Gothic Touch: Inspired by the Churchyard

Inspired by the church view of the East Village two bedroom I showed you Monday, I've decided to divulge some secret obsessions: Darryl Carter and Gothic / Gothic Revival Decor. As I've been searching, I find it's no wonder that Mr. Carter is a fav- juxtaposing traditional forms and styles with a clean, modern palate, making every element in the room seem scupltural and important. What I've shown of Mr. Carter's has gothic elements that highlight what he does best.  I'm not one for excess ornamentation, but I do love the quality of craftsmanship (let's face it, laquered fiberboard is a bit soulless) and the patina of a historic piece.

1. Jayne Thompson Antiques French Oak Frame

2. A Darryl Carter Space from Architectural Digest

3. Via World of Interiors

4. Chandeliers at Christie's

5.7. Darryl Carter's Retail Space in D.C

6. Stained Glass Panel via Liveauctioneers

8. Painted Gothic Chair Set

Artshot: Chris Mooney

 Check out my friend, Chris Mooney's Flickr page- I'm a big fan of his work and his New York are particularly beautiful with a haunting quality that only Chris can capture.

Memphis in NYC: A Look Around Town

If you're out and about, you'll find the influences and remanents of Post Modernism and Memphis all over. In NY, the architecture is scarce, but product and graphic design still owes a great deal to the 80's fun and design for design's sake. I have to say, in a city of cement and limestone, the colorful geometrics make smile. 

1. The Standard, NYC

2. George Sowden Clocks for Memphis Milano

3. Lacoste Sheets, Macy's Herald Square Window

4.,6. Forrest Myers, The Wall, 1973,  Broadway and Houston, NYC.

5., 10. Nathalie du Pasquier, Objects for the Electronics Age

7. Peter Shire table via Manishtama

8. Scholastic Building on Broadway, NYC

9. Ingas Sempe for Ligne Roset in the Soho showroom

11. Houston and Wooster, NYC....I wish they'd try to keep this up! Great building.

Animal Dreams

1., 5., Upper West Side

2. Harlem, Lenox Ave. and 20th Street

3. East Village

4. Upper West Side at & 3rd

Climb: Gramercy

I love the sculptural quality of a well-done staircase and I LOVE this Gramercy loft's airy feel...dramatic changes in ceiling heights and huge windows overlooking a park, it's a dynamic space that doesn't seem busy or distracting. One bedroom, doorman building with lovely, modern finishes in the kitchen and bathroom. The other staircases, well, they are just beautiful!

via dornob

via Spooky Home

via dornob

via Spooky Home

Location: Gramercy

Size: One Bedroom

Ammenities: Doorman, Elevator, Laundry, Roofdeck

Special Features: Dramatic, Lofty Duplex, Open Kitchen

 Rent: 4,200.00/ mo.

Contact: George Case at Citi Habitats, 773.983.0513

gcase@citi-habitats.com

Ashcan Artists: Gramercy Park

 George Bellows via Wikipedia

East 19th Street (Between Irving Place and Third Avenue)

Known as "The Block Beautiful" - this is a row of mainly stuccoed buildings that were remodeled early in the 20th century by Frederick J. Sterner. The block was an informal colony for artists and writers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as author Ida Tarbell, painter Cecilia Beaux and the sculptor Zolnay. Music critic and novelist Carl Van Vechten, lived at 151 East 19th Street and with his neighbors, painters George Bellows and Robert Chanler, threw wild parties, about which Ethyl Barrymore commented, "I went there in the evening a young girl and came away in the morning an old woman."  - via Essortment

 George Bellows, The Studio

"At noonday the landscape is just as fine, just as mysterious and just as significant as it is at twilight." - Robert Henri, The Art Spirit (1923)

The scene is cool, summery and inviting, but this attractive corner of Gramercy Park is off limits to those without a key. It's one of the only two private parks in New York City. The other is in Queens. When I walked around the park last week, the only residents I glimpsed through the fence were toddlers in strollers accompanied by their nannies. An older residential section of Manhattan to the east of Park Avenue South and between E 20th St. and E 21st St., Gramercy Park exudes an aura of elite privilege and discretion.

Home to well-known actors and famous artists as well as members of New York society and politics throughout its history, the neighborhood makes a particularly good strolling destination. There's not much to do here except look at the buildings surrounding the park and on nearby streets (especially the so-called Block Beautiful on E. 19th), but since Gramercy Park sits at the center of one of the city's best restaurant areas, the streets around the park are perfect for a pre-dinner or post-lunch walk.

• The Park. The locked, fenced private park is accessible only to those with a key. An article in the NYT from June 19, 2008 profiles the park's guardian and self-appointed mayor and discusses some of the disputes among the neighbors about access. According to the article, about 400 keys exist. Many do not use them.
• TV series. Several TV series have used the park as a location including Ugly Betty, Fringe, Gossip Girl, and Law & Order (all franchises). I remember a particular Law & Order in which the victim was found in the park.

• Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue, NW corner Gramercy Park North and Lexington Ave. Julian Schnabel's interior is flamboyantly cool and with exceptional paintings by the artist, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and others. With a tremendous fireplace, it feels like a Texas-French contemporary arts hacienda. Hotelier Ian Schrager also developed 50 Gramercy Park North, the private residences at the hotel. The hotel was famous as a comfortable bohemian destination long before its current renovation. A documentary by Douglas Keeve, Hotel Gramercy Park (2008), looks at the drama behind the scenes during the renovation.

• 10 Gramercy Park South. Home and studio of Ashcan School artist and teacher Robert Henri (1865-1929). Painter George Bellows also lived on the street.

-via Walking Off The Big Apple

Robert Henri via encyclopedia.com

 Robert Henri Class

Robert Henri, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney via Whitney for Kids

Artshot: William Morris

Walking through the Upper West Side on Saturday, the ornamentation of this turn of the century townhome brought William Morris to mind- lilting leaves and vines counterbalanced with ripe fruits and flowers...