Nicole Cohen

It’s a rather spectacular weekend here in NYC, hope you are having a great one too!

(Photos were taken on The Highline in Chelsea.)

Bryant Keller’s foyer. 

I missed the press preview of Kips Bay this year, which means I don’t have any of my own photos to show you. I had to glean photos from other websites, but since I haven’t gone to the show yet, I feel like we are all in the same boat in terms of formulating an opinion on it.

A living room by Drake Design.

So this was the 40th Anniversary of Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse. Every year, a townhouse or brownstone thats for sale is usually transformed for the show. This year, there were apparently no townhouses available and so they used two duplexes in the  Aldyn, a new high rise on the West Side.

Raji Radhakrishnan/Raji RM and Associates.

All the decorators were stumped as to how to go about decorating huge white cubes with 20 foot ceilings, panoramic views, soffits, bump outs, little or no architectural details and weird AC units that were apparently everywhere. In other words: The type of decorators that do Kips Bay do not particularly jive with the aesthetic of the raw space. They typically like elegant townhouse rooms, with a  few well placed windows, great architecture and lots of wall space for art. And they usually decorate in that very old school New-York-Decorator way: tons of fabric, rugs and stuff. Pile on the stuff.

I get that this is a show, I do. But one would think that rather than take a huge white box and try to make it feel like a regular show house, that they would maybe try to break the  mold a little and do something different? Like do you think that anyone who would actually buy a 15 million dollar penthouse duplex (instead of a townhouse, or prewar park avenue apartment) that looks like this would WANT their apartment to be decorated like this? I somehow don’t think so. (Sidenote: I would love to see what someone like Vicente Wolf would have done in here. He typically uses white walls and elegant spare and eclectic furniture, so I would love to see his take on something like this.) Someone buying a space like this would want something more contemporary, at least I think they would! And isn’t the first rule of design to not try to make something into something it’s not?

Todd Alexander Romano’s dining room might be the star of the show for me.

The rooms range from silly to beautiful – as in every Kips Bay. Granted, I haven’t been there yet, so I am relying on the angles of the photography to convey the sense of space in the room, which is never accurate. (Some of these photos are from the Times, and some are from Curbed, and they both have their shortcomings. The times are too cropped and small to get a sense of the space and the ones from Curbed need to be more crisp.)

A living room by the designer Brian del Toro, left. A room by Chuck Fischer Studio, right.

I think these two rooms are the right balance of elegant and “designer-y” and modern. I do love  a lot of the furniture and of course, I’m so into the heavy use of green throughout the house!

David Scott. Kips Bay always has specatular art. I love the modern painting over the traditional desk.

Another view of the Raji room and a living room by Bunny Williams. 

I included more photos and different views after the jump… What do you guys think of these rooms? Like I said, I need to see it in person before I pound my gavel and declare some of it tchotcke and overdecorated, but that’s my opinion based on the photos. Have I suddenly become a less is more person?

Thoughts?

Tom Filicia’s Foyer

A living room by Drake Design.

Alexa Hampton’s bedroom. – SERIOUSLY?

Brian del Toro’s room, another angle.

Charlotte Moss- I don’t even know what this is.

Charles Pavarini’s- no words.

Thoughts?

I donated this painting to an amazing event hosting by the Anti Defamation League called JustArt. It’s the ADL’s inaugural exhibition, a fundraiser and silent auction at the Benrimon Gallery celebrating the mission of the Anti-Defamation League.

For some reason, May is fundraiser month and so this is the second painting this WEEK that I’ve donated. Which should be fine right? Don’t I have 2 paintings laying around that I could donate? Well, the short answer is of course I do, but then when crunch time came around I g0t so nervous about it that I just made two new pieces.

In the studio before I delivered it.

And I’m so glad I did. I really love this new painting. Leandra gave me the idea to name all my paintings the mean things I say about them: “Looks like neon vomit”, ” Fucking horrible modern starry night”, and then this one: “Sidewalk Gum”. I was toying with “Gum on the bottom of my shoe” but ultimately decided on the more concise “Sidewalk Gum.” And while “Fucking horrible modern starry night” has subsequently been destroyed, and “Looks like neon vomit” never made it to the blog, I really actually like “Sidewalk Gum.” This one is good, and the sidewalky nature of the background is really the best part.

The event is sold out, but you can still buy limited tickets at the door, if you are so inclined.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Benrimon Contemporary Gallery
514 W. 24th Street
New York City

7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
VIP Reception: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Exhibition will be open to the public from May 18 – May 20

OMG- my face is gigantic and on the cover of The D Pages, an online magazine about all things design! This is kind of insane. I’m still baffled that anyone anywhere gives a crap about what I have to say, let alone to make my face gigantic, put some Didot typeface over it and to interview me. I think we all have fantasies where we are starring in our own little mini-movie called Life, I’m just so shocked and flattered that all of you tune into my channel. THANK YOU!

Go read the interview HERE! 

The new Hermes Leica M9-P cost $25K, so before you even become lusty over it, like I did,  just be aware- it’s out of your price range. OK, now you can drool:

Please do yourself a favor and watch a video of them making one. It’s the stuff luxury/artisanal/aspirational dreams are made of. Kind of like that Grey Goose commercial a few years back with the clinking ice cubes on the yacht. If only.

There is nothing new under the sun(including this sentence). But duh- it’s no secret that fashion and design are cyclical and that different eras are often revisited and drawn upon for inspiration time and time again. We are experiencing so many of those moments in fashion and design right now: The general aesthetic of the 90′s- which included recycling fashion trends- mixed with the primness of the 50′s and the luster and forms of the 20′s.  But what makes a trend more palatable (or less- depending on who you are!) the second time around  in my opinion is the reference point. You aren’t just wearing something bright, you are recalling in peoples’ memory a time where round sunglasses  and neon were worn without irony and without the smirk of “I can’t believe this is back”… It feels cool. It’s the same with the peplum: It’s coy and ladylike and sexy because it’s referencing a moment in time when people were ladylike- or at least pretended to be.

One of my favorite things to return in fashion and decor is Art Deco. No kidding, look at my choice of header, right? What is Art Deco? It’s an extremely eclectic artistic  and modern design style that began in the 1920′s in Paris. Unlike the preceding Art Nouveau period-  during the Deco period linear symmetry and geometric shapes dominated and drew inspiration from Aztec and Egyptian forms. Art deco represented elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity.

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that the distinctive style of Art Deco was developed by ‘all the nervous energy stored up and unexpended in the War.’  Every design period ultimately reflects the zeitgeist of the time- the deco era reflected a move from a war torn world to optimism and Jazz Age extravagance.

Deco was widely considered to be an “eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism,” because it was influenced by a variety of sources. During the Deco period, travel became easier and more widespread, and an interest in archeology in the 20′s as well as far flung countries influenced designers and artists. The era drew inspiration from the world at large, while using war-created machine age technology to create them. Some of the defining features of Deco era design are the chevron, stepped forms and geometric curves (as opposed to sinuous curves).  The use of luxe materials like shagreen, inlay wood, lacquer and stainless steel became popular. The deco influence is completely apparent in current decor trends- from the modern/eclectic aesthetic and the popularity of high gloss everything,to the ever present chevron.

My friend Stephanie, the fashion blogger The Mixtress – a new blog about mixing high end and low end fashion pieces to create fun fashion looks-  put together the above mood board of her favorite deco-inspired fashions for you, and I put together my favorite Deco- inspired DECOR pieces for you, which you can go check out on her blog HERE and to hear her spin on the Jazz Age and Art Deco.

Skirt: All Saints $275
Oscar de la Renta top: $2250
 Zara shoe: $70
 Lanvin Golden Dream Swarovski Crystal Embelleshed Metal Box Clutch, $4,500, Lanvin Stores (not available online)
Art Deco Chandelier Earrings $22
Low Luv by Erin Wasson Deco Ring in Gold, $49

Check out Stephanie’s blog, The Mixtress! 

Dessert Jazz photos via Vogue Turkey, March 2012 Photography: Phil Poynter

The Fairway in Brooklyn is housed in this gorgeous building… We took the kids there after Mother’s Day festivities and I snapped a photo from the parking lot. Then I googled.

The building is actually known as The Red Hook Stores and dates back to the Civil War. Towards the end of the war, NYC was receiving so many goods that the Brooklyn waterfront was a great alternative to over jammed city docks. This building was a warehouse, now it’s a Fairway.

Such a fantastic looking facade.

If you haven’t already seen this, I think its pretty interesting and funny… Apparently the subversive street artist known for tagging extremely high end fashion houses, Kidult, tagged the Marc Jacob store earlier this week… as the Marc Jacobs team cleaned up the graffiti, they snapped a photo and tweeted it, calling it “Art by Art Jacobs”.  Kidult was apparently watching them scrub the store clean and was also tweeting photos of it and I guess trying to make his presence known and claim ownership… I guess he didn’t really dig the spin that the Marc Jacobs team was putting on his supposedly subversive graffiti.

He then accused Marc Jacobs of being a capitalist “thieve” and copying him.  Then Marc Jacobs’ group released this T-shirt, which they are apparently selling at their boutique:

For $689 dollars.”$680 if its signed by the artist.” And it’s actually for sale.

I think this whole thing is hilarious and I love the T-shirt. Not $689 dollars worth of love. But still, I’ll laugh if I see anyone wearing it. It’s super badass and so clever. Lesson learned: Don’t F with Marc Jacobs.

Then this showed up on Tumblr:

Hahah… Love it.

In exchange for bringing children into the world, I’d like to make a motion, that every mother on earth deserves a gigantic bouquet of peonies delivered weekly to her front door. Even when they are out of season.

Have a great day everyone!

My friend, the über talented (and cute!) photographer Patrick Cline- one half of the duo that founded Lonny- saw this Sketch graffiti scribbled on a door while traveling, took a photo and sent it to me. I totally LOVE IT! I should print it and hang it somewhere in my apartment.

Patrick literally can’t take a bad picture… Not even of a door with scribble on it. And speaking of, this month’s Lonny is out and its packed with Moroccan gloriousness and now Morocco is officially at the top of my travel to do list. It’s  now tied with the Amangiri for first place. Maybe I’ll go this summer? That would be amazing.

Check out the rest of the new Lonny HERE. Have a great weekend!