Sophie Donelson: Articles

High Country

2011-02-03T15:19:36Z

Sophie Donelson: Wow! It's Colorado by way of Courchevel.

Cheryl Tague: It's funny, we were living in London during the renovation, and I was shopping for the house on King's Road, buying Austrian antiques, Scottish plaids and English pewter. One of the salesclerks asked, 'What's the name of your chalet?' She wanted to monogram my French linens with it! But she was onto me. I was definitely influenced by Swiss chalet style, which seems so grown-up.

And yet your house is also ruggedly American.
Well, then you get to Colorado and there's the Southwest, cowboy influence. So I played with both themes, chalet and ranch, but I wasn't especially pure about it because I also had to play with contemporary. I wanted it to have a ski-mountain feel. So I made this quirky blend of it all.

How'd you end up in Aspen?
It was serendipity. I used to think, 'Colorado will never be home.' It's landlocked; it isn't for me. But now I love the mountains. I hike every other day.

Why the 180?
We were visiting family and went hiking in the middle of nowhere. We stopped at this little hut-restaurant, figuring we could get a burger, and we ended up having a gourmet meal. Where else in the world can you have these incredible outdoor experiences and then an amazing meal--in a pair of hiking shorts? So we started renting here every summer.

And then you found a town house that convinced you to stay?
When I first saw it, it looked like a bad motel.

Exactly how ugly was the 'before' picture?
There was white carpeting everywhere, the kitchen was dark wood with big pinkish-red tile, there were floral ruffled pillows, the bathrooms were really dated. It had this angled ceiling that was wacky, and the beams had been painted white.

Quick, run!
But there was still clean 1960s modern architecture and true post-and-beam construction. Plus, the views were spectacular, there were terraces on both sides, and it was right on Ajax Mountain, a rare position here — a ski-on, ski-off location. The house is up in the aspens, surrounded by nature, but only steps away from all the action. It's like a bird's nest overlooking the valley and the town.

Were you just dying to renovate?
We waited a year. We came for the summer and holidays and lived here, with the creepy carpet, because I wanted to see how it worked. I realized the most radical change would be to move windows for the light and views. We'd get car headlights shining into the middle of the room, and you couldn't see the ski mountain. Now I watch the gondolas and the skiers, the sunrise and the sunset. The indoors and outdoors feel connected. We also improved the flow by opening the kitchen to the dining and living areas, which made the house so much more vibrant.

I can't believe you did all this long-distance.
At one point my husband said to one of his colleagues, 'What's wrong with this picture? I'm okaying a euro wire transfer to buy German flooring from an English rep to be shipped to Aspen!' But I was really organized. I lined up a contractor and documented everything, down to how the tiles would be laid out in the bathroom. It's easy to take cell phone pictures and send e-mails back and forth.

Still. Antlers are such a mountain-home cliché — did you hesitate to use them?
That was the whole thing: How do you not get too kitschy and keep it modern and fresh? That takes restraint. I'm not one to decorate with a lot of stuff — I have a natural tendency to edit.

Really? Because I counted about 25 tiny clay jars in the living room.
It was one of the few times...I was at an antiques show in Bath and this dealer had, like, 200 ginger jars. I bought them all, and they're almost all here. I use them for makeup brushes, for pencils. I'm not one to buy something when I don't have a place for it, but they were such a deal!

You'd think that the timber walls would make a 1,600-square-foot home seem claustrophobic, but they really don't.
I tried to do a modern, clean renovation, but with materials like reclaimed barn wood from Wisconsin, German oak flooring, Colorado stone, and concrete countertops to give it texture. I always design with texture. I love contrast, the juxtaposition of crude and fine, rough and refined. You have the rustic, like the walls, and then you bring in the refined elements like the red velvet pillows in the master bedroom.

Most people don't think too much about texture when they're decorating.
When you're in a room, touching it, feeling it, you appreciate it. I have sheep rugs in all the bathrooms. Just that soft, plush thing underfoot — so wonderful. Even the water glass I take with me to bed at night--the shape, the texture. It's the perfect little vessel. It all adds to the ceremony.

Living Large

2010-08-12T21:05:33Z

Excerpts from Living Large

Children are constantly reminding their parents of their light-speed passage from infancy to adolescence. Outgrown clothes, loose teeth, and first days of school are common milestones, but Rebecca Robertson and Marco Pasanella’s son, Luca, 5, announced his transition from toddler to schoolboy in a more creative way. “He began coming home from school each week with a folder full of art,” Rebecca says. “All of a sudden he was producing at a very rapid pace!”

For Rebecca, deputy decorating editor at Martha Stewart Living, and Marco, a designer and owner of the couple’s wine store, Pasanella and Son Vintners, the influx of new works suggest- ed more than his penchant for painting: Luca was outgrowing not just the clothesline they were using to display his art, but many elements of their family home.
Although it had been only a few years since they renovated their New York City loft (chronicled in the September 2008 issue of Living, below), the couple decided to make some adjustments to accommodate their growing son. Because the space, a former shipbuilder’s warehouse, is wide open and low on closets, Rebecca and Marco knew they had to be strategic about storage. “We’ve always needed storage that is useful and beautiful, because it’s not going behind closed doors,” Rebecca says.

The first order of business was dealing with the spillover of toys from Luca’s 126-square-foot room. To make space for clothes and art supplies in his tiny bedroom, Rebecca decided to carve out a play space for all of Luca’s toys, plus a tire swing, in the loft’s living room. “We spend so much time out there—eating, entertaining, reading,” she says. “I wanted to give him space to grow and express himself in the ‘adult’ area.” Toys were separated into wooden crates, which Rebecca painted in a spectrum of blue hues and placed in open shelving to create a graphic statement on the wall.

In other parts of the loft, the couple encouraged Luca’s burgeoning independence by adding such elements as kid-height hooks for him to hang his coat and a low drawer where he can access his dishes. To foster his creative streak, they set up a small arts-and-crafts station in his bedroom. Rebecca and Marco often pull up a vintage school chair and work alongside him.

“Drawing together is nice to do before bed because it calms him down,” Rebecca says.
As for that expanding art port- folio, a yellow lattice grid was installed along one of Luca’s bed- room walls for his drawings. “He’s still in the free-form stage right now,” Rebecca says. “But the wall could just as easily hold black- and-white prints.” If Luca’s artistic ambitions hold up, it’s just a matter of time before it does.

Rebecca’s Web picks
Our decorating editor’s favorite online sources for kids’ rooms
ikea.com It’s great for affordable kids’ furniture, but many of its adult pieces also work well in kids’ spaces. I also love the graphic linens.
nonchalantmom.com This Rhode Island parent sells chic kids’ room accessories and clothing, and writes an inspiring blog.
montessori-n-such.com Many of the toys on this site, such as the natural lacquered tower, are beautiful enough to display as sculpture.
clementineart.com I’m a big fan of these natural, nontoxic art supplies—if Luca takes a bite of one of the crayons, I don’t have to worry.

Gilty Pleasures

2010-08-10T23:02:37Z

Room Mates

2010-05-13T18:12:24Z

Oh So L.A. — For Better and For Worse

2010-05-05T18:23:02Z

Hulking above Hollywood and Vine, the historic centre of the movie business, is the W Hollywood, a layer cake of a building - not that anyone eats cake in this town. While tomorrow's aspiring starlets posture in the lobby, the leading ladies of yesterday (Lana, Audrey, etc.), are memorialized just outside on the Walk of Fame, which turns 50 this year. A red carpet connects the Boulevard to the hotel, beckoning guests and curious tourists to slip inside the lobby for a cup of rose-petal-infused water and hopefully a glimpse of someone worth texting home about.

The W Hollywood lobby

W's reputation as a design pioneer was earned by bringing the downtown glamour of "boutique hotels" to the masses and the formula hasn't changed much. The lobby - the Living Room in W-speak - is decorated handsomely with a modern black-leather take on the classic chesterfield, egregiously oversized chandelier, faux-python pillows and fashionable coffee-table books. Heartfelt it's not, but it ticks off enough boxes to pass for cool with the clientele. Unlike many hotels, the rooms score far better than the public spaces, offering thoughtful layouts and touches that make travelling feel less taxing.

The W Hollywood pool — worth looking longingly at

The amenities

The in-room guest guide offers a translation page for W lingo. SWEAT is the gym, WET is the pool, Bliss is the spa and so on. The latter is a well-earned favourite in every W market - book early - but the in-room Bliss toiletries are a nice consolation and worth clearing your dopp kit for. The rooftop pool, WET, is one of most alluring in town and unfortunately for guests, the word is out. On weekends, the spot is taken over by a pool party thrown by Drai's, a famed nightlife entrepreneur that runs 20,000 square feet of the hotel's upper floors. It's bottle-service only (starting at $500 each) and I was informed I'd have to rent a cabana ($500 day) to enjoy a sip. Drai's also operates the cabanas on weekdays. I was asked to scoot at 9 a.m. on a Monday despite only three guests at the pool. The business centre was outfitted with Macs and PCs, but seemed a 10-minute commute from the rooms. The printer was down on Monday morning, though the lobby staff offered to print documents in the meantime. A reservation may not buy you pool time or a pseudo-office, but it can get you "on the list." The DJ duo Groove Armada played a long set in the courtyard, a bonus when viewed from a third-floor window seat like mine.

The rooms

Rooms and suites go by pseudonyms: The suites are Fantastic, Marvelous, Wow and E-Wow; and the standard rooms are Wonderful, Spectacular and Fabulous. The rooms are nearly identical in size (around 350 square feet) and style. My room (Spectacular, from $250) was as chic as a nightclub, with a mod pendant lamp, white leather mid-century desk chair, slick lacquer desk, a curvaceous lounge chair and a very low platform bed. And the aesthetics only added to the comfort. Case in point: a gun-metal metallic leather daybed with ample pillows made use of the window space and was a great perch for watching the action in the courtyard and outdoor bar, Station Hollywood. The room offered ample space for working, ironing and prepping. A gadget-charging station and myriad options for mood lighting were unexpected delights. Most crucial: The bed was downright dreamy. One oddity was the marketing swag, such as the figurine of an Acura advertising the hotel's partnership with the car maker (it offers guests complimentary rides along with questionnaires to rate the experience). And then there was the merchandising - the exposed mini-bar bottles and large water bottle were all tagged with prices - $9 for the latter.

Service

The staff was friendly and a laid-back; acceptable for pleasure-seeking guests, but not what you would want on your team during the workweek. A request to the concierge for an area map was denied (I was given a sponsored map of L.A. shopping streets) and countered with, "What are you looking for? There's not that much around here." (There's lots. Plus the hotel sits atop a subway station that drops you downtown in 15 minutes.) A more competent staffer delivered me a hot cup of coffee minutes after I alerted the front desk that the lobby carafes were empty.

Food and drink

Proximity to Delphine, the onsite French-Mediterranean brasserie, was worth the stay. The East Coast - and Europe - have these casual, everything-to-everyone restaurants in spades, but they're new here. This one sets a stellar example with terrific seafood, like whole grilled fish (chef Sascha Lyon helmed some of New York's definitive brasseries) and a gorgeous room designed by Mark Zeff, with a seaside palette and swaths of tile and cerused oak that are a welcome break from the aggressively designed lobby. Having Delphine in-house means local friends or clients will come to you for dinner, and solo travellers can enjoy a 7 a.m. breakfast of Delphine granola with berries and Greek yogurt ($10). That's on the room service menu, too, but, with taxes and fees, it's $18.

Verdict

Hit and miss. There are bright spots for those who can overlook spotty service. Better bet: Forgo the surprises and enjoy the hotel à la carte with lobby cocktails, Delphine dinner - and a pool party if you can afford it.

W Hollywood
6250 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 798-1300; 305 rooms, starting at $249

Hip Brooklyn: Head to the Point

2010-04-07T02:34:33Z

Fashions come and go in New York, but one look that never loses currency in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is helmet head. Tousled hair isn't a goal, but a symptom of the preferred transportation of the young creatives who inhabit the borough's northernmost neighbourhood alongside a sizable Polish population - a concentration reportedly second in the U.S. only to Chicago.

Hearing “on your right,” the courtesy phrase for getouttatheway, is only slightly less common than catching the Polish greeting czesc. It's a funny pairing in Greenpoint, but it works: Vegetarians love borscht.

In the past few years, the number of new businesses has skyrocketed. Residents are buzzing about a forthcoming French bistro (a first), a “social club” (which means bar in hipster-speak) and their own piece of a planned 28-acre waterfront park and promenade, although that's still a year off. Save for buses, the G train - one of the subway's most irritatingly erratic lines - is the only direct route into the neighbourhood (hence so many enthusiastic cyclists). On a recent Saturday, a band of helmeted twentysomethings from all over the city careered around the neighbourhood on an urban field trip, making stops for authentic Polish food, local beer and old-fashioned doughnuts, which they inhaled alongside likeminded others, balancing old-school calories and exercise.

Greenpoint is bookended by two subway stops, Greenpoint Ave. and Nassau, and the blocks in between are rich with stylish boutiques, thrift shops, home-style and fine dining and the best people-watching. Helmets are optional.

Hidden treasures
The name Junk is misleading, especially since the price tags at this thrift shop aren't rock bottom. But that won't keep you from enjoying the weird and wonderful collection of curios, such as large dioramas made by children at a defunct suburban museum. In the right setting, these hodgepodge sculptures of parrots or horseshoe crabs and poster paint might just pass for outside art. 214 Franklin St., 718-383-3751

Green eggs and ham (and challah)
Unlike the surrounding boutiques, Brooklyn Label gets an early start, serving weekend brunch from 9 a.m. The menu brags that everything here is made from scratch, and that includes the tasty red and green hot sauce - find something, anything, to douse it on. It's unnecessary, though, atop Green Eggs 'N' Ham, a hearty dish of eggs and challah toast topped with baby spinach, arugula pesto and a slab of ham (or not). 180 Franklin St., 718-389-2806.

Strange brews
Ed Raven, a long-time importer of German beer, recently opened Brouwerij Lane, where you can buy growlers (64-ounce jugs) of any of 20 beers, including American craft brews, local beers and KBBK, a locally made kombucha - the fermented-tea elixir favoured by health nuts. The former auto body shop is heated by a vintage wood stove; neighbours and visitors hang out while sipping $2 half-pint samples straight from the tap. 78 Greenpoint Ave.; 347-529-6133.

Good looks, great prices
Regulars at Dalaga are loath to share the secret of this jewel: cute women's clothes at prices that leave stylish New Yorkers slack-jawed. The husband-and-wife owners met at college, where he studied film and she fashion; hence the adorable vintage-boudoir vibe. Most of the clothing suits a day-to-night look, but one terrific number, a marabou-feather cocktail dress, was worth sole evening wear for $99. No time to browse? Dalaga's website ships to Canada. 150 Franklin St.; 718-389-4049.

This old house
Steps from the waterfront is a row of houses dating from the late 1800s. One houses Le Grenier, a shop selling delightful housewares, mostly antique. The merchandise doesn't adhere to just one era, so you might find Victorian and Art Deco items cheek by jowl, such as etched champagne coupes and vintage silver, or apothecary lamps and an old icebox. 19 Greenpoint Ave.; 718-569-0111.

Alter states
Avant-garde clothing is rarely affordable or easy to wear, but it's both at Alter, which is really two stores, one men's, one women's. Both stock stacks of skinny jeans from Swedish label Cheap Monday, while the men's store has California labels such as Shades of Greige and the women's arm carries Toronto-based Preloved and the Montreal vegan handbag line Matt & Nat. 109 and 140 Franklin St.; 718-349-0203.

On the waterfront
Greenpoint has plenty of waterfront on the East River, but until 2011, when a massive parks development is set to be complete, residents enjoy the terrific Manhattan views at WNYC Transmitter Park, an interim, mulch-covered plot at the former site of a public radio transmission tower. 2 Greenpoint Ave.

Book it
Literary fiction, such as Stoner by John Williams (the staff pick for March), rules the sales list at Word, a cozy bookstore where the staff and patrons spontaneously break out in passionate book-club banter. The shop carries many titles by area writers such as Kate Christensen, Wells Tower and Jami Attenberg, plus a charming kids' books section and sometimes a table of freebies outside. 126 Franklin Ave.; 718-383-0096.

Pillowy perogies
A bilingual menu, reasonable prices and home-style food are the draws at Lomzynianka, where eight pillowy potato-and-cheese perogies are just $5 and a plate of mixed salads (cole slaw, red cabbage, beets, sauerkraut and more) is $2. There is an enticing assortment of blintzes, but save your sweet tooth for one of two specialty shops within a few blocks. 646 Manhattan Ave.; 718-389-9439

Sweet treats
It's hard to believe that the Poles ever rationed sugar when you visit Slodycze Wedel, a Wonkaland of Slavic candy. Bonbons in shiny, colourful wrappers overflow from baskets. The treats are sold by the pound and labelled in Polish, so while chocolates with fillings such as coconut or coffee are easy enough to decipher from the wrapper, plum and advocaat, which tastes like boozy eggnog, can get lost in translation. Ask one of the kind shop girls for help. 772 Manhattan Ave.; 718-349-3933

A doughnut Neverland
Fillings are also a specialty at Peter Pan Bakery, which is famous for light and crumbly and homemade doughnuts, often still warm from the oven. Neighbourhood retirees, single hipsters and families can be found lingering at the retro counter, but most patrons eat the 90-cent treats standing up outside, ogling the window display. The uniformed girls couldn't name just one local favourite, but suggested white cream coconut and the “old fashion cruller.” And while one clerk said the latter was too plain for her taste, it wasn't for mine. 727 Manhattan Ave.; 718-389-3676

Built To Last

2010-03-15T18:45:13Z

(Selected contributions to the magazine's "Best of" feature package)

Bright Ideas
Architect Andre Kikoski has LEDs on the brain. “They’re everywhere!” he proclaims soon after returning from Maison & Objet, the Paris design show. “I flew home on an Airbus A380, and they were there, too!” Kikoski, whose firm recently completed the Guggenheim’s stunning new restaurant, the Wright, embraces technologies. He uses laser-cut leathers and is on the lookout for ways to make green walls thrive year after year. A ground-up project of his, Long Island City’s Z Hotel, opens later this year, and soon he’ll finish a Madison Park residence for a Turkish art collector and a retail space in Bushwick. “Like Frank Lloyd Wright, we want to work between scales, from a master-planned city down to custom fabric,” he explains. For now, Kikoski fans are sated with the Wright, with its fiber-optic-inlaid woods, a bar sheathed in glittery metalwork and a bright Liam Gillick sculpture. “Wright never romanticized history,” Kikoski says. “He was all about the future, so that’s where we looked too.”

Double Play
Before taking on clients like Mindy Kaling and Seth Meyers, Ariel Ashe and Reinaldo Leandro were just antsy young associates at Pierce Allen. They soon modeled their own firm, Ashe + Leandro, on their alma mater—she’s on interiors; he, architecture. Small staff aside, their teeny Downing Street storefront is a creative hive; a furniture fabricator and a graphic designer also share the space. The duo is currently finishing an office in the Seagram Building for a hedge fund (“hip, but not so hip that it doesn’t seem stable,” Ashe says); a hotel in Caracas, Venezuela (Leandro’s hometown); and several city residences with designs that are youthful but not young. Where many nascent designers lean on graphic wallpapers or slick lacquers to add oomph, this duo turns to wood, marble or concrete, letting possessions tell the story. One family’s West Side home gets its color from the spines of National Geographic magazines. You’d never guess that restraint is a muscle they flex: “We both like too many colors,” Leandro says. “But we’re good at editing each other. It would be Pee-wee’s Playhouse if we didn’t.” 212.242.3642.

Alfa Goes Beta
First released by Molteni & C in lacquer and leather finishes, the Alfa chair by the late Swiss designer Hannes Wettstein was an instant hit. But Alfa’s beta model, which is made exclusively for the outdoors, may supercede its housebound brethren. The new version is sheathed in a velvety, element-proof Soft-Touch polyurethane finish and is downright addictive to touch. But it’s not as precious as it feels; temperature, humidity and seaside salty air won’t faze the frame. With bladelike back legs that recall Jean Prouvé and a palette (including amber, orange and aubergine) that also hits the French-’40s-style nail on the head, it’ll tempt you to take it in from the cold. $510 for Soft-Touch and lacquer; $1,670 for leather. Molteni & C, 60 Greene St., 212.673.7106.

Bench Mark
Garden furniture inspired Ruché, a new Ligne Roset sofa by the French star Inga Sempé that prompted gasps of delight at the European design shows this year. Slim legs hoist a plush mattress whose quilted texture was mocked up by Sempé on her sewing machine.

Case Studied
Two years ago, Joris Laarman scored a place in MoMA’s permanent collection for his Bone Chair, which mimics the efficiency of human bones. His mission, using life-science lessons to make functional art, is further realized at the Friedman Benda gallery beginning March 4. Utilizing technology hasn’t kept Laarman from challenging it: his Stair bookcase was devised to rival an e-reader—at 18 feet tall, it holds just as many books (around 1,000), and its owner will never have to upgrade. March 4-April 10 at Friedman Benda, 515 W. 26th St., 212.239.8700.

2010 Best of The City: Home

2010-02-15T19:56:30Z

Shop Around
Chelsea gallery Demisch Danant is helping Lisa Perry Style, now on the UES (976 Madison Ave., 212.334.1956), curate a vintage furniture selection, which includes works by Pierre Paulin. Downtown, ABC Carpet & Home (888 Broadway, 212.473.3000) just added in-shop boutiques for two Brit furniture designers: Timothy Oulton, whose aesthetic is gently distressed and steeped in cigar smoke, and Reeves Design—think shiny lacquer and baroque profiles. Romantics can now find whitewashed Gustavian- style furniture and accessories at Oly Atelier (408 Greenwich St., 212.219.8969), the firm’s first stand-alone store.

Over the Hill?
Two new shops make an old neighborhood a hot place to hunt for dome decor
The sleepy-but-posh hamlet of Carnegie Hill has always been a swell spot to snag a bottle of Montrachet or a powder-pink cashmere onesie, but residents usually head south for home décor that isn’t emblazoned with mallards. Two new shops bookending the neighborhood could change that. The Silver Peacock (1110 Park Ave., 212.426.2610) opened this fall with the kinds of things worthy of making tablescape a legitimate concept. China, both new and estate, joins jewelry- like trivets and napkin rings and machine-washable, jewel-tone table linens. So far, the It item for the uptown boudoir is silk and velvet bedroom confections in unexpected Peter Max-esque patterns by Kumi Kookoon. The store also offers a full assortment of interior design services. Further north, Deborah Buck has consolidated her art gallery and antiques shop into one elegant storefront, Buck House (1318 Madison Ave., 212.828.3123), which concludes a stroll along upper Madison Avenue on a high note. The cheery mix of furniture and objects is culled from antiquity through the 1990s, and, says Buck, allows clients to “have fun with their interiors without losing their children’s tuition.”

Eastern Promises
Two top Hamptons destinations for art and design have recently opened outposts in the city. No-frills antiques depot Center 44 now counts East Hampton’s Roark as a tenant (917.690.3712). Blocks away, Karen Boltax of Shelter Island’s Boltax Gallery installed work from each of her contemporary artists in a Midtown East apartment she dubs “the gallerette.” Credit the effect to art by Suzanne Unrein, Nuala Clarke and Louise Crandell, all of whom she showed at Miami Beach’s Fountain fair (by appointment, 917.754.2891, boltaxgallery.com).

Straight Outta Brooklyn
The shop responsible for Brooklyn’s glittering modern-design reputation just opened in Noho. The Future Perfect (55 Great Jones St., 212.473.2500) offers a taste of witty and weird furniture (a glowing, life-size resin sheep, anyone?) and covetable gifts for the hipsters in your life.

Best of the Best
Product line: File under “seen in a new light.” The mix of high- end furniture at Suite New York elevates young design talent and refreshes the appeal of midcentury classics, such as hanging lamps ($2,000-$3,000) by Danish powerhouse Verner Panton.

New Accessory: Design cognoscenti can spot a Chilewich textile from across the room—the studio’s basket- weave vinyl products appear on tabletops, windows and now iPhones. The just released iPhone covers ($40) are the best use yet for the rugged-but- refined material. momastore.org

Décor Statement: If the 2010 buzzword is transparency, then take a look at interior designer Brett Beldock. Her new line of see-through wall coverings for Stark adds a thin veneer of lace, gemstone or roses to surfaces, while letting paint color shine through. Through Design Professionals, 212.759.6894

Store Offshoot: The Flatiron Gallery, a new shop from Restoration Hardware, courts the urban dweller who’s equal parts aesthete and explorer. CEO Gary Friedman hired noted artisans to reproduce far-flung finds like a desk made from classical corbels ($1,495).

Accent Piece: Furniture maker Frederick P. Victoria & Son is now selling a “ready-to-wear” line outfitted with design details such as a tripodal, nickel-frame occasional table ($4,250).

Gift shopping in New York

2009-12-13T00:30:00Z

This time of year, you won't find miracles on 34th Street. It's hard to spot the holiday spirit on a row of chain stores where shopping is like a rugby scrum. But New York offers rich retail experiences that will fill you with childish glee - you just have to know where to look.

After all, this is one of the world's great shopping cities. This is where sales last from Halloween through New Year's and subway riders even tolerate being squeezed by bag- laden out-of-towners. (Everyone in New York schleps.) On upper Madison Avenue, every gift box is fastened with satin ribbon, while downtown, graffiti-clad walls disguise wonderful merchandise at tiny shops. You're bound to mark each and every one off your list as fast as you can yell, "Taxi!"

Barneys New York, photographed by Michael Falco for the Globe and Mail

Uptown, don't write off the city's famous department stores. Barneys New York (660 Madison Ave., 212-826-8900) serves haute baubles and yards of cashmere with an impish grin. The shop's famous window displays resemble charming, overblown craft projects: This year's is a papier-mâché ode to Saturday Night Live , including characters such as the Coneheads. The fun continues inside, where copper Brillo pads decorate a holiday tree. Barneys carries a zillion top fashion and home labels, but their house brand is a high-quality, lower-cost alternative. Wood-handled umbrellas in kicky checks and stripes ($125; all prices U.S. dollars) and cotton sateen pyjamas in cranberry and navy ($260) are two nice finds for men. For ladies, try buttery tie-dyed leather pouches ($155) and Taytu handbags ($345), made in Ethiopia and lined with cotton prints. Wool pashminas from Virginia Johnson ($215) are patterned with camels, sharks or turtles.

Kinokuniya photographed by Michael Falco for the Globe and Mail

Midtown's Bryant Park transforms into a Christmas village this time of year with dozens of vendors (theholidayshopsatbryantpark.com), and offers a free skating rink. But for unique gifts, cross the street to Kinokuniya (1073 Avenue of the Americas, 212-869-1700), the NYC outpost of this Japanese bookstore chain. Magazines and gift books occupy the top two floors, but downstairs is a wonderland of stationery, art supplies, calendars and trinkets straight from Japan. There's a staggering selection of cutesy day planners (from $8.70), some with stickers that will make any 10-year-old girl swoon - and dutifully record homework assignments - while paper clips in unconventional shapes and colours (from $3.70 a box) make great stocking stuffers. Head upstairs to purchase a make-your-own ukulele kit ($39.95).

For home goods and holiday decor, head downtown to ABC Home (888 Broadway, 212-473-3000). The main level of this warehouse-sized shop looks like a crystalline magic forest.

Glittery chandeliers stand in for mossy branches and the fairies and angels come with strings for hanging on Christmas trees. A palm-sized kit of wooden reindeer and barn ($55) is handmade in Germany, while a set of jewel-tone icicle ornaments ($24 for 12) are straight out of the Fifties. Wade through the holiday displays to reach the floor's outskirts, where a bazaar of Indian jewellery and gifts, stacks of ethnic textiles, hand-thrown pottery and an "eco-intelligence" corner promise even more shopping bliss.

Kiosk, photographed by Michael Falco for the Globe and Mail

The ordinary is elevated to extraordinary at Kiosk (95 Spring St., 212-226-8601), a SoHo shop that showcases household objects from a new country every few months. Right now, it's Portugal. Children's tambourines ($15-$18), silky hand cream in a beautiful metallic tube ($18), toothpicks hand-carved to look like swords ($15/pack) and sardines ($6) are available now, and each item is packaged with a funny anecdote about its origins or use.

Year-round, Kiosk sells a "best-of" selection from past exhibits, such as a red plastic cheese grater from Italy ($22) and a handmade German xylophone ($38). Grab-and-go, this isn't - you'll be tempted to dally by reading the stories and handling the objects. It's worth it, so leave time to enjoy.

Like Kiosk's selection, the pop-up shop is a New York phenomenon that's both novel and useful. Storefront vacancies spurred by the recession have fuelled the trend and the silver lining is a crop of temporary stores for every taste. Just north of SoHo (in the area some call NoHo) is Gifted (20 East 4th St.), a holiday event put

on by hipster flea market Brooklyn Flea. Artisanal pickles, vintage YSL jewellery and silk-screened onesies are all in the mix. Keep an eye out for Brooklyn Brew Shop, which offers an attractive "apartment-size" home brewing kit ($40) and brew mixes ($15) like Eggnog Milk Stout. Book City Jackets sells brown-paper book covers with illustrations by artists ($15 for a roll of 3). Underground Signs will custom- make a black-and-white sign (from $99) that is identical to those in the subway. (You can order online: underground-signs.com.)

There's shopping underground too. Quirky gift manufacturer Areaware opened a pop-up called StopShop (641 8th Ave. in the Port Authority Bus Terminal to sell its cheeky design-lover gifts. (Think of a ceramic vase shaped like a boot or a pencil cup shaped like a handful of pencils) and hip fashion items from Rogan, Devotte and A Détacher and toys for adults from Kid Robot.

And Target, the mass retailer known for its high-design collaborations, hosts a pop-up shop this weekend in the shadow of the new High Line park. Target To-Go (Gansevoort and Washington Streets) offers 50 hot gifts pre-wrapped and ready to go. Scan the giant "menu" for ribbon belts ($12.99) and halter dresses ($39.99) from white-hot fashion duo Rodarte and Santa suits for dogs ($9.99). Then place your order ("I'll have two No. 3's and a side of 11") and head to the pickup window.

Don't leave the city without picking up a treat for the kids. Street-cart pretzels don't pack well, so head instead to Dinosaur Hill (306 East 9th St., 212-473-5850) in the East Village, where puppets and marionettes dangle from the ceiling and every corner is crammed with old-fashioned toys. Blocks ($32 and up), baby rattles ($20) and logging trucks ($47) are among the handmade, wooden creations. Anchor Stone Blocks ($135 for a starter set) is a classic kids' game in Germany that also appeals to handy adults - architecture students from nearby Cooper Union make a habit of visiting Dinosaur Hill to play with the blocks. If you're in town at gift-exchange time, you might find yourself doing the same.

Special to The Globe and Mail

The LBDs of Design

2009-12-05T13:30:00Z

An apparel retailer long ago whipped up the idea of an “investment piece.” You know, the kind of fashion item you’ll have for a lifetime—something that won’t pill, fade, stretch, shrink or ever look sad or dated. Women pride themselves on the purchase of, for example, a little black dress. To many, it’s an act of restraint and sartorial prowess—an investment, really. Its acronym says business; is an LBD really so different from a CD or an IRA?
Furniture marketers have never come up with a campaign as clever. Instead, the industry relies on interior designers to help homeowners part with their money. With New Yorkers enjoying an uncharacteristic “saving” moment, we asked top interior designers to list the LBDs of design: home and furniture items that promise to be versatile, timeless and effortless— purchases that’ll never induce guilt, nor feel at all snug after the holidays.

A T-Shirt Sofa
“Almost every project I’ve ever done has included a clean-lined, linen- slip-covered basic sofa,” says Anthony Cochran, who, in addition to decorating, designs furniture for Q Collection. “Like a white T-shirt can be Hanes or Calvin Klein, the sofa can be from a custom upholsterer or from Crate & Barrel.” Designer Clodagh recently named one of her sofas the T-Shirt Sofa (trade only, price upon request). “It goes with antiques or modern furniture, and it has thick arms, which are a good place to perch,” explains Dennis Miller, who runs an eponymous showroom where the sofa is a best seller. “Buy at this price level, versus from a retailer, for the construction. It’ll last 20 years, and when you tire of the fabric, you can reupholster it.” Still, Cochran, whose client roster includes red-carpet regulars, doesn’t snub sofas from that furniture- seller-to-the-plebes. He names one fancy client whose Crate & Barrel Willow sofa (from $1,699) has nine lives, having moved from the living room to the nanny’s room to the kid’s room and now to the gym.

A Set of Sheets
“A $3,000 set of sheets really rewards whoever gets in the bed,” says decorator Marshall Watson. “And if you’re tossing and turning, they’ll keep you cool, calm and collected. It’s a great investment.” Thread counts are staggering these days, but Sferra and other high-end brands now say numbers are meaningless—it’s about the quality of the cotton. For the same price as a fancy off-the-rack sheet set, you can make like interior designer Amy Lau and customize the color and embroidery of your sheets from Casa Del Bianco, a small Italian manufacturer, which can deliver a set of its popular 500-thread-count cotton percale (around $660 for queen-size) in under a month. Magenta monograms do not LBDs make, but only your loved ones—and lovers—will ever see it.

A Cool Rug
Madeline Weinrib’s Tibet-inspired flat-weave rugs are so popular they’re practically a cliché, but a zebra hide is more outlandish and irresistible. “Zebra rugs are chic and versatile,” says Lilly Weekes, a decorator with McMillen Inc. “I prefer the real thing, but I also love the needlepoint version from Dransfield & Ross ($1,200), which is a little softer-feeling than a hide.” The original of this fake-out was schemed up by legendary decorator Albert Hadley, who used them liberally à la Coco Chanel. To ratchet up the sex appeal, Weekes suggests commissioning a custom-colored version from Martin Patrick Evan (trade only, price upon request).

A Notice-Me Lamp
A room inhabited by so many four-legged creatures (chairs, sofas, that zebra hide) should invite a tripod standing lamp to shake things up. There’s a three-legged style for every type of person, but only two you should consider. Those with a closet packed with Carhartt and Barbour—but living in a city loft that makes Nor’easters a nonissue— will gravitate toward the heavy-duty industrial version, like a nautical search lamp, which are in regular rotation on 1stdibs.com. A more elegant option—think shapely Shaker—is the Tripod Lamp ($3,200) from BDDW, hand-carved and turned from Oregon walnut. It’s a favorite of designer Paul Siskin, who has used this style in various interiors. “Place the lamp next to a sofa and that’s immediately where you’ll gravitate,” he notes. “That pool of light is just so inviting.”

A Quiet Coffee Table
“The coffee table is among the hardest-working pieces of furniture you’ll own,” says designer Elaine Griffin, whose book Design Rules (Gotham) debuted last month. “They’re drink-holders, bookcases, footrests and display units.” The tendency for these surfaces to look busy drives designers like Griffin to choose a straightforward profile, such as a Parsons table, which is sold just about everywhere. If you fancy a footstool that masquerades as a table, opt for a George Smith upholstered ottoman (from $2,440) instead. A heavy tray can corral books and beverages and be removed when a party necessitates extra seating.

An Iconic Dining Table
If you’re not a natural-born host or aren’t tethered to a 5:30pm nuclear-family sit- down dinner, you’re not the target demo for purchasing a jaw-dropping dining table. But buy one and chances are your hosting instincts will kick in—pronto. Elizabeth Bauer, who runs a design shop on Greenwich Avenue, owns a mod steel-base Platner table with a 54-inch glass top, which seats four to six. “If I move to a larger place, it can become my kitchen or breakfast table,” she says, “or I can put a 60-inch top on it to seat more guests.” Countless designers name the ubiquitous Saarinen Tulip table (new, from $3,085) as the ultimate in versatility. Why is it so damn perfect? David Branham, buyer for The Conran Shop, where the table is a top seller, says. “Let’s face it: with no legs at the edges to bump into and a beautiful slab of marble to look at, it’s just nice. Maybe its appeal is as simple as that.”

Hooked in Brooklyn

2009-10-21T14:02:44Z

Photo by Michael Falco for The Globe and Mail

Each Saturday and Sunday in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Red Hook, mom-and-pop food vendors host a Latin smorgasbord on the sidelines of community soccer matches, and the pupusas and grilled corn become the main event. The tradition, which has been going since the seventies but has piqued the interest of New Yorkers only in the past few years, is a lot like Red Hook itself: authentic, overlooked and chock-full of homemade specialties.

The south Brooklyn neighbourhood was settled early - in 1636 - and by 1850 it was one of America's busiest ports, full of hard-drinking longshoremen. A century later, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway severed the gritty neighbourhood from the rest of the borough, and the area spiralled further downward. (For a glimpse, watch Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando.) As recently as a decade ago, old-timer cabbies would refuse your fare to this neighbourhood; crack dealers outnumbered grocery stores.

Much has changed - you can now find a dozen varieties of imported olives and bicycles made from bamboo within blocks of each other - but cobblestone and defunct railway tracks are still underfoot. The arrival of NYC supermarket Fairway and, last year, IKEA gave the area a bourgeois update - but it has retained a crafty spirit. The landmarked Beard Street Warehouse, once home to coffee and tobacco, now houses artists' studios, woodworking shops and the gallery of the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition. Christie's has taken over one warehouse to store art and antiquities, microbrewery Sixpoint Ales another.

The past few months welcomed a spate of new shops and restaurants including screen printer Foxy and Winston and a Stumptown Coffee roastery. The next few will bring a café addition to the roastery and the opening of carnivore-pleasing restaurant Grindhaus.

But the best thing in Red Hook is still free: This is the only spot in New York with a full frontal view of Lady Liberty.

Photo by Michael Falco for The Globe and Mail

ONE IF BY SEA
Honour the neighbourhood's nautical roots by travelling to Red Hook by water. IKEA sponsors free ferries from Wall Street nearly twice an hour on weekends; the passage is a brisk five minutes and offers a whirlwind glimpse of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline. The other reasonable option is via taxi; public transit in the area is limited to local buses.

PLAY BALL
From June through Nov. 1, the Red Hook Ball Fields hosts dozens of vendors who serve homemade tacos, huaraches, pupusas and more. If you're not hungry, go for a refreshing tamarind agua fresca or a sliced mango doused with lime juice and chili powder. Bay Street and Clinton Street.

ON THE RISE
Baked is what happens when ad guys devise a neighbourhood bakery. It's both slick (it has an orange lacquer door with a stylish antler handle) and tasty (house-made granola and vanilla marshmallows are perfect to-go gifts). 359 Van Brunt St.; 718-222-0345.

LOOK BACK
Alluring 19th- and 20th-century curios are on offer at Erie Basin: Furniture mixes with jewellery that is both enchanting and macabre, such as a Victorian mourning ring that is embedded with a pinch of the deceased's hair. 388 Van Brunt St.; 718-554-6147.

MADE BY HAND
Find handmade women's and baby clothing and accessories at Tiburon, which uses the talents of the neighbourhood's many crafty residents. Pick up a handful of Red Hook postcards - delightfully honest photographs that depict graffiti-marred buildings and IKEA shopping carts. 392a Van Brunt St.; 718-913-4484.

CLEAN IT UP
The soaps from Saipua are almost too pretty to unwrap. The storefront, which was recently designed using reclaimed barn boards, showcases the outfit's lush floral arrangements, too. 147 Van Dyke St., 718-624-2929.

SWEET TOOTH
The quirky counter at Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies offers just one menu item in a couple of sizes; scarf down a tart or “swingle” in case your dinner destination runs out of key lime pie, a well-known Red Hook export. Pier 41, 204 Van Dyke St., 718-404-6911.

A DATE WITH LIBERTY
Continue west down Van Dyke to Valentino Pier at sunset. Pass through the pocket-sized park to the pier, where families picnic and fishermen sway to mellow boom-box tunes, rod in one hand, paper-bagged beer in the other. You're so close to Lady Liberty, you can almost touch her.

Photo by Michael Falco for The Globe and Mail

A LITTLE KOREA
Red Hook claims one much-lauded temple of cuisine: The Good Fork. It's a memorable diner-style room and much of the produce hails from a nearby farm. Korean-style steak and eggs with kimchi rice is the crowd-pleaser. 391 Van Brunt St.; 718-643-6636.

ONE FOR THE ROAD
Indulge in a nightcap at newly opened Fort Defiance, which serves Colonial-themed beverages and a 23-ounce highball dubbed the Sumo Collins. Think of it as Tom's hefty brother. 365 Van Brunt St., 347-453-6672.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Survivors, scavengers and scenesters

2009-05-12T14:07:30Z

Wayfinding in San Telmo

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Argentina has had more than its share of economic upheaval since the 1950s, but its creative types haven't squandered the opportunities. Artists here continue to show a resilient spirit - and create some of contemporary art's most refreshing work.

While the art world in London and New York quivers alongside stock markets, Argentines stay relaxed; they have always responded with beautiful solutions when supplies are short. The wildly coloured barrio of La Boca is one example, the result of canny residents beautifying their homes with leftover marine paint from nearby shipyards. A more modern take came after the country's devastating 2001 economic crash, when painter Hernan Salamanco began using ubiquitous For Sale signs as canvases; you can still make out the phone numbers through his layers of enamel.

In the past few years, collectors and enthusiasts have set their sights on Buenos Aires, now home to world-class museums such as MALBA (the Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art), new private institutions such as the Fortabat Collection, and a bewildering array of galleries and fairs. First among them: ArteBA (http://www.arteba.org), a contemporary art fair May 22 to 26. It's one of Latin America's top cultural events, drawing nearly 100,000 visitors.

New York gallery owner Karen Boltax, who represents several Argentine artists and makes frequent trips to Buenos Aires, says its art combines "[the] intellectual and a very human, emotional approach." Above all, "they're scavengers and recyclers," she says. "They're survivors."

For the culturally curious, May is an ideal time to visit. Fall is coming, which means crisp air and lower airfares. And ArteBA is when most galleries trot out their most exciting work. Here are a few addresses to get you started.

CCMOCA

The newest game in town is Centro Cultural MOCA, a cross-disciplinary space that opened last November in a former cookie factory (its smiley-face logo mimics the cookies' shape). Inés Huergo says she and co-founder Mercedes Urquiza conceived it as a place where "you can enjoy art, take pleasure in a coffee while listening to good music, attend a ... show or a film screening, look at books and meet others that come to do the same."

Last season, it signed up 11 Argentine artists - including León Ferrari and Eduardo Stupia - to create site-specific works. In May, CCMOCA opens a library and lounge and welcomes the work of Sabrina Mezzaqui, an Italian artist whose multimedia sculpture is influenced by literature and often created with actual books. For this show, Mezzaqui explored themes pertaining to one of the city's most notable residents, Jorge Luis Borges. Montes de Oca 169; 54 (11) 4519-5639; http://www.ccmoca.com.ar

Fundación PROA

In 1996, Fundación PROA transformed a beautiful old Italian home in La Boca into a destination for art. Its mantra was based on Borges's idea that art is "a proa" - a ship's bow - "towards unknown territories, which should be discovered even by the artists themselves." Last year, it added exhibition rooms, a library, film auditorium and rooftop café, kicking off the renovation with an ambitious Marcel Duchamp exhibit. This month, the exhibition Urban Spaces: Geography, Identity, Urbanism will analyze the idea of cities in contemporary culture through the photos of Thomas Struth, Axel Hutte, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff and Candida Höfer. Av. Pedro de Mendoza 1929, La Boca; 54 (11) 4104-1000; http://www.proa.org

Daniel Abate Galeria

In a town known for painters, Daniel Abate rounds up a compelling array of video and sculpture, photography and installations (and some paintings). Abate is considered the best at spotting BA's bright young things; his lineup includes Mariela Scafati, who recently blanketed the space with rainbow-striped canvases. Eduardo Navarro, 29, is known for films in which he documented niche groups such as UFO spotters; part of his latest installation, La Fabrica de Budines (Pudding Shop), on display this spring, was inspired by peeking in the windows of a working-class Buenos Aires neighbourhood. Pasaje Bollini 2170; 54 (11) 4804-8247; http://www.danielabategaleria.com.ar

Braga Menéndez Arte Contemporáneo

This gallery may be the city's heaviest hitter, but it treats its place in the BA art scene with levity. And with art that is this effervescent - even when it deals with weighty issues - it's hard not to feel good. Of course, it helps that the Braga Menéndez roster includes the white-hot artist Hernan Salamanco, creator of those For Sale-sign paintings. This spring he will show all new work - a few paintings at ArteBA, and more at the gallery. Sure to cause a clamour is new work by León Ferrari, a godfather of contemporary art who is still prolific at 89 years of age. Humboldt 1574; 54 (11) 4775-5577; http://www.galeriabm.com

Appetite

For something completely different, there's Appetite, the gallery-cum-party hosted by Daniela Luna, the 31-year-old who is perhaps the city's most publicity-savvy scenester. For spring, Luna snagged Mauro Guzmán, named one of the most promising talents at last year's Barrio Joven area in ArteBA, where young artists hold court. Luna curates a scene - a jubilant, messy, paint-splattered fete. The gallery's booth at London's Frieze Art Fair this past October was a live diorama of artists at work, play and, at one point, running naked through the hall.

Chacabuco 551; 54 (11) 4331-540; http://www.appetite.com.ar

***

Pack your bags

GETTING THERE
Air Canada flies direct to Buenos Aires. Many airlines fly there from Canadian cities via Miami.

WHERE TO STAY
Palacio Duhau-Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Alvear 1661; 800-223-1234. From $472.

Home Hotel, Honduras 5860; 54 (11) 4778-1008. Close to ArteBA and to Palermo's galleries and shops.

MUSEUMS

MALBA, The city's contemporary art museum. Admission $17, $6 Wednesdays.

Coleccion de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, The new museum shows 19th- and 20th-century works in a Rafael Viñoly building. Admission $17.

Treasures on the cheap? Try Brussels

2009-04-16T13:53:44Z

Michel Lambrecht

It's rarely a compliment to be called a pack rat, but it all depends on what you're hoarding. For the city of Brussels, it's antiques. Everyone from the Romans to the Germans have controlled this 1,000-year-old city, and they've each left a piece of themselves. Instead of sweeping it under the rug - Belgians are too tidy for that - they've simply slapped a price tag on the lot and brought it to market.

"There's no better place than Brussels for antiques," says British-based interior designer Olga Polizzi, who decorates the hotels of the Rocco Forte Collection, the luxury hotel chain. Like many design professionals, Polizzi shops Brussels twice a year because its vendors offer what no other city's does: deals. "Give me two or three days in Brussels and I'll buy masses," she says. "Everything is half price."

Your impression of Brussels depends on where you stand. To some, it's all grey government buildings and European Union bureaucrats having expense-account lunches. But to the creative community, Brussels is a living legacy of arts, having made gorgeous contributions to Renaissance painting, art deco architecture, decorative arts and, thanks to local agriculture, textiles such as linen and lace. Dignitaries and diplomats kept these trades in business - they favour comely homes, after all. And today, the high volume of commerce in upholstery and antiques keeps prices low for visitors too.

Vintage biscuit tins

Polizzi is well aware of this fact. Her most recent shopping binge was for the Augustine, a Prague hotel set to open in May, where each of the 50 rooms is outfitted uniquely. Conveniently, Polizzi's Brussels base camp, the luxe Hotel Amigo, is within walking distance of scores of antiques shops and weekend markets.

At the heart is the Place du Grand Sablon, or simply the Sablon, a postcard-perfect 17th-century square 10 minutes on foot from Hotel Amigo.

Costermans

The Sablon is home to heavy hitters such as Costermans. Packed with 18th-century furniture, this shop is about as gilt as you can get, with price tags to match. Those who prefer to find their diamonds in the rough should arrive early to the square's weekend antiques market, when a couple dozen vendors hawk small wares including silver, prints and porcelain, and some of the most erudite street food ever: escargot and white wine.

The area holds a few more treasures, not all of the vintage variety. On the Sablon is Flamant, the Ralph Lauren of the Low Countries. This high-end home furnishings shop arranges its products into rooms that are quintessentially Belgian: elegant but never showy. The shop's merchandising and styling offer ideas to take home, such as using rich crimson, putty or charcoal paint to intensify a room filled with neutral-coloured upholstery.

Up the hill, hugging the exquisite formal garden Place du Petit Sablon, is Laurent, whose inventory is like the marriage of a naturalist and a mad artist. Insect parts hover inside a bell jar, plaster ducks wear the 17th-century collars that were once used to identify their living brethren and 1930s fashion sketches from Berlin are framed in glittery ribbon.

Nearly every street around Place du Grand Sablon is dotted with antiques shops. At Michel Lambrecht, beautiful antique architectural ornaments such as iron gate finials are transformed into lamps and sconces. "I'll ask Michel, 'What've you got?' " Polizzi says. "He'll tell me that he's just found masses of something. He'll make anything for you." For The Augustine, that something was radiator parts. Soon, they'll light guests' bedside reading.

Those who revel in the hunt will want to veer west to the Marolles, a neighbouring district where prices tend to be lower. Follow Grand Sablon down the slope and you'll see Notre Dame de la Chapelle, a behemoth Romanesque-Gothic church dating to the 13th century. Its grounds hold the final resting place of Renaissance master Pieter Brueghel the Elder - and a popular frites vendor. Shops and cafés are cheek-by-jowl here between the church and Place du Jeu de Balle, the site of a massive daily flea market.

At Jacques Brol, turned-wood lamps and rough-hewn farmhouse tables live alongside the sometimes-edgy work of local artists. The shop's name is sort of a joke - brol means junk in Marollien slang, the rich dialect native to this former working-class neighbourhood and spawned by the cross-pollination of Dutch residents in a French-speaking land.

The Marolles has several warehouse-sized stores selling brol en bucht (odds and ends), such as Stef Antiques, which extends a full city block. It contains one-off wonders, such as a massive vintage carousel, but its strength is in numbers - many of its objects can be purchased by the dozen. Wooden children's chairs, blue enamelled-metal house numbers, and boxes of vintage laundry soap are among them. If you need to outfit a sprawling bohemian café, this is your place.

But the most trafficked destination for second-hand miscellany is the daily market at Place du Jeu de Balle. Dealers and hard-core collectors arrive at 7 a.m. as vendors are laying out their wares, and the whole cluttered affair is over by early afternoon. African art - evidence of Belgium's colonial interests - is plentiful, but some of the market's best deals on are tabletop goods. An ironstone vessel from defunct Belgian ceramicist Boch was only $8, while a porcelain tea set hand-painted in orange and silver was selling for $49. A bit of bartering is expected, though you'll have more leverage doing it in French or Flemish. (When I spotted a green glass apothecary jar marked at one euro and muttered something in English to my shopping partner, the price immediately doubled. Her quick-witted retort - in native tongue - brought the price back down.)

Restobieres

Enjoy the ambience of second-hand goods without the haggling at Restobières, a funky café that's decorated with floor-to-ceiling collections of beer bottles, biscuit tins, meat grinders and cake platters. For dessert, order the light-as-air kriek sabayon, because if Brussels has served you well, you'll be forgoing the 20-minute walk to the hotel in favour of a taxi. You've got brol to carry.

*****

Pack your bags
Getting There
Jet Airways and Air Transat fly direct from Canadian airports.

Where to Stay
Hotel Amigo, Rue de l'Amigo ; 32 (2) 547-4747;from $417.

Where to eat
Restobières, 32 rue des Renards; 32 (2) 502-7251

Where to Shop
Costermans 5 Place du Grand Sablon; 32 (2) 512-2133

Place du Grand Sablon weekend antiques market Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Flamant, 36 Place du Grand Sablon; 32 (2) 514-4707

Laurent, 11 Place du Petit Sablon; 32 (2) 346-2670

Michel Lambrecht, 18 Rue Watteau; 32 (2) 502-2729

Jacques Brol, 202 Rue Haute; 32-476-250-253

Stef Antiques, 63 Rue Blaes; no number

Place du Jeu de Balle Flea Market Daily 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Not Constaninople

2009-03-25T12:18:24Z

Let’s talk Turkey — and Istanbul, in particular, where the shopping is bazaar, the food is mezemerizing, and the best hotels will revive you from your haggling and ogling with rapturous service (and bafflingly strong coffee), so you can get back to business in the boisterous city on the Bosporus.

GPS
Get your bearings: Sultanahmet is packed with historic sites (like the gorgeous Hagia Sofia). Nişantaşı is shopping central, from high street to high end. Bebek has a chichi seaside scene. For nightlife, walk Istiklal Caddesi in Beyoğlu and veer to its side streets for a great dinner. Antiques and offbeat fashion mingle in hilly sister neighborhoods Cihangir and Çukurcuma, sections of Beyoğlu where the young and fashionable are migrating.

Ingest
Start your day with simit, a delectable sesame bread sold by street vendors everywhere. Say yes to complimentary tea and Turkish delights offered at the Spice Bazaar (Eminönü, near Galata Bridge), where bins of hibiscus tea and towers of Turkish Viagra (a.k.a. dried fruit-wrapped nuts) make dinner seem irrelevant. Break for coffee at The House Cafe, a minichain of cute bistros in the chicest neighborhoods. End your evening with locals at rooftop boite NuPera (Mesrutiyet Caddesi 67; +90-212-245-6070) to bask en plein air and behold the minaret-studded skyline.

Nest
Cool your heels at the Park Hyatt-Maçka Palas (Tesvikiye, Bronz Sokak 4; +90-212-315-1234), a restored deco beauty in upscale Nişantaşı and one of Istanbul’s newest hotels. Book a spa room for the personal en suite hammam, which includes a steam room; marble basin and heated seat; and all the scrub mitts, rose petal soap, and cotton pestemels (towels) you’ll need to exfoliate the grit of travel. Nearby Sofa hotel (Tesvikiye Caddesi 41-41a; +90-212-368-1818) has an international newsstand, cafe, and art gallery. Or crash near the party that is Beyoğlu at WittIstanbul (Defterdar Yokusu 26; +90-212-393-7900), where the supermod suites were created by Autoban, the city’s It design firm.

Invest
Gird yourself for a scene of retail extremes. On one end, Kanyon (Büyükdere Caddesi 185; +90-212-353-5300), a spaceship-like megamall (yep) that has two native boutiques of note: Machka, for smart and feminine frocks, and Yargici, which sells just accessories and its full line of apparel (perfect for outfitting a balmy walk near the Bosporus) at the Nişantaşı location.

At the other end, the Grand Bazaar, a 74-acre warren of shops and stalls (more than 4,000) brimming with jewelry, ceramics, textiles, and more. Watch as masterful salesmen up-sell you from a 30-lira pillow cover to a savings-eradicating antique kilim with such charm you don’t even mind. Dervis (Keseciler Caddesi 33-35) sells gorgeous Turkish towels and wraps in cotton, silk, and linen. Take home a stack for your pals; they’re absorbent enough to dry friends’ tears when you reveal the full extent of your Istanbul booty.

In Cihangir and Çukurcuma, Alaturca (Faikpasa 4; +90-212-245-2933) is the destination for Ottoman antiques, kilims, and ceramics. For funky house-label oxfords and punky accessories, pop into Kop-Art (Turnacıbaşı Sokak 34/A), an art project-cum-boutique.

The Rest
Decor nuts should beeline it to the harem at Topkapi Palace (Sultanahmet; +90-212-512-0480). It was once the home of Ottoman sultans and is still home to a staggering number of breathtaking, hand-painted tiles. Water babies should save a morning for the traditional bathhouse experience at Çemberlitaş Hamam (Vezirhan Cadessi 8; +90-212-522-7974) to get sudsy in stunning surroundings. Or point your gaze east and hop a ferry to Asia — in as short as twenty minutes — to enjoy two continents for one low-lira ticket.

Starck Makes a Surrealist Splash

2009-03-11T15:20:00Z

SLS HOTEL, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL 465 South La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.; 1-310-247-0400.

ROOMS AND RATES The hotel has 297 rooms, including 61suites. Rooms start at $520(Canadian) and suites at $700 .

Two decades after he introduced the world to the boutique hotel, uber-designer Philippe Starck makes a splashy return to hospitality design with this L.A. property. Starck has a history of working with nightlife kingpins-turned hoteliers. In the 1990s, it was Ian Schrager; today, it’s entrepreneur Sam Nazarian, whose SBE group signed the designer to a 15-year contract. Nazarian’s goal was to create a luxury hotel with top-notch nightlife and a party hotel where you could get a shirt pressed in an hour. He calls it SLS for Style, Luxury and Service - the holy trinity of hostelry. This first property in the SLS umbrella has opened in a former Le Méridien hotel, a cumbersome white building on an urban block at the edge of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and central Los Angeles.

LOCATION SLS is equidistant from LAX and Burbank, about 30 minutes from either with-
out traffic. Shopping streets such as West Third and Melrose (and quaint Melrose Place) in West Hollywood, and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, are less than a 20-minute walk away. But no one walks in L.A., so SLS offers a complimentary shuttle for trips within a two-mile radius.

AMBIENCE In typical Starck style, the lobby is a full-fledged fantasy in which wildly over-scaled planters, a six-foot-tall horse lamp and an array of colossal white chandeliers elicit guests to murmur something about Alice in Wonderland. It’s a reference that has followed Starck for years. The warm staff reassures you that at least you’ll have expert guides for your tumble down the rabbit hole.

CLIENTELE Mixed: young creative professionals, corporate types from Audi (who stay here when in town) and nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and tourists from Western Europe and Russia.

DESIGN The hotel boasts 177 different chair styles (including one that glows red) and 20 chandeliers--and it works. Starck’s métier is wonder, and guests respond accordingly, gasping at the decorand exploring the space before committing to a seat. A smart floor plan breaks the narrow lobby into several seating areas with button-tufted leather upholstery and bookshelves organiz-
ed by subject. The intimate spaces mean you can linger without feeling on display. Teak furniture with white canvas cushions and potted greenery turn a covered terrace into a lush outdoor living room. SLS has clearly put big thought into the little things. Conference rooms are named for “famous monkeys” (such as Albert and Gordo, who were flown to space) and the SLS acronym is given irreverent translations on signage, like “sincere little sorry” when the pool is closed.

ROOMS The rooms are steeped in sex appeal, with plentiful smoked glass, moody lighting, a faux-fur throw and a mini- bar organized into Saints (dried fruit and nuts) and Sinners (organic chocolate and an “intimacy kit”). Rooms are 420 square feet and feature D. Porthault sheets, a 40-inch plasma TV, Wi-Fi (which is $16.75 a day) and an iPod docking station. Most have a desk and a banquette and table. Some rooms on the second and fifth floors have private terraces. Suites, which range from a 500-square-foot Studio Suite to the 1,900-square-foot Presidential Suite, have Mac computers, oversized soaking tubs and separate living rooms with Corbusier-style furniture; seven suites have personal gyms. Dozens of rooms and suites offer a view of the Hollywood sign.

SERVICE Luxury-hotel stays plummeted just as SLS opened this winter, and that means plenty of attention for the remaining guests. The staff has an easy camaraderie that suggests they’ve been working together for a decade, and the valet and doormen are as professional as the front-desk team. I ordered twice from the 24-hour in-room dining menu. Both times, the staff member repeated my requests and estimated that it would arrive within 20 minutes--and both times it did. The apricot croissant I had tried at breakfast the day before wasn’t available that morning, so the kitchen included several other flavours, complimentary. When the free hotel shuttle wasn’t available to take me and a friend to dinner, a staff member apologized, hailed us a cab, gave the driver directions and handed me a round-trip taxi voucher.

AMENITIES The 24/7 business centre has several computers and lends laptops and printers, though you must pay for printing and Internet. Modern cardio and weight machines fill a better-than-average gym and a personal trainer is available on request. The Ciel Spa, which opened in January, also offers poolside and in-room massage; the therapist brings an iPod loaded with soothing music.

FOOD AND DRINK At night, guests and film types converge at The Bazaar, a theatrical collection of dining rooms and bars on the ground floor. The menu, by celebrated Spanish chef José Andrés (a protégé of Ferran Adria), is as diverse and creative as Starck’s surrealistic decor. It’s divided into Rojo and Blanca, the former showcasing traditional Spanish jamon y queso, the latter a stage for inventive small plates. The restaurant has complementary traditional and modern dining areas. Bar Centro, which is lively within moments of its 6 p.m. opening time, serves signature Andrés cocktails such as the Magic Mojito, in which liquid is poured onto a cloud of cotton candy (voila: mojito!). The rest of the floor is split between Patisserie, where diners enjoy house-made sweets at communal tables, and a spin-off boutique of Moss, the Manhattan emporium of high design.

THINGS TO DO Being in the SBE network has its perks. The concierge can book reservations at XIV, chef Michael Mina’s terrific new Starck-designed restaurant, or get preferred access to the nightlife venues that made Nazarian a household name in L.A., such as Hyde Lounge and The Abbey. On sunny days, you’ll be hard-pressed to do anything but kick back in a private cabana at the stunning rooftop pool. Each tent has loungey furniture, a plasma-screen TV, phone, Wi-Fi and food and beverage service.

TOP DRAWS In a city where buying a quart of milk demands a commute, guests need only take an elevator to have a top-notch evening.

NEEDS WORK The moody (read: dark) lighting and abundant mirrors can make a jet-lagged guest feel out-of-sorts.

BOTTOM LINE Unapologetic glamour and enticing dining converge for a sexy all-in-one urban getaway. The author was a guest of the hotel.