What Does Wallpaper Have To Due With Inspiration?

The 15th century Tuscan estate of luxury goods owner Leonardo Ferragamo and his wife, Maria Beatrice is a dramatic decorated interior in the living areas of Villa Le Rose. Decorating the interiors with wall cover, the sofa and armchairs all from the 1700s.

In 1700s, wallpapers were recorded among the stock of a Boston merchant, and by the late 18th century, paper hangings were available to the middle class as well as to the rich. American advertisers claimed that "the low prices at which they will be sold will make papering cheaper than whitewashing." Easily transported, papers were available at surprisingly early dates not only in the seaboard urban centers, but also in the small country towns.

Noir Blanc Interiors has chosen a Royal Crescent c 1775 from Hamilton Weston's beautiful wallpapers. In stately homes and other heritage projects, as well as enhancing film sets and television sets, corporate buildings and private homes around the world wall cover is the inspiration of design.

Photo Credits: Pieter Estersohn
ELLE DECOR

Bedroom Space

Our consumer driven, worldly, and increasingly wealthy society has resulted in our having many more personal possessions. This has had an effect in the bedroom, which has traditionally been small in terms of space allocation except in the mansions and larger town houses of yesteryear. Today’s households tend to hoard clothes, until such time as space limitations dictate we take our outdated fashion to the charity shop.

Bedrooms, especially in vintage gray stones, historical landmark homes and high rises which abound in Boston, Miami, Chicago, New York and San Francisco are invariably the most likely place to find low beams, sloping floors and bulging or uneven walls. By adding free standing wardrobes, chests of drawers and tallboys we are making way for the more space efficient fitted wardrobes and drawer units.

Although the bedroom is where you also hope to get some sleep the issue which is most likely to keep you awake at the planning stage is: how do I maximize storage space?

Barbara Segal is an expert in solving this problem. She's had years of experience dealing with awkward spaces; but unlike many other people she has an eye for the aesthetics as well as the practicalities. Since the whole aim of the bedroom is to provide the right environment for sound, refreshing sleep, the way it looks and the way it is fitted out are both important. Creaking floor boards and traffic or other external sounds may ruin a good night's rest. So attention to the curtaining, bed linens, pillows, paint colors, and carpeting all come under her scrutiny while working with Noir Blanc Interiors.

Historical Landmark HighRise

This project was in one of downtown Chicago's best-known landmark districts. The buildings comprising the East Lake Shore Drive historic district were built between 1912 and 1929 and designated a Chicago landmark on April 18, 1985. The architects (Marshall & Fox and Fugard & Knapp) based their designs on established European styles, these plush apartment buildings nonetheless represented a break with tradition. The population influx at the turn of the century had placed downtown Chicago real estate at a premium, and it was these buildings (among others) that made apartment living a viable alternative for the very wealthy. The East Lake Shore Drive historic district is comprised of a total of eight buildings: the Drake Hotel and seven apartment highrises. This property was the former, Mayfair Regent hotel which overlooks the city's prettiest stretch of Lake Shore Drive. Many Chicagoans' dined at its famous restaurant, Ciel Bleu ("blue sky") which was considered one of Chicago's most romantic restaurants with its intimate European ambiance and a superlative view and was located on the 19th penthouse floor. In 1996, the Mayfair Regent was converted to a glittering Gold-Coast apartment by LR Developers. Noir Blanc Interiors LLC, President Barbara Segal spent two jovial years working with the Chicago widowed owner on this historical rehab. It was this project that came to her as epiphany of what her life’s work was to be.