Friday, February 26, 2010

An Interview with Darryl Carter

I recently had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Darryl Carter, the Washington lawyer turned designer. Carter is a classicist, whose inspiration includes the likes of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and Bill Blass' Litchfield, Conn. country house, which likely will go down in history as one of the most compelling interiors ever. Not for Carter the current eclecticism, which often results in confused interior settings. Rather, his hallmarks are: Simplicity of vocabulary. Continuity of scale and color. A thoughtful integration of classic with modern forms rather than gratuitous eclecticism, which he believes can often give too much license to the marriage of disparate objects. The challenge, Carter says, is refinement. The entire interview will be published in the near future on HomeFurnishings.com.
In the meantime, you can become a fan of Darryl Carter's The New Traditional by linking to:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Darryl-Carter-The-New-Traditional/259364634315?ref=ts

Photo credit: Gordon Beall

Friday, February 19, 2010

Curator for a Day




Nine Muses Media Creative Director Julie Smith Vincenti and I recently had the opportunity to work like museum curators for a day at the Las Vegas Market. http://www.lasvegasmarket.com/. The purpose: to draw home furnishings buyers' attention to the remarkable array of quality products at the World Market Center. More specifically, we were charged with the task of selecting merchandise that reflected current market trends. Among our hands-down favorites were Phillips Collection's http://www.phillipscollection.com faux log stools with a sublime neutral finish. It wouldn't be overstating matters to say they looked absolutely stunning juxtaposed with Lexington's http://www.lexington.com/ classic French-inspired Opal side chair upholstered in a turquoise faux croc leather. Four Hands http://www.fourhands.com/ further elevated the mix with the new Reese dresser from the Bina Collection.