Dallas Design News!

Astier de Villatte ceramics at Grange Hall

Paris-based Astier de Villatte's 18th century-inspired ceramics are created in a Bastille workshop that once held Napoleon's silversmith. Made by hand and covered in a milky glaze, you can still see the beautiful black terracotta undertones. Grange Hall just received a collection of Astier de Villatte's newest pieces . . . 

Astier de Villatte ceramics at Grange Hall

Astier de Villatte ceramics at Grange Hall

Astier de Villatte ceramics at Grange Hall

Astier de Villatte ceramics at Grange Hall

Palissy Lantern by Neirmann Weeks at Laura Lee Clark

Take it home now . . . Neirmann Weeks' beautiful chandeliers used to be only available to the trade and an order could take months to receive. But the luxury furniture and lighting company, which makes everything by hand in Maryland, is responding to our need for instant gratification. Now you can buy selected pieces retail, off the floor. The Shop at Laura Lee Clark just got in a shipment of glamorous lighting that works beautifully in contemporary or traditional rooms, don't you think?

Danieli Chandelier

Capucine Chandelier

Ike Isenhour's front gallery at E.C. Dicken.  Photo by Kelsey Foster

I like Ike . . . designer Ike Isenhour has refreshed the front gallery of one of the oldest trade-only showrooms in Dallas, E.C. Dicken, with a modern feel. Among the pieces that Ike has brought in are a plush gray sofa with clean lines by A. Rudin and chartreuse pillows from NYC based Michelle Hatch. I'm looking forward to seeing Ike's upcoming furniture line, designed with his longtime client and jewelry designer Brenda Schoenfeld. The La Enjoyada line will be carried at E.C. Dicken and launch sometime in October. The designs are under wraps until then, but with Brenda's eye for exquisitely crafted jewelry and Ike's sense of contemporary style, this is one new furniture line to follow closely.

French coffee table at Jan Showers

Summer Showers . . . 

Jan Showers has returned from a shopping trip to Paris, bringing back some gorgeous Texas-sized period coffee tables from the 1940s–1970s.  Look for lots of chrome, glass, Lucite, parchment, brass, and bronze. By the time you read this, Jan will may have already repainted the caramel colored space in her showroom into a deep turquoise to show off these beauties (I love the fact that Jan views turquoise as a neutral). Can't wait to see the transformation!

French coffee table at Jan Showers 

French coffee table at Jan Showers 

French coffee table at Jan Showers

Paris In The Spring

Pink peonies and the most charming pink and white chair I've ever seen. Jan Showers' showroom, which is decked out like one of those chic left bank antiques shops, reminds me of Paris. 

[Notes on the furniture: 19th century hand carved Louis XV style chair; bronze, nickel and opaline Gueridon, circa 1950 from Paris. Ron Schultz worked with Jan on the flowers for the lunch.]

Last Thursday, she hosted a lunch at the showroom for clients and friends, and I came with my camera and notebook. The sun was out and there was a crisp breeze in the air, which reminded me, too, of Paris in early April.

Here's Jan, looking smashing in a white linen dress by French designer Roland Mouret. "I love how architectural this dress is. It's something I'll be wearing for years," Jan said.

Everyone at the luncheon looked like flowers, I thought.  Jan's white dress has the structured crispness of these tulips, don't you think? 

[Notes on the furniture: The cerused oak table, circa 1940 is from last year's trip to Paris; the sublime blue tufted chair, circa 1940 is one of a pair; and the zebra hide rug is from Jan Showers Collection]

Jan is into white right now (I just guessed), and she loves this vintage white lacquered Japonesque buffet so much that she's considering taking it home with her, she confessed.....

The showroom's vestibule with its French Moderne style starburst inlay....

Everyone fell in love with Ann Strawn's unexpected chartreuse and lavender combination....

I would not have thought to put together these colors, but they are fantastic... 

and, they went really well with the decor.... 

....and these cheerful yellow tulips

Ashleigh Avrea Cathey....

Ashleigh Avrea Cathey, left; and Jennifer McLaughlin, who summed up my sentiments about the smashing showroom exactly. "It just makes you want to go home and redo everything, doesn't it?" 

Now, I was rushing a bit when I took this photo because Jennifer had to hold up her heavy plate for me, so it's a little out of focus. But I wanted you to see this gorgeous lunch created by Food Company, entirely of salads: ceviche served in pretty shells; hearts of romaine salad; beet and cabbage salad. For dessert, we had lemon panna cotta with raspberries.

Spring has sprung: Shelly Musselman, looking radiant in this coral and blue coat....

Jeanne-Marie Clossey, who's chairing the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts gala

I just loved how Jeanne-Marie looked in her neutrals next to all these sumptuous latte colors that Jan has going on in the showroom...

....more latte and coffee colors, mixed with gray blue wallpaper. That flecked bronze glass lamp is from the 1970s!

This is my favorite piece in the showroom. It's a Palazzo banquette from Jan Showers Collection. I'm into coffee colors and taupes right now, if you hadn't noticed...

Brian Bolke, who's also working on Art Ball, to be held on April 25 

Kim Schlegel Whitman, saying hello to Shelly Musselman off camera...

...Rob Dailey, who's working with Brian on the upcoming Art Ball. Look at his colorful pocket square!

Ann Strawn; Beau Black -- I love his pocket square, too.

Sandra Irvine, left; Sara King.

Leslie Bell...she's into freelancing everything now, from yoga to art...

Cheerful young faces: Amy Thomasson, left; Brandalyn Hadley; Philip Vanderford.

Nicole Groth, left; Sheila McAdams...

More scenes from the showroom: the sofa is from Jan Showers collection; the yellow chairs are Louis XVI style; the mirror and table are from Paris, circa 1940.

....Palm Beach banquette from Jan Showers Collection. Everyone needs a small banquette, don't you think?

a pair of fantastic barrel-backed snow leopard chairs....

Look at that great chair hiding in the back behind Kim!

Here's the other one....

An up-close shot of the chair. Talk about shapely! I was told they are vintage Norman Cherner

The showroom, just before everyone sat down to eat...

We all took one of these pretty Tiffany blue gift bags on the way out. Among other things, they held an announcement about Jan's upcoming book, Glamorous Rooms (it has a forward by Michael Kors) and this darling shell box, just right for holding stamps on your desk, or earrings -- if you're like me, you can't talk on the phone without taking at least one of them off....

Fin

Meet HGP's New Sponsors

Houses Gardens People celebrates its two-year anniversary soon, and what a better way to party than with my fabulous new sponsors. During the coming days and weeks you'll have a chance to meet them on the blog. Find out what projects they're into, what movies and books get their creative juices goings, and even a few details that might surprise you.

Charter Sponsor JAN SHOWERS

JAN SHOWERS

Jan and I go back a couple of decades together, to the days when her showroom was newly opened on Slocum Street, and I was learning how to cover interior design as a new editor at PaperCity. I had never seen anything like it. Full of antique Venetian glass, mirrors, and pale fruitwood furniture from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, it was a whole new feel for Dallas that soon spread to the rest of the country. Her look, which is rooted in the glamour of old Hollywood, just gets better.

Rooms by JAN SHOWERS

In addition to a flourishing interior design business, Jan has a 150-piece collection of furniture and lighting that's carried in seven showrooms nationwide, a new book, Glamorous Rooms, and is working on another book due out in fall 2012. Her sexy new website is up and running as we speak, so check it out here.

HGP: Every time anyone does an interview with you, they ask you to define glamour. I'm going to ask you to define it again, this time in the context of the Great Recession.

JAN SHOWERS: I'll give you an example. When the recession hit, my book was already in the editing phase and scheduled to come out in the fall of 2009. I got a frantic call from my editor at Abrams. Everyone there was so worried about publishing a book about glamour. If it wasn't about cooking or knitting, they were ready to put it on hold. I told her that people crave glamour even more when the economy is bad. Look at what happened during the Depression? It was one of the most glamorous times ever for movies. The sets and the clothes were opulent. The book almost didn't get published, but they listened, and I must have been right because the book's sold really well, and it's already in its 4th printing!

Scene from I am Love, starring Tilda Swinton

HGP: If Audrey, Grace, and Gweneth have inspired your rooms in the past, who's inspiring you now?

JS: I love Tilda Swinton. I just saw her new movie, I am Love. I didn't love the movie as much as I loved the Villa Necchi where it was set. Villa Necchi is a masterpiece of 30s Italian architecture. The movie was set in Milan, but it could have been any city in the world, perfectly portraying the way an upper class family would live and the kinds of things they would surround themselves with. Don't you love those metal doors? I got very excited when I saw those!

Villa Necchi

Villa Necchi

BG restaurant

HGP: What else inspires you?

JS: I love what Kelly Wearstler did at BG, the restaurant at Bergdorf's. Her sense of color is great.

A Room by Bunny Williams, Kips Bay

JS: I also really like what Bunny Williams did at the Kips Bay Showhouse. She mixes things up, throws in glass pieces and art. Her rooms look like people really live there.

Faye Dunnaway, Steve McQueen

JS: I'm inspired by Madmen. Actually, I'm obsessed with it. The hair, the clothes, the design -- it's all so in vogue now. So is the Thomas Crown Affair, the 1968 version with Faye Dunnaway. I hate to say I relate to all that era, and I guess it wasn't the best time for women, although I never felt like being a woman held me back. I didn't know about women's lib until a friend showed me an article in Playboy about it in the early 70s while we were on a trip to Europe!

HGP: What might surprise people if they knew it about you?

JS: That I'm practical. I paint my own nails. I don't have the patience to sit there and have a manicure, so I often do it myself. My favorite nail color is Ballet Slippers by

Esse, because it stays on. I just bought the new Chanel nude color called Jade Rose---looks good, but haven’t tried it yet. I love red toenails and always wear Deborah Lippman polish in My Old Flame.

HGP: What is your biggest fear?

JS: I saw A Piece of Work, the documentary about Joan Rivers, and she said, "You know what Hell is?" and she gets her date book out and opens it. It's empty. All blank pages. "This is Hell. I have to put my sunglasses on to look at it!" My fear is one day not having any projects. I've had projects to work on ever since I was a little girl, every single day. I would not want to open my calendar one day and have it be blank.

Amangiri Resort & Spa

HGP: Aside from another book that's coming out in 2012, what are you working on?

JS: I'm working on a house in Scottsdale set on 12 acres with Marwan Al Sayed, the architect who just finished the Amangiri resort in Utah. He's fabulous. Michael Bouchet is doing the landscaping. Clark Johnson is doing the lighting design, and John Runyon is working on their art collection for the house. It's really a dream team. We're breaking ground next week, after three years of planning. It's going to look like an old stone ruin turned into an incredible residence. It's very secluded, and the whole idea is that it looks like something you might come upon that had been there forever from another century. It's early in the design process, but I'm very inspired by colors of the desert -- sand, sage, and blue sky.