Ayres Interiors Blog

Christmas Time at The Biltmore!

January 5, 2018

This Christmas, I had a wonderful opportunity to revisit the Biltmore in Asheville, NC.

America’s preeminent “castle” built by George Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith, this unbelievable estate was officially opened on Christmas Eve, 1895, after six years of construction. I had toured the Biltmore once before on a beautiful summer day, but I knew that at Christmas, this gem would dazzle like no other.

It didn’t disappoint!

The moment you enter the Winter Garden, you are greeted with a profusion of bright poinsettias and palms, while the Banquet Hall next door is dressed for 30 guests in whites and ice blues, and several bedecked trees in the same colors.

The Banquet Hall

One of my favorite spots is the Breakfast Room down the hall – cozy and intimate. The room’s peachy overtones must have made everyone look great in the morning!

Color My World, Please!

December 12, 2017

Something weird is going on in my neighborhood, and it’s a little troubling.

As I walk my dog at night, I see interiors of the new and huge houses going up everywhere. Shockingly, most of the rooms are painted stark white — with white furnishings and lighting!

Balboa Peninsula Residence contemporary-family-room

See more contemporary family room designs

White is a perfectly wonderful choice for a beach setting.
My dog Billy’s ears always perk up when he hears me arrrggghing. How can people live like this in a climate where winter bombards us for at least six months? It seems like a frigid existence. Give me cozy and comfy – – low lights and fire glow.

Interior by Soucie Horner Ltd.

Thankfully, there are still people out there who crave a little color in their lives!

I’m totally sucked in by a color combination I’ve been seeing in print lately. Deep aqua and rosey/melon.

Photo by Good Living Home

Several shelter publications recently featured ads and articles that offer a most interesting take on this color duo. The colors are loosely at opposite ends of the color wheel, and they certainly complement each other.

Book Smart

October 16, 2017

When I was a kid, going to the library was always a treat. It was quiet, smelled great (like books and wood polish), and seemed to me to hold the knowledge of the world. I hope that kids today still feel that reverence for books.

In fact, my grand nephew who just entered kindergarten recently exclaimed, ” We got to go to the library today, and they let us check out a book!” (his voice full of wonder…).

Fast forward to last week. I met a realtor at a large, two-million-dollar-plus condo to see about some staging for resale. She led me into the master bedroom, which had a 20-foot wall of book shelves and a beautiful sliding library ladder. She couldn’t quite believe that several moneyed millennials had come to the open house and stepped out of the bedroom muttering, ” What do we do with that crazy wall of shelves!” (their voices full of wonder…). This makes me sad.

If The Shoe Fits…

August 25, 2017

I’m endlessly fascinated by people’s collections. I understand the psychology of collecting, because I do it myself!

I recently visited a friend of a friend who is crazy about shoes. She throws out words like “dazzling!,” “gorgeous!,” “true works of art!” at the mere mention of shoes. And once she showed me her shoe collection, I was pretty gaga myself. Apparently, she’s had a love for shoes since college, when she would save all her money for that next great pair. She confessed that she spent more on shoes than clothes, because, for her, shoes make the outfit.

When she and her husband decided to renovate two years ago, she painstakingly video taped her old closet , counted her shoes, created plans and drawings for at least a year, then doubled the space. She credits Eiseland Builders of Glenview with achieving every one of her closet desires.

They include back to front double spaces for her beloved shoes, a built- in velvet seat where she could put her shoes on, a major purse nook (they’re organized by color), and a secret jewelry closet that doubles as a full-length mirror.

A Visit to Charleston Farmhouse

May 19, 2017

The book Bloomsbury Rooms on my library shelf has often inspired my interiors. It’s a large book that delves deeply into the lives of Virginia Woolf and her sister, the artist Vanessa Bell.

Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and critic.

Virginia Woolf, an English novelist and critic

Vanessa Bell, Virginia’s artist sister

These sisters and their influence on the 20th century are huge subjects — ones I’m not equipped to go in depth on, but subjects that have probably inspired more artists, writers, and designers than you can imagine.

The story unfolds that in 1929, Dorothy Todd, the editor of English Vogue, collaborated on a book called The New Interior Decoration, which put forth the very edgy idea of two home design approaches capturing Europe: “One praises the high-tech look of International Style design…led by Le Corbusier. The other hails domestic design as a refuge from mass-production and standardization, promoting the home as the ‘last refuge’ of “that individuality which modern conditions are suppressing in our public life.”

La Villa Savoye, Poissy, France by Corbusier

The library, Charleston Farmhouse

Here’s where Vanessa and Virginia come in.

OLD CASE FILE

April 1, 2017

Recently, I bought this little trinket box for my sister’s birthday. She’s a Pisces, and I thought she would enjoy this mid-century take on fish done in wire.

She loved it! Its totally useless little presence will grace her table somewhere, and she’ll enjoy remembering who gave it to her (I hope).

Apparently Martha Stewart loves trinket boxes as much as I do. I saw this wonderful montage of boxes in one of her recent issues. The writer agrees that “these decorative little containers possess a certain well-traveled charm…and sit pretty on a coffee table, casting a worldly impression.”

If you go by the rule that three of anything is a collection, then I must say, I have a lot of collections. And one of my best is a collection of trinket boxes!

I found this handmade box at an antique mall. Notice the inlay.

Do You Have a Hygge Home?

February 8, 2017

I got my hygge on recently reading a New York Times article on Christmas Day, with a steaming cup of tea next to me. Entitled “Wintering the Danish Way,” the article went in depth on the Danish concept of “hygge,” which translates loosely as “anything that makes you feel safe, happy, secure and snuggly.”

Pronounced “HOOga,” I guess you could say it’s the Danish word for cozy. But it is so much more than that. In fact, there are whole books written about it. I just had to buy one and see for myself. The book much touted is the newest guide to establishing hygge in your life called The Little Book of Hygge. Written by Meik Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, this little gem is truly a step by step guide to getting the most benefit out of the bleaker months – and that’s one thing we Chicagoans can really use.

After reading that book cover to cover, I could write my own book on creating the kind of home we all need to weather our weather. But I won’t. Instead, I’ll give some easy tips provided by Mr. Wiking, and as you think about them, you may realize you’ve already created the perfect hygge home intuitively!

PROJECT: NURSERY!

January 4, 2017

When your child tells you she’s having a child, it’s a sublime moment.

Flashes of your own dear grandmother run through your head. A quick take on yourself with gray hair and an apron is quickly rejected. A few moments on the idea of a continuum causes some eternal sparks to fly…

Then for me, the most important thought popped in: we get to design a nursery!

My daughter (future mother) and I are great collaborators. We enjoyed many long sessions talking about the furnishings and colors in their new home two years ago. She has her own style, which I appreciate, yet she often consults with me on various decisions. Now her home office would become the greatest nursery ever created!

I’m a huge fan of Land of Nod. I look forward to receiving their catalogs, and really love what the stylists come up with for children’s rooms that are imaginative without the cutesiness.

One of many wonderful Land of Nod nurseries

Another nursery by Land of Nod

My daughter sent me a photo of a nursery with chalky white walls, a hit of gray and a few gold and peach accents that the company had recently featured.

We could recreate it! Then the shock. My grandchild is a grandson. Good-bye gold and peach. Hello to – what? Another hackneyed mural with dinosaurs in construction trucks?

I mentioned to her that Land of Nod recently introduced a line of Charlie Harper items – graphics, pillows, quilts and toys. I have always admired the Charlie Harper design approach. Especially the animals. He’s taken cubism to the forest and created the most appealing, colorful creatures.

Defining “Italian Style”

December 21, 2016

We just got back from a week in Rome. What an amazing city. Hard to define. Its ancient roots and modern outlook seem to collide at every charming intersection.

A few weeks before we departed, I attended a seminar to hear interior designer Alessandra Branca speak about her beloved Rome and its influence on her work. Branca has offices in Chicago, New York and Rome, and a family apartment in Rome where she spends several months each year.

Alessandra Branca speaks about her approach to decorating and design in her “New Classic Interiors” book.

The Italian style is in her DNA!

Her book, “New Classic Interiors,” published in 2009, gives great examples of her extravagant and glorious rooms which are both world-class and classically Italian. Since I was traveling to her hometown, I decided to take mental notes about Italian interiors and how to achieve even a hint of the bellissima touch called “the Italian style.”

A corner of the Forum from our hotel room window.

When I heard her speak, Branca filled the room with her passion about decorating, and described how her beautiful Rome was her inspiration at every turn. She challenged us to visit the sites that inspire her every time she returns to this magical city. She even offered to email everyone in the audience a list of her favorite haunts.

Have a Seat!

October 16, 2016

There are way too many chairs in my life. I’m sort of obsessed with them.

When I look at chairs, I see types of people. Not necessarily the people who would sit on them, but actual personalities. That’s why I can’t leave a decent chair that’s been put in the alley. It’s like a lonely soul sitting there waiting to be saved. I used to feel that way when I saw good shoes in the alley, but I don’t see them much anymore, and usually people take them immediately.

Not so with chairs. Cast off chairs are headed for – who knows where?

But many of them have ended up on my cabin porch with a new coat of paint!

Several years ago I inherited a few Barbara Barry chairs from my husband’s office when we remodeled. Yes, they’re office chairs, but they seem right at home in our living room. When I look at them, I see an older European fellow who wears horned-rim glasses. He adds to our social gatherings with wit and thoughtful reflections. And he’s also extremely well-mannered.

Am I in need of a therapist? Perhaps. But let’s keep playing this game, because I’m enjoying it.

I recently purchased new dining room chairs at Design Within Reach. In their chair gallery, I felt like I had an audience of chairs. Some were calling out softly, some with a baudiness I couldn’t tolerate. And then I spotted the Prouvé Standard Chair. The jokester of my dreams! In black and Japanese red, this chair looks like a vintage harlequin that has been dusted off and shined up. Angled, clever, hard-edged with a few casual silver buttons! And six of them around my table make me happy.

For the host chairs, I introduced myself to the leather Bottega Side Chairs in black leather. They’re the serious disciplinarians in the dining room, keeping all those Prouvés in line…sturdy, silent, and heavy.

When I pull the dining room group into the living room for bigger gatherings, I hear a wonderful cacophony of accents and opinions – from the chairs, I mean!

Let’s look at a few more chairs, just for fun.

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