Courtney Price

Modern Day Living

Doors of Paris

By

Doors of Paris, as seen on www.CourtneyPrice.com

Every doorway, every intersection has a story. -Katherine Dunn

The streets of Paris are lined with extravagant doors and carriage gates, each with a unique style and personality. Beauty is everywhere you look in Paris, and the doors alone set our imaginations into overdrive as to the opulence that lies within. Their stylistic differences make me want to revisit French decorative arts studies in greater depth. Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Gothic, Haussmann, and Renaissance styles can be found in all arrondissements, with endless variations in hardware, garniture, paint color. Inspiration is everywhere. If you love the doors of Paris as much as I do, this post is for you: [Read more…] about Doors of Paris

Related posts:

Doors In Paris Cologne DomCologne Germany Paris: Portrait of a City La Reserve Paris- Hotel & Spa, as seen on www.CourtneyPrice.comLa Réserve Paris – Hotel and Spa

Blakes Hotel, London

By

The Cardinal Suite at Blakes Hotel in London, as seen on www.CourtneyPrice.com

Blakes, which just celebrated a 40-year milestone, is well known for opulent interiors and famous guests.

Former Bond girl Anouska Hempel converted a set of South Kensington Victorian townhouses into Blakes Hotel in 1978.  Everything about this five-star London boutique destination is exotic and luxurious.  The rooms are each unique in theme. They are furnished with fine antiques, thoughtfully curated by Hempel (Lady Weinberg) over the course of eight years. Private spaces and courtyards invite you to cocoon in style.

Throughout the hotel, modern conveniences artfully juxtapose fine Biedermeier antiques and art. Sensual colors meet opulent textures and architectural details. There is a signature scent throughout. The room keys are antique keys. Service is unbelievable. The feel is old world yet very now. I have always wanted to experience this place and I am thrilled that I did.

45 individually designed rooms include 5 signature suites, 5 luxury suites, 14 Directors Doubles, 14 Luxury Doubles, and 7 Parisian Rooms. Let’s take a look at the details of some of these rooms and you will quickly see why Anouska Hempel is my design hero.

[Read more…] about Blakes Hotel, London

Related posts:

The London Hotel, NYC Must have design book- reviewed on www.CourtneyPrice.comAnouska Hempel Fashion Designer Hotel Suites a virtual tour of The Pierre Hotel, today on www.CourtneyPrice.comThe Pierre, a Taj Hotel

Holiday Book Recommendations

By

Style your coffee table in a way to show care for yourself and care for others before your company arrives this holiday season. That way, if your annoying Uncle Freddy drones on about politics or religion, you can grab one of these books to virtually transport yourself to a beautiful peaceful place elsewhere. Suggestions and links on the blog: www.CourtneyPrice.com

Forget about what is on your holiday menu or what you are going to wear. What’s on your holiday reading list?  As you get your interiors together before the holiday season kicks off, keep in mind that beautiful books multi-task as inspiration AND decor. Besides, it is always good to have a virtual escape within reach in case your opinionated Uncle Freddy starts up on religion or politics. Today I am previewing some of my favorite new releases that will make it easy to maintain your holiday merry- and bonus, they also make great gifts… [Read more…] about Holiday Book Recommendations

Related posts:

on www.CourtneyPrice.comHoliday Preparation Great Books for Gifts on www.CourtneyPrice.comThe Gift of Books Venice Lovers, a Must Have Book: Party in the Bahamas! by India Hicks. see more on www:CourtneyPrice.com , review of her latest book, Island StyleIndia Hicks: Island Style

Dior & His Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and The New Look

By

Dior & His Decorators: the first work on the two interior designers most closely associated with Christian Dior. Review on www.CourtneyPrice.com

© Association Willy Maywald

Dior & His Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and The New Look

by Maureen Footer, Interior Design Historian

Author Maureen Footer, a former interior designer and expert in French decorative arts, gives us the first in-depth account of the two Parisian interior designers associated with Christian Dior. Victor Grandpierre and Georges Geffroy were much more than the interior designers for his home; they were personal friends and professional colleges of Dior.  It was Geffroy who introduced Dior to the world of couture. Grandpierre masterminded the look of Dior’s couture house- and was the one to “brand” Dior with the stylistic details that define the brand to this day, [Read more…] about Dior & His Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and The New Look

Related posts:

Haute Couture Ateliers on www.CourtneyPrice.comHaute Couture Ateliers – The Artisans of Fashion Fashion Designer Hotel Suites Interiors Now Wu Hoo!

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

By

facade of Chateau de Villette as seen on www.CourtneyPrice.com

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

You are not going to believe your eyes when you see the breathtaking mid-seventeenth-century chateau outside of Paris that I am about to show you…. 

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor, written by Guillaume Picon and photographed by Bruno Ehrs, is one of the most beautiful books on French decorative arts and design that I have ever seen. The history of both the chateau and its owners is fascinating, and its thoughtful restorations have ensured a consistent place en vogue.

Original construction took place from 1663–69, with architecture attributed to Francois Mansart and his great-nephew, chief architect of Louis XV, Jules Hardouin-Mansart. At this time, new chateau styles were developing as practical or strategic military elements were no longer necessary- opening the way for Le Notre to design elaborate gardens and outdoor vistas.

The extravagant interiors reflect the then-new mindset of the Rococo era – designed with more permanence and elegance.  Bedchambers, previously ceremonial, were designed be private spaces of comfort in the eighteenth century. Tables were no longer brought to the bedchambers for dining. Stand-alone dining rooms were an eighteenth-century innovation, and in Chateau de Villette is the first formal dining room in a French chateau. [Read more…] about Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

Related posts:

Console Yourself – Console Tables In Interior Design The library installed in the second half of the eighteenth century by the Choiseul-Praslin family. ©Bruno EhrsA Day at Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte A Day at Chateau de Fontainebleau Marquetry, French Furniture on www.CourtneyPrice.comFrench Furniture: Three Desks, Three Styles and a Decorative Arts Glossary

Pin It on Pinterest