Interior Design Minimalist

Elle Decor and John Mayer hosted a party at Armani Casa this past Tuesday night that was packed with a very stylish crowd and a lot of handsome Italian men. Why American men can't look that good in a suit is beyond me but I digress. The chicest person in the room was actually the Interior Design Director of Armani Casa, Joy Moyler! I couldn't decide if I wanted to steal her entire outfit or create a Habitually Chic award in her honor! Joy designed John Mayer's new apartment and we agreed that bachelors make the best clients! They agree with pretty much everything you suggest and are always so appreciative. The only problem with John's project was that he was always traveling so that meant a lot of emails and strangely timed phone calls but it looks like it was worth it as you can see in the September 2009 issue of Elle Decor.


Joy was kind enough to introduce me to John who said he couldn't be happier in his new apartment. Since he does travel so much, he wanted to create a more "zen" home where he would have five pairs of black pants, five black shirts, five white tees, etc. I had to joke with him about how long that could last since New York makes you want to collect things and we agreed that he might need to get a storage space. Then I was elbowed out of the way by two blond girls who wanted to have their photo taken with him and that was the end of that conversation.


The party was packed so luckily, I had stopped into Armani Casa last week to check out their wares and take some photos. It is clearly a store where fashion and design collide with very chic results. Enjoy!

When I returned from Paris, I ran into Pierre Frey (the grandson of THE Pierre Frey) at a party and told him that I can't believe he chooses to live in New York when he could be living in the most gorgeous city in the world! He actually only lives here half the year but that didn't stop him from setting up a home that reflects his family heritage.

The apartment was originally shot for Domino but we all know what happened there so it ended up being published in the October 2009 issue of New York Spaces magazine.

Pierre chose a Nolita loft where he could mix industrial and traditional pieces. This 25 drawer piece was bought from the loft's previous owners and hold fabric samples as well as clothing.

Of course, Pierre Frey fabrics on are full display such as on this screen that hides the kitchen.

It's clear that wherever Pierre hangs his hat is home! Personally, I would rather hang my hat in Paris so maybe I can convince him to let me live in his Paris apartment while he is in New York!

I was looking for this portrait of Patricia Herrera in her mother, Carolina Herrera's red toile bedroom for a while and I finally found it on photographer Jonathan Becker's website. It's actually the first photo, as it should be. It's iconic and beautiful and makes me want to upholster something in toile.

Looks like Carolina Herrera was also inspired by her mother's bedroom and the dress. She used the blue Le Coq toile by Pierre Frey in the master bedroom of her home in central Spain.

Mrs. Herrera also upholstered the sitting room of her Upper East Side townhouse in blue stripes by Ian Mankin in London. I used to live near the townhouse when I first moved to New York and seeing Mrs. Herrrera shopping on Madison Avenue or walking her dogs over to Central Park was the highlight of my day. She really is the chicest woman alive!

Her daughter Carolina Herrera Junior also upholstered the walls of her apartment in Madrid in the same stripes but in red. I love how she reversed the colors in both her homes.

This sweet portrait of the Carolina Senior and Junior also resided in her Madrid apartment that she later shared with her husband during the week. On the weekends, they would decamp to his estate in Extremadura which Carolina Junior said reminded her of growing up in Venezuela.

It was this beautiful estate that was featured in the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Vogue Living. I would gladly live in the middle of nowhere in Central Spain too if it looked like this! Carolina Herrera Junior's husband is a retired bullfighter and you can see his ring in the background in this photo.

The exterior of the estate looks very inviting!

The homes in this area of Spain are constructed with blocks of stone to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Carolina Herrera Junior's studio has a table covered in a Suzani that reminds me of the fabric in her Madrid apartment. The toile on the walls is from Quadrille.

In the detail, you can see a photo of one of their dogs in New York.

A daybed is upholstered in more stripes from Ian Mankin and the Suzani fabric for the curtains came from Madrid.

Carolina enjoys decorating and does everything herself.

This room looks like a lovely place to escape the mid-day heat in Spain!

I love this blue lamp and the silver trays on another table in the same room.

I also love the blue color in the guest bathroom and that she painted the tub to match the walls!

Clearly, the antlers denote this as the old hunting lodge on the property.

Bulls that were killed by her husband's grandfather in the ring in 1902 line the walls inside the hunting lodge.

You know the property must be large since they specially built a chapel on it for their wedding!

Carolina asked her friend, the artist Konstantin Kakanias to decorate the interior of the chapel. I don't Mrs. Herrera's townhouse in New York has a chapel but it's clear that the style apple doesn't fall far from the tree. But then again, I can't imagine her children growing up in her fabulous home and not having her chic taste rub off on them. And more importantly, I wonder if she'd like to adopt me!

Photos by Jonathan Becker, Eric Cahan and Francois Halard

I'm heading out early today to the D&D Building to participate in the panel discussion, The Evolution of Design, at 9:00am so I thought I should you something to look at while I am away. I've been thinking about this apartment that Miles Redd decorated and thought it would be fun to revisit it. House Beautiful published it in the July 2009 issue but as I've mentioned before, I love to see the photos outside of the magazine and laid out as they would be in the apartment. Then you can get a sense of the flow and how the colors move throughout the space. The colors are fantastic and the lacquered walls in the living room are to die for.

Elle Decor asked a few women designers in the November 2009 issue questions including how they would advise someone starting out in the business. Charlotte Moss and Kelly Wearstler had similar responses while included among other things, train your eye by reading magazines, looking at books, going to museums, and traveling. I would like to suggest studying the work of designers you admire as well. Then ask yourself why do you like their work? What did they do that you would never have thought of? What colors did they mix the room or house? How did they arrange the furniture? As I've heard from my readers, a lot of them want to work in design but might not have the funds to go to school right now but there is a lot you can learn on your own for free from top designers!

So I leave you with this gorgeous apartment to ponder and peruse while I away all day. Please behave yourself and don't break anything. I don't want to have to come back and ground you! See you later!