I want to be a Part of it, New York, New York

The Lotus Club stately oak paneled library.

Architectural Digest annual dinner held at the
grand ballroom at The Lotus Club

The Seventh Regiment Armory



Opening night Preview of the 54th Annual Winter Antiques Show in New York benefiting East Side House Settlement. There was lots to see and the crowd was big , with more than 75 dealers on display. This is a great show that runs for ten days through January 27th.

A few blocks down on 66th Street, at the famous Lotos Club was the AD100 dinner that Architectural Digest’s Paige Rense editor in chief of Architectural Digest, gives each year for the top 100 interior designers. Archetictural Digest is the most successful shelter magazine today and an invitation to this dinner is an honor in the design community.

The guest list was made up of decorators, designers, architects, writers who do the Architectural Digest stories, photographers, and AD editorial staff.

The Lotos Club is one of the oldest literary clubs in the country, founded in 170 by a group of young writers, journalists and critics. The lotus house was built in 1900 as a wedding gift by Mrs. Elliot F. Shepard for her daughter Mrs. William Jay Schieffelin. Mrs. Shepard was a daughter of William H. Vanderbilt, who was one of the original occupants of the double Vanderbilt mansion that took up the west side of the block on Fifth Avenue between 51st and 52nd Street. The clubhouse went directly from private residence to club and it retains much of the original family’s interiors. The stately oak paneled library and the grand ballroom on the second floor is where the AD 100 dinner was held. The Lotos were filled with men and women who were very happy to be among the invited. Of course the night was not complete without the song:

New York, New York

(Ebb-Kander)
Start spreading the news

I'm leaving today

I want to be a part of it, New York, New York

These vagabond shoes

Are longing to stray

And make a brand new start of it New York, New York

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps

To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap

These little town blues

Are melting away

I'll make a brand new start of itIn old New York

If I can make it thereI'll make it anywhere

It's up to you, New York, New York.

Interior Design Trends For 2008

Braquenié Pierre Frey

As the President of Noir Blanc Interiors, I am looking forward to a busy 2008. Odd as it seems, the nation's mortgage crisis may deserve credit for the fact that our business is booming. The design market is thriving, and I think that has to do with the shift in the economy, "People are staying in homes longer, rather than flipping houses. So I feel my clients are now investing in their houses and buying bigger-ticket items."

A few trends that might be making their way to the interior design graveyard.

Goodbye

The all-granite kitchen and the all-stainless-steel kitchen.

The Marie Antoinette influence of damask and decadent, Baroque furniture is becoming last year's style.

Dark finishes on furniture, ebonized wood. However dark finishes just won't die in the world of retail furniture!

Hollywood Regency

The chrome black leather, Design Within Reach phase is winding down and out

Asian modern is really tired and we're all sick of seeing it

Poured-concrete kitchen and bathroom countertop

HELLO 2008

There's a push toward green. Our clients are asking us to, give them more green. Antiques are considered green, and I use them as often as possible in my interiors.

Large, overscaled patterns on fabrics and wallpaper are getting smaller and more elegant.

Multiple looks for a single room - casual/formal.

Waterworks custom metal finishes on faucets.

Golden harvest yellows, rococo pinky red and snorkel blue

Textural finishes on furniture.

Energy-efficient washers and dryers from Miele.

The Kravet Green collection of eco-friendly textiles

Benjamin Moore's low-toxicity Affinity paints.

Fireplaces in the city

Requests from clients to mix contemporary and traditional design elements.

Venetian chandeliers and Lucite furniture-like tables, headboards, vanities. They have a bit of shine and a bit of sparkle to them.

Digital wall-scape imagery. With this medium, the sky is actually not the limit and the possibilities are endless. You can take any image and translate it into a permanent wall or floor covering.

Lavastone

Upholstery is organic hopsack, fabrics will be a green

Designers doing more home for sale staging, in light of the downward housing market

At Noir Blanc Interiors we see clients are customizing rooms, "Home theaters and TV rooms are very lounge-oriented, wine cellars are adjacent to the dining room, home offices are not using traditional built-ins or office furniture but look more like libraries or sitting rooms."