pretty and classique: the finest rooms

every so often, maison21 will grab a vintage decorating title from his little stash- just to peruse in a spare moment or two, and he almost always comes away with inspiration. the last title he pulled from his shelf was "the finest rooms, by america's greatest decorators" (viking press, 1964) featuring essays and photos of rooms by billy baldwin (and edward martin), rose cumming, marian hall and diane tate, mcmillen inc., mrs. henry parish II, george stacey, smyth, urquhart and marckwald, inc., and michael taylor. some of these names we all are familiar with, and some are unknown (at least to m21). it's always interesting to view period decor no matter if it's by a "name" or not and it's easy to see why some names we remember, because their rooms really do withstand the test of time.

a drawing room by mrs. parrish, from "the finest rooms"- so you think kelly wearstler and jamie drake invented the use of bold colors? think again...

as maison21 flipped through the pages, he found himself with inspiration he wasn't even aware he was looking for: he recently had to present some flooring proposals for a client's entry way, and thought the patterns in the stone floors in the first picture by billy baldwin and the wood floors in the second room by mrs. parish could be interesting options for the floor in question. whether or not these options get used in m21' current project or no, he's filed them away for future use.

this stair and entry were designed in the 1930's by mr. baldwin- love the birdcage!

this mrs. parish decor is a little too traditional for m21's taste, but the dark and light wood flooring pattern is a classique.

maison21 also thought he'd share these photos of an over the top sitting room and bedroom by rose cumming- you've probably seen them before, but it never hurts to revisit them. so gorgeous.

totally cluttered and totally wonderful- and that paper!

the metallic papered walls in the bedroom are simply stunning. no art hung, and none needed...

if you ever run across a copy of this out of print book, maison21 recommends you snatch it up, and get inspired, just like m21 did.

weekend score!

maison21 is loving his newly found white ceramic and brass, neoclassic urn lamp by royal haeger- we're guessing that it's from the 1980's (dot-matrix printer label underneath, so it's gotta be at least 20 years old, right?). m21 purchased this ginormous lamp to grace his new home office- the one he will be making out of his guest bedroom any day (really, it's happening- right along with the refinishing of the floors and the painting of the kitchen. swear.)

whether or not it ever finds a home in the m21 atelier, it's kinda glam, no?

when animals attack!

(warning: the following photos are graphic and violent in nature. mature viewing is advised).

maison21 was doing a little surfing on the internets today, catching up on his blog reading when he heard sounds of a scuffle behind him. he turned to find two innocent little faces looking up at him:

what? we weren't doing anything...

then without warning, richard proceeds to bite mona, right on the schnoz: "it's on, bitch!" (well, technically, she IS one you know...)

a full fledged assault ensues- richard jumps on mona, and wraps her in a headlock, and viciously attacks her with more bites to the nose.

a brief respite in this heated battle between two of nature's fiercest predators. "blink. no you blink..."

then it's mona's turn to attack, pinning richard to the floor with her vise-like jaws of death.

as suddenly as the violence broke out, peace reigns in the bedroom again (mona thinks she might have heard an intruder downstairs, so she called an official time out).

maison21's two fierce little gladiators continued on like this for about another 20 minutes or so, until worn out by their death-match, they called it a draw and took a nap together on the bed.

aren't they adorable?

ps- your eyes do not deceive you- the hardwood floors on which this battle was pitched are seriously f*cked up. in the business, we call that "a delightful antique patina" and charge you extra ;-) m21 will be refinishing them as soon as he finishes painting his kitchen...

(yeah- right- like that's gonna happen anytime soon! maison21 makes other people's homes prettier for a living- the last thing he wants to do on his day off is start projects around the atelier- put pretty flowers in the room to cheer things up- yes! deal with estimates, sub-contractors, dust and chaos- no thank you!!!!)

decorator classic (or cliché?)

sometimes a classic really is a classic for a reason. way back when m21 was in design school (well, not that way back- he went back to school for design in his mid-thirties), m21 carted his projects around school in a hand-me-down land's end canvas tote. it served him well into his first job and then into his own private practice, and he probably would still be using it, if he didn't leave it on a train somewhere between connecticut and new york.

deciding that a canvas tote was a decorator cliché, m21 then replaced it with a succession of what he thought were chicer choices in messenger-esque bags, but after the strap on his last fashionable gray flannel man-bag broke for no apparent reason and maison21 was reduced to using a hideous nylon number more suitable for a teen bike messenger than a middle-aged decorator, m21 had to reconsider what is a cliché and what is a classic. the land's end tote really is a timeless classic with good cause- it's nearly indestructible, can handle a pile of marble samples without breaking a strap and easily can accommodate large or bulky items too, like a couple rolls of wallpaper, or a throw rug. like an old volvo station wagon, it ain't the prettiest thing ever, but you KNOW it's gonna get the job done, and last forever, to boot.

so as a little gift for his recent bday (amongst far too many items he treated himself to), maison21 ordered himself up a new land's end canvas tote in classic black and white (they come in so many color and style options now, it's dizzying, and they are so inexpensive, you'll smile as you enter your credit card number). this time, maison21 monogrammed his bag- so maybe, just maybe- when he absentmindedly leaves it on a train (or plane, or wherever), someone actually might turn it in, rather than keep it for themselves. after all, who the heck else could have the initials "M21"?

p.s. i love you (trina turk residential, if i remember correctly)

maison21 recently spent his birthday weekend in his favorite southern california spot, palm springs. normally, when maison21 is in the desert, it's all about the shopping, but this trip was really all about friends and fun- we spent most of our time eating, drinking and laughing. in fact, maison21 was only able to squeeze in one brief shopping adventure, and was even thwarted on that trip by having forgotten his wallet at home. in his last post, m21 talked of how happy he was to be turning another year older. well, here's one of the downsides of aging, kiddies: your ability to remember the simplest of things- like a wallet- is gone. life becomes a game of "what did i do with that?". it's a minor annoyance comparatively, but m21 has to be honest to all you kids he got all excited about turning 45- there are trade-offs to everything in life! (yet another piece of wisdom that comes with age).
on maison21's one brief, and sadly purchase-free shopping adventure, he spotted that the new trina turk residential boutique had finally opened, so he had to duck in... the boutique is just what resort shopping should be: a sleek, modern and bright space filled with colorful tchotchkes, at price points from from a little to a lot, but nothing so crazy that you could never imagine spending that kind of money on an impulse buy. the interior is pretty darn fab as well- worth a visit even you have no intention of buying a thing (or like m21, couldn't buy even if you wanted to, due to the infirmities of old age). unlike the trina turk clothing boutiques- both next door in p.s. and here in los angeles, designed by our hero, kelly wearstler- the trina turk residential boutique was designed by phil smith of the art office. you can see some great photos of the space before the merchandise was moved in, at phil's own blog here.
ms. turk has filled the boutique with a selection of gift items from other lines to compliment her own line of signature brightly colored textiles, with which she has covered some fun vintage furniture, as well as sewn up into pillows and throws. we were told that the fabrics will be available by the yard as well, so you can bring a little fun trina turk resort ethos into your own decor!if maison21 had remembered his wallet he might have bought one of the below awesome volcanic glaze ceramics by josh herman, and he knows he would have bought one of trina's new scented candles. the "beach" scent was pretty terrific, so m21 will be returning for one soon- he meant to return for one before he left town, but of course, he forgot...

(ok, maison21 has to be honest here, and quit blaming old age for the wallet being left at home- it was a hangover that made him forget it, alright? see old age is good, whereas hangovers at any age are bad!)the trina turk boutique is on the same block of palm canyon as house 849 (one of maison21's faves) and fitzsu society (a great modern gift store- think moss without all the scary zeros on the price tags), so he recommends a stop for anyone doing a little shopping tour of the area- maybe you'll run into maison21 buying a candle or two- and if he's forgotten his wallet, would you mind spotting him for one? he'll pay you back- he swears! if he remembers, that is...