Ah, I have been a little swamped, just like I imagine you have been too. Thanks for sticking it out with me! Yesterday morning I sat down with a cup of my husband’s freshly brewed Lavazza coffee (we’re hooked) and opened my eyes to the visual feast that is known as Lonny Magazine. You probably all beat me to it by reading this issue on the release day, but just in case there are a couple of you out there who haven’t seen it yet, well click on over (a million thanks to Michelle Adams, Patrick Cline, and the Lonny team for a sensational magazine that has filled my Domino void many times over)…

After an hour of ogling (and procrastinating all of my studying for finals this week), I popped on my winter coat and went straight over to J Crew’s Upper East Side location that’s just a few blocks from our apartment. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have walked by this little piece of heaven without realizing it was there. Lonny’s “Quite The Collection” feature piqued my curiosity and I just had to go and check out that bathroom.

What I loved about the entire space was how personal it felt, which can be attributed to the walls and niches that were adorned with original artwork, prints, and books about inspiring artists. These included Cy Twombly and Cecily Brown, two artists whose work feels like it could jump right out of the pages (and on to my walls…I wish…).

Just in case you’re in the area and cannot find the store, here it is…

My intention was to take a few photos of the Christmas decorations in the neighborhood but frankly my hands were too cold. Hopefully I’ll get the gloves on and take a few this week. But here is one that I took before my fingers froze…

Hope you all have a good week and Happy Lonny reading!

Image credits: Lonny (photography by Patrick Cline), Amazon, The Saatchi Gallery, and Kylie Sarley for Bandelle

I just returned from a full day of classes with only a 45 minute break spread out over the whole day. Design school is certainly challenging! But it was such a treat to see that Paloma had featured my guest post as part of her Personal Style, Defined series on La Dolce Vita when I came home today. If you do not already read Paloma’s blog, then I urge you to visit because I know you will be inspired daily by her exquisite eye for design. I had the privilege of meeting Paloma last year when we lived in Houston and have no doubt that we will be lifelong friends regardless of where we reside. She is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I have ever met (and not to mention absolutely stunning too). Paloma brings a unique, polished, and sophisticated voice as well as taste to the design community and I have been excited to see La Dolce Vita flourish this year. Her blog was recently and deservedly nominated for the Divine Caroline “2009 Love This Site” award. If you love her blog just as much as I do, then please vote for Paloma!

OK, time to relax a little before I hit the design books again. Good night, everyone.

xo, Kylie

I spent the better part of my Saturday researching for a design project at the New York Public Library. It is perhaps one of the most stunning buildings in New York with its soaring ceilings and rich wood tones. Frankly the surroundings made my research time just that bit easier…

The art and architecture collection, where I spent most of my hours, is housed next to this general research area but it was a little too hush-hush for me to take any photos. However, I thought you might like to see a couple of close-ups of the ceilings as well as the steps where Carrie’s heart was broken.

How could you update and translate this look into your own home? The color palette of Alexandra Wentworth’s family room featured in Elle Decor reminds me of the New York Public Library but with a modern twist. I particularly love the Motley color on the walls by C2Paint, which provides the perfect backdrop to those gold curtains. Imagine cozying up with a cup of hot tea and a good book right on that velvet upholstered armchair by the fire (Note: Jon just looked over my shoulder and told me that’s exactly how he would like our future living room to look like but the bookshelves must be packed to the brim)!

To relate one room to another, Wentworth kept a consistent look in her dining room but introduced a cobalt blue in the fabric of her dining chairs. Lovely, lovely…

To view the rest of her townhouse, visit the tour on Elle Decor’s site here (photography by Simon Upton). I think you will all love her office full of bookshelves and flea market treasures.

And now to announce the winner of Jan Showers’s Glamorous Rooms….the winner is Laura Wiertzema. Congrats! Please check your inbox so we can get this fabulous book out to you asap.

Image credits: Elle Decor (photography by Simon Upton) and New York Public Library photos by Kylie Sarley

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Jan Showers at her book signing party at the A. Rudin showroom. Her furniture collection, now displayed at the showroom, is undoubtedly as glamorous as she is herself. Jan couldn’t have been any sweeter as she gave me advice as a young designer just starting out in the field.

As I mentioned earlier, we have an exciting surprise for you! Jan has graciously offered all Bandelle readers the chance to win a signed copy of her new book, Glamorous Rooms. This would be a wonderful addition to your design library and I have no doubt that you will enjoy reading it just as much as I did.

TO ENTER:
Simply leave a comment with your name AND e-mail address. We promise not to use your e-mail address for any other purpose besides notifying you if you are the winner. No purchase necessary. One entry per person. The winner will be selected at random using random.org and announced on Monday, Oct 26, 2009.

Sunday was the perfect fall afternoon — the air was crisp but the sun was still shining. Since these days are becoming rare, we’re trying to take advantage of the last few bouts of sunshine before the bitter cold and wetness decides to stay for the long haul. And what better way to do this than a walk with Jon and the pup. Having a dog forces us to explore the neighborhood a little more. Her curious nose leads us down different paths and luckily this time I had my camera in tow. So here is my short tour of the Upper East Side:

You can’t spend more than 20 minutes in this city without hearing sirens whiz by. Until now we haven’t been able to leave the windows open because of the noise but I guess we have finally adapted. Our super cranked the heat on last week so now we HAVE to keep the windows open otherwise we’ll suffocate in here. Heat = headaches (for me). But anyway, back to the beautiful fire engine red doors. They’re everywhere whether at the local stations or on restaurant facades.

The architecture in this city is incredible. I fall in love with a new town house in our neighborhood every day but this one has remained Jon’s favorite since the very beginning. Although narrow, the windows are large and the private courtyard entrance sets it apart.

Since we’re talking about distinctive features, I just cannot get over these wood paneled doors on another town house just two blocks away. This home is beckoning for new window treatments but other than that I’m in love. Oh, and I had to give a little shout out to my school, which also has some pretty arched front doors.

We randomly came across this Serendipity shop on another walk. Was it in the movie, Serendipity, or am I just making that up? Regardless, I loved the juliet windows on the building next door. So quaint!

Via Quadronno is also very quaint. The sandwiches are a tad pricey but everything in this city seems to be. It’s a fun place to stop for gelato on the way to Central Park.

Ahhhh, Central Park. I don’t know what I would do without this glorious oasis in the middle of the city. We walk over a few blocks to the park every time I miss seeing trees or feeling the touch of grass. I honestly don’t think I would enjoy living here half as much without having access to such pretty green space close by.

Our last stop is now always Conservatory Pond. The water was perfectly calm for the toy sailboats to breeze by. Our dog, Aura, was curiously looking at the tadpoles on Sunday and trying to figure out how to reach the water.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour!

Image credits: Photos by Kylie Sarley

I spent today’s rainy afternoon with a cup of hot tea and Jan Showers’s new book called Glamorous Rooms. After devouring all 206 pages of design ideas and beautiful photography (you can see all of my bookmarks below) I can safely say that Glamorous Rooms will be a forerunner in my design library that I am starting to build. The book is divided into 6 “rooms” covering entry halls, living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, private spaces, and outdoor living. Showers shares her portfolio of timeless interior spaces as well as ideas on how to achieve a touch of glamour in your own home. And these ideas are cleverly drawn from her 25 years of experience designing rooms of understated elegance. Below is a small sample of the plethora of refined rooms and Showers’s suggestions:

The foreword is written by Michael Kors where he explains the parallels between exceptional design in the fashion and interior design worlds…

“I think it’s Jan’s great eye for fashion that makes her such an incredible decorator. She always says that people shold look great in their rooms, and I love that. Because Jan isn’t creating environments that exist only to be looked at; she’s creating rooms where people want to spend their days and nights. She’s orchestrating someone’s favorite place in the world — not just because of how it looked with that person in it. It’s the same as great fashion design.”

The symmetry of this room is concurrently classic and calming. With just the right touches of glamour, including a mirrored coffee table, Murano glass lamps, and zebra hide, it feels polished yet approachable. These qualities are seemingly present in every room that Showers designs.

I particularly enjoyed her suggestion about keeping personal objects, particularly books, close by:

“Even when used in the most modest of private spaces, such as by a simple chaise lounge in the corner of a bedroom, books arranged in an interesting stack on the floor or on a nearby table create visual interest and a source of pleasure for whomever sits there. Obviously, in no room are books more at home than in libraries, where a wall of books becomes a wall of art.”

Perhaps this is a reason why even the cloth cover of Glamorous Rooms is, well, glamorous. As seen above, Showers pays homage to Hinson & Co.’s Snow Leopard fabric.

Stay tuned, my dear readers, for a special surprise from Jan Showers soon…

Image credits: Jan Showers

While doing some research about historical furnishings for a class at the Met this afternoon, I came across this exquisite Egyptian jewelry from 1887 – 1813 BC. These bracelets belonged to Princess Sithathoryunet and were found in a special niche of her underground tomb. I absolutely love the combination of gold, the orange/red of the carnelian stone, and the soothing color of turquoise. Please excuse my poor photography — I know it’s terrible but I wanted to show you all…

Even though the weather is getting cooler and palettes are turning toward deeper plums and jewel tones of the fall, I can’t help but be attracted to this invigorating palette. It made me think of what it would look like in a room. Variations already exist, including a living room designed by Amanda Nisbet and David Jiminez’s Palm Springs home:

Just thought it might interest you too

Image credits: Amanda Nisbet & David Jiminez

By now you may have noticed an increase in traffic on the roads and kids running around with their book bags filled to the brim. Our fall semester is in full swing and surprisingly it’s a little cooler in New York than our usual Septembers in Houston. My husband keeps telling me, “you just have no idea,” when we talk about the cold weather to come. This will be my first real winter ever but luckily we can enjoy the fall for a few months. And this J Crew schoolboy blazer seems like the perfect jacket for (1) school; and (2) chillier days.

It also reminds me of our blazers that we had to wear to school each day in Australia. MLC girls, do you remember those pin striped days? All of my photos are in storage but this is exactly what we had to wear — blazer, hat, tie and all. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just pop on a uniform each day.

Hope you are enjoying the fall!

Image credits: J Crew & MLC School

Last week while walking our pup through Central Park a sweet Scandinavian tourist asked us if we could take a photo of her and her boyfriend. If I also had my camera with me I would have snapped a photo of her myself just because her outfit was adorable. In Double Take style, I figured I would try to recreate it:

Navy is a color that I am always drawn to so it’s no surprise that I loved her tulip style skirt. David Szetzo’s version is the closest match I could find and could be casually paired with a white tank from Old Navy. These Bo’em Gladys sandals look quite comfortable and the entire ensemble could be accessorized with the Beatriz bangle set from Forever 21 plus a simple tan tote. To give your outfit that something extra, you could top it off with feathery fantastic from the talented girls over at ban.do.

The next day I brought my camera along and snapped a quick photo at the same spot by Conservatory Water. It’s a little pond where kids and adults excitedly rent remote controlled boats and sail them along the water. We now steer our dog in this direction

I have had my first taste of what it is like to be an interior designer during my summer class at NYSID — hours and hours of drawing. I have never drawn so much in my life! While we’ll most likely use AutoCAD out in the field, we had to learn the basics by putting pencil to paper. And what a therapeutic experience it has been (I don’t think I have ever enjoyed homework as much). So when artist Ellen Brook sent a couple of her own drawings that showcase her paintings on silk, I was absolutely smitten…

Ellen Brook says, “there is an organic quality to the process since silk is so absorbent and the dye moves rapidly. As a result, I work quickly, spontaneously and intuitively.” Her work is soft and fluid, bringing a sensual yet natural quality to any interior space. I particularly like how her pieces can be used to delineate spaces by hanging from the ceiling…

as a canopy over a bed…

or even used as a focal point behind a vignette. These beautiful works of art are definitely going in my inspiration file. I selected a few of my favorites:

Image credits: Ellen Brook