Perplexed by Paltrow

Like many of you I am a Gwyneth fan and I adore her mom, Blythe Danner. I've always thought of Gwyneth as a style icon but with a quirky, natural, unpretentious, girl next door flavor. So I was excited to see her home in the Hampton's featured on so many blogs this week. Check out the posts by Girl Meets Glamor, Bijou Kaleidoscope, and Decorno.


I have to admit the girl has impeccable taste. It seems that every item was chosen with great care. The home is very hip and every piece is about as current as you can get. But I am surprised by the impersonal, sterile look of the house. This could be a photo shoot of rooms from any one of a hundred hotels around the world.

Part of the fun of seeing celebrity homes in our favorite rags is to see how they live. To peak into their personal lives and live vicariously through their mementos and personal objects. This house could belong to anyone. It looks like it has been staged to sell by removing any personal hint of the owner (except for the ever so subtle product placement of her perfume and face cream on the nightstand- sell sell sell) .

In the fabulous behind the scenes post by Habitually Chic you get the sense that even the photographer was having trouble giving the space a human feel. They have added "props" like shoes and child's steps in an attempt to make the reader believe that people actually live in this space. If you took away the photo of Gwyneth you would have no idea what kind of person lived in this home.


A pair of sneakers posed in the front room. Is this to remind us that she has a husband? Where are the family photos? The mementos of her career? Her Oscar? They do show a couple of toys here and there but where are the kids paintings or personal items?

How do you put a sisal rug in the main room when you have two kids crawling around? This is a beach house and they must be in shorts most of the time. Those poor little knees!


I love the canopy treatment in Apple's bedroom but isn't it a bit old looking for a 3 year old? The only personal touch in the whole home is the monogrammed pillowcases. Does this look like a room where toddlers would play? The room looks cold and sterile to me. A stark white rug in a kids room! Come On! I think it looks kind of creepy in a weird hospital room sort of way.

The Moral of This Story.......
The ability to buy expensive, trendy furniture and accessories does not mean you will be able to automatically produce a beautiful, comfortable home. Without your own personal touch and inclusion of some of the messy clutter of life you are merely producing a hollow picture of a room.

I hope at the end of the day after producing all of these unemotional photos she took out all of her real stuff from the closets, pulled the shoes out from under the bed, brought the kids toys back inside from the garage, made a mess in the kitchen preparing dinner, poured a glass of wine and flopped down on one of those perfect sofas and looked around to see a perfectly beautiful mess!
What do you think?

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Dress Your Windows with Drape Couture

I was recently introduced to Monica Macha, the creative force behind a new custom drapery company called Drape Couture. She designs custom window treatments inspired by runway fashion. In the picture below a model is "wearing" a drapery panel from Monica's reversible lined drapery collection.


Drape Couture offers several different heading options and can customized a one of kind drapery collection for retail stores.

New to the line are decorative tie backs with exotic flourishes made from feathers and silk flowers.
The fabric selection is predominantly silks and a variety of coordinating trims are available.



Pillows and bedding are available as well as a children's collection. Monica is currently working on a line of drapery inspired by men's wear that will be constructed of pinstriped wools and wool solids.


The companies main focus is on reversible double sided drapery panels. I think they have a great idea however currently they are only offering silk fabrics which are not appropriate for exposure to sun. I would have to recommend a separate liner panel to protect the fabric from sun rot and fading. I'm looking forward to following their progress and seeing how they continue to emulate fashion in their designs.

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Meeting Michael Payne

I'm in Philadelphia this week at The Custom Home Furnishings Conference produced by Draperies and Window Coverings Magazine. The keynote speaker today was Michael Payne of HGTV's "Designing for the Sexes".

I've never watched many of the "design" oriented shows on TV but I have caught his show a few times and he seems to be the real deal. His speech today was surprisingly funny and full of energy. I had envisioned him as being ultra conservative but he was quite approachable and engaging.

I had the chance to meet him after lunch and I gave him a copy of my book. He's promised to read it and write a review for me - so we'll see if he follows through or if he was just saying anything to get rid of the crazy lady with the book!! He's writing a new book of his own about the remodel of his 1948 bungalow in the Hollywood Hills entitled " House of Payne" .

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Fit for a Queen or at least a Really Spoiled Princess

Every girl wants to feel like a princess at some time in their life even if they love modern design and hate foo foo and ruffles.

For those stylish city girls of sophisticated tastes ( and for foo foo lovers as well ) the one of a kind seating from Chair Couture will do the trick. Feminine yet Funky, each piece is finished and upholstered to bring out it's own unique character.


Exquisite detailing and finish work is highlighted by the choice of fresh, current fabrics guaranteed to command attention.


Striking contrast between frame and fabric creates an almost electric feel.


Margaret, the creative and "perky as her chairs" mind behind the line describes her concept. " My idea for Chair Couture is to "re-dress" the vintage French and Italian pieces I love so much in bold modern fabrics ( and sometimes paints) making every bergere, fauteuil, settee, and boudoir bench a striking one-of-a-kind art piece. These chairs are designed to not only fit in, but actually stand out and become a focal point in the most contemporary environments.


I love the harmony that she achieves between the traditional styling of the frames and the contemporary fabrics. It takes a keen eye to be able to pull this off so well. I know, I've tried and failed!!! It's wonderful to have a resource that specializes in this genre to help designers and homeowners achieve this look successfully.




Ingenuity in design is a rare thing and I commend her for her forward thinking. I am looking forward to seeing her expand her line.

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Good For You Miss Martha

On Mondays edition of "The Martha Stewart Show" Miss Martha dedicated the entire show to sewing. She even had help from our favorite fashionista Tim Gunn!! The entire audience was comprised of home sewers who either brought with them or wore, their own original creations.



I am very passionate about the subject of home decor and home fashion sewing. My grandmother and my mother were avid sewers and I learned to sew when I was 6. It is a very big part of the person that I have become and was of course instrumental in my career choice as well as the subject matter of my books.

Back in the day most families had at least one member who knew their way around a sewing machine. How many of us played with our grandmothers old Singer foot pedal sewing machine? This is certainly not the case today. We now live in a country where school districts have all but eliminated home economics and art instruction. Most young people are two generations removed from anyone in their immediate circle who possessed sewing skills. They do not have mentors at home or at school to expose them to the joy of sewing or to teach them basic skills.

This has lead to a critical shortage of skilled seamstresses working in soft treatment workrooms. Labor is outsourced to other countries or as is the case on the west coast, done primarily by illegal immigrants from Mexico. I am leaving on Wednesday to attend the Custom Home Furnishing's Conference in Philadelphia and I know that the shortage of skilled workers will be a topic of much conversation and debate.

I was very pleased to see Martha Stewart addressing these issues and encouraging her audience to take up sewing and expand their sewing skills. I hope she continues on this path. I think it is very important for all of us to encourage our schools to bring back home economics and art instruction.

Thanks Martha!

( By the way- check out that photo - the girl is looking good! You have to go to her my space page. She shows old photos of her modeling days . Who knew she was such a babe? )

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It's Friday, Get Your Vegas On!!

Most of you don't know this but my super talented husband is the creative mind behind the very successful advertising campaign for Las Vegas. "What Happens Here Stays Here ". They have launched a new interactive website for their new ads! It's a ton of fun. Check it out

Since it's Friday and I 'm sure you are wanting to get your party started so you can fly your freak flag proudly. I thought I would provide you with some inspiration by giving you a close up view of two of my home towns hottest night spots.

First, we have the hangout of the perpetually wasted, extension sporting, no underwear wearing, queen of trailer trash, Britney Spears. PURE in Caesars Palace.



The rooftop bar overlooking the strip is the place to be on a Friday night. The view is fantastic and unlike the interior rooms there is plenty of oxygen for those of you who like to breath. For a couple of hundred bucks you can bribe your way up the elevator to this lofty perch and be seated in your own private cabana where you can then shell out many more hundreds for bottle service and all the slutty hostesses you could possibly want to mix your drinks. Luckily when I have gone there it's always been for private parties and it's an open bar - I can't afford simple luxuries like bottle service!

The infamous "Red Room"shown at the top right, is reserved for only the most elite of celebrity partiers. I am positive that Britney's naked butt cheeks have graced that sofa.


The interior is well done with lots of sexy drapery and loungable furnishings (aka make out beds). Colored lights set the mood. These pictures are a bit misleading because when you are there in person it is filled with Tara Reid and Paris Hilton wanna be's and you can't really see much of the interior.


The private booths with filmy fabric walls are premium seating - again this will cost you.



For the slightly more sophisticated, the place to be is TAO. The Asian masterpiece at The Venetian. Tao actually offers delicious food and good service especially upstairs in the private lounge
Giant Buddha's and barrel shaped booths create a surreal, spicy environment that oozes trendy. Young beautiful things sip martinis and pack the dance floor gyrating to techno music.


Red venetian glass chandeliers remind patrons that they are still in The Venetian while they drink the night away into the wee wee hours.

Celebrity sightings here tend to be more along the lines of Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson with the occasional Justin Timberlake.

So wherever you are and whatever you're doing this weekend - Party like a rock star would if they were at TAO or PURE with no underwear on. Go Vegas!!

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Hvae yuo sene tihs

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.



i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!


Cazry!!!

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