Rattan

London based designer Allegra Hicks and her husband recently took up residence in a historic building in Naples, Italy. I'm gushing over her terrace (above), as shown by Architectural Digest this month. I'm a huge fan of rattan seating, it reminds me of my Grandfather's breakfast table in his New York kitchen. He would shuffle into the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning in his bathrobe and slippers beckoned by his habitual breakfast, one that was routinely prepared the night prior. He was also surrounded by terra cotta planters like the above, full of geraniums he would nurture. Above: Allegra Hicks' terrace chairs are Verner Panton and rug from her own collection. Read more, here.

2015 Lineup: San Francisco Decorator Showcase

The venue for the 2015 Decorator Showcase (rendering above) has been selected and I'm quite thrilled to mark my calendar for one of my most favorite annual events. As I've posted before, the annual public event is a fundraiser for San Francisco University High School, raising over $700,000 last year. 3630 Jackson Street is located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco and will play host as over twenty-seven interior designers have been selected to transform the home. Mark your calendar from April 25th to May 25th! Read more, here.

Soak

Today, this is where I'd like to be, in Isaac Mizrahi's bathtub (sans Isaac Mizrahi, of course). His Manhattan home, a historic 1931 building (hence the radiator in the bathroom), was featured in Architectural Digest not too long ago. Although the rest of the home reflects his modern, colorful essence, I love the simplicity of the bathroom, the modern rigid lines and natural light. See more, here. 

Green Eyes: Treillage in Lyford Cay

I'm quite mad for trelliswork in general, I love how it can exude such sophistication in spectacular gardens and facades on grand buildings, yet it can stand alone casually and timelessly in a beach home like the above retreat in Lyford Cay. At the request of interior designer Amanda Lindroth, the elaborate design, featured in House Beautiful, was commissioned by Philippe Le Manach from Accents of France. Based in California, Accents of France specializes in custom and decorative treillage inspired by 18th century French Designs. The company has worked on projects around the globe and aside from breathtaking work with custom interior and exterior spaces, the group also designs custom planters, jardiniéres, obelisks, vases, urns, lighting and furniture (see portfolio here). Below, a note from Accents of France's site that speaks to the history of treillage:

It wasn’t until the 17th century, under the reign of Louis XIV, that the art of treillage would rise to unseen heights. The King hired emerging landscape architect André Le Notre to design his garden at Versailles; an elaborate design that would soon become the most impressive formal French garden the world had ever known.

Le Notre and other landscape architects like him, relied heavily on forced perspective to bring a sense of grandeur to the garden. While it would have taken years for hedges and topiaries to grow to full maturity, treillage brought instant architecture, impressive scale and elegant formality to a newly built landscape.