At Home With: Wolfgang Behnken

Young & Rubican's lead Creative Director allowed the lenses of Elle Decor Italia to peek into his Hamburg, Germany home. It's not the coziest of quarters, but it certainly feeds my love for a white, palate-cleansing house.

What's to love? Well, the herringbone wood floors, layered and leaning artwork, the sprawling back porch, European-height ceilings, and the piles of books and magazines (almost all of which also happen to be the same things I loved in Kate and Andy Spade's New York City apartment- see it again here). Although the Spade's apartment looks completely different, it goes to show you that classic design elements work for every aesthetic. 

*images via elle decor italia

Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees

Leave it to interior designers to make a tree chic. Fiddle Leaf Trees seem to be popping up everywhere. You can actually pick one up for pretty cheap at Home Depot, so don't bother splurging on the same thing at your overpriced local flower shop. I really love the wide, elephant ear look the leaves have, and I actually prefer the off-kilter aesthetic of having just one in a room instead of the symmetry of two. 

*images via elle decor, house beautiful, chloe warner, grant gibson

Haute Hotels

I've always been intrigued by hotels. And why not? They're basically mini homes-away-from-home you get to call your own for a week. The linens, the restaurants, the bars, and the people you meet are all different and equally exciting in every stay. It seems some of the biggest names in fashion design agree- and they're making their mark in the chicest of cities around the globe.

Palazzo Versace, Queensland, Australia

Donatella Versace

This waterfront hotel includes 200 decked out bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies, and Donatella's opulent decor. Everything on the grounds is strictly Versace, from the furnishings to the china used in the hotel’s four restaurants.

Tortuga Bay at Puntacana Resort & Club, Dominican Republic

Oscar de la Renta

The Dominican Republic native renovated 13 villas set on 16,600 private beachfront acres. The property has a Six Senses spa and two golf courses. I do believe this is true luxury living!

Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Ralph Lauren

All 36 rooms are a haven of true Ralph Lauren beach living including white stone floors, romantic mahogany four-poster beds and plush furnishings set on an 18th-century plantation house that has since been converted into a spa (yes please!).

Uxua Casa Hotel, Trancoso, Brazil

Wilbert Das (Diesel)

Nestled in a quaint fishing village, the hotel was constructed from organic and recycled materials. Six of the nine casas (each with their own kitchen) are new buildings secluded in a garden, while the other three are restored fishermen’s houses near the town square.

Armani Hotel, Dubai

Giorgio Armani

Housed in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, Armani’s sleek hotel debut (another is coming to Milan soon) has 160 rooms and suites with bespoke furnishings by Armani Casa, as well as eight restaurants and a 12,000 sqf spa.

Maison Moschino, Milan

Rossella Jardini

The Italian fashion house goes for theatrical effect in a renovated 1840s railway station. The 65 rooms are all complete with dramatic storybook details, from beds draped in bloodred ball gowns to chandeliers dripping with rose petals. There's something horrendously chic about this room.

Hotel le Bellechasse, Paris

Christian Lacroix

A whimsical boutique hotel in Faubourg St. Germain was inspired by the culture of its Left Bank neighborhood resulting in a flamboyant, bohemian spirit in all 34 rooms. It’s also located steps away from Paris's best museums, including the Musée d’Orsay.

Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh

Rosita Missoni

The trademark graphic patterns of the Missoni brand dominate the interiors of the 136 room hotel in the heart of Edinburgh. Rosita Missoni acts as the hotel’s creative director.

*all images via elle decor

A Moroccan Jewel

In the latest issue of Elle Decor, you can take a glimpse into fashion designer Liza Bruce and her husband, artist Nicholas Alvis Vega's home and their jet-setting lifestyle. They've amassed a collection of beautiful homes over the years— from a flat in London's Notting Hill, to a palazzo apartment in Jaipur, to a group of beach bungalows in Puglia, Italy. 'We refer to our houses as film sets without the film. We're driven to create the perfect hideaway,' says Bruce.

Out of all of their homes, their 'pleasure palace' is their three-story house in Morocco. Bruce, who made her name in the 19080's with a line of Lycra swimwear, now sells her fashions in her London boutique. In 2003, she began traveling to Marrakech and created a collection of embroidered caftans. After several trips, she and her husband decided to establish a permanent home in Morocco.

From the moment they first saw it, Bruce and Vega knew the exterior had to be white, which is an unusual choice in Morocco, where exteriors are famously pink. 'We wanted the white domes to echo the nearby Atlas Mountains and white floors and walls to fill the house with light and a sense of calm.' The designer, known for her use of color, couldn't resist adding it to their home. She found the hues she loves in the djellaba robes worn by local villagers: magenta and a dark eau de nil green. These appear in the textiles, painted furniture, and color-drenched walls in the riad. 'I've always loved color but I'm very careful in how I use it because it can be lethal in the wrong hands. The essence of Islamic architecture is that it is spare and refined,' she says.

The house serves as their design 'laboratory,' a place where they spend about four months of the year creating fabrics for their clothing and home textiles collections. See more images in the latest issue of Elle Decor.

*images via elle decor

Blackman Cruz

After cruising the latest issues of Elle Decor and Architectural Digest this weekend poolside (it was 80 degrees!), I found the same mirror, above, featured once in each issue. In the right room, of course, it could really work. I then realized it's by an interior design shop based here in L.A., Blackman Cruz. I'll be checking this place out soon!

Elle Decor :: Chic Ski House

This month's Elle Decor features the mother/daughter team from M. Elle Designs (based here in California) and their creation of this chic and rustic home. It's not too cutesy, but warm, cozy and has the right amount of masculinity. Love.

*all images via elle decor

Elle Decor on Aerin Lauder

Kitchen; light fixture by Ann-Morris Antiques, stools are vintage Frances Elkins and lithograph by Ellsworth Kelly

Poolhouse; retractable awning to shade the terrace

Study; designed by Jacques Grange, paintings by Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana

Dressing Room; chandelier by Baguès, wall covering by Gracie and desk by Gabriella Crespi

Aerin Lauder is now on the cover of Elle Décor’s July/August issue showcasing her weekend and holiday home in the Hamptons. She inherited the home ten years ago from her legendary grandmother, Estée Lauder, founder of the beauty company where Aerin currently serves as senior vice president and creative director.

Lauder worked with Victoria Borus of B Five Studio to update several of the rooms that she described as “heritage with a twist.” She noted that she kept all of the blue and white Chinese porcelain from her grandmother in the main living areas. Lauder added, “My grandmother loved blue and white. You can see it in everything, from the way she decorated to her Porthault linens to the packaging of her perfume and cosmetics.”

A New Yorker can really appreciate the spaciousness of her home- and the gold accents in the dressing room are to die for.