I'm back from an amazing trip to New Orleans. It really was a fantastic experience.
There is so much to share with you, so I think this post will be just an over-view of my whole trip. I will do a few other more in depth posts during the week.
Steve and I went to New Orleans for the Design Leadership Summit, hosted by Keith Granet and Peter Sallick and Meg Toubourg of the Design Investors Group. I was honored to be included in this event that brought together some of the most talented architects and interior designers in the country.
Keith Granet is a talented and inspiring business man who has helped many architects and designers to achieve their dreams. His clients include KAA, Suzanne Kassler, Thom Filicia and Thad Hayes, among many others.
The first evening that we arrived, we attended an inspirational and thought provoking talk by Diane Von Furstenberg. It was truly a gift to be able to learn from her life lessons. The main point that I came away with is to always be authentic to oneself. In my profession it is easy to lose sight of what I want and who I am, especially if you happen to be a people pleaser, like me! I really admired her fearlessness.
The following morning we participated in a talk given by Stephen M R Covey about his book The Speed of Trust. The premise of the book is very simple but quite brilliant. I highly recommend reading the book.
In the afternoon, we took a tour of the historical Classical Revival home, Longueview.
The estate was designed in 1939-1942 for philanthropists Edgar Bloom Stern and his wife, Edith Rosenwalk Stern, an heiress to the Sears-Roebuck fortune.
The gardens were designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman.
The gardens have some English and Italian elements.
There was a wonderful kitchen vegetable and herb garden surrounding this water element.
Another image of the formal gardens with miniature orange trees in pots surrounded by boxwood hedges.
The back facade of Longueview.
The bedroom and the woman's make up area.
The main parlor.
I love the damask fabric on the walls.
The dining room was wallpapered with a handpainted mural. The plaster ceiling medallion is delicate and beautiful. I also love two dining rooms with two tables. One can be used for more intimate dinners while the other one allows for larger more formal events.
We said goodbye to Longueview....
It was time to go to dinner in style! A marching band lead the way to Antoine's.
Before dinner, Paul Goldberger, the Architecture Critic for the New Yorker lead a fascinating discussion about the various ways in which New Orleans is being rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. The talk included Kristin Gisleson Palmer, the director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Jack Davis, the former newspaper reporter, editor and publisher in New Orleans and Steven Bingler, a community planning and architectural firm in New Orleans. It was interesting to hear their different views on the subject. If you are interested in seeing what is being done, I recommend going to the Rebuilding Together New Orleans website the Make It Right website. I personally prefer Ms. Gisleson Palmer's method of rebuilding the city.
After a delicious dinner it was off to Thomas Jayne's wonderful New Orleans apartment in the French Quarter. Thomas is such a wonderful Southern gentleman that I was amazed when he told me that he grew up about 5 miles away from me here in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades !
Thomas did a fantastic job of restoring this building "just enough"!
Like many of the homes in New Orleans, Thomas' home has a beautiful interior courtyard.
The green spiral staircase leads up to Thomas' apartment.
Colonial Williamsberg blockprint wallpaper was used in the bedroom. A California vulture hangs above the bed.
The kitchen is new, but the cabinets are based on 19th century Creole examples. The countertops are made of recycled cypress.
The main room is has a wallpaper mural by deGournay based on the images from Thomas' favorite childhood book.
An image of the fireplace in the main room across a beautiful table scape.
The home in the mural is actually Thomas' grandfather's home.
Another view of this fantastic room.
Off of the main room is a charming pale pink sitting room.
The day bed is quite over scaled for this room, but it made the room so comfortable! Loved the slipcovered toile chairs and the portrait of Thomas on the wall.
The amazingly talented Windsor Smith, Steve and I loved hanging out in this room!
After the tour we all headed to the Voodoo Lounge at the House of Blues thanks to an invitation by Kathryn Ireland (one of my favorite designers and just a fun person to hang out with!).
I am off to spend time with my kids. I will tell you about the rest of my adventure in the next couple of days.
I missed all of you!!!
xo
Brooke
