The November issue of Elle Decor is out and it is especially lucious this month. I would suggest you run and don't walk over to your favorite bookstore today and pick it up. And this month, don't wait for your subscription copy to come!! My copy is arealdy a mess, totally trashed out from schlepping it around with me everyhere I go. The cover shot is from the Boston Black Bay street apartment of designer Frank Roop and his wife Sharon. Photos from the living room and study are worth the price of the issue alone. The design team of Sills and Huniford are featured with an art filled NYC apartment. But wait, I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet:
Blogger favorite Steve Gambrel shows off his latest, above, a glorious NYC apartment located in a 1895 building. Two standouts are pictured: the custom Troy rug and the yellow Clarenace House silk drapes. Do NOT miss the custom brass art lights which become sculptures Gambrel takes something utilatarian and turns it into art. 
But my favorite story, possible of the year, is Alex Papachristidis' Manhattan apartment. A riot of color and pattern, art and exotic "Grand Tour souveniors" - the home is cluttered perfection. Fortunys, ikats, and antique suzanis coexist as if they were taupe and cream linens instead of vibrant reds, yellows, and greens. There are enough up to the minute trend alerts here - it's obvious it will be outdated next year. But still, I'd spend a year here, living quite happily
Vogue Living is special this time around. In what is becoming a much copied trend: magazines issuing quarterly "design issue" Vogue seems to have Oprah and In Style beat by a mile. The articles are typically Vogue thought provoking, and story after story is filled with fresh ideas to ponder. There' s a great piece of design books, an interesting pictorial on Vermeer decorating, a wonderful excerpt form Polly Devlin's new book: a Year in the Life of an English Meadow. The features are particualarly enjoyable: an English castle, an Arabian tent, and a peek into Jennifer Garner's french styled garden. My favorites? Kathryn Ireland's new home. Having just published her first book (highly recommended!), she moved into a "cluster of 1920s stable buildings" in Ojai. I adore her style, casual, warm, and cozy. Totally without any hint of pretension anywhere. But, saving the best for last:
Carolina Herrera, Jr. photographed at her and her husband's Spanish estancia. If the picture of the bedroom doesn;t send you out rushing to see more, we definitely have different perspectives! Enjoy!
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