Vava-Voom...

Waiting for paint at Lowe's yesterday while flipping the pages of Veranda, I was splashed with a freshness of color and drama from a Water Mill, NY home designed by Thomas Britt and Valentino Samsonadze.  The global chic and collected feel of the house is breathtaking and unique.  I think the incredible size of the house lends itself to the feel of drama and grandeur.  Enjoy!

This living room is sunshine perfect!

Moldings precisely painted to evoke more drama.  Look at the ceiling.  I didn't get the chance to read the article fully but the dining room walls seem to have a Chinoiserie trompe l'oeil that continues to the ceiling, even covering the moldings. 

This global chic bedroom is full of colors and texture but magically feels soothing and comforting. 

Food for Thought: Global Chic 6000.12: Elle Decor

"It takes little more than a few clicks of a mouse to fill your home with objects from distant lands.  But nothing can replace the experience of actually immersing yourself in another culture.  When the foreign becomes familiar and the exotic an element of the everyday, then you've mastered global style" Elle Decor, April 2012.

 Lorenzo Castillo

I uploaded this image to one of my Pinterest boards over two weeks ago not knowing it belonged to Lorenzo Castillo; a designer I have posted about a few times over a year ago, here, here and here.  The fantastic renovation of his "Hogar Madrileno" is featured in the April issue of Elle Decor. 

Maryam Montague

And if you don't know who else was featured in this April Elle Decor by now it's time to wake up from your hibernation.  Hello, Spring!  The authentic home of the lovely Maryam Montague from My Marrakesh, that is.  "Alas Maryam! what a great job you did, your home is unique and beautiful.  It honors and reflects its immediate mother earth" 

Marie Claire Maison Turkey

Have an international fabulous weekend!

Food For Thought

"What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give." ~ P. D. James

"Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It's a way to live."  ~Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear

Rooms that work: Global Chic

The Global Chic look has always appealed to me because it's probably the kind that speaks more eloquently about it's owners' life, travel and sense of style.  I also especially love it because it's the most purest of all to it's habitat.  These images are from a wooden home, probably a Yali, overlooking the Bosphorus.  My wildest dream or maybe one of them!  Interior Designer Serdar Gulgun, sorry no website, was the one in charge of the magnificent restoration of this incredible 19th century home.  Enoy!

That bathroom, looking like something you would find in a Hammam (turkish bathroom) is, without a doubt, one of a kind.  Take a look at the mosaic ceiling, amazing!  Love how the detail of painting the moldings in different colors adds another layer to the room.  The ceiling of this house is pretty spectacular as well.

A very monochromatic dining room with very ornate dining chairs and a black and red Suzani tablecloth that picks up the red from the carpet and console.  The incredible ornamentation above the doors appears to be a Tromp l'oeil
Photos by Juergen Frank