american gothic

a sculpture by horst egon kalinowski in the meeting room 

owen's home office in paris, formerly the office of françois mitterrand when the building served as the headquarters for socialist party in france. 

a brass topped table designed by owens. 

the designer

the meeting room 

from left are barry x. ball sculptures, an antique urn by goerges hoentschel, wall fresco by scarlett rouge & table by owens.

 pine plywood bed designed by owens is covered in cashmere felt.

in the library

the couch, triangular stool & shelving are all designed by owens.

a daybed covered in suede with sable blanket both by owens.

owen's minimalist shower.

an installation of objects on owen's desk includes a skull & roc crystals.

all photographs by françois halard

designer rick owens moved from california to paris a decade ago, bringing his signature blend of glamour and grunge to the namesake fashion and furniture lines he launched there - and inspiring legions of fans and imitators.  the wsj article can be read here.

time in a bottle

for over 70 years this parisian apartment was uninhabited, locked away, the rent paid.  the woman who owned the flat, mrs. de florian,  left for the south of france before the second world war & never returned. when she died at 91 her heirs hired professionals to inventory the apartment.  what they found was a treasure trove of turn of the century objects including a painting by italian artist giovanni boldini.

it turned out that the beautiful woman in pink was the apartment's owner's grandmother, marthe de florian, a french actress & socialite of the belle époque.  they also found a stacks of old love letters tied with colored ribbon. marthe had been boldini's muse & lover (despite his married status) & the letters were from him.  once the painting was confirmed a boldini it went up for auction & sold for 3 million dollars.

can you imagine finding this?  it would be a dream. frozen in time. i would be in heaven!

at home with anouck lepère

she's so terribly chic.

read more at nowness.

boxing life apartment

boxing life apartment by UdA-architetti associati. turin, italy.

calder at home

calder at home: the joyous environment of alexander calder photographed by pedro guerreo.

author & photographer pedro guerrero took these pictures at calder's connecticut studio in 1963, on a routine assignment with an editor from house & garden magazine. "if i had known you were going to photograph that room," she later sniffed, "i would have straightened the slipcovers." "what a thing to notice!" wrote guerrero.
over the next 13 years, he photographed calder & his wife, louisa, in different houses & studios, all of them overflowing with wire sculptures, homemade toys, mobiles, piles of mail & other paraphernalia. "be careful where you step," calder warned, "everything here is important."

the homes of artists are always among my favorites - so lived in, so beautiful.

inside casa carlo mollino with kristen mcmenamy

kristen mcmenamy photographed by juergen teller inside casa carlo mollino for 032c #21, summer 2011. i just love  this....i love that juergen always finds beauty in the real world - it's not perfect or shiny but it's still beautiful, still has a voice & is still relevant.