Category: Elle Decor


Reincarnation

Forget about coming back in another life as a person…I think I’d quite like to come back as this kitchen.  Sexy and practical.  Must appeal to my inner Gemini!

Black and Brass. Yum. Kelly Wearstler designed kitchen from the latest Elle Decor, photographed by Mikkel Vang.

Yum


I have to say, I think I’m liking this whole electronic magazine thing. Getting a notification in my inbox telling me my magazine has “arrived” is a nice feeling on a Friday…knowing I don’t need to run all over town to pick up a copy. And, frankly, I think the images are even better.

The cover story took my breath away – a Paolo Moschino designed townhouse in London. Although, I’ve never been a fan of using brush fringe on sofa seat cushions like that, but I’ll forgive him just this once…

Photographed by Simon Upton for Elle Decor October 2011.

California Dreamin’

Have you ever recognised someone, not from their face, or name, but by their apartment?….well, that’s exactly what happened to me last month when I picked up a copy of Elle Decor.

Hmmm…I thought to myself, Michael De Perno…that name kinda rings a bell, but I couldn’t place it. I don’t quite know what it was that jogged my memory – lord knows some days I have trouble remembering my own name…but for some reason I had an Aha! moment and pulled out my very first kept issue of Elle Decor from May 2001 (almost exactly ten years earlier), and there it was, on page 214, Michael De Perno’s classic 1920’s LA apartment.

At the time the article was published I was living in a tiny apartment in Tokyo and De Perno’s apartment was great daydreaming fodder. It was light, airy, full of real furniture (I barely owned any at that stage) and I loved the classic details of the house. I also loved the mix of furniture, we had barely begun to buy the Japanese antiques we now own (in storage in Australia nonetheless), and I was intrigued by how he had put it all together.

Fast forward ten years down the track (where the hell did all that time go?) and De Perno’s new abode is still providing me with daydream fodder, except that now I’m living in a tiny apartment in Hong Kong. His new house is much more modern, and it seems his style has evolved in a similar way that mine has. I’m glad to see he has retained much of his furniture….(I think thats partly what helped me recognise the house as his)…a Japanese tansu here, a chest of drawers there, its still a nice mix. While the architecture of the house has changed, the overal aesthetic has not. Its still light and airy and I think that – along with the fabulous sense of indoor-outdoor living – is what I’m day dreamin’ about most.

Michael De Perno’s previous home, photographed by Jeremy Samuelson for Elle Decor back in May 2001.

De Perno’s new abode, photographed by Laura Resen for Elle Decor June 2011.

Mark Cunningham

OK, I’ll take a quick break from the London lowdown to give thanks to Elle Decor for bringing a few much deserved glossy pages of Mark Cunningham’s work to us. I won’t post all the images in case you haven’t seen the spread yet. To die for. All I can say is, I can’t wait to see more from this talented designer, and what Russell does with the US Architectural Digest…

and the winner is…..

MISS OCTOBER!

Well it seems that October is the winner! I should have guessed actually, that was my gut instinct, and I should have listened. In total we had 24 votes – 13 for October, 10 for November (very close) and 1 for neither. It seems from a few of the comments I received that a large part of the October cover’s appeal was the yellow zebra pattern on the side chairs – and I can’t say I disagree. I thought they looked so fabulous I had to track down the fabric (my dining chairs that need recovering look quite similar). The pattern is a Jim Thompson fabric called “Illusion” and is quite old, but is still available in three colours (the yellow, pale blue and a brown). The fourth colour, as used by our favorite Ms Wearstler in her previous home (see below) has since been discontinued.

Thanks to everyone who participated, it was a fun experiment. It’s been really interesting to see which of the covers was preferred most – and while I loved both and had a hard time choosing, it seems in the end they were pretty close anyway.

Elle Decor covers

So is it just me, or does Elle Decor just seem to be getting better and better each month? I thought last month (October 07) was one of the best I had seen in a long time – and the cover still blows me away. But when I picked up my copy of November’s issue I started to drool. Now I can’t figure out which one I love more. So, I thought I might do something different and ask you guys. Let’s vote – I am going to run a poll and I want you to vote on which cover you like most – or if you like neither – OR if there is another back-issue cover that is still your fave. The poll will run til the end of the month and then I’ll know the winner. It’s all anonymous, so anyone who’s been visiting and not leaving comments, now’s your time to have your say!

October 2007

November 2007

I heart Elle Decor!

I had just started devouring my October edition of Elle Decor this morning, and was very nearly about to brush over the letters to the editor (they are so often from some whiney idiot who complains about the cover of last month, or the amount of homes of gay couples) when I found this! I can’t even begin to explain how excitied I was (…actually, still am).

Also, I want to apologise for any of the other great blogs that I now read on a daily basis for not mentioning you! I wrote this letter back in June when I just started reading/writing blogs, and have discovered so many more since then (see my fave list of blogs). Thanks to Elle Decor for publishing my letter…if I wasn’t your number 1 fan before, I definitely am now!

Elle Decor

I spoke too soon. Just as I hit the ‘publish post’ button, I was handed my copy of the September issues of Elle Decor. Amazingly enough, it’s the very first time that I have actually received the susciption copy before I’ve given up waiting and gone out and bought a copy. I just need to get a copy of the new House and Garden and I’ll be set for the weekend. Well, for a few hours of it at least!