valentine's day Elle Decor Travel Issue, and Things I Have Been Up To

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As usual, I will be anxiously awaiting the latest Elle Decor to drop through my mail slot this month. The April Issue is the annual travel issue, and this is what I am hearing :

The new April Issue will be on newstands March 16, and features an amazing tour of Tokyo, the stunning Fiji home of Fiji Water's David Gilmore,the Buenos Aires home of polo player Nacho Figueras, and the London home of Christine d'Ornano (of the family who founded Lancoe, Orlane, and Sisley), as well as designer Olivier Gagnere's Left Bank home, which is featured on the cover.

Something to sink my teeth into!

The Oscars are also coming up this weekend...so you might have fun clicking over HERE to see Elle Decor's online article about Oscar Worthy Rooms!

Speaking of travel....I just got back from a weekend in Pasadena where I went to my High School reunion! I took my mom and oldest daughter along (not to the reunion...my daughter would have died) and had so much fun showing my daughter all the places I remember growing up. Pasadena never disappoints. We stayed in the historical Huntington Hotel, did some antiquing, and went to the glorious Huntington Library where there is a brand new Chinese Garden. I will post all about our adventures later this week!

valentine's day Beyonce... do you own a mirror?

Just wondering why you left the house last night in this. It has to be one of the ugliest things I've ever see before. Did your mom make it? If so, that explains a lot.





Why do you do this to yourself? Don't even get me started on your dance routine outfit... You either do crazy short or crazy tight, there is no middle of the road for you.

valentine's day Update: Oscar Night Green Room

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Architectural Digest Green Room at the Oscars

I am a huge Oscar Night fan. I love movies. I love watching the stars, the dresses...everything. I was very excited when last year I was the only one in our Oscar Night party poll that got the Best Actress ( Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose as Edith Piaf) and Best Song( "Falling Slowly" from Once) correct. (I didn't win the whole poll, but was proud none-the-less!).

So it is very fun for me to get a peek at the "behind-the-scenes" goings on. This room is where the presenters wait before they are called onstage during the Oscar show. I had received a bit of information a week or so ago which you may have read about here. So I thought you might like to see the finished room by the wonderful Mr. Stephen Shadley. A beautiful backdrop to all of those glistening dresses and dashing tuxedos, don't you think?

Here are the facts:

For this year’s Architectural Digest Greenroom at the Oscars®, AD100 designer Stephen Shadley looks to the timelessly chic tone of the 1970s. Inspired by Hollywood film sets of the era, this “Seventies Modern” interpretation melds clean lines with a monochromatic color palette and sheer touches for a cool, calm backstage backdrop for the night’s honorees.

This is the seventh consecutive year Architectural Digest has created the greenroom for the Oscars. Over that time, the magazine has reinvented the notion of this exclusive backstage oasis, creating a high-design space befitting the evening’s A-list winners and presenters.

For the first time, this year’s Architectural Digest Greenroom expanded to include a new garden-inspired space that actually sits on the loading dock … though you’d never know! With the new room, the space is now 920 square feet in size!

Principal furniture was found through Baker, including…
· A custom sofa that is 11 feet in length, reminiscent of the 70’s stretch style
· Garden seats from a new collection that recreates works by the legendary Los Angeles design icon Tony Duquette
· A vintage brass and lacquered table circa 1960

Where are we? A panoramic sweep of Los Angeles-at-night from atop Mulholland Drive sets room’s the glamorous mood. The vista includes 20th Century Fox, the movie studio where Shadley began his career as a scenic artist.

An 1100 pound bar constructed from one-of-a-kind Concetto Surface Art “Forza” by CaesarStone is built into the room! It will take a crew of 8 and a forklift to put it in the AD Greenroom.

Fitting for the theme, the area rug is dubbed Mama Mia: an updated take on the shag rug by Karastan. The rug is crafted from SmartStrand 3GT Sorona, a new generation of carpet fiber engineered for outstanding stain resistance with softness.

The wallcovering is actually a favorite silk fabric of Shadley’s found at KneedlerFauchere Imports that has been paper-backed for wall usage.

Shadley shopped around town for vintage furniture and accessories, using rare antique dealers such as Fat Chance, NOHO Modern and Outside Downtown.

My prediciton for Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire.

Maybe not an original choice....in fact maybe obvious. But still my choice.

And yours????

valentine's day Academy Awards Green Room: Architectural Digest Selects Stephen Shadley

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A Little bird from Architectural Digest let me in on something:

Architectural Digest has chosen AD100 interior designer Stephen Shadley to create the signature Architectural Digest Greenroom at the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

AD Editor-in-Chief Paige Rense comments: “Stephen Shadley is an appropriate choice to design the AD Greenroom at this year’s Oscars, especially because several of his clients--including Diane Keaton, Woody Allen and Robert Altman--are movie legends. Stephen’s work melds classic and contemporary for a glamorous conclusion.”

The Green Room will be styled in "Seventies Modern" and will feature Baker Furniture, an 1100 pound bar constructed from one-of-a-kind Concetto Surface Art "Forza" by CaesarStone, and a lush shag rug by Karastan.

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Mr. Steven Shadley

Mr. Stephen Shadley has been on the AD100 list for many years, and it is easy to see why. A prolific designer, Shadley has developed long time friendships with many of his very well known clients. Diane Keaton has been a friend for over 30 years.

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Architectural Digest, April 2005, Photo by Tim Street-Porter

At least two of her homes by Shadley have graced the cover of AD. Designed in the California Monterey or Spanish Colonial style, Both homes house an impressive collection of Monterey furniture, pottery and art: Catalina and Bauer pots, landscapes by Maynard Dixon, Frank Tenney Johnson, Edgar Payne and Carl Oscar Borg. This home is a 1920's Bel Air house set on an acre of land. Shadley transformed it from a non-descript remodeled home to a vintage Spanish work of art.

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Photo by Tim Street Porter

Diane's office converted from what was once the garage. Amazing bulletin board of "Diane's visuals". Old factory table becomes a desk.

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Sitting Room off the stair all. Photo by Tim Street Porter

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Architectural Digest, July 1999. Photo by Tim Street Porter

This is the cover of my well worn AD July 1999 issue featuring another Keaton house by Shadley. Mr. Shadley restored this Wallace Neff house in Beverly Hills from the untouched original with restraint and care. Many of the original light fixtures were preserved in the process. Classic in every sense....it still retains it's style in the ten years since the magazine was issued.

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Photo by Tim Street-Porter

Monterey "Buckaroo" chair, a photograph by David Wojnarowicz, and Bauer pots. Sconce is original to the house.

Shadley also had a hand in creating the modern "barn" for Keaton near the Hudson River in New York. While a completely different style, there is a similarity in the sculptural spareness to the objects in the space.

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A grouping of Eames chairs dot the all white interior of the space.

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The black and white color palette creates a gallery-like atmosphere.

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Photos by Michael Mundy

Love the ethereal star-like quality of the pair of modern chandeliers between the trusses.

Mr. Shadley has a very broad scope of talent, as is apparent when one jumps from this modern barn to the restoration of a 1928 South Carolina Craftsman bungalow.

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Architectural Digest, June 2006, Photo by Steven Brooke

Asian antiques mix with Arts and Crafts furnishings in this clean and classic interior.

Mr. Shadley has a way of creating comfort and interest in such a beautiful way without adding too much. His designs are always clear and classic. Evidenced by his portfolio on his website here, I have included a few more images for your viewing pleasure:

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Private Residence in Upstate New York. Photo by Steve Gross and Sue Daley

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Home of Cari and Matthew Modine, Greenwich Village. Photo by Jaime Ardiles-Arce

Congratulations to Mr. Shadley! And to Architectural Digest for picking such a talent. I look forward to seeing the realization of his creative vision for the Academy Awards Green Room this year!

valentine's day The Oscar Nominees: Original Song and Original Score... and Best Soundtrack??

valentine's day While it is yet to be determined if there will actually be a normal Academy Awards show this year, the Academy went ahead with announcing the nominees today. In the two categories relating to music, the big winner is clearly the Disney film Enchanted which received 3 of 5 nominations for Best Song. For the indie-rock set, two major disappointments came in the form of snubs: neither There Will Be Blood nor Into The Wild were nominated due to technicality (neither included enough original music composed specifically for the corresponding film). Makes me wonder if perhaps there should be a new Oscar category of some kind for Soundtrack... hey, they have Adapted Screenplay. And lord knows that making an animated short out of Peter and the Wolf isn't exactly the newest of ideas.

Therefore, I've come up with EAR FARM's list of soundtracks that should have been nominated in this brand new, imaginary, category. I'll tell you this much, listening to each album nominated for EAR FARM's Best Soundtrack is a lot more enjoyable than sitting down with a pair of headphones and James Newton Howard's score for Michael Clayton. Yeesh. You can see all of the official/fake nominees, and listen to each track nominated for Best Song, after the jump.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures - Original score:

• Atonement - Dario Marianelli
• The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
• Michael Clayton - James Newton Howard
• Ratatouille - Michael Giacchino
• 3:10 to Yuma - Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures - Original song:

• "Falling Slowly" from Once - music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
• "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted - music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
• "Raise It Up" from August Rush - performed by Jamia Simone Nash & The IMPACT Repertory Theatre
• "So Close" from Enchanted - music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
• "That's How You Know" from Enchanted - music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

EAR FARM's Achievement in music arranged, written, and selected for motion pictures - Original Soundtrack:

• Control - directed by Anton Corbijn
• Death Proof - directed by Quentin Tarrantino
• Into The Wild - directed by Sean Penn
• Juno - directed by Jason Reitman
• There Will Be Blood - directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

*above photo from HERE