THE BELGIAN EFFECT

A BELGIAN PALETTE AT RESTORATION HARDWAREIf you spend any amount of time in home furnishing stores or gourmet coffee cafes then you have felt the latest trend in interior design.  Possibly, you've enjoyed this phenomenon without knowing.   White washed pine furniture sound familiar?  Heavy linen upholstery and slip-covers ring a bell?  The knotty pine communal farm tables have taken the U.S. by storm.   Two companies were ahead of the trend, and actually helped create the trend.  Restoration Hardware & Le Pain Quotidien.COMMUNAL TABLE AT LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN

The West coast lifestyle home furnishing haven - Restoration Hardware has reset the bar for interior designers from coast to coast.   What once took tens of thousands of dollars to acquire items at auction all over Europe, can now be found for a few thousand dollars at a mall near you.   If you haven't been to a mall recently, undoubtedly you have been besieged by catalogs the size of phone books from the newly re-branded RH.  Make that multiple catalogs - Furniture, Outdoor Furnishing, Children's Furniture, and so on.   While the brand was once synonymous with other stores like Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, nobody is confusing Restoration Hardware with other brands today.

Le Pain Quotidien also achieved success through furnishing - despite the fact that they don't sell furniture.  That's right, this Belgian baker of daily bread, pastries, and brewers of delicious coffeeRUSTIC PINE MANSARD MIRROR AT RESTORATION HARDWARE has changed the way Americans spend time in cafes.   What was once relegated to the Amish in Pennsylvania, has found it's way all over the United States.  While American suburbia has created communities of people who live life behind fences and gates, Le Pain Quotidien is forcing you to actually see your neighbor - even if you won't talk to them. 

In the late 90's, a THE AUTHOR WITH ANTIQUE RESTORER CHRISTOPHE POURNY AT LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN DURING "BETWEEN THE SQUARES" SPONSORED BY 1STDIBS - PHOTO COURTESY OF 1STDIBSdifferent wave of Belgian influence was the biggest trend in NY Cuisine.  Nothing was trendier than "Moules and Frites" aka Mussels & Fries with your favorite pint of pale ale Belgian beer!  Large beer hall style spots like Markt (Formerly cavernous on 14thst & 9th Avenue - now the home of the Apple super store) and the mini-chain BELGO from the U.K that had opened it's first U.S. outpost in the windowless space that is now known as BUTTER on Lafayette Street.   Belgo made a big splash and fast crash -which basically summed up the brief Belgian food trend of the late 90's.  Certainly Moules and Frites still thrive in many NYC restaurants, but as an overall theme - Belgian cuisine fizzled.  This time around it's light and sweet and really hits the spot.  The furnishings at RH are also no nonsense.   While you can't say the brand is avant-garde, it is relevant and beautiful - two aspects that cannot be faked, and oh-so-hard to get on trend. 

So the next time you find yourself redecorating or craving a ceramic pot of coffee - visit an RH or PQ near you!

FRAZIER COLLECTION - NEW CLASSICS

M.A. SEMANIER - THE FRAZIER COLLECTION - Finish as shown: Hyedua Brun with Vintage Brass fittingsNew York is home to a countless number of furniture collections.  From major name "brand" showrooms with hundreds of pieces, to one of a kind, hand made items found in intimate work shops, NYC has it all.   Somewhere happily in-between is an exciting new collection from a veteran of the design industry.  The Frazier Collection has a decidedly international feel to the furniture, lighting, and objects that shape this assortment of collectible items.   Richard Frazier, the man behind the name, is one who listens to the world around him, designing pieces that fill more than space.  The tables, chairs, dressers, and lighting all have an organic and natural feel.M.A. CHEST - THE FRAZIER COLLECTION -Finish Shown: Chalk polished lacquer with Polished Brass fittings  At the same time, these items evoke a sense of tradition and nostalgia often associated with European heirlooms from a treasured past.  The collection has a masculinity to it, but without a sense of pretense or overbearing details.  Hardware is substantial and powerful, but not overwhelming.  Walking through the showroom feels a bit like stumbling upon a magical collection that might fill the castle of some sophisticated fairytale. 

Frazier works with some of the biggest names in the world of interior design, shaping rooms that become a home.   Search his website today and start planning your next design project.  

Suggest Frazier to your Interior Designer today!

Frazier Collection, LLC
200 Lexington Avenue
Showroom 901
New York, NY 10016

Tel: 212 447 4444
Fax: 212 447 5555
CLICK EMAIL

GOOD TASTE - TUCKED AWAY IN WARREN

New York is home to some of the most prestigious interior design showrooms in the industry.   Every year, customers and interior designers flock to NYC to see the latest finds of some of the finest antiques in the world.   Ironically, the most talented Interior Designers often head out of the city for the best pieces, hidden away at dealers that aren't on the map of the masses.  Vol.1 Antiques in Warren, Connecticut is just such a store.   Located in the Warren Hamlet just East of Kent, Vol. 1 has the treasures that keep discriminating New Yorkers coming back again and again. LOUIS XV CHAFFEUSES- VELVET MOHAIR - VOL.1 ANTIQUES Owner Suzanne Cassano has the eye of a collector and the taste level of a curator - her pleasant shop tells the story immediately.   On my most recent visit on a Sunny Saturday afternoon I was stopped in my tracks by these gorgeous French -Louis XV-Chaffeuses  (fireside arm chairs).  The chairs have wood carved frames and the original blue velvet mohair, in excellent condition.  They would be the star of any room in the country or in the city.   Priced at $4,800.00 for  4- they won't last the Winter, so get in touch with Suzanne ASAP.     Just next store to Vol. 1 is Privet House, Suzanne's joint venture with design guru Richard Lamberston.   Privet House is a font of gift and home goods that is the best resource for holiday shopping.   A perfect weekend drive destination anytime of the year -in Winter it sparkles!  With the money you saved shopping outside NYC - why not spend the night?  Just across the street is The Rooster Tail Inn!  A perfect weekend getaway.

Volume 1. Antiques -12 Cornwall Road - Warren, CT 06754

Tel:860 .868 .1900  Email:suzanne@vol1antiques.com

THE WARREN HAMLET IN FULL HOLIDAY SPIRIT - PH: JASON JOBSON