"Town and Country . . . "

Hackett of London

Greetings,

Urban or Rural.  Modern or Antique.  

Finely edited / Lushly layered.  Polished chrome / Hand-rubbed brass.  

Sometimes I feel pulled in both directions.   

Past or Future.  Yin / Yang.  Sports car or Jeep.   

Sidewalks / Dirt paths.  

"Town or Country?"

London, England

The home of New York designer Robert Passal

Ralph Lauren Collection, Fall 2011

SMW Design, San Francisco

Menswear Designer, Michael Bastian
(photographed by Ian Allen)

Hackett of London

John Jacob Interiors

Ralph Lauren Home Collection

Velvet Slippers, from Del Toro

Windsor Smith, from Rue Magazine

Michael Smith Design 

Ralph Lauren's home, from Architectural Digest

SMW Design, San Francisco

Denton Gardner, for Elle Decor

Actor, Matthew Goode

SMW Design, San Francisco

Glen Feshie Lodge, Elle Decor

Gant by Michael Bastian, Fall 2011

The new Ralph Lauren Restaurant in Paris

Roger Banks-Pye, from Inspirational Interiors

Decision . . .  decisions . . .
Scot


(Some of these have sources - unfortunately, many do not - if you happen to recognize one, let me know!)

"I Love 'U' . . . "

Miles Redd

Greetings,

Well, this was always going to be a somewhat unenviable task.  How does one follow-up the flurry of tartan from this past weekend . . . How does one keep ones readers inspired and engaged . . . How does one love anything more than plaid?

Hopefully, this will fit the bill perfectly.

Because "U" stands for . . .

Denton/Gardner

"Upholstered Walls"

Jeffery Bilhuber

There is little that is more luxurious than a room swathed in textile.  

Either adding great aplomb - like this sitting room from Jeffrey Bilhuber  . . . 

Mary McDonald

Or dark drama - like this bedroom from Mary McDonald.
Yards of chalk stripe flannel . . . trimmed with gleaming nailhead.

Roger Banks-Pye

Though technically 'draped' and not 'upholstered' - I've always loved this room from Roger Banks-Pye.

Some well-edited cutter . . . and a leopard printed banquette.  What more could one ask for?

Charlotte Moss

And, how can you go wrong with the gracious style of Charlotte Moss?

So there.  Chic.  Stylish.  And lightly padded.  

Cheers,

Scot

"Please, Pass the . . . "

Greetings,

I hope you had a productive weekend. But, 'productivity' can take any one of a number of different forms. I always consider it a good weekend when I realize Monday morning that I hadn't worn my watch ALL weekend. This weekend's highlights included; a leisurely trip the new flea market in San Francisco. A little bootcamp workout. Some culture at the MOMA. Good food. And of course, an hour of amazing television last night watching Mad Men on AMC.

But, now - Monday morning - back to work - and back to our trip through the alphabet as the "Love Letters" series continues.

"D" is for . . .

"Dining Rooms"

Quite often I asked about which rooms I most enjoy designing - and frankly, dining rooms have always been one of my favourites. I've always felt that there is something so incredibly intimate about sharing a meal together. Maybe it's just the Southerner in me. Good food to sate our bodies. And good conversation to sate our souls.

Denton/Gardner at Glen Feshie

O, sweet heavens - the width a breadth of the English language can't begin to describe how much I love this project in Scotland from Denton/Gardner. And I know that it's a favourite of several of y'all out there.

Suzanne Tucker

Gracious. Elegant. Perfectly beautiful!

from "Flair" by Joe Nye

If you haven't had a chance to purchase Joe's wonderful book, "Flair," I can't recommend it highly enough. Great ideas - and wondrously photographed.

Scot Meacham Wood

From one of our recently completed projects here at the office.

Miles Redd from Elle Decor

And how many of us have this image tucked away in our inspiration files? So playful. Yet so simply beautiful.

And as a warning - you might need your passports for tomorrow's post. I like it when everyone is prepared - lol.

Cheers,

tartanscot

"Happy Tartan Day 2010 . . . "

Greetings and Salutations!

Well, boys and girls, it's the day you've waited for all year. In 2005, Congress officially recognized April 6th as National Tartan Day in honour of all Scottish Americans. And well, I decided that I'm going to take things a bit further - and use the day to madly wallow in my delight in all things plaid.

An image framed in my bedroom.

So sit back. Relax. Enjoy a warm cup of Scottish Breakfast tea. And use your 'scroll' key with wild abandon. And peruse through some of my favourite tartan images. From the realm of interior design. From the runways of fashion. From automobiles. From the silver screen. Even something from the fields of livestock. Everything is busting out in tartan today . . .

Sarah Jessica Parker in vintage Emanuel Ungaro

And Matt Dillion isn't a bad accessory either . . .

Wrapped in tartan at the table.

Claiborne run amuck in plaid.

A little corner of my own home from Christmas past.

I've been collecting Victorian tartanware boxes for years.

Another image of my own place a few years back.

As you can imagine, I embrace 'the holidays' with a passion bordering on illness.

Every year. Everything changes.

(via my interview on Mr. Peacock)

The stairway at Castle Cawdor in northern Scotland.

I had the great joy of wandering around the castle for the better

part of a day a few years ago. There's some great shots of the castle

in the new book Highland Living.

The glamorous Dowager Countess Cawdor.

Yes, even a tartan loo.

from Glenfeshie Lodge by Denton/Gardner.

The amazing new wallpaper from Vivienne Westwood from Cole and Sons.

Maybe this needs to be in the house somewhere . . . hmmmmm.

The wonderful tartan cheesecake from Isaac Mizrahi.

and let me tell you - this was YUMMY!

Alan Cummings looking delicious.

The dining room from Ralph Lauren's Bedford estate.

from Architectural Digest.

And a bit more drama from Ralph Lauren.

Charlotte and Trey's tartan wedding from

Sex and the City.

Sadly, the wedding was much better than the marriage.

Ewan McGregor.

Maybe a plaid MINI Cooper?

Or as part of a simple county breakfast . . .

Or maybe you need to identify your livestock?

(when I said 'livestock' you thought I was kidding . . . right?)

And during my interview for The Skirted Roundtable, there was some assorted clamoring for a picture of me in my kilt. So, here you go . . . from an old, old, old photoshoot - and clearly before I chopped most all of my hair off . . .

Well kids, that all the tartan I think you can take in one sitting.

your in tartan,

tartanscot