Chatting with Joe Lucas and Parrish Chilcoat


    When, Los Angeles design duo, Joe Lucas and Parrish Chilcoat first met they quickly bonded over their East Coast roots. After working side by side in the design department of Michael Smith, it wasn't long before the two realized that their aesthetic, while mired in the traditional elegance one associates with the East Coast, was far from formal and stuffy but exuded the freshness of California hip, all the while staying completely elegant.




    In 2005 the two opened the West Hollywood design firm, Lucas Studio. Located in Almont Yard, which was at that time the closest thing L.A. had to an design 'colony'- housing other top notch designers such as Kathryn Ireland, Nathan Turner and Peter Dunham. Within 3 years, the two expanded by opening their showroom, Harbinger. As the team's success and business flourished, they knew it was time to step things up and expand. Their newly opened Harbinger showroom now sits along, L.A.'s premier design row on La Cienega.

    Come have a listen to the Joe and Parrish as they took some time from their busy schedule to talk to us about opening a new space (in what seems like record time), their thoughts on design and of course, how they got into the business.

       

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


        


Chatting with author Carol Sheehan, "The Birding Life"


    Before the holiday madness, we chatted with author Carol Sheehan, who along with husband Laurence Sheehan and Kathryn Precourt, has written a new book in their series of "Life" books called THE BIRDING LIFE. The book covers the many varied uses of bird imagery and lifestyles that have been incorporated into interiors and art over the last century. This beautifully shot coffee table book (photography by William Stites) covers a wide range of "bird-life" styles as captured by 20th century artist Charley Harper and contemporary gals about town The Hovey Sisters and everything in between.

     Charley Harper 


    Carol Sheehan has had a long career in magazine publishing, most notably as editor in chief of County Home magazine. Laurence Sheehan is a freelance writer who has contributed to New England Monthly, The Atlantic and Travel + Leisure, among others. Kathryn Precourt is a magazine editor and interior designer. William Stites is a widely published photographer whose work has appeared in House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, GQ and Esquire.  Previous books include "Living With Dogs" and "A Gardener's Life".

     Wallpapers and textiles by Thomas Paul


    If birds, both inside or out, are your passion, this book is a must have. If you would like a chance to win a copy of the book, courtesy of Carol, please leave a comment below.

    Congratulations to Kim who has won a copy of this book! Thanks to everyone for your comments!






       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       

SRT Congratulates the AD100 and SRT Alumni

Martyn Lawrence Bullard - charming as always


    Joni, Megan and Linda recently cozied up (well, as cozy as Skype allows!) to the warm and chatty Martyn Lawrence Bullard to discuss his career,  how he got to be the decorator to the stars, his time on "Million Dollar Decorators" (Season 2 is rumored to be shooting now!) his new book "Live, Love & Decorate" and his various product endorsements. This is one busy - and talented - man!


    Some of Martyn's work that is beautifully showcased in the book: 

    Cheryl Teig's house:


    MLB's own home:




    Ellen Pompeo's house:

       

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


     
    --------------------------------
    And we have a winner of the Leslie Sinclair book "Segreto: Secrets to Finishing Beautiful Interiors"! Amy from Maison Decor - come on down and claim your new book!

Leslie Sinclair Visits the Skirted Roundtable

    Last week, we welcomed Leslie Sinclair to The Skirted Roundtable. Leslie is from Houston where she owns a very successful paint finishes company Segreto Finishes.  Additionally, Leslie has just written a gorgeous design book that highlights many of the beautiful houses she has worked on.  



    Leslie's gorgeous book.

    Leslie explained all the different paint finishes that are currently in vogue.  Paint is very trendy - the bright and garish faux treatments of the 80s and 90s have disappeared in favor of very subtle treatments that provide more of a texture instead of color.  Leslie is a real dyamo - a successful business owner, a mother and wife, and now an author!  She is adorable, and very, very sweet.  She tells us how she went from working in the coroporate world to starting a small paint company that today is a very large one that employs over 25 people! 
     
    Segreto is known for their gorgeous paint finishes on cabinets.  Here are pictures of various cabinets they have painted over the years.

    The book, Segreto - Guide to Finishing Beautiful Interiors - is a stunner.   The pictures of  the interiors are simply beautiful. Leslie has worked some of the prettiest houses - and the book is filled with them - page after page. It is an absolutely gorgeous book, one of the prettiest published this year.





    The time flew by as we discussed the book, her business, and everything in between.
    We learned so much about wall treatments, plaster, and what's hot and what's not.  Be sure to listen, I guarantee you a great time!!



    A beautiful kitchen featured in Segreto.



    To order Leslie's book, Segreto, please go HERE.

    If you would like a chance to win an signed copy of Segreto Finishes, leave a comment below telling us what most interested you about our interview with Leslie. She's a real DIY'er at heart and there's much to learn from her story!
       

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       

    

Restoration Hardware: Our thoughts


    Clocking in at 1" thick, 3+ pounds and over 600 pages, the new Restoration Hardware catalog is hard to ignore. The clear direction that the company has taken is the topic du jour and we'd love to know your thoughts. Joni, Megan and Linda chat about our thoughts on the style direction of RH and how long-reaching we feel this trend to be.

    We also learn (thanks to Joni's intrepid nephew!) that RH offers trade professionals a 20% discount. So too do Pottery Barn (under their Williams Sonoma banner), Crate and Barrel, and Ballard Designs.

       

                           
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


       

Season Recap: The Million Dollar Decorators

    The Million Dollar Decorators Cast

    Megan was out of town this week, so Linda and I invited Artie Vanderpool from Color Outside the Lines blog HERE to join us while we wrapped up the first season of Bravo's Million Dollar Decorators.


    Best Moments:  Kathryn Ireland's fights with Shannon Factor.  Look at that face!


    Artie actually wrote a weekly recap on his blog for each episode so he was very knowledgeable about some behind the scenes info that we hadn't heard about.


    Best Moments:  Ross and Jam in the bathtub.  What more can we say????


    All three of us adored the show, but felt that eight short weeks wasn't nearly enough.  But, it did make for an exciting summer watching the antics of Kathryn and Martyn, Mary and Nathan, and Jeffrey and Ross.  So much fun! 


    Best Moments:  Jacqueline - Kathryn Ireland's wine drinking French maid.  OMG - she was the breakout star of the season!


    Be sure to listen as we discuss what we liked about the show, what we hated about the show (not much!) and what we thought about Shannon Factor!



    Best Momemts:  Martyn Lawrence Bullard works while Kathryn Ireland hangs out by the pool in Palm Springs.

    Is Million Dollar Decorators coming back next year?  Who knows?   We discuss who we would like to come on next time - or do we want the same cast??????
    

    Best Moments:  Nathan Turner and Mary McDonald travel to market in North Carolina and think they landed in the South. 

    As always, thank you for all your support and comments you leave!  We hope you enjoy this session with the Skirted Roundtable and Artie!
       

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


         ----------
    Finally, congratulations to R@Rebecca's Roundup, you are the winner of James Swan's "101 Things I Hate About Your Home"!


    

101 Things I Hate About Your House

     Intrigued by the title? Provoked? Maybe even smiling to yourself? Good! Author James Swan, of the eponymous Beverly Hills based interior design firm,  hoped for just that reaction when he titled his new book. With a humorous approach, James Swan, systematically goes through every part of the house, beginning at the front door, and points out the dos-and-don'ts of decorating while offering, simple fixes and how- tos in creating a beautiful home. 


    This week, we sit down with the amiable and talented author and designer to discuss the book and how it came to fruition. If you have the book already, flip through it along with us. If not, this interview will have you wanting to run out and pick up a copy faster than you can replace that soap you have sitting in the 'festering' soup of a soap dish! Full of humor and great decorating advice, we think you'll enjoy our time with James as much as we did.


    "A majority of home-makers will never work with a design professional and yet, they aspire for their homes to be as beautiful as possible. It occurred to me that a bit of laughter might encourage people’s defenses to drop, allowing learning to take place, hopefully followed by positive change." - James Swan


    “Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.” Bertolt Brecht

     Also, Jame's has offered to send a lucky listener a signed copy of the book, so please leave a comment telling us what tip that James offered during the podcast really resonates with you and sharing with us one thing you'd like to change about your own home, or a favorite pet peeve when you're in other people's homes (no names, please!).  Just make sure to include your name and email address so we can contact the winner of the random drawing of all entries. 

       


                           
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


       

Million Dollar Decorators - we have opinions!

     

    Joni, Megan and I opinionate on the new BravoTV show Million Dollar Decorators starring Kathryn M. Ireland, Mary McDonald, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Nathan Turner and Jeffrey Allen Marks (along with their clients, family and friends).  If you follow the commentary on Twitter.com at either #milliondollardecorators or #mddbravotv you will know that everyone had a wide variety of opinions, both positive and negative.We'd love to know your thoughts!



    Also, last December when we interviewed Kathryn Ireland right here, she talked a little about the show. We were asked to remove that segment as the show wasn't officially being promoted yet, but gained permission last week to publish it now. It's less than 3 unedited minutes, hope you enjoy!

Catching up with Joe Ruggiero


    This week, we sat down with Joe Ruggiero, a man who has done it all in the design industry. From broadcaster to pitchman, marketing guru and product designer, Joe's career has touched on all facets of the industry and it was fascinating to hear how he was always ready to seize the opportunities as they presented themselves. We discussed his beautiful collections of furnishings, casegoods, outdoor furniture and Sunbrella fabrics (which he uses indoors and out).







           

                           
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


       

Getting "Faux Real" with designer Jamie Drake


    Last week, Megan and Linda held our first ever in-person interview when we sat down with interior designer Jamie Drake in the press office at the High Point Market. Jamie had just addressed the press breakfast, discussing upcoming trends in interior design, melding his own work with the trend forecasting of event sponsor Swarovski Elements. We chatted with Jamie about his background and how he came to be known as the "King of Color".  We discussed in detail the rooms shown below so you'll be able to follow along.





           

                           
       
    Podcast Powered By Podbean
       


        We missed Joni on this trip, but had a lot of fun doing an in-person interview - background noise and all!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Total Pageviews