Dear Sultan Chic,
I am madly in love with you and all your beautiful items. I am certain you would exponentially increase my daily joy. But yet, you torture me with prices I can't afford. I guess our love will have to be from afar. *shedding tear*
xoxo,
E

I hope you all had a lovely weekend filled with chocolates and flowers and big smooches. I was taken out to a lovely dinner by my hubby at Mooo, a steakhouse in the posh XV Beacon hotel in Beacon Hill. We were a bit skeptical since what used to be in Mooo's place was an amazing restaraunt called The Federalist- we had one of the most spectacular dining experiences there many years ago and I loved the decor SO much! But Mooo really held it's own (despite the giggle inducing name). The decor was sleek and calming and the service impeccable. Oh, and they served up the best rolls I've ever tasted which made me way too full for my entree (which included a steak and parmesean white truffle oil fries) and forced me to skip dessert! On Valentines day! The horror! Anyways here are some images:
Some images of the hotel itself- a great modern take on the old school Boston Brahmin look:


And in a sweet gesture, the hubby gave me one of the Dogeard necklaces I posted about a ways back, proving that he DOES read my blog and take note! :)

They say that hardware is like jewelry for your furniture- if that's the case, these Baldwin Couture knobs and levers are the Cartier of hardware. Sleek, classically designed and drop dead yummy- and available to view in a 360 degree spin on their high tech site. Starting at $372 a knob though, it'll take a Cartier wallet to pay for them too. Ahh, the price of beauty... ;)

I'm just madly in love with the cover of the Domino decorating book, which happens to be de Gournay's Portobello wallpaper. To me, there is nothing more fantastic that a dining room done in beautiful chinoiserie paper paired with more modern furniture- the play of the elegant and worldly with the modern and clean lined is just fantastic. However, affording to use one of these hand painted papers on four whole walls is another ball game entirely!!! Instead of forgoing rent/mortgage payments/cars/kid's college funds you can get a similar effect from framing cuts of these papers. I found a wonderful selection from Decorator's Secret on Vintage and Modern. Not only do they have full length panels available, they also offer harder to find smaller cuts of the papers, which would cost less to frame and are easier to find space for.

The long cuts - between $75-$1,000 (the blue one makes me weak in the knees...)


The smaller cuts, 30"h x 22" w for $425!

closeups of some of the smaller cuts:

If you CAN afford to put some hand painted silk wallcovering in your home, another vendor to check out is Paul Montgumery Studios. I love his bright color choices and also his more subdued ones as well!




From PMS's studio line I found this less expensive paper, which I think would be incredibly fun in a powder room or a woman's walk in closet!

I was at the Schumacher showroom yesterday chatting with the lovely manager when she excitedly told me she had something to show me. She came out of the back with a new book called "Nest" which are these unbelievable new "wall coverings" (I feel silly calling them that because covering a wall in them, while totally fabulous, would be the cost of a new car). Each panel, which is roughly 118"x38" is paper backed and covered in the most amazing little feathers you've ever seen (don't worry, no birds are harmed, they probably in nicer conditions than most humans). Pictures do not even BEGIN to do this stuff justice- it is so magnificent. Imagine framing a panel and putting it in an entryway...talk about a statement piece!




Feathers are huge right now in fashion, again, showing the translation from runway to hallway...



Images via F. Schumacher, Style.com and J.Crew