Reading & Wallpaper

"We wallpapered the stairs and hallways--it looked like an orange grove. Leafy light and dark green branches with Ping-Pong ball-sized oranges nestled here and there. The floors and stairs were painted a cream color, but we left the original walnut banister untouched. I loved that hallway. I used to just go up there and sit in it and be proud of myself."

- Isabel Gillies in her memoir, Happens Every Day.

Have you read this book? While it's not really about interior decorating, it has its moments. It's actually about making a home away from home, the never pleasant end of a marriage, and is all based on the author's true story.

Actress turned author Isabel Gillies, photographed above for Vogue in February 2009. (Is that Brunschwig & Fils "Les Touches" I spy?)

The book came to my attention, not from the Vogue article, which I missed, but from reading an interview with Whit Stillman, writer and director of one of my favorite films, Metropolitan. He mentioned that one of the actors in the movie (Gillies) had written a "very good book" about her family's move from New York City to a small town (with arguably disastrous consequences).

"We had ended up in Oberlin — in a big 1877, redbrick house we never could have afforded on the East Coast. It was our second year in Ohio. Before we bought the house on Elm Street we had lived for a year in a rented faculty house, but when we saw "Bricky," as we called it, we could not help but buy it and renovate it into our dream house. We spent all our money and took out a home-equity loan for William Morris wallpaper and a new water heater. I wish I had a picture because I'll never be able to write how great it was."

Though she never says for sure, I believe the William Morris wallpaper pattern to which Gillies refers, could be "Arbutus", designed by Kathleen Kersey in 1913. I wish I could find and example of it being used in a chic way, but all the photos I come across are from rather unfortunate bed & breakfasts.

Anyway, that concludes one of my infrequent suggestions for a good read. Those in NYC can catch author Isabel Gillies in person at the New York Society Library on October 15, 2009.

So Eighties

This classic wallpaper may have been the only thing reminiscent of summer in the August issue of Vogue. While I am not fashionably sophisticated enough to care about winter coats in mid-July, I do love the backdrop Vogue chose for this eighties-inspired spread. (This print seems to define that era just as much as the 1940's when it originally appeared on the scene).

Of course, if I thought I could get away with putting tropical wallpaper in my own house, I might. Alas, this type of thing would look slightly ridiculous in our cozy little cottage. I will save it for that beach house someday...

Peaks and Valleys

The way up and the way down are one and the same.
-Heraclitus

Schumacher's Zimba has really been growing on me lately. Perhaps I am finding beauty in a familiar pattern...

Tropi-California

Alkemie's Friday post featured photos from the March InStyle spread of Nicky Hilton's L.A. home. One of my favorites was the breakfast area, which was designed out of nostalgia for the Beverly Hills Hotel, where Hilton ate her pancakes by the pool growing up. (Rough life).

The famous Banana Leaf Wallpaper seen in Hilton's kitchen above was originally used throughout the hotel in the 1950's by decorator Don Loper, and is also recognizable from the set of a popular 1980's sitcom. Any guesses? (The correct answer wins a free bottle of Geritol).

The iconic signage of The Beverly Hills Hotel surrounded by wallpaper-inspiring foliage.

For more photos of Nicky Hilton's home, be sure to visit Alkemie. You can also see a video tour of the kitchen and dressing room on the InStyle website.

Lizzie Allen Wallpapers

October's British House and Garden takes us through the process of labor-intensive, hand printed wallpaper with designer Lizzie Allen. Only 26 years old, Allen used a grant given by the British Arts and Crafts Council to set up her own business, shortly after apprenticeships with Osborne & Little and Paul Smith.

Pictured above is one of her complex and charming designs, City Gents, depicting classic scenes in London and reminiscent of illustrators like Miroslav Sasek. A single 300 x 56 cm sheet takes three hours to produce and includes hand-ripped paper for texture. Since prints are fit specifically to the space, there is no leftover paper waste.


Because her initial offerings have been such a success, Allen is expanding her catalog to include other picturesque cities. Above is her latest design, "Jazz in Central Park". For more information and designs, Lizzie Allen's website. (Photos from British House and Garden by John Carey)

Pink Fans

I am usually not a fan of pink in decorating, but how about these pink fans? Powder room is by Woodson and Rummerfield.