Gerard Butler's Old-World Style Manhattan Loft

Old-World in New York

In May, 2010, just when as were admiring how well our deconstruct-to-the-structure-and-burlap armchair looked next to our industrial shelving (which does look fabulous, by the way), Architectural Digest profiled Gerard Butler's Chelsea loft in May, 2010, causing the interior design world to sit up in our Belgian linen-covered bergères and take notice. Designed by movie set designer Elvis Restaino, this 3,300 square-foot, two-story loft seems to incorporate just about every design style (save Contemporary Zen), with spectacular results! When asked to describe the loft's style, Butler offered, "I guess I would describe the apartment as Bohemian old-world rustic château with a taste of baroque."

Located on the sixth and seventh floor of an abandoned warehouse, the loft was mostly white and uninspiring, broken up into several small rooms. Butler, however, saw the tall ceilings with oversized arched windows, and realized its potential. His architect, Alexander Gorlin, gutted the apartment for a fresh start, leaving only two support beams. With his hiring of set designer Restaino, Butler found a kindred design soul, and the two developed the loft's "fanciful aesthestic" over four-years' time.

Below is the entryway. The mahogany double doors were salvaged from a Brooklyn brownstone. The coin wall ornament, to the right of the window, was removed from a demolition in Ohio. The plaster surrounding the walls were colored and textured to highlight the coin. The ceiling mural was painted on squares of 1940s movie poster paper, covered in plexiglass, then affixed with decorative buttons. The archway and columns were made from chicken wire and colored plaster, which were color matched with real limestone sculpted lions installed in the arch.

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Says Restaino, "You can't compare paint with colored plaster. There is so much more texture and depth to colored plaster. It gives the wall life."

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Another view of the entryway during the design phase.

The theatre room. The columns are from India; the wooden arch support was salvaged from a cathedral in the Bronx; the stone lion's head came from an old library. The sofa and ottoman are from ABC Carpet & Home. The previously-white ceiling beams were repainted an aged, wood-grain brown, a much more cost-effective process than chemically-removing or sandblasting paint.

The kitchen cabinets and backsplash were fashioned from leftover reclaimed flooring material.

A closer view of the backsplash and the sink. Love that Celtic motif on the sink apron! The backsplash looks to be made from colored and textured plaster-covered tiles and wood pieces.

Both elegant and rustic -- three mismatched crystal chandeliers suspended over a medieval-style dining table.

Butler's bedroom.

Butler, who maintains two other homes, a Spanish-style house in the Hollywood Hills and a flat in London, has plans to renovate the loft's second floor and adjoining rooftop terrace. "Whenever I open that huge door, I just think how lucky I am," he says. "Those walls that surround you in the entrance hall and the huge chandelier right in front of you and this beautiful fresco above you -- you realize you're somewhere that's completely original."

 

Ralph Lauren's Flagship Store in St. Germain, Paris

 

Where Fashion and Interior Design Meet

In April of 2010, Ralph Lauren opened his Paris flagship store on Boulevard Saint Germain. The six-story, 23,000 square-foot store, built in 1754 on the foundations of a monastery, had in the past housed the Dutch Embassy, the Carnegie Foundation, as well as spent time as a government building. And though the building had seen better days and centuries, Lauren fell in love with the diamond-in-the-rough. He acquired the building in 2007, and spent the next 2 years renovating and restoring limestone flooring, oak paneling, and Versailles parquet. "With this store opening, in the most romantic part of the city, I finally feel that I have been able to tell my whole story in Paris."

Talk about a dramatic entrance! The limestone staircase in the entry has been restored to its original glory.

One of the many clothing galleries.

The Watch Boutique. Formerly the guardian's loge, the room's polished oak paneling against the white plaster, and the sparkling crystal chandelier add a certain grand stateliness to the small room. Note the original restored Versailles-style parquet flooring.

Watch Boutique

How gorgeous is this room?? That gauze covered chandelier is a showstopper on its own! The greige (grey-beige) color is up-to-date modern yet old world, perfect for the Ralph Lauren Home Collection. Here you can see the restored original plaster mouldings.

The men's dressing area is handsome and spare, allowing the burnished brown leather and Versailles parquet floor to set the tone.

The Ralph Lauren flagships stores are getting looks for their interior design and displayed artwork, such as this mint-condition framed vintage flag. Not only does the flag showcase Lauren's home country, but also makes a colorful design impact.

With the stunning limestone fireplace, brick walls and beamed ceilings, the interior restaurant -- formerly horse stables -- exemplifies old-world Europe (with Ralph Lauren's touches of Americana, of course).

This closer view of the restaurant is almost a vignette of classic Ralph Lauren: the equestrian artwork; the plaid and leopard print fabric; the burnished-brown leather; polished oak paneling.

Once the carriage house, the courtyard restaurant is open during warmer months. Before acquiring the building, Ralph Lauren saw the the old carriage-house courtyard, complete with old stables in the back and cobblestone on the ground, he immediately thought of putting a restaurant there. The bar is located where the old tack room used to be.

Another view of the courtyard restaurant.

Church to Home Conversion in Northumberland, England

Ten years ago, Ian Bottomley and his partner, Sally Onions, came across St. Nicholas Church in Northumberland, England on a search for their first home together. The church, built in 1792 on the site of an earlier church dating from the 1100s, was already in the early stages of conversion. The current owner was struggling with the scope of the project, and had decided to sell. Though the church was a Grade II Listed building, which signifies a building of historical significance and may not be demolished or altered without special permits, planning permission had already been granted through the previous owner.

Construction took seven years, including two years of initial planning with various historical and ecclesiastical organizations. Most of the renovations were completed by Ian, Sally and their families, including plasterboarding, laying floorboards, and installing insulation. The total construction cost was around $420,000, plus $145,000 for the land. The now three-story house consists of four bedrooms plus office, two baths, two kitchens, two reception rooms, a library, storage room, and utility room, plus main nave area which houses the main common areas. The land is one acre, which includes a large garden, as well as an outbuilding with permission completed to convert to a two-bedroom cottage. Some of the gravestones were moved to create a private lawn area to take advantage of Northumberland's heritage coastline.

Main entry, with Brazilian slate flooring

The main body of the church houses the main kitchen, dining, and living area.  Realizing that heating the church in the coldest part of the year would be impractical and expense, Ian and Sally build a second kitchen and sitting area for more modest winter quarters. The 35-foot-high space is kept warm by underfloor heating and six Victorian cast-iron radiators. The new skylights bring natural light through the preserved timbered ceiling and highlight the beautiful tinplate frieze with original handpainted Psalms. Wherever possible, needed fittings have been brought in from other churches. The wainscot panelling around the main living room was sourced from a church in South Wales.

Main living area. The original stone flooring in this area was removed for use in another part of the home.

For the main kitchen construction, Ian himself handcrafted the cabinets from pitch pine sourced from pew frames, and constructed the counters from old pew seats. The vivid blue plaster ceiling color was original to the church, and has been reinstated through color-matching from untouched areas and restored where needed. The stained glass throughout dates from the mid-1800s, and was crafted by the renown workshop of Clayton & Bell, known the world over for their high-quality glass and construction methods, with ecclesiastical installations throughout England, Canada, and the United States. Other kitchen features include travertine limestone floors, a double Fisher Paykel oven, a double dishwasher, underfloor heating and a log-burning stove.

Vestry kitchen

Ian crafted the dining room table from leftover pitch-pine pews and seats with newel post legs. Ian also constructed the staircase leading up to the galleried library. The reclaimed chapel wainscot panelling, shown in the picture below, extends throughout the main vestry area.

Sally Onions in her nave dining area.

View of the grand bedroom in nook, which can be closed off with curtains.

The photo below shows the Grand Bedroom on the main floor, with a hand-built bed replacing the original altar, situated in a nook directly underneath three Clayton & Bell stained glass panels and the original handpainted Psalm frieze.

The grand bedroom in nook

Ian's handcrafted staircase, with original baptismal font on the right.

One of two mirror bedrooms on the second floor

The main bathroom is illuminated through a 12' stained glass window, and features a deep, free-standing French bath, heated tower rails, and heated limestone flooring.

Now with the conversion complete, Ian and Sally are ready to move on, and have placed their beloved property for sale for $1,130,000. “Taking on this conversion has been a real labour of love,” says Ian. “It has totally changed our outlook and the way we live. In fact, now we can’t even visit another church without wondering where we would put the bedrooms!”

Rococo Luxury Homes of Venice

Searching for a luxury vacation home in Venice, Italy, you say? Look no further!

When it comes to Venetian style, the words 'simple' and 'austere' do not come to mind. In music, Venice-based composers were famous for their florid "colossal style" of baroque. In art, the style of the Venetian School experienced its peak during the decorative and highly expressive Renaissance era. In crafts, Venetian glass has been renown for centuries worldwide for its fanciful style and color. And in architecture, the sumptuous-yet-graceful Venetian Gothic style has adorned the scarce land of Venice, enchanting travelers, architects, designers, and dreamers the world over.

With its definitive boundary as an island cluster in the Adriatic Sea, no new housing is being constructed -- only conversions or subdivisions of current structures. With the housing supply so scarce and the cultural art style flamboyant, it's no surprise that Venetian homes are decorated more extravagantly than the average house in, say, Omaha.

Now that you've been briefed in Venetian Gothic style, let's take a peek into a couple of homes for sale in Venice.

Merati Palace

Talk about a grand entrance! What other entry hall has museum-quality winged putti stuccowork over the double entry? And such a fabulous ceiling!

Images courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty.

Entry hall, opposite view.

I love that this living room, as architecturally grand as it is, manages to pull off a certain cozy realness. The red coffee table looks smashing with the red garland along the upper walls.

Living Room

That ceiling fresco, that Murano chandelier, the fabulous painting hung directly on the mirror!

How many winged putti are too much for one house?? The alcove stuccowork, according to Sotheby's website, is almost unique to Venice. A nearby comparable palazzo's alcove stuccowork was sold and transported to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is still on display.

Bedroom

15th Century Palazzo on the Giudecca Waterfront

This 4 bedroom, 2 bath palace boasts both waterfront and private garden views. The interior is original, with terrazzo flooring, ceiling frescoes, and a series of overdoor grisaille portraits.

Entry Hall

The fresco on this ceiling is original to the 15th century structure.  And only a bed of this stature can hold its own such a grandiose room.

Bedroom

In this bedroom you can see windows' Moorish architectural flourishes, which, combined with Byzantine design, are identifying hallmarks of the Venetian Gothic style. Again, a truly spectacular ceiling.

Bedroom

 

From Loggia, looking out into private garden.

Million dollar view! Balcony overlooking the Giudecca Canal