Holiday House Hamptons 2014

I visited the Holiday House Hamptons this past weekend. Spanning several units of the newly restored Watchcase, a 19th century historic factory building in the bustling downtown of Sag Harbor, NY.

The units were bright and spacious with high ceilings and restored original pine beams and exposed brick walls. Rustic and industrial meets modern with the oversized arched factory windows, oak floors, and sleek stone surfaces throughout the kitchens and baths. The designers really pulled some incredible rooms together that were lively, unexpected and fun. Below are my favorites.

You can still see the exhibits until September 1, 2014. They are open daily 11am – 5pm and located at 15 Church Street, Sag Harbor, NY.

Bedroom by Jen Going Interiors

Bedroom by Jen Going Interiors

Bedroom by Jen Going Interiors

Kitchen and Living Room decorated by Huniford Design Studios

Living Room decorated by Huniford Design Studios

I think this was my favorite room, designed by Tamara Magel Home. I just saw these incredible light fixtures (by Apparatus Studio) at the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in May. They are spectacular: note the cone shape is porcelain.

Campion Platt’s playful Master Bedroom

Gorgeous details of Campion Platt’s playful Master Bedroom

Colorful and rich art by Dagmara Weinberg

Nicely styled side table in Scott Formby’s Living/Dining Room

details from Scott Formby’s Living/Dining Room

A great little seat in Scott Formby’s Living/Dining Room

The comfy and chic Living/Dining area of the Townhouse by West Chin Architects & Interior Designers

A detail of the Knotty Bubbles Chandelier by Lindsey Adelman for Roll & Hill in the Living/Dining area of the Townhouse by West Chin Architects & Interior Designers

A detail from the Living/Dining area of the Townhouse by West Chin Architects & Interior Designers

A detail from the Living/Dining area of the Townhouse by West Chin Architects & Interior Designers

The kitchen in the Townhouse

Details from the kitchen in the Townhouse

A detail from the kitchen in the Townhouse

The Den in the Townhouse by Elizabeth Dow Home. Chandelier by Lindsay Adelman, Pillows by Dransfield & Ross, wall covering by Elizabeth Dow Studio

A detail of the Den in the Townhouse by Elizabeth Dow Home. Pillows by Dransfield & Ross, wall covering by Elizabeth Dow Studio

Detail from Elsa Soyars’ Townhouse Bedroom

Details from Elsa Soyars’ Townhouse Bedroom. Croc wall covering from Crezana Design

Townhouse Master Bedroom by Brady Design

A detail from the Townhouse Master Bedroom by Brady Design

A detail from the Townhouse Master Bedroom by Brady Design

I love this detail. The designer continued the stripes from the drapes onto the walls in paint

Here are links to the Designers, Artists and Craftsmen mentioned above:
Jen Going Interiors
Huniford Design Studios
Tamara Magel Home
Apparatus Studio
Campion Platt
Dagmara Weinberg
Scott Formby
West Chin Architects & Interior Designers
Roll & Hill
Elizabeth Dow Home
Lindsay Adelman
Dransfield & Ross
Elsa Soyars
Crezana Design
Brady Design

Mod Squad

I attended ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) on Monday with the fabulous team from New York Spaces magazine. We scoured miles of isles in the vast Javitz Center (in NYC) looking for interesting, inspiring product and big-picture trends in the marketplace.
Here are a few notable designs that caught my attention at the show:

really wild extruded tiles that fit together like puzzle pieces. Roughly 7 inches deep if i remember correctly… Use them for walls, floors, exterior patios, outdoor shower floors that need good drainage… the possibilities are endless and these things are probably indestructible: strength in numbers. They are by eclectic and bohemian brand, Bespoke

Fun chair by Bend in collaboration with another artist. Great piece to get all you DIYers wheels turning…

Really beautiful hand-woven chandeliers by Naomi Paul. They are collapsable, so shipping and moving are not issues.

Was never a fan of Lladro, but they are doing some interesting things as of late. I really dig their “The Guest” collection, and in particular this one by artist, Rolito. Very funky.

 

Edgy (literally) large-scale chandeliers by Gabriel Scott. The metallic interiors glistened from within the matte-finished geometric shells. So fabulous and versatile. I can imagine in a number of scenarios, classic, modern and bohemian…

Perfect little ottomans by Gabriel Scott that screamed haberdashery and fine tailoring

Opulent shagreen-patterned wallpaper in a fish scale pattern by ShagreenArt Inc. So outrageous.

Flipped when I saw this snake china by the 2nd oldest (2nd to Meisen) china manufacturer in Europe, Augartem Wein. This pattern is by Gabrielle Rotherman and was inspired by her series of snake-themed fine art.

Fabulously simple white & silver giraffe wallpaper by Sissy + Marley. Would be great in a kid’s room (obviously) or a powder room or small space.

One of several large and outrageous lights by Fort Standard

There were so many incredible prints from Eskayel, I didn’t know what to shoot! They are just REALLY LIVABLE —yet funky—patterns. Very bohemian chic.

Incredible fixtures by Apparatus! Every single one was a stunner. The sconce on the lower right side—knocked my socks off and—is made with horse hair! They even have versions with black horse hair and enameled metal. I die…

Deluxe tropical wallpaper by Timorous Beasties. Dorothy Draper’s face would melt…

The Best Sink I have ever seen. From the Metrio System by Stone Forest. I want it all. I love how the hardware fits into the stone perfectly, the thick slab, the finish of the metal…it’s perfection… speechless. I want one.

Also flipped out when I saw these porcelain skull perfume atomizers by the 2nd oldest (2nd to Meisen) china manufacturer in Europe, Augartem Wein. This is the kind of perfume atomizer I’d have in my boudoir…

Delectable little bite-size thumb drives—by Beyond Object—that look like jewelry

 

 

 

 

Wardrobe Function

Hot off the Oscars, everyone’s talking about ‘what they wore’, but I’m more interested in where they hang it all when they get home. What does that space look like?

Everyone’s got their daily routines and ideally, their zone. My husband, Ryerson, and I just brought ours to life. We sold our fab little 20’s colonial tudor this fall and bought a bigger/older project: an 1805 farmhouse in Franklin Lakes, NJ (yes, BRAVO Housewives territory).

Moving whilst crazed at our jobs was traumatic at best, so we focused our weekend-warrior energies on getting our private quarters finished first. ‘Oasis of organization & comfort’ has been our mantra. As usual, we took the job very seriously and built ourselves some totally over-the top closets. Ry turned the existing walk-in into his own personal haberdashery (sans valet) and I took the liberty of transforming our off-bedroom office into a gallery of glam. I’m a jeans, boots and blazer gal by nature but this wardrobe-chapel is making me see things in a whole new light.

Interior Design & Styling by moi, Meredith McBride Kipp
Photography by Laura Moss
Closet construction by Ryerson Kipp et moi

My coveted Billy Haines slipper chair from the 40’s makes a great statement piece.

Hot pink clutch and gold leather wrap bracelet by cousin Ted Kruckel at Gigi New York. Gorgeous Key Tassel candle (my favorite gifting item) by friend Elad Yifrach, founder of L’Objet. Tray by Royal Limoges from my factory tour purchases in Limoges, France a few years ago during Pairs (Maison et Objet) market— OBSESSED— bought the Asian-laquer-red china to match. The giant wishbone is by Nima Oberoi. I can’t remember where I picked it up, but it was a must-have-you moment. Looks like you can buy it at a number of places now, here’s one.

I rewired and cleaned this pretty, old chandelier (estate sale purchase) to add a little classic romance to the space.

Using a level, I simply hammered rows of nails into the wall to create a display for all my casual accessories. It’s much easier to accessorize when you can see all of your options. This is an easy project I highly recommend. I chose the wall that is usually hidden by the open closet door, but if you are doing this on a more prominent wall, you might want to get pretty brass hooks or decorative knobs to use instead, just to give it a little more polish.

I have too many funky old broaches (this one is Kenneth Jay Lane) lying unappreciated in a drawer, so why not use them to accentuate your boudoir decor?

I used a mixture of brass knobs for my accessories drawers.

Standard options for accessory organizers tend to be tacky, so I like to hide everything in drawers. Here, I’ve used a simple, modern desk accessory to hang all of my hoops and dangling earrings. It’s a great way to display and store them.

To purchase the full story (with before photos) for editorial or commercial use, it is now available at Red Cover.

Creative Commons License
amerelife.com by Meredith McBride Kipp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

© Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

A Brooklyn Standard


A few weeks ago I ate a fabulous meal at Dressler, a staple in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (on Broadway near Driggs). This Michelin-star rated restaurant (for 4 consecutive years) is owned by Colin Devlin, and filled with delicious, complex food and a unique wine list by executive chef Polo Dobkin.

Devlin hired Brooklyn artisans from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to build Dressler’s ornate metalwork-clad interiors and gorgeous zinc bar. Not only is the atmosphere and craftsmanship breathtaking, it’s also fun and surprising, as there are little creatures, birds and figures hidden throughout the cut-metal designs (shown below). Even the M and W signs on the restroom doors are sweet.

I highly recommend a meal there and book early! Though the place has been open since 2006, it’s always packed. Obviously they’re doin’ it all right!