Welcoming George Home

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   9 Comments

Welcoming George Home

The charming depot of Washington, CT may be tiny, but it just got a big shot of chic with the debut of George Home. As longtime local weekend residents, owners Wilson Henley and Bruce Glickman, decided to close their popular NYC design resource Duane and have consolidated their lives to Litchfield County.

Here, with third partner Betsey Nestler, they have opened a new store and design studio that will have you clambering to redecorate.

You may remember seeing their 1930s Connecticut cottage last year in ELLE DECOR. It is precisely this easy-to-live-with stylish mix of their signature mid-century designs with antiques and expertly edited accessories that is the basis for George Home.…

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It’s a Dog’s Life with Isaac Mizrahi

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   15 Comments

It’s a Dog’s Life with Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi certainly needs no introduction. Whether you know him as a celebrated fashion designer (look for his Isaac Mizrahi Live! women’s apparel and accessories collection for QVC), as an acclaimed cabaret singer (his hit one man show, “Does This Song Make Me Look Fat” will go national this fall at City Winery locations around the country), as a judge on Project Runway: All Stars, or from his many cameo appearances in films and on TV, Isaac’s immense creativity, energy, insight and wit is as infectious as it is inspiring! What you may not know, however, is that Isaac is a dog lover and rescuer.…

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Posted in design, It's a Dog's Life, Stylish Shopping, video | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments  

RH Modern and Milo Baughman

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   3 Comments

RH Modern and Milo Baughman

When RH Modern was launched about a year and a half ago, with its collection of curated modern furnishings, it included products created in collaboration with such major talents as Jonathan Browning, Vicente Wolf, Thomas Bina and Barlas Baylar. The collection proved so successful, that they have since added RH Modern to all the RH locations, including Greenwich, where in 2014 they renovated the historic 1917 post office. Not long ago, I visited the gallery there to see the latest additions to the RH Modern collection.

While most of the featured design partners are contemporary, one of the most interesting partnerships is with Milo Baughman/Thayer Coggin.…

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Pierre Frey x J. Crew

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   4 Comments

Pierre Frey x J. Crew

The intersection between interiors and fashion continues to inspire as Pierre Frey x J. Crew have joined forces to collaborate on a chic capsule swim and beach wear collection for the American brand. With the heat of summer making an early appearance in these parts and both national holidays on the horizon, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate for a stylish tropical treat!

I am always impressed with how Pierre Frey continually seeks out unconventional ways to broaden their horizons. After brainstorming with a J. Crew creative executive over ways to collaborate, they originally digitized five different patterns from both the current collection and archival designs, ultimately selecting the beautiful Alexandrie, one of my personal favorites, for the collection.…

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Seaside Maximalism Out East

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   9 Comments

Seaside Maximalism Out East

While many of us have long loved the timeless pattern-on-pattern richness of maximalist interiors, it is currently enjoying a more widespread appreciation. One of the two covers offered for the July issue of Architectural Digest, below, is on point with a marvelous example of seaside maximalism, written by Jennifer Ash Rudick from her upcoming book Out East with Vendome, shot on location throughout the Hamptons by photographer Tria Giovan. Look next month for my video with Susanna featuring another project from the book, Muriel Brandolini‘s chic weekend beach house.

In the meantime, you can get a peek at Out East through Woody House.…

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Posted in architecture, interior design | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments  

At Home and Around the World with Susan Walker and Ali MacGraw for Ibu

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   22 Comments

At Home and Around the World with Susan Walker and Ali MacGraw for Ibu

Susan Walker has long walked the line between style and substance. With a spiritual soul, curious mind and educated eye she finally found what has become her true calling and three years ago, Ibu opened its doors in Charleston. In Indonesia, Ibu means woman of respect and Susan adopted the name for her company representing women artisans in 34 counties around the globe, using their time honored skills to create beautiful clothing and home decor. And now Ibu has launched Ali MacGraw for Ibu, a collaboration with the celebrated actress expressing her iconic style. Susanna and I were honored to visit Susan at her chic Charleston home and go behind the scenes with Ali to hear about the collection and attend the runway debut.…

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Posted in art, design, fashion, interior design, Stylish Shopping | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments  

Catching Up at Christies

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   3 Comments

Catching Up at Christies

As I was catching up at Christies, I went down the rabbit hole and thought I’d share a few favorites from the many upcoming auctions. The decorative arts covers such an incredibly wide range of objets that reflect the history, tastes and lifestyles of their time. One such genre I have always found fascinating is boxes. And while this is a broad category, which the Metropolitan Museum covered with a charming exhibit several years ago, the upcoming Opulence sale at Christies in London offers an enormous selection in the singular category of snuff boxes, the required accessory du jour in fashionable 18th and 19th century circles.…

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Valextra x Dedar

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   6 Comments

Valextra x Dedar

The long time love affair between fashion and interiors seems to only be getting hotter lately with more collaborations coming to the forefront of design. During a recent trip to Bergdorf’s, I noticed a very chic marriage of high style that has somehow stayed under the radar. It seems Valextra x Dedar, two of my favorite Italian luxury brands, were destined to tie the knot.

The result of their I-do’s are three mini versions of Valextra’s Spring ’17 Superbag. The limited edition Iside Mignons, clad in Dedar’s Serpentino, Funky Stripes and Viva, are reminiscent of Italian graphics and patterns from the 50’s, emphasizing the shape and geometry of the bag.…

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Posted in design, fashion, interior design, valextra | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments  

A Day to Celebrate and Remember

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   8 Comments

A Day to Celebrate and Remember

Nothing quite says welcome to summer than Memorial Day weekend. While the official start to the season isn’t for almost another month, this is a day to celebrate the imminent sounds, smells and sights of warm weather living. And for me it’s now the count down until my departure for my annual summer destination of Nantucket.  As we all plot, plan and dream of our upcoming holidays, I pulled together a little visual inspiration from my photo files of recent summers on Nantucket.

all photos by Stacey Bewkes for Quintessence

But of course this is also a day to remember and honor those who have made sacrifices serving our country, which includes my father, a decorated officer and reconnaissance pilot in the WWII Army Air Corps.…

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Highlights of a Busy Week in Design

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Stacey Bewkes   •   3 Comments

Highlights of a Busy Week in Design

While there have been a plethora of industry events, I am catching up here with a few highlights from a very busy week in design. Monday evening was a reception for the most recent installation at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery. In their stunning Fifth Avenue space, select works from represented artists were paired with bold nature themed wallpapers from Pierre Frey for a beautiful and thoughtful intersection of art and design.

I remember being blown away (pun intended) when first seeing an incarnation of Studio Drift’s amazing Fragile Future dandelion chandelier several years ago in their Paris gallery. Exploring “the relationship between nature, technology and mankind,” the light sculptures are made of bronze electrical circuits enhanced by light emitting dandelions, all hand picked and individually glued to LED lights (detail below).…

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