On the Bookshelf - Two Spring Releases

In 1913, wealthy women rallied the Garden Club of America to help improve the landscape of the 48 states, which had deteriorated—both morally and environmentally—after the close of the Civil War. In order to spread the word to gardeners throughout the country and illustrate exactly what a garden could and should be, they commissioned Frances Benjamin Johnston, celebrity photographer of American homes and gardens. Gardens for a Beautiful America, 1895-1935, by writer and lecturer Sam Watters, presents for the first time 250 color photographs that have been preserved by the Library of Congress for 70 years. Prepared as glass slides for Johnston's illustrated lectures, the photos still resonate with her crusading message: "Garden the nation back to America the beautiful—one elm, one rose, one fountain and one shady terrace at a time." Published by Acanthus Press.

View from Terrace to Swimming Pool at Killenworth, George Dupont Pratt House,
Glen Cove, New York, circa 1918. 

View from Terrace to Swimming Pool at Kenarden Lodge, John Stewart Kennedy House,
Bar Harbor, Maine, Summer 1920.

View to Kitchen from East Flower Garden and East Flower Garden Pergola at Chatham,
Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore House, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1927.

Flower Garden at Mrs. Francis Lemoine Loring House, Pasadena, California, Spring 1917.

ALSO AVAILABLE this spring is the first monograph on designer Jennifer Post. Written by Anna Kasabian, Pure Space showcases twenty of the designer's elegant, minimal interiors. According to Kasabian, Post's work "emphasizes clear spatial organization on a primary axis, and adheres to strict rules of balance, continuity, and clarity of forms. When she introduces color or luxurious textures, they are in moderation and always come with a very specific purpose." Post is the principal and visionary of her firm Jennifer Post, Inc., which functions as an interior architecture firm as well as a full-service interior design firm. Her work has been published in Architectural Digest, the New York Times, Metropolitan Homes and others. Published by Rizzoli New York.

Here is the ultimate feminine dressing room, with the sexy temptress Marilyn, shades of white, 

a lounge chair by Ligne Roset, and a dressing table by J. Robert Scott.  © Roger Davies

Delicate stiletto-legged furnishings anchor the elegance while keeping the peace of the place.  

The clear glass table was designed by J. Robert Scott, and 1950s Italian modernist chairs are by Paola Buffa.  © Michael Moran and Antoine Bootz

This bedroom sits on a corridor of glass, keeping it open to the views. Glass goes opaque at the 

press of a button.  © Ken Hayden

The pool provides a focal point for public and private rooms. Whether gray sky or blue, this view holds the peacefulness of the place in check.  © Roger Davies

In Rare FORM

When asked to sponsor the lounge at the Los Angeles Fine Art Show this weekend, Entra called on LA designers Joshua Rose and Rafael Kalichstein of FORM. We couldn't be happier with the results. Exquisite furniture supplied by Baker, wallpaper from Osborne & Little and FUSE Lighting helped Joshua and Rafael transform the vast Convention Center space into five elegant sitting areas. Reproductions of Tony Duquette's fantastical designs and crystals by Lenise Soren add the final touches.

The LA Art Show—the West Coast's largest and most comprehensive art fair—runs from January 18-22, 2012. For complete information on this event visit www.losangelesfineartshow.com. If you're not able to drop by the show this weekend, we'll be featuring FORM's stunning lounge in our January/February issue.

From left: Lenise Soren, Rafael Kalichstein, Jeffrey Nemeroff, Mary E. Nichols,
Joe Bowers of Baker, Joshua Rose and Catherine Nemeroff

A Little World Design creation sits in front of a replicated
Tony Duquette screen

Rafael Kalichstein and Joshua Rose of FORM interior design 

Destination China

On December 18th, the Kingkey 100 skyscraper (built by Sir Terry Farrell in 2006) will debut the much-anticipated St. Regis Shenzhen. The hotel occupies the top 28 floors, providing its 297 guestrooms with views that stretch far beyond the financial district immediately below.

Shenzhen started out as a tiny fishing village, but it has become a major cultural center with its abundance of ancient temples, fortresses and tombs. In addition to the historic architecture, the city also boasts the Lake of the Immortals Botanical Gardens, three major national parks, beaches, golf courses, and Dafen Oil Painting Village, an enclave of some 5,000 artists.

For more infomation on the hotel's opening and special debut packages, click here.

Note: it's a flip flop-free zone. A strict code of smart casual will be maintained at the hotel, especially in its six restaurants. (I think I hear my mother applauding.)

The lobby

A guestroom

The pool

Designed for the palate...and the nose

Master perfumer Roja Dove, left, and The Macallan's David Cox at the Beverly Hills Montage

Recently, wine and spirits expert R. Dean attended a special Macallan whisky event at £10 bar at the Montage in Beverly Hills on behalf of Entra. Organized in New York and Los Angeles, the private meetings introduced select media and mixologists to a very special new tool in the appreciation of whisky.

Working with legendary perfumer Roja Dove, The Macallan, one of Scotland's most celebrated distilleries, has created an unprecedented scent box to allow its brand ambassadors to open the world of whisky to a broader audience. The specially designed kits feature twelve glass perfume vials of rare essences, like Rose de Mai, which requires hundreds of thousands of flowers to produce even a small amount of oil. The first set of of six initiates a discussion of scent properties—sweetness and spice, youth and maturity, stillness and volatility—that opens participants to the concept of learning to smell with the brain. The second set of oils are Dove's own blends that exactingly replicate the noses of several Macallan whiskies. It's a bit like breaking down wine tastings into flavors of oak, chocolate, and butter, for example, but it's done on a profoundly more sensory, and sensual, level.

“Roja Dove is a master perfumer who is dedicated to the highest quality raw materials in the creation of exceptional aromas and fragrances.  At The Macallan we are committed to the same quality of raw materials in delivering our whiskies,” explains David Cox, director of fine and rare malt whiskies for The Macallan. “Roja was the clearly the best choice for The Macallan. He brings a new and exciting dimension to our storied whiskies in a unique and innovative way.”



Experiencing the scents independently, then blended, enables one to more readily discern the complex notes of the whiskies, and go beyond the immediate intensity of the alcohol’s nose.

The boxes were made by Scottish cabinet maker and furniture restorer Duke Christie, using oak from the Macallan estate.

After the event, Dove created personal scent profiles for each guest—something he can suss in mere seconds.

Visitors to £10, which hosted the event, will find one of the most extensive Macallan collections in the United States including reproductions of the fabled Macallan bottling of 1841 and the world's only remaining two ounces of a 64 year old expression. The bar is named after the Scottish ten pound note, which features an illustration of The Macallan's stills. Interior done by SquareRoot.

To ensure that tastings are handled with the utmost authenticity, ice for your
Macallan is made from Scottish spring water shipped directly to the bar.

For more information on the distillery's alchemistic partnership with Dove, watch the video:

All photography courtesy Jessica Kaminski and The Macallan

A book singing with Hutton Wilkinson

This Monday night, November 21st, from 6-8pm, Bonhams New York will host a private reception and book signing with Hutton Wilkinson, for his latest publication, Tony Duquette/Hutton Wilkinson Jewelry, just released by Abrams. For more information on the event, phone 917-206-1670.

It's a gorgeous new title but let's face it, a signed copy is always just more fun.

To check out the LA Time's recent piece the book, click here.

Noble Provenance

Confession time. Maile and I have a shared, encyclopedic, slightly-terrifying-to-others knowledge of things royal and noble, especially when it comes to the Windsors and to the British peerage in general. It's probably not surprising, then, that when we heard about Maitland-Smith's new collection we had to learn more. You see, not only is it their first designer-licensed collection, but the designer in question happens to Henrietta Spencer-Churchill—eldest daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough.

 

Spencer-Churchill grew up around one of the finest collections of art and design anywhere in the world—Blenheim Palace—so it's probably not totally surprising that she would become a designer herself. Over her three-decade career, she's renovated country house properties, created furnishing lines and authored several books. 

Now she's partnering with Maitland-Smith to launch a new collection of furniture and accessories—some 100 pieces—with a quintessentially English vibe.

Traditional and beautifully scaled, the pieces have restrained elegance that would fit a range of interiors. I might have to get my hands on one, so I can have my very own slice of nobility!

Let There Be Light!

Since the days are getting shorter, I'm feeling light-deprived—even here in Southern California where the sky is currently a brilliant blue—and I've been thinking about light and lighting a lot. Where to put, what to use, the whole enchilada. So I was really excited to see the new collection from Aldo Bernardi. Now I'm a sucker for the rustic, industrial vibe in general and their pieces really knock it out of the park. 

Linea Otello, an exterior fixture, has subtle details that temper its industrial edge.

Linea Attila: a family of pole lights in different sizes.

As with the rest of the designs, the new line dubbed Le Magie dell'Elefante, is made near Venice. The collection will light your way on those nights when night falls all too soon.