THE GOODY BAG: RALPH LAUREN

It's Alissa of The Goods Design here, bringing you the best of the best of Los Angeles' interior design events, people, places and things. This week I popped into the Kravet showroom for a little Ralph Lauren Home fete. Delicious food + gorgeous fabrics = a designer who loves her job.

It seems like the next big thing these days is taking a step away from the very "designed" interiors, and moving more towards a layered look - as though it was collected over time throughout your travels.

Love it. Please sign me up immediately.

Gorgeous inspiration image from this season's Ralph Lauren Home collection. I'm obsessed with that leather chair (if you are looking for something to buy me).

The event was focused on debuting some of their new fabrics, and I fell for a few of them... like this brown zebra print (but let's be honest, I never met a zebra print I didn't love).

Believe it or not, this is a silk. It looks like something you might have picked up on your travels in India, but soft as a baby's you-know-what.

RL also revealed their upcoming outdoor collection, and that's when the oooh's and ahh's really started to happen. Their outdoor fabrics are amazingly soft and this inspiration image has me ready to throw a garden party. Now.

More gorgeous (outdoor) fabrics included an embroidered sheer based off the African kuba-cloth.

This blue ikat (on the right) combines everyone's favorites - an exotic ikat AND a chevron. Win-win! And the blue paisley on the left would be an insane outdoor drapery or banquette cushion.

I loved hearing about the design process (they create a fictional character and create an entire collection around that person) but once the fabrics were passed around, I really started to swoon. Linens with a gorgeous gold sheen, luxurious silks, timeless animal prints. So many of the fabrics came with a patina - already sun-kissed or tea-stained. I was in decorator heaven.

*all inspiration images from the Ralph Lauren Home website, all fabric photos taken by Alissa Swedlow

GIVEAWAY: NEW FABRICS FROM WAVERLY!!

The new Modern Essentials collection from Waverly has just been made available in stores this month, and I am loving their fresh bold colors and patterns!

From suzani to zebra and ikat to geometric, the prints are fantastic.

Interested in taking home a stack of your own? Well good, because we're giving away five stacks of fabric! Each stack will contain five one-yard pieces for you to get crafty with. I'm thinking of making some fun pillows with mine (and can't wait to share when I do!).

To enter, leave us a comment (with your name and email) letting us know how you'd get crafty with these swatches! For an extra entry, pop over to the Waverly Facebook page and enter there too. We'll keep the contest open for a week - good luck!

GLOBAL STYLE: OTOMI IN EVERY COLOR

Yellow's the new neutral, but red is a classic, and I'm always partial to royal blue. Can't decide which otomi fabric you like best? Cristina from Fuji Files here with an inspiring solution for that dire case of indecision. 

You can have it all! In small doses of course. Add a cushion in each hue to a neutral sofa for some extraordinary seating. I know my beige Ikea couch would benefit from some otomi love!

 

They also add a playful pop of joy to even the most sophisticated setting. As the (shopaholic) saying goes, if the shoe fits buy one in every color!

Cushions available at Jacaranda Home and Ruby Plaza. Custom shades by Black & Spiro.

*images via asheleandro and ivy&piper

Oscar Elegance at Lee Jofa

I had a very busy day yesterday which also included a meeting at the D&D Building.  While I was there, I decided to see if the Oscar de la Renta room was finished at the Lee Jofa showroom.  Every season Lee Jofa installs a fabulous room devoted to one of their fabric designers.  I wasn't sure anything could top the lovely room by interior designer Eric Cohler but the new Oscar de la Renta room with its gorgeous green walls and luxurious bed definitely takes the cake.  It reminds me a lot of the de la Renta's bedroom in their house in Connecticut that I posted a few months ago.  Needless to say, I am as in love with the new Oscar fabrics as I am with the artwork in the room.  I'm sure Oscar de la Renta Home creative director, Miles Redd,  had a hand in this masterpiece and I thank him since it makes a dreaded trip to the D&D Building a whole lot more enjoyable!

 

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Thom Filicia Fabrics

I told you that there are a lot of exciting things going on this summer and this time it's Thom Filicia's new fabric line for Kravet. I had the pleasure of attending the press preview last month and Thom was kind enough to pose with his fabulous new fabrics! He's so funny! The first thing I asked was whether this was an unusually large collection and it actually is at 180 fabrics! Clearly Thom and the team were very busy and the result is an amazing collection. You can choose an already coordinated color scheme or mix and match to your heart's content. There are great linen workhorse fabrics and wonderful prints that I know are going to be a big hit with designers. The best news is that they have just arrived in the Kravet showroom in New York! Now go forth and decorate!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Fashionable Fabrics: Oscar de la Renta for Lee Jofa

If you are a regular reader, then you know how much I love it when fashion and design collide and I can't think of a more perfect marriage than Oscar de la Renta and Lee Jofa. I had the pleasure of attending the Elle Decor sponsored launch party last evening at the Oscar de la Renta boutique and am already trying to figure out where I can use these fabulous fabrics. Lee Jofa Creative Director Stephen Elrod told us a wonderful story about how they went into Mrs. de la Renta's closet to find inspiration since there are no official Oscar archives. Her closet is the archive! Some fabrics were made by the same mill that made the fabrics for the clothing but in cotton instead of silk. Others had to be slightly reinterpreted to work for the home but just as with Oscar's fashions, some are even hand sewn! Amazing! Of course, everyone is already clamoring for the ball skirts made from the fabrics! They might end up auctioning them off for charity so start saving your pennies now ladies. Or you can always head over to Lee Jofa and make your own!

Photos from Lee Jofa

Chairs Before and After

I had a lot of readers ask me where to find the chairs in my last post. They were actually already owned by my client and are from Lee Industries. The chairs are a nice small size for New York apartments. You can see from the before photo below what a difference new upholstery and fabric can make on an old chair! The new fabric is a small neutral herringbone from Travers called Warwick which is available from Zimmer + Rohde. I also had my upholsterer remove the nail head trim so they would look clean and simple. So they next time you think about getting rid of an old chair, just remember that it can be given new life with new fabric!

Chair Before

Lee Industries Chair 1935-01

A Single Headboard

I've been too busy decorating for others lately to spend any time on my own apartment but when a certain magazine asked to see photos of it, I thought that maybe I should finish all those nagging projects. One of which is a headboard. If you live in an apartment in New York, then you know the problem with the ever present bump out. It's an annoying little thing that allows the pipes to run up and down the corner of a building but always causes a decorating disaster. In my case, there is one at the foot of my bed that doesn't allow 4 inches for a normal headboard to sit behind the mattress. This means that I need to have one custom made that will attach to the wall and sit above the top of the mattress. See why I haven't dealt with this before. You're probably wondering why I've first posted a photo of a dining room if I am talking about headboards right? Well, I've been in love with the fabric on those chairs since they were first published in Domino in September 2008.

Then I saw it used for the headboard in A Single Man and thought that's the fabric I should use for my own headboard! The sample I have is Tilbury Lapis by Laura Ashley through Kravet. I usually remove the tag from any of the Laura Ashley fabrics before I show them to my clients since they usually associate them with unflattering floral dresses but the ikat of this fabric is perfect. The walls in my bedroom are robins egg blue and even though I plan to replace all my bedding, it should all coordinate nicely. I may have to find myself a blue phone to finish it off though!

Here's another photo of the chairs from the premier issue of Lonny magazine. I'm not really a prints person. I usually stick to textures and skins like shagreen but I think a headboard should make a statement and it's nice to have at least one patterned fabric in a room that pulls everything together.

Above is photo of Tilbury Lapis from Laura Ashley through Kravet and below is a photo of Tilbury Lapis from Calico Corners. Are they in cahoots or has Calico Corners copied their fabric from Laura Ashley? They look almost identical. I've ordered a sample of the Calico Corners since at $24.99 a yard, it's practically free! That's a joke but everyone likes a bargain, myself included. If this all works out, that would make one project down and fifty more to go so I'm off to get to work! Ciao!

Photos by Anie Schlecter for Domino and Patrick Cline for Lonny

Chic in LA: Kathryn Ireland and Ferrick Mason

The first stop for our day of design in LA was the chic showroom of Kathryn Ireland where textile designer Brian Ferrick of Ferrick Mason joined us. It was a kaleidoscope of colorful prints and patterns. It seemed like everyone in LA was on the move and Kathryn was no exception. She recently opened this showroom on Almont Yard in West Hollywood in the space that used to belong to Peter Dunham.

I love how most all the showrooms in LA display their fabrics from peg racks. The larger samples can be removed, moved, borrowed and washed. Made me wonder if the fabrics in New York are ever washed!

Kathryn was super sweet in person and was excited to talk about her new fabric and wallpaper designs. These Indian print fabrics have become her signature and very popular in sunny LA.

Many of the items in the showroom were picked up along her travels and are for sale. It would be best to call ahead to make an appointment but they do get pop in visitors from time to time.

I have to find out again who makes the china but the linocuts are by Kathryn's friend, the artist Hugo Guinness. The Brits stick together!

We had the pleasure of meeting textile designer Brian Ferrick of Ferrick Mason at Kathryn's showroom. Above are just a few of the fabrics he produces with his business partner Alex Mason. Brian worked with Kathryn on her line and also helped interior designer Michael Smith create his Jasper line of fabrics. I wanted to get a photo of Brian but duty called in the form of a client and clients trump all else!

The showroom is located on the second floor and covers both halves of the building in Almont Yard. It used to be an apartment so Kathryn has converted it's closets into beautiful display areas for her pillows and quilts among other things.

On this side of the showroom, you can see more of Kathryn's extensive fabric collection and her new wallpaper.

The silver glasses from Mexico on the nightstand are also for sale. I love when showrooms look like real homes so you can picture how something would look in your own home or that of a client.

I felt like a kid in a candy store with all the wonderful fabrics and accessories on display!

Not sure if this was a closet or a back entrance but it housed a cute little settee and more treasures!

I love how Kathryn Ireland layers patterns and colors that somehow all work.

On the side shelves in this little room were more fabrics, beautiful lampshades, and more Hugo Guinness prints. You have to peak your head in to see them so I love that they styled this area as well as the rest of the showroom.

Tacked to the board are samples from Kathryn's fabric collections. Below is the entry from Almont Yard that keeps the dog inside but I breeze blowing through the space. I think I would be very happy to come to work if my office and showroom looked this cute! It's a good thing we had a schedule to keep the day we stopped by because Maison21 and I both exclaimed after the visit that we could have stayed all day!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic