARE THE TALENTS WHO SHAPE OUR WORLD AND CONSISTENTLY INSPIRE OUR IMAGINATION THE ELLE DECOR A-LIST The Talents Who Inspire Us Most AMAN & MEEKS B FIVE STUDIO JEFFREY BILHUBER ALESSANDRA BRANCA MURIEL BRANDOLINI SHEILA BRIDGES BROCKSCHMIDT & COLEMAN KRISTEN BUCKINGHAM MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD CARRIER AND COMPANY DARRYL CARTER CHAMPEAU & WILDE ERIC COHLER ROBERT COUTURIER MARK CUNNINGHAM ERNEST DE LA TORRE JEAN-LOUIS DENIOT JAMIE DRAKE WALDO FERNANDEZ THOM FILICIA FISHER WEISMAN PAUL FORTUNE STEVEN GAMBREL VICTORIA HAGAN ALEXA HAMPTON STEVEN HARRIS ARCHITECTS HAYNES-ROBERTS JAMES HUNIFORD KATHRYN M. IRELAND THOMAS JAYNE JAY JEFFERS SUZANNE KASLER CELERIE KEMBLE DAVID KLEINBERG RICHARD KEITH LANGHAM…

Tiered Monastery chandelier by Hudson Furniture; hudsonfurniture.com. Reine de Naples Charlestone watch by Breguet; breguet.com. Savana tassel tieback* by Houlès; houles.com. Fine metallic bullion fringe* by Samuel & Sons; samuelandsons.com. Mareeba viscose curtain by Missoni Home; missonihome.com. Guernica lounge chair by Laura Kirar for McGuire; mcguirefurniture.com. Laser-cut handbag by Céline; celine.com. Lennox fringe necklace by Auden; shopbop.com. Knotty pouf by V Rugs & Home; vrugsandhome.com. Threaded evening dress by Calvin Klein Collection; calvinklein.com. Tinsel earrings by Eddie Borgo; eddieborgo.com. Leather sandal by Tod's; tods.com. Bahia Blind silk-linen* by Larsen; cowtan.com. Wild Thing Trevira* by Pollack; pollackassociates.com. Fringe gold-and-diamond bracelet by Solange Azagury-Partridge; solange.co.uk. *Available to the trade only. See Resources.…

1. In the master bedroom of an apartment on New York's Upper East Side designed by Brian McCarthy, the armchair upholstery and linen curtains from Quadrille are custom printed with a fernlike pattern. The ebonized-wood bed is by Ralph Lauren Home, and the Art Deco side chair is from Bernd Goeckler Antiques. 2. For the Manhattan apartment of Gilles Mendel, CEO of fashion house J. Mendel, decorator Alan Tanksley paired Leleu-style armchairs of his own design with a marble-top Saarinen Tulip dining table; photographs by Nereo and Günter Siever hang on a wall painted in Benjamin Moore's Black Ink, the floor lamp is by Hervé Van der Straeten, and the ceramic mask is 1950s French. 3. Frédéric Méchiche employed his signature motif of graphic black and white when designing canvas…

ELLE DECOR: Your apartment is in the villa that Le Corbusier built in 1927 for art collector Michael Stein, brother of the famed Gertrude. How did you come to live in such a modern classic? JULIE ISORÉ: It belonged to my grandmother. She was in real estate and bought the apartment when the house was subdivided into five flats in the 1960s. My aunt lived here, too, and my cousin had the other apartment on this floor, which is the third of four. I used to come here every Sunday. When my grandmother passed away, the family decided to sell the apartment, and I was able to convince my husband and kids that we should buy it for ourselves. ED: How big is the apartment? JI: Approximately 1,250 square feet,…

IT WAS A TALE OF TWO OPPOSITES from the start. She was a Swedish former model—blond and vertiginously tall—who had walked the runways from New York to Paris. He grew up on Long Island as part of a close-knit, observant Jewish family and was working in Manhattan for the family's real estate firm. "We didn't have much in common," Christine Mack says. "Richard came from a stable upbringing, went to business and law school, and had always done the right thing—until he met me. I was raised by a single mother and left home to model in my teens. When we met I was a free spirit, traveling the world and going to art school." Now married for 16 years, the Macks are proof that love (or is it compromise?)…

Manhattan is a noisy place, in every sense of the word. You can feel the crowds, the traffic, the fast pace, the 24/7-ness of it. So calm and quiet—in the visual sense as well as the aural one—are great luxuries here. For those and many other reasons, Catherine Montgomery's Greenwich Village apartment is the height of luxe. The New York designer James Huniford's subtly orchestrated arrangement of elegant proportions and understated colors and textures—punctuated by bold accents and unexpected juxtapositions of styles and periods—offers a haven from the bustle of city life. Upon entering the apartment, visitors are greeted by the sight of an austere armchair from the Vienna Secession, which sits next to a beguiling computer-animated projection, Rapunzel #6, by Jennifer Steinkamp, with its silently undulating, bright blue–flowered tendrils.…

MASTHEADS PAGE 30: Beach towel by Nate Berkus for Target (target.com). Wind & Sea folding screen by Jeffrey Alan Marks for Palecek (800-274-7730; palecek.com). TALENT PAGE 74: Fabrics by Diane von Furstenberg for Kravet (800-645-9068; kravet.com). PAGE 76: Stephen Antonson (917-886-4544; stephenantonson.com). SHORTLIST PAGE 94: Martyn Lawrence Bullard of Martyn Lawrence Bullard Design (323-655-5080; martynlawrencebullard.com). Sir John Soane's Museum (soane.org). Vétiver by Guerlain (guerlain.com). Sur Restaurant (310-289-2824; surrestaurantandbar.com). Scarves by John Varvatos (johnvarvatos.com). The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse by Scot Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino from Abrams (abramsbooks.com). Majorelle fabric, by Martyn Lawrence Bullard, to the trade from Holly Hunt (212-755-6555; hollyhunt.com). Ricky peacoat by Tommy Hilfiger (tommy.com). Regenerist by Olay (olay.com). Jewelry by Loree Rodkin (loreerodkin.com). Chocolates from John Kelly Chocolates (johnkellychocolates.com). Earl Grey tea…

VICKY LOWRY In 2010, Vicky Lowry purchased a house in the Hudson Valley. "It had dark knotty-pine interiors, and I whitewashed it from floor to ceiling," she says. It's only natural that her sweet spot for white furnishings led her to become obsessed with Stephen Antonson's white plaster pieces, which appear on page 76: "When he produced a series in resin for West Elm, I literally ran up to the branch near our office and bought all that was left—a pair of candlesticks." Lowry joined the staff of ELLE DECOR in 2005 and frequently writes about art and design for the magazine; she now oversees the features for Veranda and House Beautiful as well. DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN Douglas Friedman, who photographed the home of Christine and Richard Mack on page 156,…

CLOUD COVERAGE Otherworldly and ethereal, clouds have long captured the collective imagination. In 2002, design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro used fog machines to create Blur Building, a mysterious haze that hovered over Lake Neuchâtel at the Swiss Expo. Beginning this spring, to mark the 65th anniversary of Philip Johnson's Glass House, Fujiko Nakaya's site-specific installation shrouds the building in a dense mist for 10 minutes each hour, a dreamy disappearing act that plays with the notion of transparency (theglasshouse.org). Berndnaut Smilde balances temperature and humidity to create clouds within striking architectural environments, photographing them moments before they disappear (ronchinigallery.com). And Leandro Erlich creates a case study in cumulus, layering sheets of painted glass to portray a captured cloud (leandroerlich.com.ar). Nimbus Green Room, 2013, by Berndnaut Smilde. Fujiko Nakaya fog…

ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSES DON'T GET MUCH GRANDER THAN HOUGHTON HALL, BUILT IN RURAL NORFOLK IN THE EARLY 1700S BY SIR ROBERT WALPOLE, ENGLAND'S FIRST PRIME MINISTER, WHO HIRED WILLIAM KENT TO COMPLETE THE INTERIORS. THOUGH WALPOLE'S FINE COLLECTION OF OLD MASTERS WAS SOLD TO CATHERINE THE GREAT BY HIS NEAR-BANKRUPT GRANDSON IN 1779, A LATER OWNER, SYBIL, MARCHIONESS OF CHOLMONDELEY, KEPT UP THE TRADITION OF THE HOUSE AS A SHOWCASE FOR ART AND PRECIOUS ARTIFACTS. NOW, MORE THAN 100 OBJECTS FROM HOUGHTON'S COLLECTION ARE GOING ON TOUR, BEGINNING AT HOUSTON'S MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. PAINTINGS BY EDWARD BURNE-JONES, JOSHUA REYNOLDS, AND SYBIL'S FRIEND JOHN SINGER SARGENT WILL BE TEMPORARILY REUNITED WITH LOANED WORKS BY FRANS HALS AND DIEGO VELáZQUEZ FROM WALPOLE'S ORIGINAL COLLECTION. ALSO ON VIEW: ORNATE FURNISHINGS BY KENT,…

She may be celebrating the 40th anniversary of her iconic wrap dress this year, but Diane von Furstenberg is not content to confine herself to the fashion world. " 'Design your life' is my mantra," she says. Indeed, von Furstenberg has put her imprint on cosmetics, perfume, jewelry, children's clothing, and home accessories over the course of her career. Next up? The designer has partnered with venerable furnishings and fabrics giant Kravet to launch her first collection of textiles and trimmings for the home. Animal patterns and graphic prints are synonymous with von Furstenberg's clothing designs. So it's not surprising that bold stripes and geometrics, vivid florals, textured fabrics that resemble snake and crocodile skins, and classic zebra, tiger, and cheetah motifs all show up in her debut line. "I…

12 THINGS HE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT Martyn Lawrence Bullard may have been born in London, but he was clearly destined for Hollywood. The actor-turned–interior designer—an L.A. resident since 1992—is as renowned for his celebrity clients (Elton John, Cher, Tommy Hilfiger) as for his own star turns on TV shows like Bravo's Million Dollar Decorators. Bullard is currently juggling an array of projects, from a new Santa Barbara hotel to a wallpaper and fabric collection for Schumacher based on vintage Venetian papers. Up next? Redoing Justin Bieber's former home for Khloé Kardashian. "Celebrities really do want to live out their fantasies," says the ascot-wearing A-List designer. "So I get to do everything from Tuscan villas to Moroccan riads." 1 / SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM The London home of the Regency architect…

Barbara Takenaga's graphic paintings pulsate with an almost dizzy ing array of luminescent dots, strung like beads along swirling lines as skinny as silk thread. Tiny at the center, the dots radiate outward in off-kilter symmetry—a nod to Indian mandalas—gradually enlarging as they reach the canvas's edges. The effect can bring to mind something as overwhelming as the cosmos, as simple as a microorganism, as flashy as a fireworks display, as destructive as an explosion, or as life-affirming as a developing fetus. Takenaga has had a penchant for intricate patterns since her college days, when she focused on printmaking and paid for a book of mandalas in weekly installments. Abstraction has long held sway for the artist, who attributes her taste at least in part to her Japanese heritage. Rather…

Ceramic vessels emblazoned with the Gambone name can appear starkly dissimilar from one another. Some beckon with flowing organic forms, charmingly irregular decorative patterns, and eye-catching primary colors, while others are more restrained, based on strong, simple shapes finished in white, gray, brown, and black. Did this ceramist have two disparate phases of production? Not quite. The pieces were made by two individuals: Guido Gambone, arguably Italy's most prominent contemporary ceramist of the 1950s and '60s, and his son, Bruno Gambone, who is still at work and has long sought to step out from his father's shadow. Guido, born in 1909, created more extroverted pieces, which captivated midcentury modernists with their unbridled creativity. "Guido was always searching for Mediterranean imagery and patterns to incorporate into his ceramics—not just into the…

GOING WITH THE FLOW The mobile outdoor Show'r by Belgium-based firm Tradewinds easily converts from an overhead position, right, to a ground-level one, left, making it ideal for bathing pets or rinsing sandy feet. Featuring a brass showerhead, a powder-coated galvanized-steel pipe, and a wood base on wheels, the unit connects to any garden hose. It measures 87" h. x 28" w. x 28" d. and costs $990. 011-32-9375-2505; trade-winds.be OUT OF THE WOODS Inspired by post office carts, the Canvas Log Basket from Best Made Company can store up to one-and-a-half bushels of firewood, indoors or out. The steel-frame container measures 15" w. x 19" h. x 13" d. and costs $95. 888-708-7824; bestmadeco.com TWICE AS BRIGHT Designed by Steven Gambrel for the Urban Electric Co., the…

More than a century old, Arts and Crafts architecture is certainly a venerated style. But it's hardly a fashionable one. "The last time the style was popular was back in the 1980s, when Barbra Streisand was collecting Stickley furniture and ran up the market for it," says interior designer Madeline Stuart. "No one would choose to build an Arts and Crafts house today," she adds. But that's exactly what a client asked her to do. "When it was going up," she says with a smile, "passersby were visibly shaken." The businessman-philanthropist who built this cottage in Beverly Hills may have bucked convention, but in Stuart, he found a collaborator who could reimagine the style with contemporary flair. "Let's face it: Arts and Crafts architecture can be cloistered and claustrophobic," says…

In Westchester County, New York, the B Five Studio team conjures a refined vision of country life, where understated luxury pays homage to a setting of unparalleled verdant beauty CALL THEM "THE COLLECTOR" AND "THE BUILDER." They have spent two decades molding the northern Westchester County property they call "the farm" into an estate that's as idiosyncratic and over-the-top as they are. "We started this in our late 20s, early 30s. Under taking it just a few years into our relationship was really an act of faith," says the Builder, surveying the dozen buildings on the meticulously landscaped 56-acre spread about 50 miles north of Manhattan. "It's an amazing evolution—a combination of who we are, and who we've become." One thing the couple knew from the start was that they…

CandleHouse by Design Ideas, $125; designideas.net. Gloria by Arteriors, $450; arteriorshome.com. Whisteria Mint by Crate & Barrel, $40; crateandbarrel.com. Camp by Cost Plus World Market, $20, $10; worldmarket.com. Spencer by Ralph Lauren Home, $750; ralphlaurenhome.com. Two-Toned Rattan by Serena & Lily, $58, $28; serenaandlily.com. Copper Mansard by Terrain, $68; shopterrain.com. Savana 9523 by Atipico, $94; abitatt.com. Wood Lantern by Jung Lee, $275; jungleeny.com. Mimosa by Z Gallerie, $15; zgallerie.com. Farol Cuadrado by Gandia Blasco, $620; gandiablascousa.com. Barque by Jayson Home, $350; jaysonhome.com.…

JUNE 2014 MAIL Federico de Vera's converted rail station home in upstate New York is a total charmer, and it's catnip for an antiques junkie like myself ["On the Right Track," April]. I love everything about this place, from the staggering walls of interesting art (even in the garage!) to the vitrine of vintage glassware to the mismatched dining chairs. It's the only way to travel! Ben Farrell, via e-mail Incredible to spend a foggy night on the moor at Jemma Kidd and Arthur Wellesley's Hampshire home ["The Next Chapter," April]. What an alluring supply of sumptuous sofas and chairs, each with its own tempting comfort. Awesome! Irene Lee, Freeport, IL I'm still very new to ELLE DECOR, but I am already blown away by such an awe-inspiring decorating magazine.…

SWING TIME Nicaragua's Hang a Hammock Collective uses handwoven cotton and sustainable local woods or bamboo. The Deluxe, top, shown in Berry, measures 49" w. x 162" l. and costs $114; the Matrimonial, shown in Chocolate and in Sky, measures 42" w. x 150" l. and is $94. The flooring is from Armstrong's Architectural Remnants collection. 011-505-8255-2660; hangahammockcollective.com 1 / WALKING TOUR Brooklyn designer Aelfie Oudghiri's line of vibrantly colored flatweave rugs features patterns that evoke both Scandinavian and Persian carpets. Saskia, shown, a wool blend, is offered in a variety of sizes. A 3' x 5' rug costs $217. 631-603-5574; aelfie.com 2 / SERENE SEATING The back of Casamidy's Venezia chair was modeled after a pattern that designer Jorge Almada saw on a wall in…

SPOT CHECK Damien Hirst, the bad boy of the British art world, is bringing the first international outpost of Other Criteria, his publishing house, retail emporium, and exhibition space, to New York's SoHo this spring. Among the books, artworks, housewares, and jewelry for sale will be a twist on Hirst's wildly popular (and highly controversial) spot paintings: limited-edition prints in two sizes of his spot painting of Mickey Mouse, created at the behest of the Disney Company and auctioned for the children's charity Kids Company earlier this year. The shop—the first of several planned for the United States—will also feature prints and sculptures by other members of the Young British Artists scene, including Harland Miller, Sarah Lucas, and Mat Collishaw; a Madame de Pompadour tea set by Cindy Sherman; and…

Having established his mastery with chalk-white plaster finishings, Brooklyn-based artist Stephen Antonson is now exploring his dark side Stephen Antonson studied painting and sculpture in college, but he always had a thing for furniture. "I would be at the Met, and I'd be responding to a Caravaggio, but next door would be a Baroque mirror frame, and I couldn't even look at the painting—I had to look at the mirror," Antonson recalls. One day, the Brooklyn-based artist decided to make a poplar stool with a lid that lifted open. "I felt so guilty that I spent a whole day working on this, that I wrote on the bottom of the lid, 'On this day I created this bench when I should have been creating art.'" When he started experimenting with…

WHAT'S NEW TO THE TRADE—FABRICS, FURNISHINGS, AND FABULOUS FINDS 1 Handcrafted in Brooklyn, Hellman-Chang's Tao bookshelf highlights its bold geometric forms with subtly beveled edges. It measures 48" w. x 94" h. x 13.5" d. and is shown in Ebonized Walnut, one of 15 finishes. Additional sizes and woods are also available. 212-875-0424; hellman-chang.com. 2 Los Angeles–based firms Woven Accents and 27 Ground collaborated to create Tropicana Lattice, a 9' x 12' hand-knotted wool-and-silk rug inspired by a Ferrick Mason fabric. It can also be ordered in custom colors and sizes. 310-652-6520; wovenonline.com. 3 The brilliant blue-and-gray base of the Lua lamp by Pinto Paris is made from sodalite, a rare mineral. It comes with a paper shade and measures 16" w. x 24.5" h. x 6" d. 305-640-5922; nestcasa.com.…

WEBER ON THE DECORATIVE IMPULSE Susan Weber says she put the cart before the horse when she founded the Bard Graduate Center program in the decorative arts and design history in New York in 1993. "We burst on the scene, and for 20 years we were playing catch-up," she says. But what this academic and curatorial dynamo (who used to be married to billionaire George Soros and largely funded the center herself) has managed to accomplish in two decades is seriously impressive. Operating out of a pair of townhouses on the Upper West Side, the institute has evolved into a globally respected think tank that trains curators and collaborates on exhibitions with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Her latest coup: a textbook for the…

Benches are among the most basic of furniture forms, functioning for millennia as plein air perches. As outdoor living has grown more sophisticated in recent years, an array of benches in innovative materials and stylish shapes has emerged to bridge the gap between utilitarian and chic. "These days, clients want their outdoor furniture to look as good as their indoor pieces," says designer Kishani Perera. "They want the transition from inside to out to be seamless. Benches are a key part of creating a complete look in an outdoor area." Whether intended for dining, lounging, or indulging in tête-à-têtes, there is a bench to suit every situation. "There are so many uses for these pieces," says designer Richard Keith Langham. "Flank a front door with a pair of them, set…

When Americans think of crepes, they think of the sweet version of these French pancakes—paper-thin and layered with butter and sugar or Nutella, then folded and sprinkled with powdered sugar. As much as I enjoy a dessert crepe now and then, my own preference is for its savory cousin, the Breton galette, which is made with buckwheat flour for a uniquely nutty and delicious flavor. In Brittany, the galette is like the bread in a sandwich: a vehicle for a variety of fillings, from smoked meats to shellfish to vegetables. It makes for a lunch that is both rustic and sophisticated. The trick is to master the batter. I make mine with fine buckwheat flour—I recommend Hodgson Mill brand—mixed with all-purpose flour. Refrigerate the batter for at least two hours,…

The library of a Manhattan home decorated by Katie Ridder. The sofa and club chair, both by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair, are covered in Holland & Sherry wools, the side table in the corner is one of a pair from Niall Smith Antiques, the camel side table is from John Rosselli Antiques, and the curtains are in a Quadrille fabric; the walls are painted in C2Paint Luxe in Bewilder. FACING PAGE: In a hall, a photograph by Sohei Nishino hangs above a sofa from Lucca Antiques; the rug is an antique Agra. See Resources. When Katie Ridder first met her clients at their townhouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the interior designer was greeted at the door by a bloodhound, a black Labrador retriever, and a Labra doodle. Beyond the foyer, two…

"Buy local" is a phrase commonly associated with greenmarkets and farm stands. But when a high-powered Manhattan attorney ditched a Chelsea apartment to purchase a brownstone in Harlem, he and his partner wanted to apply the same principle that works for tomatoes and peaches to their new home's interior design. So they hired decorator Sheila Bridges, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades, and charged her with the task of turning the 5,000-square-foot house into an elegant, welcoming retreat in the city. Says the client, "I thought someone who knew this part of town would understand how to get things done here and would be in tune with the community." For Bridges, whose recent projects have taken her from Martha's Vineyard to Denver, the chance to…