Branca’s Timeless Look

Alessandra Branca is one of Chicago’s top interior designers, whom I’m sure most of you recognize. I recently purchased her new book New Classic Interiors. Her gesture to donate the proceeds of all sales of the book to charities in several major cities, including Washington DC’s Inner-City Educational Program (THEARC), is truly admirable.

I enjoyed the book immensely, and loved her approach to design. Branca’s love for the classics, in both art and architecture, is evident in her interiors. It is the force behind her drive and success as an interior designer.

I also came across some old photos of Branca’s living room from almost fifteen years ago and beyond, when she showcased her own living room in her Chicago townhouse.
According to Branca, “a home is always a work in progress.” That is so true. You can see and compare for yourself how the room has evolved over the years.

In my opinion, the room sustained its own graceful touches, and all designs share a common thread: elegance.

(1995)

(1999)

(2009)

(2009)

 

Photo 1 Courtesy of Traditional Home, photography Jenifer Jordan 
Photo 2 Traditional Home: Signature Style, photography Gordon Beall
Photo 3,4 New Classic Interiors, photography Thibault Jeanson

The Color Purple

The color purple represents a variation of shades between red and blue, whether pale lavender, deep purple, violet, or lilac.

Purple has varying symbolic significance to people. Some relate the color to suffering, while others embrace it. How you interpret purple depends on your own experiences and the cultural association with the color. Often, purple is considered the color of royalty and nobility, and it can also bear religious significance.

In recent years, we’ve seen more purple in fashion and design. Personally, I haven’t always been a big fan of purple- I used to associate it only with young girl’s rooms. Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate this color, especially in the lighter shades of lavender- so beautiful when it’s mixed with green, white and blue.

What are your associations with the color purple?

A brilliant dining area by Saladino

An exotic exterior 

The feminine touch of Mario Buatta

Intense but harmonious

 

Photo 1 Southern Accents on Color, designer Amelia Handegan, photography Pieter Estersohen
Photo 2 designer John Saladino, photography Antoine Bootz-cover of Veranda
 Photo 3 designer Nick Etherington –Smith , photography Andreas Von Einsiedel
Photo 4 designer Mario Buatta
Photo 5  New American Glamour, designer Jamie Drake, photography William Waldron

Speaking of Eric Cohler

  Eric Cohler is one of the nation's leading designers, one who delivered a lecture I had the pleasure of attending at the Washington Design Center. Cohler is very well educated, very well spoken, and needless to say very passionate about design.

Cohler earned his Historic Preservation Masters Degree from Columbia University School of Architecture, and later received a Certificate in Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design.

His style is a mix of the old and the new. Cohler describes his style, “I’m a traditionalist wrapped in a cloak of modernity: my look is tailored with a twist.” He respects honored elements of the past and blends it with influences from the present, which enriches his designs and makes it more interesting.

You can listen to what he has to say. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/v/bgkODmyqGec&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Kips Bay show house 2007

Video via YouTube
Photo 1, 4 courtesy of Eric Cohler ‘s site
Photo 2 courtesy of House Beautiful 's site
Photo 3 Inspired Styles, photography Nicholas Sargent

An Orange Punch

In designing interiors, neutral is a simple color scheme that can be created by using white, grey, tan, beige, brown or black. This scheme tends to expand spaces and create a beautiful background for other colors in furniture, accessories or art.

I love the color orange- but only in small doses. It is a happy, energetic color that can lift the spirit, and can be very chic when used as an accent with subtle interiors.

A stunning living room designed by Washington D.C. designer Frank Babb Randolph,clean and crisp with a punch of orange

David Hicks loved using orange in his interiors

By mixing the light and dark, the contrast creates a beautiful canvas for orange

Photo 1 courtesy of House Beautiful's site

Photo 2 designer Frank Babb Randolph, photography Gordon Beall
Photo 3 David Hicks: Designer
Photo 4 courtesy of Eric cohler's site
Photo 5 San Francisco Style, designer Stephen Shubel, photography David Livingston

A Notable Grace At The MET

As promised, today I am going to share with you the photos that I took during my last visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. My plan was to specifically visit the Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts.

Recently the galleries have undergone renovations to better highlight their collection of French furniture and other decorative arts, which had royal reference.

You see examples of eighteenth-century French salons with the period rooms - which represent the Rococo with its ornate style - in addition to Louis XVI style, which I personally prefer.

Louis XVI chairs with the fluted legs,notice the parquet floors with it's geometric designs and marquetry which was popular during that period

The lighting in the period rooms was subdued - as if it was candle lit – in order to recreate an atmosphere, and to show the reflections in the surfaces of the mirrors, chandeliers and the gold leafed elements.
While standing in the middle of the rooms, I felt as if I was transported in a time machine just to have a glimpse of how life was during that period. The aura was simply amazing.

A Rococo commode

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog

Happy New Year

The glamorous Jacqueline Kennedy at one of her parties

I wonder what was the conversation about...

Raise your glass and celebrate the New Year

May you have a very happy 2010

Photo courtesy of- Remembering Jackie (Life)

The Intellectual Heart of NY

New York is a dynamic city, seeming always to be in the process of reinventing itself. One of the permanent landmarks of the city is The New York Public Library, located on Fifth Avenue. The magnificent beaux-arts building, opened in 1911, is guarded outside by two marble lions called Patience and Fortitude.

As you enter the building with its grand neoclassical style, you walk through the beautiful porticos, and enter the reading rooms crowned by its ceiling murals. You see the vast resources of books and information just waiting to be discovered, and you cannot help but feel humbled by the wealth of knowledge accessible to the public.

The main entrance


Ceiling murals
One of the reading rooms

This photo shows the Empire State Building from inside the library

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog