Saladino + Vermeer = {Absolutely Brilliant}

Is there anyone who doesn't love Vermeer today? The Girl With the Pearl Earring has almost mythical powers of enchantment, mystery, wonder; dubbed The Dutch Mona Lisa, it inspired the movie starring Scarlett Johannsen, a visual feast. When interior designer John Saladino set out to design a Manhattan condominium in SoHo for the Veranda Magazine Showhouse, he chose that painting as his inspiration.

Now, many of us might choose a painting for design inspiration. But in the hands of the brilliant Saladino, the subtlety, the evocative details, the refusal to compromise yielded a vision that resonates with 17th C. Dutch Neoclassic sensibilities...while managing to stay fresh and modern....pure genius!

Saladino may have thought: "If Vermeer could produce luminous paintings out of the gloom of northern European Amsterdam, then I can harness the grey light of Manhattan's canyons and create a softly glowing SoHo interior"!

I love these pewter plates from Arte Italica, but mostly I adore

the wall finish: scratch-coat plaster suggesting the layering of time

Saladino's inspiration painting yielded a palette of creamy whites,

deep taupes & rich pewters with touches of lavender and periwinkle blue throughout

the serene and intimate setting is enhanced by the 17th C. style

furnishings with the linens carefully draped over the table; modern draperies

and gorgeous antiqued flooring by Exquisite Surfaces set the tone

nailheads on antiqued leather suggest

17th C. Holland

this stunning stairway in antiqued flooring

also by Exquisite Surfaces

again, the antiqued floors set the tone for the old bench, while

the huge mirror captures all available light and sends it back into the room;

deep blue-grey wall and old tapestry create atmosphere

a delicate, feminine feeling for the dressing table

with delft-pattern rug underfoot

softly atmospheric light in a beautifully designed sitting room

Saladino's use of lavender and periwinkle blue works brilliantly

against the soft neutral palette

All Photos by Antoine Bootz

Images Courtesy of Veranda Magazine

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in the new year, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Hello Girlfriends...You Might Like It Here!

You know, I don't know, it's just a feeling....I could be wrong,

but I'm guessing...women live here, right?

all photos courtesy Harlequin

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The Client Looks Like a Young Cindy Crawford

She moved last year from her lovely Hamptons digs on the east coast to one of San Francisco's forgotten neighborhoods to take up her teaching post at a traditional boys' school on Nob Hill. 

The soul of thrift and chic, she chose a rental house in La Precita overlooking the boulevard with it's wide, beautifully planted park and its streets full of murals. Children's laughter and mariachi music filled the later summer air. All on the rather sunny side of San Francisco. 

Because the inside of her jewel of a home needed an uplift and some simple furnishings, we headed for the Alemany Flea Market.  There we found chic metal chairs and table, some art, a bookcase or two. We found inspiration for her color scheme for the five room, 2 patio home in this lovely 40's fabric designed by The Michael Josef Design Group.

That led us to a delectable palette of very liveable and uplifting colors for Liz's new home. Now the inside matches the spirit of the view from the front bay window.

A++, indeed!

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Mohair: Sink Slowly Into This

Mohair is at the pinnacle in the world of textiles. It's been around for thousands of years, coming from the enlightened angora goats of Tibet. And yet, today's hippest and chicest want mohair for their furniture. Why?

• Mohair fibre is lustrous, strong, resilient, and durable
• It is shorn from the angora goat without harming the animal
• It takes dyes beautifully
• Mohair is flame resistant
• It is soft, and does not crease
• Mohair is modernly sustainable and green.

What does mohair ask in return? It will cost you a lot of green.

But it will last you forever, and if the dog throws up on it, smile beatifically. You know that liquid beads on its surface.

The Eight-Fold Path sometimes leads to the mohair sofa. Take it.