Baby Lust.

Now that my baby is almost all grown up and leaving for college, I just happen to discover a line of baby furniture that makes me want to hire a surrogate and have another child!!!  Notice I’d hire a substitute womb, as opposed to using my own.    God knows that at 55 I am incapable of actually carrying another baby.  Although there are 60 year old women who have somehow managed that feat, I barely made it through the nine months when I was 37.   The night I went into labor, I was so bloated,  retaining  fluid in every cell – especially in my face - that my father walked into my hospital room and seriously didn’t recognize the water filled balloon that was masquerading as his screaming-in-pain daughter.    Such wonderful memories, makes you want to really relive that event!   But still, seeing French inspired baby furniture certainly leaves me a little wistful.  If only!   Is it just a tad ridiculous to want a baby in order to decorate a nursery?   OK, it might be a little too obsessive.   So, I’ll settle for a granddaughter.  After all, Elisabeth is going on 19.   Realistically, she could get married at 23 or 24, have a baby at 25 – that’s just six years away!   I better start planning her nursery now!  And yes, it’s going to be a female, because this furniture is just too gorgeous for her not to have a little baby girl.  

 

 

A picture from Elisabeth’s graduation photoshoot.  Notice how the photographer sat her in an antique French chair with exposed nails and muslin upholstery!  Of course I loved this picture with the antique prop (how did she know???!)   The photoshoot was at Found For the Home.  Karen Sachar Photography HERE.

 

This baby lust started innocently enough (my daughter will be so relieved to know that I am not actually sitting around planning her nursery when we still haven’t found a college for her.)   I got a phone call from a reader, which is a first.  Usually I get emails.  The reader must have somehow known how backed up my emails are right now and that I’ve spent the day apologizing to people who haven’t received a follow up in over a month.  (Seriously  you try reading all four books from the Twilight series in a week and run a business and write a blog!)   The phone call was from a woman who had recently discovered design blogs.   As you might imagine – we all fell under their spell at one time ourselves – the reader was giddy with all the photographs and design talk that goes along with blogging.   She felt a certain kinship with me, after all we certainly like the same things, and she wanted to share all this with me and just talk about her excitement.  I love that part of blogging, meeting people you never would have met if not for sharing a love of design.  Oh, and by the way.   She owns a company:  a baby and juvenile furniture company:  Art For Kids.   She also has a retail store although a large portion of her business is wholesale.  Would I mind looking at her web site?   Casually she asks this, waiting to hear my response.    She should known that her merchandise would overwhelm me to the point of thinking about giving birth again, or maybe just adopting a orphan from some impoverished country like Borat’s Kazakhstan, or selling my daughter’s virtue off to anyone who will just impregnate her with my grandchild!!!    

 

 The Josephine Bed from the French Collection.

 

But, do you blame me?   I took one look at this bed, from the French Collection and my heart skipped a beat!   White cane, Louis XVI, silk bedspread, reaching to the floor.  Has a cuter bed ever been made for a little girl or a teenager just leaving home for college?  Immediately I am so sorry that didn’t see this bed before I redecorated my daughter’s bedroom.   After all, the pale blue silk would have gone so perfectly with her new decor, I know her curtains would look fabulous with this bedding!   I could have even make a little canopy – there’s a wood corona that matches this bed:

 

 

The bed corona for the French Collection that would fit easily over the Josephine bed to make a faux canopy.

 

The same caned Josephine bed, painted in a soft aqua. Too beautiful!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

The brains behind this wonderful collection of baby and juvenile furniture is Gail Sedigh.  In 1982, newly married and pregnant, Gail started Art For Kids when she painted nursery pictures spelling out children’s names.  Today, the company is run by Gail and her husband and together Art For Kids sells everything for a child’s bedroom from baby to teen.   There are now ten furniture collections, ranging from the elegant French Collection to the fun, youthful Nursery Rhymes.   Located in southern California where the main office is, the flagstaff store is in tony Beverly Hills.   The furniture is exceptional – bench made -  and luxurious with carvings and appliqués.  It is hand painted in  California and each piece is made-to-order so that the client can choose their finishes and designs.   Gail is so enthusiastic about her product and it is infectious – she designs for the younger set because it is in her heart – a personal choice that can’t be easily explained.   Truthfully, I think some of the pieces would be beautiful in a master or guest bedroom despite their having been designed for the younger set.  

 

The handpainted “names” signs that started it all in 1982.

 

 

This nursery shows the full range of AFK’s merchandise from the cribs to the changing tables to the rockers, including the bedding and mirrors. 

 

 

 

Twin cribs in the French Collection – what pretty striped skirts!

 

 

More of the French Collection showing the light pink and white bedding.   Oh, it’s just too beautiful!  I would have never left my baby’s nursery if it had looked like this!

 

 

The tufted Hollywood bed is part of the Upholstery Collection.    The side chest goes from nursery to tween.  The lamp and mirror are also part of AFT’s accessories collection.

 

 

Here is the Hollywood bed shown with just a headboard.  Custom bedding from AFK.

 

 

No, this is not a master bedroom, it is technically “Juvenile” furniture, showcasing the Courtney bed, handpainted.   All the chairs, tables, chest and accessories come from AFK.

 

 

This nursery shows the Madison crib with more furniture from the French Collection.  I love their trumeaus and that low, open bookshelf, perfect for little hands to put away her own books!

 

 

Aqua and cream handpainted pieces from the French Collection.

 

 

Though little girls are definitely favored at AFK, the boys furniture makes quite a statement too.

 

 

AFK is known for their round cribs – many of which show up in design magazines and books.

 

 

This child sized table with four chairs is just adorable!

Does it get any cuter than this chaise lounge for a little baby girl?  I don’t think so!  I would love to design an entire nursery around this one piece!!!

 

 

Well, this is pretty adorable too!

 

 

The Josephine bed comes in a full size.   Here it is shown with the corona above and the matching armoire.  

 

 

The Charlotte bed, shown with a trundle for preteen girls.

 

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Naturally there are two bathroom vanities – one in pink and one in blue.  But, you can custom the color for any decor.

 

 

 

The flagship Art For Kids store in Beverly Hills.    On the web site HERE, there is a store locator to find a shop that carries this line in your area.   The Longoria Collection in Uptown Park is Houston’s best choice.

 

Thanks Gail for the phone call and for letting us all know about your wonderful company!   You knew I would fall head over hills in love with it – and I have!!!!

 

And, finally -

 

 

The new Skirted Roundtable discussion is up.  This week we talk about giveaways.  And as a tie-in to our talk, we are giving away this vintage school poster direct from FRANCE!!!!   Be sure to go listen to the new Skirted Roundtable and sign up for this fabulous give away!!!!!

To reach the Skirted Roundtable go HERE.

A Texas Enfilade

 

 This month’s Veranda – it’s a good one!

I opened an email from a reader – she casually mentioned she wasn’t happy with the new Veranda, she found it boring and thought perhaps I would join her in the bashing.   I thought, should I?   Should I pretend I agreed with the reader even when I truly didn’t?  After all she is quite nice and sweet enough to email me and the last thing I would want to do is offend her by arguing about a magazine, of all things!   So, I pondered my answer to her (and I wonder why my emails are so stacked up!) before I chose a neutral position:
I wrote back:

“haha.   I kind of liked a few articles - the one from Houston especially!”  - an understatement of the year, I would say.  Kind of liked it?    How about, well – more on that later!

As I said, it’s just a magazine after all – 150 pages of a few pretty pictures and lots of advertising in between.   But, why did she dislike this Veranda so much, when I absolutely loved it?    Who knows.   I’m sure if the editors could bottle up the formula for what makes a magazine likable, they would.   The fact is, I think it’s a great issue, full of beautiful homes and mouth watering jewelry and gorgeous flowers.  What more could any woman want? 

Reading it, I felt that editor Lisa Newsom had called me up and said, “Joni, what do you want to see in the March issue?  Tell me!”  And then, she delivered it.   All.

 

 

Tara Shaw’s Houston shop. 

The issue is full of things a Houstonian would love, so maybe I am biased.   Newsom starts with a small piece on Tara Shaw’s new antique reproduction line.  She then shows a house in Colorado owned by a Houston businessman/socialite – it’s always a thrill to see how the other half lives!  Then, there’s a wonderful apartment in Paris full of antiques – owned by an American designer.  And whoa – Newsom even adds a house by Dan Carithers.  How long has it been since any new work by this Atlanta designer has been seen?   That alone is worth the price of the magazine.

But Newsom doesn’t stop there.  The cover story is a house by the hottest married couple in interior design – they are so hot despite the fact that no one even knows their name, much less can pronounce it or spell it.    The Belgian, Californian,  Mediterranean Modern house all rolled into one is the work of Michael and Alexandra Misczynski.  Remember those names.  You are going to be hearing them a lot. Well, just remember the name of their business - Atelier AM  - if you have trouble with their last name.  Except how do you really pronounce Atelier?    Why did they choose a difficult business name when their own last name is impossible???

 

 

A casual entry hall by Atelier AM aka Michael and Alexandra Misczynski.

 

Everyone who can properly pronounce their name is talking about this couple.   The Misczynskis started their own business in 2002, and half of Hollywood, who are probably the only people who can afford them, have hired them.  The focal point of the house in this month’s Veranda is a huge wood cabinet bought in Belgium from Axel Vervoordt.  I can only imagine how much that one piece cost, much less the rest of the furniture.    It’s all casual and wonderfully Rough Luxe, but don’t let casual be confused with inexpensive.   Everything here has a provenance.

 

 

Living room by Atelier AM.  I love this room – with the blush pink silk pillows mixed in with all the rough woods.   Atelier AM is the personification of Rough Luxe.  Beyond fabulous!!!

 

But, it wasn’t for Carithers or the French Apartment or Tara Shaw or the Misczywhoevers that had me driving by the grocery store at 12:00 midnight and stalking Barnes and Noble  looking for the March Veranda, even though that felt so good!   I hadn’t driven around looking for a new magazine issue in ages!   It’s just too sad to do all obsessing now - the racks are so empty!  There are  so few decor magazines left to buy except for the Big Three, what I now call House Beautiful, Elle Decor, and Veranda and a few international issues.   But, I digress.    I had heard the blogosphere mumbling about this Veranda showing Kay O’Toole’s new house and that was what had my mouth watering like Edward’s whenever Bella is around.  Honestly, I’ve been waiting over two years for this issue!   

 

 

Houston antiquarian Kay O’Toole in her shop – Kay O’Toole Antiques and Eccentricities.  Photos from 1st Dibs by Fran Brennan.

 

O’Toole owns a French antique shop housed in a 1920s brick building that was once home to several different businesses.  Through the years, she eventually acquired the entire building and tore down the dividing walls – creating a long and narrow haven for the best of what France, and now Belgium, Sweden, and Italy have to offer.   O’Toole has an uncanny eye to buy just exactly what you want – everything in her shop is delicious.  It’s impossible to walk away without feeling wistful about what you have left behind for someone else to stake claim on.  O’Toole’s eye extends of course to interior design.  Not for other people, but for herself.   Through the years her changing houses and decor have been published, allowing her devotees to follow her lead.    The crowning touch was her apartment in a mid century high rise that half of Houston’s designers – interior and fashion – live in.   Again, like at her shop, she combined one apartment with another, and another again – stretching her living space to accommodate her growing collection of French chairs, no doubt.       The apartment was so far ahead of itself.   Looking back at it now – she moved there over 15 years ago - it’s amazing to recognize the trends she indulged in before they were trendy.  She had white vellum books when no else did, and crowns were everywhere before anyone collected them.   There were painted pieces and dark woods mixed in with concrete garden elements, though hers were centuries old.    There was a light gray antique Fortuny covering most of the chairs  - cut from curtain panels she had uncovered.   Houstonians who are into design went slightly batty over her place.  I know I studied it – every inch and then some.   At one point I even took out some tracing paper and tried to draw the floor plan in order to understand it better.  It was, in a word, gorgeous.    Simple, almost plain, yet elegant, a Parisian flat in the middle of the southwest.   In the end, I think that apartment was publicized three times, once locally, once in Veranda, and once in a decor book.  Each photo shoot was just a little different than the next to create excitement.   The space was so perfect for Kay.    She shared it with her partner, just the two of them, high in air, overlooking the greenest part of Houston.  Why would anyone ever move?

 

 

O’Toole’s shop, a mix of French, Swedish, Belgian and Italian antiques.

 

But O’Toole had other plans.   She had long dreamt of living in a house modeled on a centuries old New Orleans design.   She marches to her to her own silent beat, and she was now ready to create a symphony.   Behind her shop, which fronts one of the longest and most traveled streets in Houston, there is a large back yard, filled with a gravel parking lot and ferns – thick and unruly.   She decided to build her house, an enfilade, in the back of the yard.      One long side would face the parking lot and the store’s back,  the other side would face the back property’s fence.    The house would be narrow and one room deep in most places.    She would design it on scraps of napkins at dinner, tweaking it until it became her masterpiece.   Finally, the enfilade became a reality, rising up from the ferns and gravel.

 

 

Kay’s antique shop, filled with European antiques.

 

One day Kay was sweet enough to take me out back to see the house, still under construction.    She graciously smiled at my ooh’s and ah’s, and pointed out what would be where – her kitchen, the living room, her bedroom.   She showed me the French doors that had just been installed.  They were from a large cache of old metal windows she bought when a River Oaks mansion was being demolished and she had designed her enfilade around these glorious pieces of glass and steel.     When it was all finished I once stopped by and hinted at maybe seeing it again, now completed and furnished.  Oh no, it was a mess,  not ready for its debut, a million excuses from someone who is a perfectionist at being a non perfectionist.  

 

 

I adore these oval Italian paintings.

 

So, do you understand, now, when I say I’ve been waiting for a few years, to see inside Kay’s new  house  – her own personal piece of the French countryside, hidden away right off a busy street in Houston?    I knew it would  be published, but when?    This month,  Lisa Newsome – finally gives me the grand tour.

 

 

Kay’s shop:  Kay O’Toole Antiques and Eccentricities.  Her new house is located behind this 1920’s brick building, past the gravel parking lot and fern garden.

 

I would love to show and discuss the photoshoot of O’Toole’s new house here, but I can’t ruin it for any of you who haven’t yet seen  it.  Instead, let’s look back at her former place in the sky and remember how beautiful it all was back then!

 

 

 The March 2007 issue of Veranda shows Kay’s famous antique Aubusson rug, casually draped over a round table.  Stunning.   I’ve wanted to copy this look for years!    One of Veranda’s prettiest covers.  All photos by Tria Giovan for Veranda.

 

 

The main living area in the highrise – with the French settee surrounded by French chairs, some covered in the gray Fortuny and some in a quilted white linen.   Ahead of the trend, two faux deer heads flank the doorway to the dining room.   The walls were painted white back then, while most of us still had color on ours.    Silk taffeta curtains hang simply from the top of the windows.   The yellow papier mache columns played an integral role in the design of this apartment, but they are absent from the enfilade.  Instead, they have now moved to the store, looking for a new home.

 

 

A collection of crowns are displayed on a side table.  O’Toole had all the moldings and bookcases built to turn the modern architecture into something more traditional.  Architect and Interior Designer Sharon Perry Wise remodeled the apartment HERE.

 

 

Off the living room is the dining room with the gray and white Fortuny covered chairs.  The fabric covers the table too.  An antique screen shields a door.   In the new house, the Fortuny is gone, replaced by a light lavender fabric that covers the chairs.

 

 

 More trendy items from years ago:  A Swedish stove stands next to one of the many papier mache columns placed about the space.   A bust stands guard under a large clam shell.  This army figure shows up again in the enfilade.

 

 

Next to the main living area is another sitting area – three apartments were merged into one.   A concrete capital holds antique books, while a steel garden table holds tulips.  On the skirted table, one of the prettiest I have ever seen, a crusty urn holds a collection of shells, again, years before shells became so important in today’s decor.    The walls are stark white, while the taffeta curtains are a slight champagne color.  Too gorgeous!!  

 

 

  Across from the skirted table is a daybed with another garden element standing in for a table. 

 

 

Reflected in a wall of antiqued mirror is more concrete, vellum books, and ironstone.  Birds are another favorite of O’Toole’s.   Notice the beautiful painted console.  The parquet floors have been painted in a Versailles pattern.   The mirror reflects the Italian light fixture that today is so wildly popular. 

 

 

 Two Fortuny covered chairs hold more antique vellum books.   More urns, more shells, including sea fans.    This might be the first time I ever saw sea fans used as a decorative object.

 

 

 

 

This is the only picture of the kitchen – which is actually two made into one.   Here, a collection of iron stone and yellow ware, cloches and bird nests and eggs all rest on an antique baker’s rack.

 

 

The guest room is a charming space – a Paisley slipcovered chaise with its large scalloped detail shares space with another screen and antique commode.

 

 

O’Toole’s bedroom features another large scalloped detailing.   The simple room is all in white – all moldings were added by Kay.   The new house, shown in this month’s Veranda is still all antiques, mostly monochromatic with touches of lilac.    Above all, it is elegant – just as this space was and it is totally original, totally Kay O’Toole.     Finally, it is interesting to compare the two spaces, seeing what pieces were reused and what was not.  Her bed, for instance, is used in the new enfilade, exactly as seen here.   See it all in the March 2010 Veranda. 

 

 

Kay O’Toole has a store on 1st Dibs.   This painted French commode is a personal favorite.  Beautiful!

 

 

This Gustavian daybed is another favorite.

 

 

And I love the Venetian sofas on her 1st Dibs site!     To see Kay O’Toole’s web site on 1st Dibs, go HERE.

 

 

It’s really raining Houston in magazines this month.   Another great Houston house is in the beautiful “All About Blue” March issue from House Beautiful!  The house is designed by a trio of Houstonians:  Babs Watkins, Julie Watkins  Baker, and Eleanor Cummings.  Whew!  What a bevy of talent.  The house is absolutely gorgeous and another must see.   Congratulations to all of you!!

 

 

 

A special shout-out to interior designer and blogger Tobi Fairley whose work graces the cover of this month’s House Beautiful, above!   A huge congratulations to Tobi!!    To read her blog and see her beautiful portfolio, go HERE.

 

 

 

Don’t forget Texans – this Sunday is the Urban Market.  For directions and times, go HERE.

 

 

AND AND – one last thing – I promise! - Cote de Texas is going to be offering a fabulous giveaway next week.  Be sure to check in for more information.  You are going to LOVE this giveaway, I PROMISE you!!!