valentine's day I call 1st Dibs!

Ok, we get an inordinant amount of magazines at the studio, and often I do not have time to go through them all, especially the ones that just sort of appear out of nowhere with no subsciption. But I was passing by the pile and picked up the February March issue of Vacation Homes to take a quick peek. And then I came across THIS photo:

valentine's day

I thought to myself, THIS is a great room. I love everything about it: the gold tree (no watering involved), the Picasso, the leather stool, the ever so slightly worn blue armchairs. So I decided to read the article. Who was this designer anyway? It turns out that this is the Paris apartment of Michael Bruno. Yes, THE Michael Bruno, founder of 1st dibs. That explained everything. After cleaning up in the 90's Real Estate market, Michael moved to Paris and was inspired to create 1st dibs during the process of shopping for this apartment. Without these sorts of serendipitous moments, where would we all be?!

( The arm chairs are suspected to be by Jean Michael Frank.)

valentine's day

This combination of beautiful objects and vintage furniture is so well done. And it is not an easy thing to do. I suppose that one would expect Michael Bruno to have the knack however, and he does. He combines this Ralph Lauren Home desk, a modern Italian lamp and a pair of decorative finials from the Marche Paul Bert with effortless flair. The chair is said to have the original fabric and is one of six from the '60's.

valentine's day

Another favorite photo from this apartment is this fireplace shot. I have a "thing" for layered mirrors. The white mirror, the gilt mirror, the 20th century floor lamp, the art, glass vase, stone mantle.... sigh, perfection.

valentine's day

Micheal Bruno seems to be a Master tablescape artist. I love the painting studies here.

valentine's day

In the Master Bedroom, Michael has a 1950's elephant hide dresser topped with an Art Deco Mirror and accessories that are artfully placed. Handsomely done room I think!

Well, I thought I would share these beautiful rooms with you, just in case, like me, you don't always get a chance to look at every single magazine every month. Hope you enjoy!

Photos byTim Street Porter, Vacation Homes February March 2008