Opened in 1921 by Helen and Ed Power, the Nut Tree was, according to the press, a “culinary and curio oasis in a desert of endless roadway.” With furniture commissioned from Charles Eames and artwork by Wayne Thiebaud the restaurant was light years ahead of its Pacific Standard Time – every detail from the furniture the the dishware to the way the food was presented was art-directed by Don Birrell, the Nut Tree’s head designer from 1953 to 1990. ”We had a master plan for everything, from the design of the billboards to landscape architecture, interior design to the way food was arranged on the plate,” Birrell says. “We wanted to create a certain feeling, make people remember us.” Get the whole story »
Check out of Hotel Tangerina after obsessing over the coolest wall clock / calendar I have ever seen. Head to station to catch express to Casablanca. Haggle with taxi driver about the fare. He wants to charge us a 50dh flat fee (illegal) and we want him to use the meter. He reluctantly agrees and the ride is 18dh. Almost miss train but make it by the skin of our teeth after Cristina puts the guy who tried to cut her in line in his place (the wonders of cueing are lost on most Moroccans.)
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I love old industrial cage lighting fixtures and fans. Just purchased a whole bunch for our redesign of the legendary Blue Parrot in East Hampton, set to reopen on Memorial Day weekend. Read more about the Parrot’s fabled history in this sad farewell by Forbes’ James Brady in 2005. After four years, The Blue Parrot reopens with a motley crew of former notorious patrons-turned-investors. So much fun to be able to work on this “Dirty Mexican” project from the ground up! Get the whole story »
The Blue Parrot restaurant in East Hampton, New York is a storied joint. The no-frills divey Mexican cantina was described by James Brady in a 2006 article for Forbes: “It’s the closest thing we have in East Hampton to a writers’ and media hangout–comparable to Elaine’s or the old Bleeck’s in Manhattan, or Castel’s and Harry’s New York Bar in Paris… Instead of Ingrid and Bogie, we had Joy Behar, Renee Zellweger and Bill Murray… Martha Stewart and Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, Katie Couric, Bon Jovi and Billy Joel. Moviemakers, Matt Lauer, George Plimpton, Mike Lupica of the Daily News, Walter Isaacson of Time, Cheryl Tiegs, Peter Maas and half the staff of Page Six… And plenty of surfers. Joe Heller (Catch 22) was a barstool regular, and so were Jerry Della Femina and wife Judy Licht and Times stringer Kelly Smith. Christie Brinkley autographed the bar.”
So when I got the call to redesign the interior for the new owners after two closed seasons, it was no-brainer that authenticity was rule one. To that end we focused on preserving the bones of the old Parrot, stripping down the walls to their original salvaged wood, covering the floor in the classic turquoise deck paint, and outfitting the new banquettes in a terrific utilitarian green canvas. We purchased an odd lot of vintage bentwood cafe chairs and acquired the most amazing tree trunk bar stools. I sourced a series of 60′s Mexican and Cuban movie posters to hang alongside art created for the space by the owners’ friend artist Richard Prince. From the bell jar glasses to the menu design, to the new orange striped awnings every detail was designed to breathe new life into a beloved old classic.
As I was shopping for Christmas gifts this weekend, I realized that Halle, my youngest, didn’t have a proper copy of Madeline. I loved Madeline as a little girl, when Paris was still – literally and figuratively – a world away. So I picked up a copy. Interestingly, the author and illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans, was the man that my favorite bar in my favorite New York hotel was named after. (How I never made this connection is beyond me, as apparently everyone on the planet was hip to this.) In any case, it makes me love Bemelmans Bar and the Carlyle even more. Get the whole story »
I’ve been thinking alot about Paris lately.
Café de Flore on the corner of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Rue St. Benoit will always be one of the most special places in the world to me. The classic deco interior of all red seating, mahogany and mirrors is original to World War II. Although Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir would meet here and discuss their philosophy of existentialism over a drink, there’s nothing mlre pleasing than a lazy breakfast of oeufs en cocotte here with someone you love and making plans for the future.
Quite possibly the most beautiful room in new York City, Café Pierre (or the Rotunda) at The Pierre hotel is a perfectly executed exercise in lavishness. The trompe l’oeil murals created by American artist Edward Melcarth play backdrop to the most fabulous afternoon tea this side of the Thames. Have some Earl Gray with a lover under the dome and discuss the 253-room hotel’s luscious history (including tales of founder Charles Pierre and original financiers Otto H. Kahn, Edward F. Hutton, and Walter P. Chrysler,) its infamous bankruptcy in 1932, and eventual purchase by oilman J. Paul Getty for $2.5 million in 1938.
If the top of the building looks familiar its because it was modeled by archtects Schultze and Weaver (The Breakers Palm Springs, The Waldorf-Astoria, The Sherry-Netherland) after Mansart’s Royal Chapel at Versailles. Permanent residents in the few apartments have included Elizabeth Taylor, Viacom entertainment company chairman Sumner Redstone, Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, and the late designer Yves Saint-Laurent.
In 2005 The Pierre was acquired by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, an India-based global chain of fine luxury hotels and resorts, yet it still retains its forever charm. I spent the night of my birthday there right after the purchase so I can attest to it.
Speaking of London – and in the same immaculate design tradition – is The Wolseley. Brought to you by the superhuman creators of London’s magical mess halls, Le Caprice, The Ivy, and J Sheeky, the imposingly overscaled yet intimate Wolseley is perhaps the best all-around dining experience I have had. Magnificently situated in the former Wolseley Motors Limited building built in 1921, the restaurant takes your breath away for in food, service, and all-around gorgeousness.
The Wolseley
160 Picadilly
London
W1J 9EB
Quite possibly one of the most brilliant placemakers of our time, Anoushka Hempel is my idol. The former British 60′s actress-turned-hotelier and designer has created four absolutely unparalleled hotels (including my favorite hotel ever – Blake’s in South Kensington, London) and a slew of restaurants and retail stores (including Louis Vuitton in Paris and Van Cleef & Arpels in Brazil, Goa, Istanbul, and Las Vegas.) Her style is impeccable and untouchable in my opinion. She has this God-given way of creating the most magical environments that are so lavish and fantastical, intoxicatingly decadent, and yet unbelievably cozy and warm. Everything she touches turns into 24-carat gold. She has even designed clothes for Princess Diana and Princess Margaret. I want to swim in her head.
Oh, did I mention she was a Bond girl? Sigh…
No this is not a Parisian shoe salon. It’s Fauchon, a luxury food shop on Paris’ Place de la Madeleine in the 8e arrondissement.
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