Vladimir Kagan

I just discovered Vladimir Kagan Couture and I'm so glad I did --- apparently all of Hollywood: Brad and Angelina, Courtney Cox, Demi Moore, Uma Thurman, etc AND fashion designers such as DVF, Roberto Cavalli and Elie Tahari are all collectors of his furniture. In the words of the New York Times "Vladimir Kagan is one of the most important furniture designers of the 20th century. Furniture designed by him in the forties, fifties and sixties has become iconic to Modernity and an obligatory reference to every designer. He is the creative grandfather of a whole new generation of designers." Vladimir was one of first to use organic shapes in furniture design. Vladimir's first interest was in painting and sculpture, but after studying architecture at Columbia, Vladimir joined his father, a master cabinet maker, and learned the ins-and-outs of furniture making.He opened his first store in NYC in 1948 and has participated in many prestigious projects over the years. He most recently opened Vladimir Kagan Couture in the New York Design Center, where all of the furniture is custom made in New Jersey.
It's this style of seating, the Omnibus, that Tom Ford selected for all of the Gucci stores.

My personal faves are this coffee table/seat called the Pouf. I love it's unconventional shape and material for a coffee table and the chrome base which is so iconic of Vladimir's designs. Also, I'm kind of obsessed with the salvaged wood beams in the background. I saw them in the show room and I think they are a great sculptural accessory!

My other love is this chair: la ronde. It's even better in person when the pillows are messed up just a bit and not quite so exact.

In addition to his innovative designs, Vladimir's other claim to fame is that he's married to Erica Wilson who has a really cute shop on Main Street on Nantucket! She's known for her needle works, but even more than that I love the clothes in her store. She's got some really unique pieces for women and the most adorable kids clothes!

Chair Fun!

Elle Decor did a fun little piece on If Money Were No Object: Chairs and a couple were just perfect for today!Happy Pink Wednesday! This one, called the Sushi Chair (fun name!) is by Unica Home. With stunning walls and floors like these, it's amazing that these Ligne Roset chairs can still keep your attention!

You know how I love sophisticated things in kids rooms? I think a chair like this Julian Chinchester one would be perfect. It's a cute print with elegant lines, how perfect!

Wedding Weekend!

I went to a beautiful wedding this weekend - a true dream wedding, with the castle included!

It was in Huntington, NY, at Oheka Castle - which is stunning!

I had all of the best intentions of running around and taking a bunch of photos; I even brought a huge bag instead of a cute clutch so that I could tote around my very large camera, but catching up with friends and drinking martinis sort of interfered with my plans! Our chauffeur drove us up the beautiful, long driveway. The weather was just about perfect!We were dropped off in front where we were greeted by a red carpet. Although of course we wanted to walk around a little and take a few photos. I will say that while cobblestones make for an authentic and beautiful paving stone, it's not so easy on the ladies in heels! Up the grand stair case we went! With additional flowers and candles, it was even prettier on the wedding day!The ceremony was held outside, looking out onto the gardens. With this facade as the back drop to the wedding procession, the girls's already pretty dresses were even more elegant!I actually missed the loggia - there were too many amazing appetizers inside that I never made it out. The formal dining room was where the wedding cake and the dessert bar were served - I'd never seen (or eaten) so many amazing desserts in my life! I never actually found this path - I mean you can only go so far when your heels are aerating the lawn! But it is somewhere on the castle grounds and I kind of liked the pic!Built in 1919 as a summer home, Oheka cost $11 million to construct and was (and still is) the second largest private residence in the United States. After Kahn died in 1934, the property passed through a series of hands, at one point being a retirement home for sanitation workers of NYC (imagine going from picking up trash to living in a castle!) and was later the site for the Eastern Military Academy. By 1985, the building was in almost complete disrepair, with no plumbing, electric, windows or doors. Isn't that just painful to think about!? Fortunately a developer and a non-profit organization began a restoration which is 70% completed.

Photo Credits: Oheka Castle and Elliot Kaufman

I need this!

Sigh... why don't I have one?I want a pretty dressing room! and this is the dressing room of the J.Crew head designer Jenna Lyons -- you can be sure it's full of many fabulous things!!

Photo Credits: Adam Chinitz - for Metropolitan Show House, Domino Nov08

Pink Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! Here's the pink room I'm loving this week! I found it on From the Right Bank to the Left Coast - Alek did a fun post about black chandeliers!

Photo Credits: Baccarat

Hamilton Furniture

One of my stops last week when I was running around NYC was at Hamilton Furniture. Its show room drew me right in with its white upholstery and lucite tables. The company specializes in "simple, elegant, unadorned pieces that will compliment, not compete with almost any style." While the firm doesn't offer those over the top, WOW pieces, so many of their styles have that easy, clean style that I love!

This year, keeping up with trends, the company has worked with Benjamin Moore to expand their line of painted finishes. They also are expanding their lucite styles and are now creating colored lucite to launch next spring.

But I didn't just love the furniture, I was also so impressed with the quality and efforts of the company to design green product. Producing domestically while using farm grown mahogany, the company maintains competitive price points and quality details.

It's high time I hit up the High Line!

I had heard great reviews about the High Line since it opened in June, but I FINALLY just went to see it this past week! It was just as amazing as I hoped it would be!I lucked out with gorgeous weather!There was fabulous people watching! I mean the clothing and style is just amazing!The natural plantings and the way the original rail ties are blended into the landscaping is really quite striking. Many compliments to James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the landscape architeture firm and architecture firm responsible for the breathtaking design. Many great sites to take in - I found that some of the dilapidated buildings were so visually intriguing. Isn't it interesting to see the old building and tracks juxtaposed against the new path?Other fun sites include this seating area which looks out onto the avenue below.I loved these chaise lounges! In addition to beautiful green space, this park includes several lovely seating areas, perfect for taking a snack from the Chelsea Market. The High Line was originally built in the 1930's to remove train traffic from Death Avenue, as 10th Ave was known due to the high level of accidents between the street level trains and road traffic in the busy industrial area that was the meat packing district.
The elevated tracks were designed to run over the center of blocks rather than over the avenue to avoid some of the negative conditions of elevated tracks and allowed trains to connect directly to factories and warehouses. The tracks were used until 1980 at which point the space sat vacant for many years.

Fortunately for us, in 1999, Friends of the High Line is formed, advocating preservation and reuse as a public space. Now, the High Line is open from Gansevoort to 20th Street, with plans to open 20th to 30th street in 2010!

It's such a great place to spend an afternoon in NYC!

Photo Credits: the High Line, Huffington Post and Flickr.