Mapping It

Christopher Columbus with compass, map and navigation instrument

In honor of the great explorer, I thought I would post some rooms featuring maps and globes. In my own house, I keep an atlas on a stand. I realized I was referencing it so much, there was no need to ever put it away.

India Hicks Harbour Island home from Domino. If you like the chair fabric pictured in the background, Stylecourt has a great post on it today.

A paper map creates privacy for an otherwise see-through French door. (From Better Homes and Gardens, Sept. '07).

This room was created with only $150 worth of inexpensive maps. Room designed by David H. Mitchell for Southern Accents 2005.

Bathroom designed by Kendall Wilkinson.

Map collector and dealer, W. Graham Arader III hangs sections of this 1733 map over the stairwell. This is the first wall map of the American colonies to be created. (Photography by Simon Upton for Decorating with Pictures).

Elle Decor 2006, via Katiedid, who has more great maps and globes in her July archive.

Happy Columbus Day!

Showhouse Showdown

Since Kendall Wilkinson's Dressing Room was such a hit, I thought I would post her attached bedroom for a San Francisco Showhouse. I am not sure if I could live in a room this bright, but I found the complimentary color scheme and chinoiserie elements intriguing. Notice the Lucite headboard? The practically invisible nature allows the hand painted wall to be the focal point behind the bed. Some items from the room, including the custom headboard are available now from 1st Dibs. (Photo from Traditional Home).

In other news, Traditional Home will unveil three versions of the 2007 Showhouse in Woodstock, Georgia on November 2nd (through the 16th). Designers involved are Barbara Westbrook, Laslie-Williams and Robert Brown, an impressive group with Buckhead cache. I have never been to the exurb of Woodstock, but the town has been garnering praise for it's "new urbanism" community, designed for live, work, and play within walking distance (a foreign concept to most Atlantans). I am curious to see how the project turns out.

Closet Lust III

And dressing rooms too...

Kendall Wilkinson designed this dressing area for a San Francisco showhouse. The chair is from the shop she created and owns, Threshold. Teal edging on the cabinetry matches the Alan Campbell for Quadrille fabrics. (Image from Traditional Home).


Cote de Texas posted this sophisticated dressing room by James Radin (photo for House Beautiful). If you have not yet seen her brilliant post on the set design for the movie, Something's Gotta Give, go now.


Have a wardrobe of solid, neutral clothes like I do? A block-print wallpaper by Farrow & Ball could add some color and pattern. (Image from Domino).


Swimwear designer Sylvie Cachay has a NYC dressing area which is home to a mirrored vanity and her collection of Christian Louboutins. (Photo from Elle Magazine).


Inspired by ballgowns and parties, designer Jamie Drake used silk moire to line the wall of this girlish dressing room for the 2007 Kips Bay Showhouse. Benjamin Moore "Lavender Mist" paint is used for the built-ins and fabrics are from his own line for F. Schumacher. (Photo from Traditional Home).

For more closet specific obsession, see Closet Lust I and Closet Lust II.