Spring Musings 2018: Tastemakers, Auctions, and Designer Furniture

I am absolutely loving India Amory’s new Tastemaker Series featuring so many of my favorite people. I profiled Julia Amory, founder of India Amory, last spring when the company had just launched… such amazing style!

Viyet has also launched a Tastemakers Series where you can shop the style of your favorite designers… It is such fun perusing exclusively curated treasures from Meg Braff, Malory Mathison Glenn, and more. The Designer Consigners section is also fun to shop… these Parisian-inspired dining chairs from Niermann Weeks are so chic!

If you missed Holly Holden’s “You Are Cordially Invited” PBS tours of Highclere Castle and Blenheim Palace, they are now available on DVD!

London-based interior designer Alidad is opening his personal home for a day where he shares his secrets for creating timeless interiors! The next date is April 18, and you can learn more here and here. His book, Alidad: The Timeless Home, is available via Amazon.

On April 12, contents from Faringdon House in Oxfordshire will be the focal point of Christie’s London Interiors Sale. Faringdon was the home of Lord Berners, a composer, painter, diplomat, and writer who was immortalized by Nancy Mitford in her novel The Pursuit of Love.  She described Faringdon as “A house where the second best was never tolerated, either in comfort, conversation or in manners.” Lord Berners and his lover Robert “Mad Boy” Heber-Percy turned the Oxfordshire home into an extraordinary and eccentric paradise.  After Lord Berners’ death, Mad Boy inherited the house who in 1987 left it to his granddaughter Sofka Zinovieff (it recently sold.) Also included in Christie’s London Interiors Sale are pieces from the collection of the late Lord and Lady Jacobs and property from a David Hicks interior.

On April 14, Heritage Auctions will present The Estate of Zsa Zsa Gabor Signature Auction. You can peruse Zsa Zsa’s glamorous treasures here.

If you love auctions as much as I do, you will want to bookmark my sponsor Barnebys…  Barnebys is the comprehensive search engine for art, antiques, jewelry, and collectibles from more than 1,800 auction houses around the world including Christie’s and Sotheby’s. For the first time, consumers are able to search the entire auctions market in one user-friendly site…Barnebys is so resourceful and so much fun!

I loved meeting Iris Apfel in Newport over the summer, and I was delighted to see the fabulous new Iris Apfel Collection for Grandinroad… This elephant console table is calling my name!  She also has a delightful new book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon. (Pictured left to right: Andrea, Iris, Bettie Bearden Pardee, and Shelley Johnstone)

If you missed last year’s Aquazzura for de Gournay Collection, a new collection is now available through Bergdorf Goodman. Several pieces have already sold out, but ankle wraps, slingbacks, flat sandals, ankle wrap heels, and sneakers are still available in de Gournay’s turquoise Chinoiserie print (pictured).

Based on 18th century pieces from her personal collection, Tory Burch released these Majolica inspired plates as part of her new spring additions. They will be perfect with the Dodie Thayer for Tory Burch lettuce ware collection!

Aerin Lauder has announced spring additions to her AERIN Collection for Williams Sonoma. Last spring’s Palm Beach inspired collection was a huge hit and items sold out quickly… Aerin has exquisite taste, and I want one of everything!

So many Palm Beach inspired treasures available through the new Lilly Pulitzer for Pottery Barn collaboration… These armchairs are such much fun, and if I had a baby girl, every inch of her nursery would be covered in Lilly! There are some darling things for boys too… I just bought this elephant sheet for my son.

If you are going to be in South Florida this month, you will want to drive down for the 2018 Junior League of Miami Showhouse. This year the biennial showhouse will take place at the Deering Estate, an historic estate spanning more than 444 waterfront acres. The showhouse will be open April 14 – 29, and additional information can be found here.

I have been a huge fan of Bungalow 5 forever, and I am thrilled to welcome them as a new sponsor!  Inspired by history, Bungalow 5 furniture is made by highly-skilled craftsmen from around the world.  Many designs and finishes are nearly a decade in the making with meticulous attention to quality and detail. Bungalow 5 is known for their signature textured pieces fully-wrapped in natural grasscloth or linen fabric, custom cut, and applied by hand. The beautifully sculpted Jacqui, Ming, and Bardot collections are my favorites. (Pictured: Bardot side table in a bedroom designed by Meg Braff) I am also eyeing this etagere and Madeleine Castaing inspired chair! For additional information, please visit Bungalow 5.