Southern Charmer

By Haskell Harris | August 14, 2009 | Design

It used to be a given that if you wanted to make it big in the world of interior design, you had to establish a practice in New York. In other words, if you were a southern interior designer, you might as well pack it up and move to Manhattan if you wanted anybody to remember your work (Southerners like Bunny Williams and Charlotte Moss ended up there). But the old school rules are changing, thanks to interior designers like Suzanne Kasler, the widely published Atlanta style arbiter who’s stayed put in Georgia, and now has luxury furniture, fabric, floor coverings, wallpaper, and lighting collections that bear her name. And she hasn’t stopped there. This October, she debuts her first book, Inspired Interiors, a lush photographic tour of her favorite projects. A sneak peak follows below. (All images courtesy of © Suzanne Kasler: Inspired Interiors, Rizzoli New York, 2009.)

Even if you don’t know the first thing about decorating, it’s hard not to get inspired by the wide range of looks in the book, from rustic cabins to city houses to laid-back beach cottages. There is literally something for everyone. 

Though the 224-page volume won’t hit stores until the fall, it is available for pre-order here. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a story on Suzanne Kasler's favorite room in our October/November issue.

Office Grace

By Haskell Harris | July 23, 2009 | Design

When I saw these photos of Charleston wedding designer Tara Guerard's new satellite office in Manhattan, I had to post them right away. I love Tara's work and I think this new space embodies the whimsical, luxe vibe of her business perfectly. 

While most of us have to deal with soulless, corporate hand-me-downs at the office, Tara's New York staff gets to walk in every morning to a totally inspiring place.

Before I go on, mull over these colors and textures for a moment:

1) Matador red

2) Raw pine

3) Gold leaf

4) Charcoal black

5) Magnolia leaf green

6) White

7) Hot pink

8) Hermes orange

9) Bamboo 

10) Chocolate brown

11) Horn

Pretty great, right? Now, feast your eyes on those colors and textures in action: 

 All photos by Liz Banfield

And while I love the saturated colors and the exotic contrasts—a chinoiserie screen paired up with African headresses hung over the sofa, traditional mixed with modern—I am most impressed by the fact that the interior designers who collaborated with Tara, Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke (of Scout Designs), did this on a shoestring! Every single element  came from ebay, Ikea, or a flea market. 

Talk about inventive! 

For more great photos and stories about Tara's projects, stay tuned for her new book, Weddings by Tara Guerard, due out in January  2010, and check out her new website: soireebytaraguerard.com

All in the Numbers

By Haskell Harris | February 20, 2009 | Design

Awhile back I posted about my friend Matthew Thompson, who has a wonderful carpentry business in New Orleans. Every now and then, he'll jot off a note with a picture of something he's working on and yesterday he did just that (see below).

I never cease to be amazed by what inspires him...

I have attached a picture of a set of wooden stadium seats that I just finished for a client who saw the ones in my house that I made many years ago. I remember as a little boy sitting in such seats at Hestand Stadium in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, watching the high school team play, somewhere around 1965. Originally, I copied these from the movie That's My Boy! starting Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, a football movie in which the hapless Lewis becomes the best player on the team. The stadium scene shows thousands of these seats, I believe, and they made such an impression on me—the repetition of them—that I went out and made a set the next day at Jefferson County Mill, where I worked as a boy and a teenager. 

These very ones in the picture were made over the Christmas holidays, and I finished them about two weeks later, working intermittently on them. They are constructed from red heart pine that I have salvaged from demolitions around town. The detail is my own. I used a flat oil ochre color for the striping and borders and a flat black for the oval background. The numbers are a flat green oil that I found in the shop. The oval motif is copied from a Mississippi state highway sign, #604, that I saw outside of Pearlington, Mississippi, very early one morning, just as it was getting light. I admired its simple industrial marking. All that detail is covered with a deep walnut stain and sealed, a way to give it some depth.

Matthew

Horn of Plenty

By Haskell Harris | January 15, 2009 | Design

The last time I was at ABC Carpet & Home in New York (forgive me for not knowing what's there now–it's been a few months), it looked like the place had been taken over by stags. Ironic interpretations of the real thing, to be precise.

I saw pink stags and green stags and silver stags, big stags and tiny stags. And things like this (from a few of my other favorite sources):

   

Roost

 

Graham and Green

 

Valentin Tinc

Cardboard Safari (a company based in Charlottesville, VA)

The whole look has been big for a while (antlers, faux or not, are very sculptural-looking decorative objects, after all).

I love it, but I'm willing to bet that the trendy versions lose their appeal by next year.

So, for those looking for something similar (stag horn, longhorn, impala horn) but a little more enduring, here are three great sources:

1. Vagabond House. They make the most beautiful pewter and horn tableware I've seen. Yes, the horn is real, but that's exactly what gives it such a rich, organic vibe.

  

2. Old Texas. Some of the things are heavy-handed and "themed," but some are truly chic. Like this:

3. Michael Aram. Everybody knows Michael Aram and his wonderful work. But these trays are new:

 If you have any sources of your own that you'd like to pass along, I'm all ears!

An Over-the-Top Gift

By Haskell Harris | December 18, 2008 | Design

Last weekend, I visited the very entertaining and talented New Orleans artist Matthew Thompson, who makes the most beautiful wood furniture and custom millwork that I've ever seen.

This trip down to see his work was particularly memorable.

He had just finished a gorgeous dresser (pictured below) as a wedding present for one of his apprentices at Silvarum (the firm he started years ago in Bywater). My amateur photos don't do it justice. It's made of walnut, French lacquered (20 coats!), and hand painted. The motif down the middle is a plumb bob, which is my favorite part.

On the afternoon of the big event, he delivered it to the New Orleans Museum of Art (where the wedding was held) and put it down among the stacks of other gifts for the lucky couple.

When they saw it for the first time, their expressions were priceless.

All the groom could say was "It's over the top, Matt, it's over the top. Thank you so much."

And they spent a good deal of the reception talking about where it would go in their first house together and showing their guests.

They will probably have it the rest of their lives.

How cool (and more important, meaningful) is that idea?!

I love it. It made me think, too, that anyone close to a couple getting married (parents, grandparents) could commission a gift like this.

Heirloom-quality furniture is so hard to come by these days, so if you are interested in having a piece made or just knowing more about Matthew Thompson's business, call or e-mail (he doesn't have a Web site): 504-945-0435 or silvarum.llc@gmail.com.

And stay tuned for a few other posts about other things he's working on...

Revival of the Chic

By Haskell Harris | December 11, 2008 | Design

I just about flipped last night when the dapper owner of Revival in Chattanooga Tennessee, Rodney Simmons, sent me these pictures of his shop. I've never been in person, but I am seriously considering booking a flight just to browse.

We met at Blackberry Farm a few weeks ago, where he was putting the finishing touches on a store (the Gallery) he helped create there.

And okay, yes, his Tennessee shop has been written up in a lot of magazines, but it's looking better than ever. Plus, he's about to launch his online shop, which will make it easy for everybody to bring the Revival look home.

Here are the things I'm in love with:

1) Everything

2) The luxe feather pillow in the foreground of this shot, the English taxidermy vitrine, the charcoal brown wool throws

3) The Mounted Deer Antlers

4) All the white dinnerware, mixed with the organic, sculptural texture of raw branches and pinecones

5) The majestic wildebeest

6) The architectural salvage, like this Swedish oak tabernacle

The entire shop has a sophisticated moodiness about it that I can't get enough of. Thanks for sending along Rodney!