Magazine Envy

Huffington pow-wow

Every once in a while, my intrepid, energizer-bunny business partner and I talk about what new business we might want to open next. I won’t bore you with the list of ideas except to say that starting a magazine is always somewhere at the top. Wouldn’t it be fun to be editor of a fabulous publication like House Beautiful, or a combination of Veranda, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles and the gorgeous French magazine, Cote Sud?

But wait!  There’s no need to start our own magazine because there’s a new one out that comes close to pure perfection!  If you haven’t already come across it, you’re in for a real treat with the latest issue of “Milieu” magazine.

Milieu Magazine cover, Spring 2014

I should preface this by saying that Pamela Pierce, the interior designer editor and publisher of Milieu, has ALWAYS been my hero when it comes to interior design.  Her designs, which are heavily French influenced, are the ultimate blend of clean lines, sophistication, beautiful palette and that wonderful mix of old and new, collected and modern, or as we like to say at the store, crusty and clean.

 

An iconic Pamela Pierce interior that says crusty and clean like no other.

 We were so excited (and just slightly envious) when we learned, last year, that Pamela Pierce was starting her own magazine, called Milieu. Here’s what she told the NY Times last August, when asked why she decided to start her own publication, in an already crowded “milieu.”

“I wanted to bring a different perspective to editorial. And I wanted to search for designers who haven’t been published that much. It’s a little schizophrenic right now in the design world. It’s like people don’t know what direction to take. I love antiques and I think you need some in your home to bring the past in along with the future. I’m just seeing a lot of throwaway furniture in houses. I want to show people that you can mix the new with the old; you can still honor both.”

Pamela Pierce tells the N.Y. Times that it’s all about the mix … which is all music to our ears! Photo by Fran Brennan, NYT

We’re so crazy about Pamela Pierce that we could probably do several blogs just on her designs. But let’s take a look at her magazine, and see how she’s captured the mix she so strongly believes in.

The entry hall to a new house in Belgium that was all built with old materials. Photo by Claude Smekens.

Check out the reclaimed Burgundian stone and the French antique staircase in this beautiful home.

We are smitten with the bold color of the walls and upholstery in this same lovely home. Photos by Claude Smekens.

The sitting room is painted Farrow & Ball “Hue”. Great color. Photo by Claude Smekens.

Shifting gears, but staying in the same palette, is a gorgeous feature on a Houston house by designer Eleanor Cummings, and photographed by Peter Vitale.

What a gorgeous combination of jewel toned colors in this Houston house by Eleanor Cummings!

We love the freshness of the kitchen, which is so lively and unexpected.

Utter perfection! Look at how these colors play beautifully together! The trick is that by using complementary colors that are all the same value, this room is serene and soothing rather than busy or jarring.

Again, we just love the pops of color (and check out the Moroccan rug!).

This next house could be Huff Harrington Home! We love the mix of old and new, of gilded and crusty, of salvaged and precious.

 

The restored living room of a designer’s Santa Fe adobe.

We love breaking rules, like putting dressers in front of windows.

Of course you know why we love this cover shot of Milieu magazine!  Remember our blog called “Begging for Biot” that features these same Biot jarres?  Pamela Pierce is a big jarre fan and uses them widely in most of her interiors.

A Biot jarre is the star of this cover of Milieu magazine from TG interiors blog.

And then there’s a gorgeous feature on pinks, by designer Lady Kay Allen, with photos by Peter Vitale.

Pink slipcovers make their debut every spring in this lovely Dallas home.

We are fans of “touches of pink” as you’ll remember from our favorite pied-a-terre in Paris that we designed with touches of pink that were inspired by a beautiful old painting we found at the Paris flea market.

 

We think Pamela Pierce would approve of our little Paris apartment, called Beaumes de Venise, where we introduced little touches of pink.

A little pink goes a long way, but what a difference it makes!

We added this charming monogrammed pillow to pick up just a hint of pink in the living room of our Paris apartment.

And speaking of pink … Milieu did a whole other spread on it with some of our favorite products.

And look at this cover from another Milieu issue … just divine!

And finally, my favorite house of all: That of Shannon Bowers, the Dallas interior designer.

Paris meets West Texas in this fresh, clean and pretty home (with touches of pink!)

A lovely side garden in Shannon Bowers’ personal home.

The piece de resistance and my favorite room in the magazine! Gorgeous art, beamed ceilings, unexpected coffee table arrangement and a pop of fresh yellow. The combo is delightfully eclectic and so sophisticated.

So, as you might expect, we’ve been approached by Milieu magazine on a few occasions to advertise in their pages.  Sadly, it’s not in our budget – although if it were, we’d be there.  But how would we look amid the pages of this oh so gorgeous and sophisticated magazine?  

Hmmm … do you think a pair of French maids would cut it?  I’m not so sure that our little humor would fit in with such pure beauty.    So maybe we should come out with our own magazine.  What would we call it?  Something sassy and classy,  familiar and Frenchy, bien sur …

I think I’ve got it!

Ta ta!

HH

Paris: We Came, We Saw... We Shopped.

Ohhh la la…we’re just back from our Huff Harrington Paris buying trip and our heads are spinning with Louis, Louis and more Louis.   We walked countless miles, inspected hundreds of pieces of furniture and accessories and made friends with loads of smiling and knowledgeable vendors.  We soaked up some rare March sun, bundled up when the temps dropped…and, oh by the way, managed to fit in plenty of utterly delicious meals and wine galore.

There’s nothing like a little glass of bubbly to say “Welcome to Paris!”

What a great time we had.  We had nine lovely clients with us including three designers and a couple of their clients…and the wish lists were long and varied.

Our ladies had done their homework and were well-prepared – and we were there to give second opinions, talk to the vendors, negotiate pricing and handle the very crucial paperwork which ensures that gorgeous pieces ends up with us and not in Houston or San Francisco.

We were looking for crusty and crunchy tables for three fabulous outdoor porches at the beach; a crystal chandelier or two; a console destined for a beach house entrance and buffets galore.  Along the way, we found all that – plus well-worn and well-loved antique silver cutlery, deco sconces, a Suzani rug and a spectacular late 18^th century black painted commode that had us all swooning.

 

We kicked off the trip with a visit to the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was beginning to set.

Our ladies arrived and wasted no time settling into their two Paris apartments and hitting the ground running with a perfectly timed visit to the Eiffel Tower.  After a fabulous dinner and lots of delish wine, we all settled in for a good night’s sleep in preparation for the next day.

 This is the sort of stuff Chatou is known for: old portraits and crusty furniture.

We were up and at ‘em for an early arrival at Chatou, an antiques fair that’s held at what was once the spot to buy and sell pigs many centuries ago.  It sits on a little island surrounded by the Seine and we quickly showed our ladies the lay of the land.  There are several hundred vendors selling wares from odd collectibles to gorgeous and perfectly patina-ed 18^th century furniture, glorious mirrors with their original glass and mid-century cane and bamboo outdoor chairs and tables.  We were in hog heaven.

A glorious jumble of chairs.

More chairs: caned and so mid-century chic.

 

Chatou is packed with all kinds of stuff, including an odd assortment of antique dolls. We thought these were hysterical: we’re pretty sure that’s Ann on the left and Meg on the right.

We loved these brassy lanterns.

Ann inspecting the inside of a nice 19th century painted buffet.

We also fell head over heels in love with this huge iron piece.

One client with a very astute eye ended up with a gorgeous and beautifully aged jarre (although the moss-covered mushroom and the sweet terre-cuite statue also caught our eye.)

We were thrilled when another client found this lovely little trio.  18th century and just to die for.

These are headed to a lucky beach house on the Georgia coast.  We loved the lazy little dog checking them out.

 

We saw tons and tons of hotel silverplate utensils and made friends with the nice vendor.

Linda found this pillow which didn’t surprise us one tiny bit.

Another little treasure headed stateside.

After an exhilarating morning of looking, finding, negotiating and sealing lots of deals, we celebrate with lunch.

 
 We were covered in dust at the end of the day.


 Comparing notes and purchases before we leave.

One morning, we stopped by another little market that we love in Paris and picked up all kinds of goodies that pretty much fit in the suitcase.  The warm weather had created a little smog in Paris, so the nice mayor insisted that everyone leave their cars at home and use public transportation.  It was free for the weekend, so we obliged like good little Parisiennes.

The metro took us everywhere we needed to go. And it was free!


We spent one morning just soaking up the atmosphere at this cute little market in Paris.

Then it was onto Les Puces, a delightful maze of antiques, curiosities and all kinds of this, that and the other. We adore Les Puces and have realized it really takes at least two days to work your way through it.  Luckily, we’ve spend enough time there to make some friends and figure out exactly where we like to shop.

 Confit jars by the dozens…


 One of our designers snapped up this gorgeous 18th century painted chest. The hardware is wonderful.

 


If you hadn’t noticed, the eating and drinking is just as important as the buying…


At one of our fave little spots for lunch.


Wire baskets are modeled by the lovely Carol.

The last two days we let our ladies loose to do damage at the retail stores and they obliged.  We were most impressed with a lovely client who only had 45 minutes before she left for the airport. She came home with a vintage Yves St. Laurent velvet coat and Chanel handbag as well as a gorgeous cashmere sweater. Now that’s some shopping.

Our last night was spent biking around Paris at night with the wonderful Fat Tire Bike Tour. It’s absolutely magical and so much fun – we highly recommend it for anyone visiting Paris.

 

The yellow vests might not be the most chic, but we sure did have a blast biking through Paris at night.


Our farewell lunch.

As always, there’s nothing like the magic of Paris and the thrill of the chase to help forge new and lifelong friendships.   In the meantime, we’re back home at Huff Harrington and already impatiently awaiting the arrival of our container which is now filled to the brim with treasures galore.

Ta ta.