Chic Small Spaces

Taking a break from the Christmas decor, I wanted to post today about these chic small spaces and how much easier it is to make small compact spaces comfortable and chic, compared to big open spaces. Contrary to popular belief, over sized furniture in small spaces make them look bigger as long as you opt for rounded edges.  Covering the walls in fabric or natural texture wallpaper like seagrass or grasscloth makes the room feel swaddled.  Big art work or mirrors bring excitement and reflection to small spaces.  Sconces, sconces sconces, I love sconces small, big, shiny or matte, they bring functionality but also interest and add an extra layer of fun. 

The banquette enclosed between these two columns gives a cacoonish feeling to this space.  I love how they kept the furniture low.

Again in this room, the walls are covered in seagrass wallpaper.  The desk that is kept light and skinny and the Bibendum chairs by Eileen Gray keep the space open.

The Guest room designed by Thomas O'Brien for Hearts Designer Visions this year was a very suitable small space with great scaled furniture.  Thin but tall canopy bed bring your eyes up letting you appreciate the beautiful fabric on the walls.


2nd by Antoine Bootz last via High End Weekly.

Chic Spaces: What makes them

I've been studying Interior Design, on my own and school, for years.  On my own I love to try to understand the spaces I'm interested in and talk about most of them in this blog.  As Joni from Cote De Texas once mentioned, design style is pretty much adjusted by region or state.  I'm not sure if that has anything to do with weather because actually New York and New Jersey are one cotton ball throw away from each other, yet they could not be further apart in this department. A chic space for me is a space where things juxtapose with tension and friction,  where according to conventional thoughts, things are not supposed to work but they do.  A Luis XVI chair upholstered in black liquid leather and placed next to a Jacques Adnet side table would create that ambiance.  Add an abstract painting on top and the whole feeling will get stretched out a bit more.  It's like having a tension cord about to pop.  A classic architectural home with modern art and edgy small furniture pieces would also create a very chic outlook.  New York, in my opinion is the City that best codifies chic spaces.  Maybe it's because of New York's own diversity and dynamism comes seeping into its interiors?  Of course, chic spaces are all around us.   Below are images that speak by themselves.

The use of a modern sculpture suspending from the traditional ceiling in this library is simply outrageous.  By Robert Couturier.

 Nate Berkus

 Robert Stilin

 A London apartment via Elle Decor

 via Elle Decor

A Chic and Cozy Home

Since the weather around here has only involved rain and more rain for the past three days I feel like staying indoors and cozy up with a cup of hot coco and a good book or maybe watch a good movie.  Right now, of all the recent rooms I've seen so far, there is no other place that would be more appropriate than this home designed by none other than Steven Gambrel.  This part of the house comes with the Kitchen I posted on Monday.  Pretty great? ah!  I love this Fifth Ave. townhouse because it has that sense of glam and comfort in a very neutral way. Also the touches of brass makes me wanted even more.

Adore the brass chairs

Claude Wasserstein's Chic Home

Some people are lucky and others are ridiculously lucky.  Claude Wasserstein is among the latter, not only for having the freedom to hire three top designers such as Jacques Grange, Jeffrey Bilhuber and Daniel Romualdez but for having both of best worlds, an elegantly chic apartment and an incredible garden, both in the City.  When I was finalizing reading the huge September issue of Vogue, notice using a pillow underneath to cushion my legs, I came across this refreshing breath of air from a rooftop apartment with an amazing outside garden complete with a table that seats up to ten people.  Exceptional!  The splash of yellow throughout the house is evident and the layers of a colorful palette is uplifting and appropriate for every season.  It's a long weekend, yippieee! and I'm planning to enjoy it with my family, locally and relaxed.  Have an excellent Labor Day Weekend everyone!  

 Isn't that Ikat carpet absolutely beautiful?  I really, really dig one!

Having a rooftop like this with artificial grass to walk on,  real flowers, lavender, mint and snapdragons that grow beautifully out of boxes is a New Yorkers wildest dream!

Photos by Francois Halard for Vogue

Without TV for a week and a few chic spaces

I'm sorry for the sporadic posts, I've been very busy.   Hopefully I can go back to my regular post schedule next week.  Our TV got fried with the thunderstorm last Friday and we've been having surprisingly a lot of fun.  TV is fun and I enjoy it but it takes so much time and presence from us.  Instead, we have developed a few and unknown creative qualities of our personalities that it's so fun to see.  We paid a visit to Blick last Saturday and bought a bunch of creative materials.  As a result my hubby became an artist and started painting left and right, according to him, we need a lot more art on our walls and he is right.  I'm not sure if we're going to hang his though! My father-in-law who is a true artist, painted an over scaled whale and with my suggestion, covered it with shells we collected last week along in Shelter Island.  It'll go on Lucas's bathroom and it's going to look pretty cool!
Fortunately or not, we got a TV last night but this time we prepared ourselves and got a surge protector so the much stronger and scary lightning and thunder coming our way this weekend don't ruin this new TV as well.  If you live in one of the areas where this angry Irene is going to hit, keep safely calm and buy a few board games, and a lot of them!

all images from Elle Decor Spain.