emilies interiors

Jamie Mulholland is originally from a suburb nearby Cape Town and started his bartending career in St Martin 16 years ago. Since then the ‘Zuid-Afrikaner’ worked his guts out in order to become today’s successful entrepreneur in the hospitality business. His latest venture is Surf Lodge located on the east end of Long Island (only 125 miles from NYC!).

Through a small article in this month’s  edition of the British Vogue I became aware of this elegant  lodge that has been decorated with simple but characteristic items like the elephant stools, a few Eames chairs, the photo frames in black & white and the subtle color schemes with tones in egg yolk & ocean blue. All set against a background of white plastered walls, sun kissed timber jetty and rattan.

I know for sure that I will visit this laid back place with lots of Caribbean- | South-African- | Aussie beach vibes.

Hotel Mamounia is a Marrakech resort where old and new come together. The renovation of this former palace took 3 years and was managed by the celebrated Interiors & Garden Designer Jacques Garcia.  This French designer  is known for its design of Hotel Costes, Costes restaurants, Hotel Majestic, the redecoration of Hôtel Odéon Saint Germain and many more. His mix of colors, luxurious fabrics, cultural heritage  and artisanal objects is characteristic for his Paris chic style.

From the photo’s and texts of Hotel Mamounia’s site I could see that Garcia spent a lot of time and efforts  in  maintaining the heritage of this Moorish architectural marvel and added the best of its local craftsmanship to it. The hotel is accommodated with suites, exclusive suites and a riad. The letter one I liked the most and the second best in my opinion is the Prestige Suite. The reason for this top 2 is that the interiors of these luxurious accommodations are quite sober for its Arabic taste and probably that of Monsieur Garcia. This ’soberness’ facilitates the beauty of Mamounia’s architecture and the local craftsmanship in plastering| tiling | woodworking.

Hotel Mamounia Prestige Suite

Hotel Mamounia Riad

Mamounia is set in a beautiful garden that feeds the daily need in herbs and greens of the hotel restaurants, where every detail of its interiors matches with the former French colonial vibes of this luxurious resort.

Never enjoyed the Acapulco vibe? Check out this renewed hot spot in Mexico: Hotel Boca Chica. This hotel from 1950 has been renovated by Frida Escobedo and José Rojas and they did a marvelous job. This Catilla Beach hotel opened last January and from the words of Frida I could make up that that the interest for Catilla Beach is regaining its old glamorous status.

The revitalization of this grand old lady has been done consistently. In every design item the roots and values of Hotel Boca Chica have been embedded. If you have a look at the interiors, the poolside, the club, restaurant, website or stationary; all these elements breathe the same sixties chic style.  I think that Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Lee Marvin, Frank Sinatra  and many more  sixties celebs would have loved this revamped place. If you haven’t arranged your Christmas Holiday yet; you might consider this desirable design hotel.

Old pic of Auckland's High Street

2, High Street is the oldest hotel location in  Auckland, New Zealand.  The buildings have been erected in 1841  and were rebuilt in 1925. After a renovation in 1959 the hotel changed its name into  Hotel Debrett.

Hotel DeBrett's atrium

Another view Hotel Debrett's atrium

The recent owners remodeled Hotel Debrett in the eighties and from its online presentation I can conclude that they are still cherishing this grand old lady.  This hotel with loft- & boutique suites, a bar, an atrium, conference rooms and a rewarded restaurant can be classified as a Boutique Hotel.

Hotel Debrett's bar

Hotel Debrett's conference facilities

An impression of a Loft Suite

An impression of a Boutique Suite

It’s style is a mix and match of design classics that is adding something authentic to the impact of the many ‘original’ architectural features. Have a look at the history section of Hotel Debrett’s site ,it will give you a good impression of its former sixties interiors.

Hotel deBrett in the old days

This hotel tip is from Zoë, whom recently moved from The Hague, that is the Dutch capital,  to Sidney Australia!

Fancy a London night in a hotel suite decorated with Mies van der Rohe furniture or inspired by the designs of Andre Putman? Have a look at the Boundary, one of Sir Terence Conran’s latest hospitality ventures. Just like his other developments in real estate, this hotel with a roof top restaurant, a bakery, a food store and many more is a testimonial of his strong belief in the alignment of architecture, design and food. This rewarded designer and founder of Habitat, created 12 spacious guest bedrooms each in a certain style. Have a look at the site and read his reviews on each room.

Eames room

A Squint chair in the British Room

From the Josef Hoffmann Room

Just a detail form a fifties bench somewhere placed in the Boundary complex

Lovely detail, London map on the wall

My fav Tom Dixon Wing Chair

Now that I’ve passed my symbolic milestone of 250 published blog posts I would like to start this one for refining the description of my motivation for sharing content.  In April 2009 I started to publish posts with the aim to share my enthusiasm for home decor and interiors. Later that year I’ve used emilies.com for an online inquiry. The goal of my research was to map the need for inspiration and from the results I learned something that is fundamental for Dutch Stylist/Decorators. The research group I addressed to (a representation of Dutch home owners) was not in need of any help from stylists/decorators during the renovation/decoration of their homes. But it did want to be inspired by magazines, TV programs, family and friends.

With this insight I changed my market approach and started to exploit my skills in Home Staging. Today, after a successful first season I’ve a moment to look back and can conclude that people called me for help at the end of the life cycle of a decorated home instead of the beginnings, which is the normal part where a stylist comes in. I must confess that this situation suits me better for the reason that I can apply a combination of the experience in e-Commerce and my skills in Styling.

To make a long story short; in my area the upscale market is tough. For loans higher than € 500.000 the banks are not easy in providing mortgages and the uncertainty about the future mortgage deduction (a government policy that made our real estate market boom until the end of 2008) is lingering on while Holland is a bit lost without a government. It’s in our culture to await a moment like this and in my opinion this behavior does do no good for the real estate market with the consequences that there is neither a buyers’ market nor a seller’s market. The only thing I can advice a seller is to see his/her home as a commercial object without any hopes that the boom will be back before 2011. Potential buyers are willing to visit a top 5 of best presented homes in their favorite area. With this insight a home owner has to make sure that;

1. the object will be sold by the best real estate agent in town,
2. the new owners can move in without the hassle of renovation,
3. the house will be staged | dressed | photographed by an expert in order to be part of the top 5.

While I’m working on my track record (until now I’ve co-sold homes within a average of 6,5 weeks), I’ll  keep you posted about the latest trends in interior design and continue to share my tips and tricks in home decor.

This a compact impression of a Paris duplex, restored and decorated by Baroness Bruno de Pampelonne. The visuals are scans and copied from the July | August edition of Vogue Living.

Baroness Bruno de Pampelonne, her name is Rose, is an expert in daring color schemes. I think her style is chic and mundane. This combined with her eye for detail and her drive for perfection makes her the perfect partner for people whom are looking for first class but personal interiors.

From what I learned she is a designer that will think about every detail that is part of the restoration and decoration of capital homes that results in complete and consistent interiors. Have a look at her family home in Paris or buy a copy of the Vogue Living edition and experience her style and sense for perfection.

from Vogue Living July | August 2010

Next to some classics in bentwood Thonet delivered great design in table bases. This Thonet dining table is part of the kitchen interiors of a Paris duplex. For a staging project in Amsterdam I applied a set of 2 Thonet bases. The first is a salon table that consists of a chrome tubular frame and the original wooden tabletop. The second one is a black coated steel base, that I enriched with a smoked glass tabletop that I found left in the to be staged apartment.

Thonet salon table

Thonet table foot in staged home Amsterdam

Next post more about the Paris duplex decorated by Baroness Bruno de Pampelonne.

Thonet 209M

There is no secret about the fact that I’m a fan of Thonet. This nineteen century pioneer and innovator in prefab furniture assembled successful designs that  are resulting in today’s extended collections in classics and latest productions. The Dutch agent of Thonet distributes a classic Thonet chair that is not known to the mass and beautiful in its line. It’s the 209. This chair is available in bentwood with an open back or with a backrest in wicker,  molded plywood or covered with leather or fabric. My preference is the black version with an open back and a molded plywood backseat. The name of this version is 209M.

Front room of NYC Standard Hotel's Standard Grill

When browsing through  the last Vogue Living July | August edition I learned that the front room of the New York Standard Hotel’s Standard Grill has been decorated with the Thonet 209M. If you take a careful look you will see that the ends of the chair legs have been dipped in white paint. This optical trick makes the chairs look like they are floating around the front room. If you have a rather small space to furnish with dark colored furniture, this tip is a good one to apply.

Huize Toorenvliet, Verlengde Hereweg 183, Groningen

While checking the latest offers in property valued at a higher price than 1 million euro’s, I bumped into this monument that I know well. The reason for sharing this architectural marvel is its online presentation. Even for a trained eye it is difficult to see if this house has been staged. For certain it is has been tidied up and cleaned, but from the look of the state of the gardens and interiors you could think that the owners lost their energy to maintain this huge place.

What I like about this set of photos is the potential of this 10 room mansion. The person whom shot this is an expert in gripping the atmosphere of the gardens, the house and the fifties interiors. The results are some precious fundamentals for a restoration of its previous glamour from the nineteen thirties. If you are interested in this mansion located in Groningen (within reach of a small airport), have a look at Funda.