Influential Styles

Influential Styles demonstrates how some of the world's most talented designers create gorgeous interiors that are historically influenced, yet fresh and relevant as ever. Covering the main design influences from medieval times to today, each chapter begins with an introduction to each style, accompanied by an overview of the architectural, furnishing, and decorative details that typified the interiors of that period-for example, mouldings and columns, colours and furniture shapes, porcelain and china. Next, scores of dazzling photos of real homes display these styles in a modern setting, such as the simplicity and practicality that's a throwback to Shaker; vibrant colours and fabrics that echo Victoriana; and white walls, chrome, and dashes of colour that scream art deco. This invaluable reference tool provides a wealth of creative inspiration for anyone who wants to capture the art, architecture, and visual drama of a period style in any room of their own home.

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Judith Miller started collecting antiques in the late 1960s when studying at Edinburgh University. Her knowledge of antiques grew and in 1979 she was cofounder of the best-selling Miller's Antiques Price Guide. A regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, she is co-host of BBC TV's 'The House Detectives'. She resides in North London. www.amazon.com

Aman Resorts and Amanpuri: 20 years of beauty

Twenty years ago Aman created its flagship resort Amanpuri on a cream beach in a mature coconut grove on the island of Phuket. So began a journey of exploration, determination and sheer passion, dedicated to extending the 'family' to lands where the mind has often 'wondered', in order to create experiences in contemporary comfort, where the sum of the parts determine a nourished, enriched, and rejuvenated whole. The evolution of Aman's genesis continues to flourish with 18 individual and uniquely sculpted resorts, nestled in remarkably beautiful places, from sunrise to sunset.

Amanresort never focused on being the biggest. They prefer to think small. Intimate. Involving. Different. Amanresorts responds to a contemporary lifestyle. That’s what they offer – a lifestyle experience, without limitations. www.amanresorts.com

Amanpuri, is the first born to the Aman family. It opened in 1988 on Thailand’s jade green island of Phuket, where nature and culture harmoniously merge, yielding a pure tranquillity where less means more and luxury is found in graciousness. It is a ‘place of peace’ amongst coconut palms which leads to a private crescent beach touching brilliant turquoise sea. Amanpuri embodies the inner spirit of the Thai culture while allowing nature to reign supreme. The natural beauty combined with sincere warmth and a genuine soul allows for complete rejuvenation.

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Amanpuri's web site: www.amanresorts.com/home.aspx?id=584

The apartment of Princess Yasmin Aga Khan

A very elegant flat in the heart of Manhattan. It is the apartment of Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of actress Rita Hayworth and the late Prince Ali Khan. In this apartment, collections of Ballet Russe costume sketches, Oriental rugs, family photographs and heirlooms, arranged casually and with a great deal of flair, create the unmistakable signature of Princess Yasmin Khan. The influence of old-world tradition is evident throughout. “I have a genuine appreciation for art and antiques and I enjoy collecting things with a past or family history. They become part of me and create the only atmosphere in which I feel truly at home,” she says.

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In the living room, careful placement enhances favorite objects, including an English chair and a Japanese lacquered chest on stand, both 17th century. The lounge chairs are covered in embossed velvet, and the ottoman in cotton. The piano is a Steinway. Through the doorway, an entrance hall wall covered in grasscloth on silver paper sets off a Persian mirror.

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In the dining room, fabric wallcovering complements one of two Kirman tapestries given to the princess by her father. A mounted Chinese vase adorns the table. I really like the colours of this dining room!

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Artworks in the living room range from a T’ang ceramic horse to watercolors by Pavel Tchelitchew, part of a collection of Ballet Russe costume designs. The 18th century lacca contrafatta commode was made in Venice.

Interior Designer: Samuel Botero
Source: Architectural Digest

Palazzo Pucci

The Renaissance palaces of Florence have such a class! Among them, the 14th- and 15th-century Palazzo Pucci, a palazzo that belongs to the same family since it was built. Marchesa Cristina Pucci di Barsento, widow of Emilio Pucci, still remembers how astonished she was when she first entered the house, back in 1959: ‘I was very young and quite astonished: It was a heavy house, even severe, like Florence’. Still, what looked like a timeless palazzo outside was a living house inside.

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But, while Emilio Pucci revolutionized couture with vibrant colors in optical patterns, the aesthetic of the clothes never entered the residence. In the brown room, for example, the silk draperies and wallcovering were made at Antico Setificio Fiorentino, a silk workshop founded by the Puccis and other families in the 17th century; Emilio Pucci took it over in the 1950s.

The dining room of the Palazzo Pucci. The late-18th-century fresco, by Luigi Ademollo, depicts Aenes leaving Troy. Marchesa Pucci and her husband added the Venetian chairs. The crystal glassware was made for the family in the 18th century.

The 17th-century bed in Emilio Pucci’s bedroom. Made in Lucca, it was among his favourite pieces. The gilt woodwork on the headboard echoes the embroidery on the canopy.

The Wedgwood room was created by an English artist in the late 18th century. The palette and Neoclassical plasterwork were inspired by the signature ceramics. An 18th-century marble sculpture of the goddess Diana is at center.


Source: Architectural Digest