Reader's Favorite Coffee Table Tomes

Earlier this week, I asked you what your favorite coffee table books were and why. I got a great response from some of my wonderful readers, and I want to share their picks with you:



Lucy at Lucy in St Lou recommends The World Atlas of Wine. She says "Currently the World Atlas of Wine is on our upstairs. It's informative and beautifully photographed. I even leave it out for cocktail parties and inevitably someone wants to refer to it." I love the idea of having it out for reference at dinner parties, it's a really nice touch to entertaining that I don't think many would think of - I'm going to use this idea myself!

On her downstairs coffee table, she currently has The Met's Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. Focused strictly on what we all remember most about Jackie O, her fabulous style, Lucy adds "It's a beautiful collection of her wardrobe during the Kennedy days. I just love the timeless and gorgeous pieces."

Kimberly over at Brown Button wanted to note a beautiful book on Valentino that is retailing for $ 1500.00 US at Taschen! I had to rub my eyes and double-check this. Valentino Garavani. Una grande storia italiana comes in it's own box, and is quite sizeable, measuring at 13 x 17 inches. This is beyond luxe.

Easy and Elegant Life recommends a pairing for gentlemen - the "massive 700 pages" of Ralph Lauren, which he says his coffee table is too unsteady to hold, and Cary Grant style, coauthored by the illustrious Giorgiao Armani. Stop by his blog, as well - he practices what he preaches. Easy and Elegant life is written by a old soul who still prefers the gentile, it's a refreshing read.

Have any other books to share? Let me know in comments!

Missoni Kartel Chair

Pure luxury and totally lustworthy.
Kartell Mademoiselle chair with Missoni fabrics, 950.00 at AllModern.com

The Darjeeling Limited

I waited for The Darjeeling Limited to come via Netflix, but I wish I had seen this visually inspiring film on the big screen...

Every frame in the movie is like a beautiful photograph - no detail overlooked, down to the brother's custom Louis Vuitton luggage, which in a way serves as it's own character.


If you've never seen it, the film is about 3 brothers - played by Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody - who set out on a spiritual journey through India after their father's death.

Littered with megawatt cameos (I encourage you to watch the short film Hotel Chevalier beforehand, which is set in Paris), it is truly a visual treat that gives you a taste for travel.



Every frame is composed beautifully - director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) has truly outdone himself.

Fashion Books at Large

Hulking, huge fashion books often share space with our shelter mags and decor books - often to the point where a few become a bit of a cliche. Not to say these books aren't fabulous - they are - but we see them in so many homes that they almost become parody. Here, in good fun (because I'm guilty too), are my favorite two "everybody's doing it" fashion tomes:

Jacques Helleu & Chanel, by Jacques Helleu and Laurence Benaim
78.75 at AmazonAdmit it, you've seen the black and white, bold binding "CHANEL" in at least one apartment featured by every major shelter mag.

Tom Ford, by Tom Ford, Anna Wintour, & Graydon Carter
105.84 (and dropping..) Preorder at Amazon

The authors alone are so utterly infamous, chic, and New York, that you already know you're holding a hundred or so bucks worth of pure, unadulterated fabulousness in your hands without ever cracking the cover.

PS - Over at All The Best, Ronda's found a great deal on another ubiquitous fashion tome...

The Love List is a Delightful Blog!

I'm so happy to share that The Love List has been accepted into the Delightful Blog directory.Little by little, we are growing! If you are unfamiliar, this is a rather prestigious, carefully edited (and stylish) directory of some of the best blogs online. It is divided into categories that make it easy to locate blogs of interest to you, and as a graphic designer, I appreciate their adorable page design.




I would appreciate it so much if a few of my readers dropped by my listing, rated my blog, and left me kind comments and feedback on the directory, it would help me out a lot and I would really appreciate it :)

Thanks!

PS - Don't forget to check out some of the other great bloggers featured in the Design: Decor: Style section :)Technorati Tags: Delightful Blogs

India Hicks' Wrapped Books

Like her father before her, David Hicks (and his red leather-bound tomes) India Hicks has her own approach to displaying books and objects in their home. Her trademark, as I'm sure many of you know, is to wrap books in brown postal paper and label them ever-so neatly with labels on the spine.

India Hicks' Caribbean home, as seen in Island Life. Image via MA Belle. Photo: David Loftus

Image from Domino, April 2008

For more pictures of beautiful, unified bookcases, hop on over to this entry at MA Belle, and this one at Simply Grove. Of course, lest we not forget that Ms. Hicks has a few coffee table books of her very own, including the popular Island Life: Inspirational Interiors.

Image via BravoTV

The beautiful India Hicks in a Diane Von Furstenberg Tuvallu dress - rumor has it she will be hosting Bravo's Top Design next season! Get her dress here, at Saks.

What are your favorite coffee table books? How do you like to display them? Talk to me in comments - I'll do a post later this week of reader recommendations with a link back to your blog.

Eames Stamps debut today!

Forget Coldplay's new album, the important debut today is at the Post Office. Starting today, you can purchase stamps honoring Charles and Ray at your local USPS and USPS online. The stamps were designed by Derry Noyes, who in the past has designed many stamps for USPS.

Derry is the daughter of Eli Noyes, who was an extremely close friend of Charles and Ray’s and the director of design at IBM. Included are the the Lounge Chair, Eames House, La Chaise, House of Cards, Crosspatch, and 11 more.

I can't wait to use these to dress up my envelopes this summer! I think I may get some for my boyfriend's mother as well, as she is a design junkie like I am.

Anne Harwell's Courtney Barnes Chair

My new Anne Harwell print came in the mail today! Look familiar? It has been seen on the Domino website and of course as the heading banner for Style Court. It makes me smile because it reminds me of all my blogging friends and is going to look great on my art wall :)

Courtney Barnes chair print, 25.00 at Annechovie's Etsy store

If you're into art, check out my post on artist John Currin and his biggest fan, Marc Jacobs, you can also check out some other Etsy art I like by reading my post about Brian Rubenacker, who comes via recommendation from Domino.

Saks Sale picks

I know, I promised a week of books, but I have to stray from the subject matter at hand for a moment to tell you about the wonderful sale Saks is having right now - most sale items are marked down drastically and I wanted to share a few of my favorite finds with y'all.

Christian Louboutin red patent skimmers, org. 695.00, now 324.10

Marc Jacobs Lurex Tweed jacket, orig. 2050.00, now 820.34

Chloe A-line Tank dress, orig. 1275.00, now 510.19

Also lots of great Milly, Tibi, and Shoshanna to be found at great prices - go scoop it up now! And don't forget to tell me what your favorite coffee table books are and why - I'll include my reader's picks (along with a link back to your blog, of course) in a post later on this week. What's on your tabletop?

Fashion Books at Large

Hulking, huge fashion books often share space with our shelter mags and decor books - often to the point where a few become a bit of a cliche. Not to say these books aren't fabulous - they are - but we see them in so many homes that they almost become parody. Here, in good fun (because I'm guilty too), are my favorite two "everybody's doing it" fashion tomes:

Jacques Helleu & Chanel, by Jacques Helleu and Laurence Benaim
78.75 at AmazonAdmit it, you've seen the black and white, bold binding "CHANEL" in at least one apartment featured by every major shelter mag.

Tom Ford, by Tom Ford, Anna Wintour, & Graydon Carter
105.84 (and dropping..) Preorder at Amazon

The authors alone are so utterly infamous, chic, and New York, that you already know you're holding a hundred or so bucks worth of pure, unadulterated fabulousness in your hands without ever cracking the cover.

PS - Over at All The Best, Ronda's found a great deal on another ubiquitous fashion tome...

Coffee Table Staples

The book stack - such a seemingly minute yet ever important detail in one's decor. Books speak, well... volumes on a person's personal tastes and interests. For such a small detail, they can certainly be investments, which is why many choose, edit, and collect their books with great care. This week at The Love List, the majority of my entries will be on the very tomes that litter our coffee tables, desktops, and benches in stacks or rows, wrapped with paper or left alone.

I want to begin with one of my favorites, Yves Saint Laurent 5, avenue Marceau, 75116 Paris , France in honor of his recent death, . This thick, heavy (and sadly out of print) book is chock full (nearly cover to cover) of beautiful photos. (From Amazon) "This deluxe, definitive volume follows YSL through every stage of his preparations for his 2002 spring collections. Also included are never-before-published quotes from YSL as well as photographs from his early years and pages from his mother's scrapbook. The clippings are lovingly annotated in her own handwriting and illustrate a personal dedication to one of fashion's greatest talents."

... what books do you keep on your table? What are your favorites and perhaps your not-so-favorites? Any subject you always fall for? Any book you're eagerly awaiting? Let me hear in your comments - edit: I'll do a post of reader favorites (be sure to leave a link to your blogs!) later on in the week. Have a great Monday!

Vivre introduces Decorati

Popular online destination Vivre has opened a second virtual boutique called Decorati. As the name suggests, Decorati's focus is on interior design, furniture, and home accessories. You can shop by room, decor style, showroom, or brand - or peruse their galleries for inspiration. It is a wonderful site, and even if most of the items carry a heftier price tag than you're willing to shell out for, it is a great place to train your eye - I think this coral sconce by Moth Design is to die for. Don't miss Ronda at All the Best's interview with designer Angela Free either, it's a great piece and really well-written on Ronda's part.

DIY Advice: Bamboo Side Table

I just purchased this lovely bamboo side table that is painted a horrendous shade of brown for a mere 25 bucks. It is in great shape and very sturdy, but obviously, I'm going to need to re-paint it. However, I need the help of my chic readers - so many of you have such impeccable taste, I'd be remiss not to ask y'all what you would do with it. Of course, there is always the gloss-it-white route, and while that very may well be the best way to go, I'd love to hear your ideas about it - not just what color to paint it, but what function it would serve in your own place, how you would accessorize it, or anything else you have to offer! I'm all ears!

More Love from the Seattle Times

Grateful yet again that Terri Sapienza's write-up has now also appeared in the Seattle Times. If you are new to the blog, please have a look around, add us to your blogroll and your RSS reader, and keep coming back!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Weekend Roundup

The hilarious Maison 21 is in the new Sex and the City movie ... sort of.

The Cut's got the scoop: Target announces Anya Hindmarch and Siegerson Morrison capsule collections.

FabSugar wants to know if you're excited that Whitney Port (you know, the actually cool one) is getting her own Hills spin off.

Annchovie debuts some new logo work.

Style Court, inspired by cocktail hour, takes us through beautiful drink ware and furniture inspired by our favorite libations.

Fifi Lapin's in Ralph Lauren today.

Whitney English Paper Goods

There is little I appreciate more than a fabulous print and good graphic design (except maybe getting a hand-written note in the mail) - which is why I love Whitney English's online store. Chock-full of great file folders, note cards, and other treats, any store whose site invites me to take a day off work and enjoy my life can't be a bad thing.

Their prints are updated classics - a modern take on great patterns, toiles, and mongrams. The most standout thing though is the vivid color they use - they don't shy away from bold palletes, offbeat color combinations, and beautiful, saturated hues of hot pink, citrusy orange, and lime green.

Whitney herself is a gal right up my alley - her bio describes her as "Southern in a hospitable, gracious, good food and wine kind of way", which is how I fancy myself :) Plus, the company was started on little else but elbow grease, so I can totally relate to what she's doing due to the ups and downs of starting my own company as well.

Have a look, I'm willing to bet you'll find something you love.
(All images from Whitney English website)

For Love 21

You all know the ubiquitous Forever 21, but were you aware of it's accessory-only lil' sis? The secret is out! For Love 21's e-commerce site just launched, and now you can overindulge in cheap accessories to your heart's content. A few of my picks, below: Lucite Ring, 8.80

Medallian clutch, 18.80

THE LOVE LIST hearts The Washington Post

Big thanks to the Washington Post's Blog Watch and writer Terri Sapienza for spotlighting my entry on Carrie Bradshaw's apartment makeover in the SATC Movie.

For anyone who has found their way over from The Post, please subscribe to The Love List's feed, add us to your blogroll, and keep coming back! I sincerely appreciate your visit.

Thanks again!

I Love Rubie Green

I love Domino. I really do. It feeds me. They just get it. I got my shiny new issue in the mail today, and as I'm doing my initial flip-through, I spy a piece on democratic decorating - i.e., great textiles that aren't trade only. Now, I'm all for designers having the edge of resource availability, but for those of us who can't afford a fab designer like Anna Spiro* and are left to their own resources (someone like me, who is barely post-graduate age), trade-only fabrics can really be a pain in the neck to get your hands on.

Photo: David Black for Domino, June/July 2008

The article spotlighted a handful of great companies, but what delighted me to no end was seeing fellow blogger (and all around awesome person - hi Michelle!) Michelle Adams and her company Rubie Green featured! You may remember her 'Tillinghast' fabric being featured on the cover of Domino a bit back, and that was before the stuff was even for sale. The hype is there, people - believe. I was pumped to finally be able to place an order for a yard of 'East Village', I'll post pictures when I put the fabric to use in my new place.

Reasons I love Rubie Green:
1. High end prints without an absurd price tag.
2. Totally green!
3. Michelle runs a totally great blog.
4. Girls my age + doing their thing = something I can really get behind.

P.S. - There is a great discount code for Domino readers as well, so go pick up a copy and break out the plastic. You must have a chair in need of a face lift or some new throw pillows, no?

*a fellow blogger and Rubie Green enthusiast, in addition to being the designer I would hire if I was rich and could fly someone out from Australia periodically...

Carrie Bradshaw's Apartment: New and Old

I hope I don't agitate any of y'all who haven't seen the movie - if you haven't, and don't want even the littlest surprise spoiled, then stop reading now!

Here are Carrie's digs as you know them - the bugling closet, the Adain chair, the Diptyque Baies candle...The closet, oh the closet! It's clear where her priorities were.

Carrie's entry, with all her infinite magazines neatly filed. If you remember her quote in season six about how she hides her stack of Vogues in the bath tub, seeing this is kind of funny.

And of course, the desk where she wrote her books and columns plus the Aidan chair.

Carrie's apartment throughout the series was very thrown together and flea-market chic. She was a fashionista, not a decorator, though the place always had a certain sense of style, despite how undecorated it was. But with a more grown-up Carrie comes a more grown-up apartment:

Images above from HBO, Craig Blankenhorn/New Line Cinema, CasaSugar, and the Chicago tribune, respectively.

CasaSugar had the chance to ask designer Jeremy Conway a few questions about the place. The most interesting was learning that her plum and cream print rug was a Marni design from The Rug Company - isn't it gorgeous? The designer said the paint was a custom shade, but that it was very similar to Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue.

A similar piece at the Chicago Tribune gives away a few more secrets - according to set decorator Lydia Marks, "The settees were custom-made and upholstered in Silk Trading Co.'s Amanda Lee linen. The one-of-a-kind mirrored coffee table came from New York's ABC Carpet & Home, and was topped with smoked glass."

For more pictures, check into CasaSugar soon, as she is promising more pictures. You can also see a full write-up on Carrie's fab apartment makeover (plus notes about the other ladies' places) in the new issue of Traditional Home, on news stands now.

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Upsetting news

Rest in Peace, Yves. You will be greatly missed.