My friend Gwynne McCue’s interior design projects are full of creativity. I thought I’d share her latest project, a tri-plex apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan designed for a single woman with a love of Japan.
The dining room cleverly converts from Western- to Eastern-style dining. Love that idea. And the pillows throughout were made from vintage Asian textiles.
The slipper chair in the bedroom looks like it’s floating on a cloud.
In the media room, the recessed shelf was a smart way to add light to a room with few windows.
In May the New York City Ballet had a show of new works by Mr. Natalie Portman, Benjamin Millepied with costumes designed by Rodarte. This was the second year for the forward-thinking collaboration – check out the stripes and semi-sheer skirts. Beautiful. I’m guessing Portman made that happen since she’s a Rodarte darling.
Lately I’ve been eating my way around Brooklyn, and spending long afternoons in Prospect Park, but New York’s other great pastime – shopping! - can’t be beat along Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
Boerum Hill is a tiny brownstone neighborhood just south of Brooklyn Heights (and probably best known as the former home of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams). Its main thoroughfare, Atlantic Avenue, has become a chic main street to the tony adjacent ‘hoods with its new Barney’s Co-op, Jonathan Adler, Steve Alan and, more importantly, tons of cool, locally owned boutiques. Here are a few shops with great design (and – I couldn’t resist – a place to stop for a bite).
I was so completely taken with the new Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute I can’t stop thinking about it. The show, which runs through July 31, 2011, features his incredibly creative clothes – from a straight-jacket-like kimono to butt-crack revealing pants – as well as accessories like a silver, rib-cage breast-plate, eccentric hats from Philip Treacy but best of all are the videos.
The catwalk is where McQueen’s vision really came alive. I walked away with new respect for the way he completely re-thought the catwalk. Forget models simply walking the damn thing. Instead he put models on a life-sized chess board, or used robots to spray-paint a model wearing a white dress, actually creating the dress in front of the audience. How amazing is that?! But the most haunting video was this hologram of Kate Moss at his Fall 2006 show. A hologram, people!
“Savage Beauty” is a must-see show in New York this summer. So far none of the other museums have come up with anything quite to striking and poignant.
To see how the Kate Moss video worked in the context of the room check out this video. So incredible. How I wish I had seen one of his shows…
The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic returns to New York’s Governor’s Island park on June 5. And, more importantly, studly Argentinian polo player (and Polo Ralph Lauren model) Nacho Figueras will be there again. Last year I wrote about it for Luxist.com and it was loads of fun, but terribly hot (of course I was hugely pregnant at the time). This year I’d suggest bringing an umbrella, a picnic lunch and some beverages so you can avoid the lines and expense. Danny Meyer’s Union Square restaurant group will be selling food again this year in the general admission area which means good eats but pricey ones. Last year a bottle of Veuve ran $75.
The Polo Classic raises money for charity through ticketed tents and VIP sections but is free if you can settle for general admission. This year the event will raise money for Haiti, which I suspect means Prince Harry won’t be there again. Sorry, ladies. Last year he participated because the match raised money for Sentebale, his charity for African orphans, and he made headlines when he got thrown from his horse. Although he did attend the first two years so maybe he will make a showing again. The Veuve team won’t say so we can only guess.
Last night I attended an elegant book signing for prolific interior designer Charlotte Moss’ latest book, “Charlotte Moss Decorates,” her seventh to date.
Moss is one of those inspirational women who seems to do it all, well. She has a thriving career with big-name clients such as Michael Bloomberg, she writes, lectures, licenses products and is a dedicated volunteer to several arts organizations including the New York City Ballet. I got to know Charlotte when I wrote about her for Richmond Home.
Moss’ new book is a gorgeous, 200-pager examining 11 of the rooms she created for designer showhouses. Since there were no clients involved, these may be her most personal projects. She walks the reader through her inspiration from Lee Raziwell’s multi-patterned living room to West Wycombe Park, a Palladian country house in England. Moss is an avid scrap-booker so she also shows spreads of the clippings, photos and other elements that inspired her rooms.
Until we can get the baby to Italy, Eataly will have to do. The other day we took her to Mario Batali’s new Italian mega-market/restaurant complex, Eataly, in New York’s Flatiron district.
Here we are in the produce area, which isn’t very Italian but the place is filled with different themed areas for Italian cheeses, cured meats, gelato, fresh pastas, etc.
Here’s the bread counter, where we picked up a traditional Italian Easter cake to bring to a friend’s Easter party in Richmond. Continue reading →
Yesterday we told you to Eat a Burger in Madison Square Park in honor of Earth Day. Today we have a healthier suggestion: Read a book in Bryant Park.
I stumbled across this the other day. Bryant Park has a “reading room” set up with racks of newspapers books and even children’s books. And since Bryant Park sits behind the New York Public Library it makes sense that books should be available to read in the park. The tradition began during the depression when out-of-work businessmen needed somewhere free to go and occupy their minds. Today we just need somewhere to go to be unplugged.
In honor of Earth Day this week I’ll be highlighting some of New York’s best parks with unexpected things to do in each. First stop: Madison Square Park.
Eat a tasty burger at the Shake Shack. The line will be long as hell but it’ll be worth the wait. Trust me. Continue reading →
Jonesin’ for a spa treatment but can’t stomach the price? You’re in luck.
According to the International Spa Association (ISPA), even some of the world’s top spas are becoming more accessible. Recession-friendly mini-treatments are all the rage, allowing guests to afford multiple appetizer-sized treatments, even during a recession. In 2010 ISPA reported that 46 percent of its member-spas saw an increase in shorter (30 minutes or less) treatment bookings, and 86 percent offered shorter treatments.
CULTURE FIX is a blog about DESIGN, TRAVEL, FASHION and FOOD — the best things in life. Non? — written by Carrie Nieman Culpepper, a journalist, art lover, traveler and mama.
My friend Gwynne McCue’s interior design projects are full of creativity. I thought I’d share her latest project, a tri-plex apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan designed for a single woman with a love of Japan. 
The slipper chair in the bedroom looks like it’s floating on a cloud.
In the media room, the recessed shelf was a smart way to add light to a room with few windows.
