Innehållsförteckning för May 2015 från ELLE DECOR

LAST YEAR, I ASKED PETER MARINO WHAT WAS THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT CREATING ARCHITECTURE TODAY. His response was a single word: materials. He went on to explain that the many new materials available to architects and designers were so exciting and inspiring that they could shape the way a building or an interior was conceived, allowing for forms and finishes that had never before been possible. And this world-renowned talent, who creates luxury flagships for such brands as Chanel, Bulgari, and Fendi, is totally clued in to the new and fantastic. In fact, he has a department within his office devoted to searching out new substances and contending with the possibilities they unleash. The list is impressive and daunting: resins, plastics, ceramics, laminates; glass that is clearer than ever…

SEATING ARRANGEMENT Jonah Meyer offers a fresh take on the classic American farmhouse chair with a new collection of handmade seating for his Sawkille Co., based in New York's Hudson Valley. The collection includes, from top, the Penn, $1,100; the Fiddleback, $1,500; the Senate, $1,800; and the Nomad, with an Italian leather seat, $1,500; all in oxidized walnut. Black walnut and bleached maple versions are also available. 845-876-2228; sawkille.com 1 / SLEEPING BEAUTY The Hale bed by Room & Board updates the canopy with a tapered frame of walnut in an oiled finish. The queen size, shown, measures 64" w. x 84" d. x 80" h. and costs $1,999. Other sizes and cherry and maple woods are also available. 800-301-9720; roomandboard.com 2 / RED ALERT Inspired…

The world, it seems, can't get enough of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Virtually every facet of her life bears examination. At the New York Botanical Garden, "Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life" focuses on her deep connection—in her creative work as well as in her domestic life—to plants and nature. An installation of succulents and tropical flora re-creates the gardens at the homes she shared with her husband, Diego Rivera. The accompanying exhibition of more than a dozen works demonstrates how foliage informed her vivid figurative paintings and drawings and lesser-known still lifes (May 16–November 1; nybg.org). The new book Frida Kahlo: The Gisèle Freund Photographs (Abrams) contains more than 100 rarely or never previously seen photographs by the German-born French photographer Gisèle Freund, a founder of Magnum Photos and a…

Pick up one of Michaël Verheyden's oversize stone vases or bowls—if you can lift it—and it's impossible not to be struck by its inherent sense of permanence. The Belgian designer's monumental home accessories, with their pared-down forms that celebrate the beauty of elementary materials such as marble, leather, and bronze, are studies in aesthetic purity built to last for generations. "I try to be subtle when I design and make things that look calm and powerful at the same time," says the designer, who is based in the city of Genk. He uses a network of local artisans to help produce some of his pieces, but each item is finished by hand in his home workshop, from stone polishing to leather stitching. If Verheyden's leather trays and boxes look as…

New York City–based decorator Alex Papachristidis designed twin beds, upholstered in a Mokum fabric, for the guest room of a London apartment. The side table is by John Dickinson, and the walls and stool by Arturo Pani are upholstered in the same Lee Jofa linen. 1. Orange-and-white-striped canopies over twin beds add punch to a Madrid bedroom by Spanish interior designer Marta de la Rica. The pillows and pendant light fixture are from Tailak. 2. In the restored New Jersey Gothic Revival home designer Michael Maher shares with his family, twin beds are tucked under the eaves of the guest room. Maher designed the upholstered headboards; the coverlets are antique matelassé. 3. Tom Scheerer's retreat on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, a former 19th-century convent and schoolhouse, features an open-air…

As daughter of "The Donald," Ivanka Trump inherited her outspoken father's business savvy—but, mercifully, none of his bad hair days. The former model brings her sophisticated sense of style to everything she touches, from hotels to fashion design. For the Trump Organization, she oversees such multimillion-dollar projects as the renovation of Miami's iconic Doral resort and Washington, D.C.'s Old Post Office. Her fashion brand for professional women has grown to encompass clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, and fragrance. But decorating remains her passion: "I spearhead interior design for all Trump projects," she says. 1 / NATURA BISSÉ SKIN CARE I love these products. I had to have them in our Trump Hotel Collection spas. 2 / PATAGONIA'S TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK A breathtaking and magical place. Hiking there with my…

BLAU ON THE ART OF THE CARPET Step into the New York rug gallery Doris Leslie Blau, and you may glimpse its namesake carpet merchant—which might seem unusual, given that she sold her business to Nader Bolour in 1997. But with his encouragement, the irrepressible Blau—who spent decades supplying such personalities as Halston and Tom Ford with museum-caliber Persians and Oushaks, and who interior designer Michael S. Smith once called "the oracle of the rug world"—is still a frequent visitor to the gallery she opened in 1972. "I still get excited about rugs," she says. "When you touch them, it's a very sensual interaction. The patterns are exciting. I never see two that are the same." SOFT LANDING • Edgar Allan Poe once wrote an essay, "The Philosophy of Furniture,"…

ELLE DECOR: What shape was this apartment in when you first saw it? FRANÇOIS CHAMPSAUR: It is located in an early-20th-century building in Paris, but one built in the style of the 19th century. It's in the affluent Trocadero neighborhood, which looks across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. The apartment has been in the owner's family for generations, but the place had not been touched for 40 years. I call the style of the previous decor "Louis XVI meets the 1970s." Most of what remained was not original. ED: What did the owner ask you to do? FC: She told me she wanted to change it completely—to make it an entirely new place. ED: So what was your vision? FC: I took out everything—all the interior walls, all the…

Todd and Rhonda Bertolet took a trip to an exotic locale and returned home dreaming about a life there. Luckily for them, it was only a few hours' drive down the panhandle. The Mississippi couple had just purchased a beachfront condo in a resort near the Alabama border when an old college friend invited them to visit his new home, built by San Antonio–based architect Michael Imber, a little farther down the coast in Alys Beach, Florida. Thanks to a rigorous building code requiring solid white masonry walls and white tile roofs, the alabaster homes of Alys Beach embrace the shifting blues of the gulf in a way that feels, if not otherworldly, certainly like nothing else in the Sunshine State. The Bertolets drove through the twin obelisks at the…

In the living room of Jason Rand's Manhattan apartment, which was designed by Alexandra Loew, the vintage leather daybed is by Otto Schulz, and the stool, a flea-market find, is upholstered in a Clarence House mohair; the pendant light fixture is by George Nelson, the rattan chair was found on the street, and the 20th-century rug is from Nazmiyal Collection. See Resources. A painting by Edward Ulreich hangs in the entry hall above a Swedish table bought on 1stdibs, the vintage Dutch chandelier and English mahogany chair were found at flea markets, as was the ottoman, re-covered in a velvet by Clarence House, with trim by Samuel & Sons; the sconces are by Restoration Hardware, and the walls are covered in a silk burlap by Donghia. FACING PAGE, from top:…

The Bondi, plastic with beach image, by Gray Malin, $49; graymalin.com. Ring-lizard skin and rubber, by Vianel New York, $90; vianelnewyork.com. Karat, acrylic inlaid with 24-karat gold flecks, by Case-Mate, 50; case-mate.com. Wenge wood, inspired by intage surfboards, by Recover, $40; etrecover.com. Pandi, plastic with kaleidoscopic image, by Uncommon for Dannijo, $98; dannijo.com. EXO25, brass, by EXOvault, $140; exovault.com. Tetra, plastic, by Zero Gravity, $32; touchzerogravity.com. Marble, plastic, by Grace, $35; society6.com. Le Pavillion, resin, by Kate Spade New York, $40; katespade.com. CLIC Wooden, walnut and plastic, by Native Union, $40; nativeunion.com. Blue Larkspur, resin inset with ressed flowers, by Bling Bling Hello, $42; blingblinghello.com. Red Plaid, leather, by Jagger Edge, $48; jaggeredge.com.…

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING Husband-and-wife interior design team Jason and Katie Maine, right—whose Beverly Hills project appears on page 196—reveal their go-to sources for furniture and fabrics in Los Angeles. • Jean de Merry, furniture and decorative items: "Not only does Jean de Merry have beautiful pieces of their own, but we also love using them for custom commissions. Their mastery of fine materials like mica, parchment, and shagreen is by far the best in Los Angeles." 8417 Melrose Place; 323-655-9193; jeandemerry.com. • Blackman Cruz, antiques and furniture: "Just walking into Blackman Cruz's space is so inspiring. Their shop is the gold standard for how a space should be curated." 836 Highland Avenue; 323-466-8600; blackmancruz.com. • Claremont Furnishing Fabrics: "It really doesn't get better than the color palette at Claremont.…

Opera is an art of total immersion and sensory overload, in which music, singers, sets, and costumes come together to create a world more beautiful and more thrilling than the one we inhabit every day. So it's no wonder opera houses themselves tend to be over-the-top and fantastical, apt settings for the vivid romances, tragedies, and heightened emotions on the stage. In his new book Opera (Damiani), photographer David Leventi documents more than 40 lavish houses on four continents, most from a vantage point usually known only to the stars—center stage. These grand spaces clearly merit a standing ovation.…

Rose Passion necklace by Piaget; piaget.com. Baby Mayflower chair by Roche Bobois; roche-bobois.com. Flower Carpet mosaic tiles by Bisazza; bisazza.com. Lady Dior embroidered handbag by Dior; dior.com. Suit from spring 2015 by Victoria Beckham; victoriabeckham.com. Unikko cotton by Marimekko; marimekko.com. Genevieve cotton* by Pierre Frey; www.pierrefrey.com. Lynn sconce by Aerin; aerin.com. Flora children's tent by Layla Grayce; laylagrayce.com. L'Orangerie wristwatch by Breguet; breguet.com. Floral Pastel heels by Pierre Hardy; pierrehardy.com. Catalina indoor/outdoor rug by Loloi; allmodern.com. Olvera pouf by Missoni Home; missonihome.com. Flores cushion by Tabula Rasa; tabularasa-ny.com. *Available to the trade only. See Resources.…

For a designer who makes handsome work across a confounding diversity of platforms—including furniture, jewelry, appliances, architecture, branding, and packaging—Joe Doucet thinks in a remarkably unvisual way. "I don't set out to create an aesthetic object, ever," he says. "I begin with a notebook and write down: What do I want this project to say?" The 44-year-old, who lives in Brooklyn and works out of a studio in Lower Manhattan, is charming, thoughtful, and hypnotically articulate. Take, for example, sustainability, which he believes can be "sophisticated and very high-end." That was the idea behind his WL01 "ScrewTop" table, with its gleaming, oversize joinery, as well as his origami-like Annex table commissioned by the shop at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. "Everyone talks about sustainability in terms of materials—'Can we make…

Exploding with delicate brass mesh snowflakes on spindly wires that twist and sway in the breeze, Paavo Tynell's wintry chandeliers cast a surprisingly warm glow, filling rooms with a play of golden light and dancing shadows. Considered the Finnish lighting designer's signature creations, the Snowflake chandeliers, which Tynell began producing in 1946, demonstrate his knack for elevating ordinary light fixtures into functional art while giving his country's tradition of nature-inspired design an almost spiritual presence. When Tynell introduced his wares to the United States in 1948, the New York Times called them "spectacular…a collection of modern lamps and lighting fixtures quite different from anything that has been available here." "There's a great level of invention in Tynell's lighting design, along with a kind of elaborate restraint," says Michael Jefferson of…

You can't get more classic than the klismos, a chair developed by the ancient Greeks. Although no original specimens survive, period depictions on painted pottery and in carvings at the Acropolis of Athens have given us a clear idea of how they looked. Distinguished by a rounded backrest and curved, tapered legs, the chair is light, elegant, and remarkably ergonomic. The klismos resurfaced in the mid-18th century during a period of renewed interest in Greek architecture, was championed through the 20th century by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, and continues to stake its delicate perch in homes today. "That the klismos is still relevant says so much about how well designed it is," says decorator Brad Ford. "Its lines are incredibly graceful, and it stands up to any number of interpretations." Designer…

OPENING CEREMONY Emtek's collection of crystal cabinet knobs— including square Lido, spherical Bristol, and cylindrical Grayson—comes in a range of eye-catching colors, such as Tangello, Cyan, Smoke, Black, and Clear. The metal fittings are available in eight finishes, including pewter, satin nickel, and polished chrome. Small and large sizes are available. Each piece costs between $15 and $27. 800-356-2741; emtek.com HOT COMMODITY Wolf Gourmet's new line of countertop appliances includes an oven with convection heating that can bake, toast, and broil, with a temperature range of 80 to 550 degrees. It measures 22.5" w. x 17" d. x 12.5" h. and costs $669. 800-222-7820; wolfgourmet.com TOOLING AROUND Handmade in an Italian family factory, the Compact toolbox from Metalplus is made of powder-coated steel and comes in a variety…

Three rising-star chefs create three easy recipes: an updated cocktail classic, a fresh take on an Indian street food, and a sweet-and-tart treat. The dessert plate by Valerie Casado and placemat are from ABC Carpet & Home. See Resources. I would never be able to run 18 restaurants around the world without my dedicated and talented staff. Since I started out on the line myself, I identify with the young chefs who come to work for me. I pride myself on nurturing their talent and giving them the tools to grow and excel. Along with colleagues like Thomas Keller and Paul Bocuse, I founded Ment'or, a nonprofit that offers grants to help young chefs travel and train around the world. I'm proud to say that several of today's top chefs,…

In the family room of a Los Angeles house decorated by Kim Alexandriuk, the sofa, upholstered in a Le Manach fabric, and cocktail table are custom designs, the armchair is by Philip Nimmo, and the 19th- century rocking chair is French; the circa- 1690 engravings are Italian, the 1950s sconce is Mexican, the curtains are of a Manuel Canovas cotton, and the rug is by Kim Alexandriuk for Doris Leslie Blau. FACING PAGE: The garden, paved with reclaimed limestone, features an 18th-century French stone table originally used by fishmongers; the carved-stone benches are 19th century. See Resources. With age, it is said, comes wisdom. For a longtime client of Santa Monica, California–based interior designer Kim Alexandriuk, it also brought a willingness to go off decorating script, a gradual move away…

In the living room of Mossimo Giannulli and Lori Loughlin's Beverly Hills house, which was designed by Jason and Katie Maine of Maine Design, sofas by Minotti flank a mirrored stainless steel cocktail table by Silas Seandel and a custom table by Sam Orlando Miller; the high-back armchair is by Blackman Cruz, the 1940s armchair is by Jean-Michel Frank, the sheepskin stools are by Azadeh Shladovsky, the fireplace surround is Bardiglio Venato marble, and the rug is custom made. See Resources. IN LOS ANGELES, any house with a Hollywood pedigree is bound to have a dramatic backstory. This Italianesque villa in Beverly Hills is no exception. Built in 1929 by the irascible Columbia Pictures founder Harry Cohn, the original home had a two-and-a-half-story domed entrance with a stained-glass skylight, a…

GOOD WHEELS SAN FRANCISCO PHILANTHROPIST PAM BAER BELIEVES IN HELPING OTHERS, AND SHE'S TAKING HER PHILOSOPHY ON THE ROAD. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, HER ORGANIZATION, DOUBLES AS AN E-COMMERCE SITE AND A POP-UP BOUTIQUE IN THE FORM OF A TRAILER, ABOVE, WHICH MAKES APPEARANCES AT LOCAL BENEFITS. A PERCENTAGE OF PROCEEDS FROM HER CAREFULLY CHOSEN RANGE OF DECORATIVE OBJECTS, JEWELRY, HANDBAGS, AND MEN'S AND WOMEN'S ACCESSORIES—SOME ARE ONE-OF-A-KIND ITEMS—GOES TO MANY BAY AREA ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL AND GLIDE SOCIAL SERVICES (forgoodsake.org). EASTERN ACCENTS West first met East in the 16th century, as trade routes between China and Europe were established. Thus began our enduring romance with "exotic" Asian dress and decor. "China: Through the Looking Glass," a new exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, art-directed by…

ROYAL STANDARD For his reimagining of the Water Theatre Grove at Versailles, landscape designer Louis Benech immersed himself in André Le Nôtre's masterful 1671 design, left. The four-acre confection of cascades, water jets, and arrow-straight allées had morphed radically over the years as successive rulers adjusted it, and a series of storms all but wiped it out. Benech has reworked the site as a contemporary expression of the garden's fabled drama, with pools and oak-shaded paths that echo the rhythms of Le Nôtre's scheme. Sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel's glass fountains, above, riff on the illustrations in a 1701 dance manual commissioned by the Sun King himself (chateauversailles.fr). FAIR TRADE IN ITS FIRST TWO YEARS, COLLECTIVE DESIGN IMMEDIATELY ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A FRESH ALTERNATIVE AMONG MANHATTAN'S MANY ANTIQUES AND DESIGN FAIRS, WITH…

Steeped in American midcentury modernism with a nod to the Spanish Revival decor of his native Santa Barbara, Sabin Ousey's eponymous debut furniture collection is "sized for New York apartments but crafted with a California flair," he says. His pared-down Pacifica Chesterfield sofa, for example, measures a modest seven feet. But it is the well-executed details that dazzle: The Angeles side table, named for the city in which he lives and works, sports flush-inset shelves and spun metal ball feet. Sabin's clever El Mirador leaning bookshelf pairs a Moroccan-style turned-wood frame with Art Deco–influenced brass rails. "Each piece is something I've been looking for," says interior designer Kristan Cunningham, who shows the collection at her vintage furniture boutique, Hammer and Spear, in downtown L.A.'s Arts District. "He brings a fresh…

As inaugurations go, the February opening of the Peter Marino–designed Fendi flagship on Madison Avenue in Manhattan may have ranked as one of the most frigid in history. But the single-digit temperatures did nothing to deter the house's majordomos, and dozens of the fashion world's high priests and priestesses, from turning out for one of New York fashion week's most glamorous gatherings. Clad in his signature shades, fingerless gloves, and high starched collar, Fendi creative director Karl Lagerfeld presided over a crowd dressed to the nines in the house's feathers, furs, and footwear. As guests sipped vodka-and-Aperol cocktails to beats turned out by a top-hatted Erykah Badu, the night's DJ, talk turned to the launch of the Fendi 3Baguette project, a revival of one of the house's most coveted accessories,…

1 Brass fittings on a black steel base accentuate the lines of Gabriel Scott's Marx stool. The seat measures 18" sq. x 20" h. and comes in a herringbone fabric, shown in Charcoal Grey, or c.o.m. 646-783-3770; gabriel-scott.com. 2 Liberty Art Fabrics turned to its storied archives when developing a new collection of printed wallpapers, available from Thomas Lavin. Patricia Anne, left, an updated 1990s design, and Hebe, based on an original Art Nouveau pattern, are both shown in China Blue; other colorways are offered. 310-278-2456; thomaslavin.com. 3 The Abbott floor lamp by Studio Van den Akker nods to midcentury Italian design. The lacquered-brass-and-blackened-steel piece measures 23.5" dia. x 73" h.; custom sizes and a range of metal finishes are available. 212-644-3535; studiovandenakker.com. 4 La Manufacture Cogolin uses historic jacquard…

"I never look at nature when I paint," says Andreas Eriksson, whose studio is housed in the barn of an 1860 farmhouse in Medelplana, an isolated area of countryside on the shores of Sweden's Lake Vänern. "But because I live surrounded by nature, I always notice how painterly things look. You can walk 100 yards here and see almost the whole of Swedish nature represented." Eriksson's abstract paintings, which range from lap-size to wall-filling, seem distilled from his intimate experience with the landscape. In last year's Bushes, patches of green, gray, brown, and ocher, jostling and abutting one another in a variety of brushstrokes that expose the weave of the canvas, suggest a craggy terrain of vegetation and rock. In Bunker, limpid swaths of white and gray evoke a beautifully…

Technology has influenced virtually every aspect of our lives, so how could we not expect it to transform the world of walls and windows? In this special section, ELLE DECOR looks at the many ways architects and interior designers are embracing the latest advances revolutionizing our material world BUILDING WITH THE BEST THE FUTURE IS NOW. MICHAEL LASSELL ASKS FIVE FORWARD-THINKING ARCHITECTS TO SHARE WHICH CUTTING-EDGE MATERIALS, TREATMENTS, AND TECHNOLOGIES THEY'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT TODAY STEPHAN JAKLITSCH, JAKLITSCH/GARDNER ARCHITECTS: "Natural woods such as cedar are being grown at accelerated rates and are not as resistant to rot and decay as they used to be. Companies like Kebony [kebony.com] and Cambia by NFP [cambiawood.com] take less durable, more sustainably grown woods and treat them in an ecologically responsible manner to make…

The living room of Kate and Alexander Brodsky's Manhattan apartment, which she renovated with the help of architects Dick Bories and James Shearron. A pair of 19th-century Directoire-style bergères flanks a cocktail table by Harbinger, the sofa, slipcovered in a chintz by Bob Collins & Sons, is from Hollyhock, and the George II–style marble-topped console table was found at Christie's; the lamps adjacent to the mantel are by Christopher Spitzmiller, a series of drawings by Angela Detanico and Rafael Lain hangs above antique Louis XVI–style chairs and a vintage games table, the rug is by Stark, and the ceiling is painted in Farrow & Ball's Wimborne White in full gloss. See Resources. When Kate and Alexander Brodsky moved with their two young daughters from an 1,800-square-foot Upper East Side apartment…

MEGAN WINTERS LOVES ONE COLOR more than all others. "Pink has been my friend for many years," she confides with a smile. "I couldn't live without it." That said, Winters initially intended for there to be no pink whatsoever on the first floor of the Lake Forest, Illinois, house that she shares with her investment-banker husband, Patrick, and their two golden retrievers. He was understandably skeptical. He turned out to be right: With its pink pillows and chair fabric, and a fuchsia abstract painting by New Orleans–based artist Karina Gentinetta, their family room is proof of Winters's enduring passion for pink. Set back from the road on nearly two acres, the house is at the end of a long driveway bordered by some 60 pear trees, which she describes as…

Items pictured but not listed are from private collections. MASTHEADS PAGE 32: Lenox étagère, $2,695, by Jayson Home (800-472-1885; jaysonhome.com). Stites side table, to the trade from John Pomp (215-426-7667; johnpomp.com). Abra sconce, to the trade from Jean de Merry (877-336-3779; jeandemerry.com). PAGE 34: Ambiant rug by Sigal Sasson, to the trade from Rug Art (212-207-8211; rug-art.net). Sling nightstand, $249, by CB2 (800-606-6252; cb2.com). Giralot shelving, $2,850, by Sculptures Jeux from Resource Furniture (212-753-2039; resourcefurniture.com). TREND ALERT PAGE 66: Flowers by Andy Warhol wallpaper, $360/roll, in Miami Spice, by Flavor Paper (718-422-0230; flavorpaper.com). Rose Passion necklace, price upon request, by Piaget (877-874-2438; piaget.com). Baby Mayflower chair, $2,710, by Fabrice Berrux for Roche Bobois (212-889-0700; roche-bobois.com). Flower Carpet mosaic tiles, $53/sq. ft., by Carlo Dal Bianco for Bisazza (212-334-7130; bisazza.com). Dropped…