Tyra Banks
This month’s Celebrity Boudoir belongs to Tyra Banks. The special part about this boudoir, is that it’s actually her “dressing room” at work. Wouldn’t we all love to have such a place to get away to at work? It was designed by the very talented Ron Norsworthy.
(ronnorsworthyinteriors.com)
(ronnorsworthyinteriors.com)
(ronnorsworthyinteriors.com)
(ronnorsworthyinteriors.com)
If you’ve never heard of (or seen the work of) Bella Pilar, it’s about time you do. Her illustrations are so darling. Mostly made up of fashionable women. Note cards with her artwork can be found at Papyrus stores and her newest release this week is a must have. It’s called World Traveler.
Imagine sitting at the desk in your boudoir handwriting a note on one of these beautiful note cards. In the age of e-mails and phone calls a handwritten card is such a kind gesture. I highly recommend you stock up on Bella Pilar stationary, because a card that comes from a lady should be lady-like.
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
© Bella Pilar
°°°
During a family outing to the book store one afternoon, I was browsing through the children’s section when I came across a book that I knew I wanted my daughter to have. It was a children’s book titled, Different Like Coco. A biography of sorts about the life of Coco Chanel.
I pulled it from the shelf and instantly (and all at once) had to choose my words very wisely, play nonchalant, cross my fingers and say a little prayer, that it wouldn’t be one of those “mom is trying to pass a boring book off as cool, so I won’t want anything to do with it” moments. Thankfully my girl said “yes” before I could even finish explaining why it would be such a great book for her to own. With that, we went home and it was the bed time story of the evening.
Not only is this book perfect (and educational) for you Chanel loving mothers, it really does have a good lesson (actually a few of them) for little girls. Despite Coco’s meager upbringing as a young child and the fact that she was treated as second class growing up in an orphanage, covenant and finishing school, Coco always carried herself like a queen and held her head high. She began sewing by making hair bows and rag dolls as a girl and grew up to change the style of women’s clothing throughout the world. She didn’t care about being different and never let her situation hold her back from achieving greatness.
Here are a few pages from the book:
page nine
page eleven
page nineteen
page twenty-seven
Often times an estate sale is the result of an unfortunate death of an elderly person, or due to the fact that they’ve had to give up the home they’ve always known to be taken care of elsewhere. I feel very privileged for the opportunity to enter somebody’s home and go on a treasure hunt through their belongings, although something about it makes me also feel guilty, as though I’m invading their privacy and taking away part of their memories. They can rest assured though that anything I purchase will be treasured.
On a recent weekend bargain hunt, my family and I came across an estate sale in a home where time stood still. It was very clear that the woman of this home was very stylish and probably a meticulous homemaker in her day. Unfortunately she passed away about 15 years prior to her husband. Gosh, it makes me so sad thinking about it. Anyhow, it appeared that he was probably not too mobile and didn’t do much, if any, cleaning during the years since her passing. Nor had there been any renovations (notice the shag carpet and mirrored walls). This woman had great taste though. I can just imagine the finest of cocktail parties taking place in her home. I was told that she made all of the window treatments, had her bedroom dressers custom made and decorated the house herself.
In the kitchen: yellow, black and white (are you thinking Kelly Wearstler?). Her style: Hollywood Regency meets French Provincial with a kiss of Chinoiserie.
°°°
I love the yellow cabinets with the black scalloped trim at the top and the French trim detail on the doors. Surely they could use a fresh coat of paint and new fixtures, but the color combo was fab. And what about those window treatments…aren’t the darling? Notice the hardware with the fleur-de-lis.
°°°
You may not be able to tell in the photos, but the wallpaper needs to be replaced. However, it would be beautiful if replaced with another black & white damask or trellis print.
°°°
Here is an example of the detail that she put into her work. This is the pull on the shade in the kitchen (not sure what the metal piece hanging from it is). A kiss of chinoiserie.
°°°
Here are another set of window treatments that she made. There was this set in the dining room and another in the living room. They were probably too yellowed and old to come out good in a cleaning, but they sure would be great to duplicate.
°°°
Some French Provincial furniture in the second bedroom. I’m guessing it might have belonged to her daughter at one time perhaps. I think it would be so darling to update with some paint (and rearrange the dresser drawers, of course). In fact, shortly before we visited this estate sale, I bought my daughter a very similar desk, which I am in the process of upcycling (more to come on this). I also bought two mirrors from this room (more to come on those, too).
°°°
°°°
I really liked this painting that they had (sorry about taking out your eye with that bright flash). I’m kicking myself now for not buying it.
°°°
Last, but not least, my favorite piece. I just love this dresser/bedside table. There were two of these and one low wide one (would have been a perfect place to store shoes because it was really low to the ground). I was told that she had these custom made. I almost went back and bought them for my dream boudoir, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to get the yellow out of the laminate. When the time comes though, and I do have my dream boudoir, I do intend to replicate these.
°°°
This months Celebrity Boudoir belongs to Dita Von Teese, the famed burlesque star.
°°°
A woman who constantly exudes impeccable glamour, like Dita, would clearly would have a fabulous boudoir. Her boudoir is complete with an antique dressing table, hat stand (with a beautiful collection of hats), pink walls, a lady head vase, misting perfume bottle, cosmetic mirror and powder puff.
(nytimes.com)
Oh, to have a showgirls closet…everyday could be dress up day.
°°°
I don’t think this photo is taken in her boudoir, but it is in her home. And since it exemplifies glamour, as every aspect of her life appears to, I thought I’d share it anyway. The deep peacock blue walls are beautiful and make a great backdrop for the art deco bookshelf, and most certainly compliment the peacock. As you can see, there are still a few touches of the boudoir in this photo…the lady head vases in the window sill and Dita’s boudoir attire.
(nytimes.com)
If you saw my first post in the monthly series Thinking Outside the Boudoir, you will know that I have a fascination with certain homes in the movies. While some may not be practical for everyday life, or represent my overall ideal decor, I would love to spend some time in them, even just for a night. In some it is the decor that I fancy. In others it’s the architecture or floor plan. And in some I think it’s my fondness for the characters. The movie home that I want to share today is from The Prince and the Showgirl.
°°°
In this film, Charles, the Grand Duke, played by Sir Laurence Olivier, looks to seduce a young showgirl, Elsie Marina, played by Marilyn Monroe in his private quarters of the palace. With her charming disposition, Miss Marina ends up being befriended by both the Grand Duke’s son and his mother-in-law.
The entrance…
°°°
The foyer…
°°°
I love the Greek key border in the stairwell…
°°°
The Grand Duke’s private quarters. I love the layout of this room. It basically consists (at least what we see in the movie) of a circular living area, with a room on each side. Now wouldn’t this be a fabulous master bedroom set up? His quarters on one side, yours on the other, and a common area in the middle. This certainly doesn’t mean that your sleeping quarters have to be separate, but it gives both the man and woman their own boudoir…LOVE it!
°°°
I must admit I’m not too fond of the color scheme in this room, but I do love a sofa with tufted buttons,
floor to ceiling windows (and french doors), a chandelier, a library/study and intricate mill work.
°°°
This still gives you a better idea of the layout. Elsie Marina is entering into the common area from the room in which she slept, while the Grand Duke is getting dressed in his quarters.
°°°
Remove the crest on the fabric, change the linens and this is a pretty snazzy brass bed.
°°°
The M.I.L.’s quarters. As you’ve probably suspected by now, with all the pink and a crystal chandelier, this is most certainly a ladies boudoir.
°°°
The decor in this boudoir is a bit too frilly for me (is there such a thing?), but wouldn’t this place be dreamy even just for a night? If could perform a soft renovation on this place, I’m not sure I’d ever want to leave. The chaise lounge, dressing screen and canopy bed give this room the boudoir touch.
°°°
…oh, yes….and diamonds, of course (wouldn’t you love to have that jewelry box?)…
°°°
And lastly, the son’s quarters. I think the color palette in this room is my favorite. I do have a thing with navy blue lately. I adore a damask print. And the mill work is fabulous.
°°°
As you’ve probably already noticed by now, I have added a soundtrack to My Little Boudoir.
Ever since I can remember I have always enjoyed having music playing in my boudoir. As a young child, I enjoyed playing my Snow White and Sesame Street records on my red Orphan Annie record player. In second grade, I received my first cassette tape player (aka boom box, ghetto blaster…you get the idea) where I played my first tape, Whitney Houston, over and over again. As a tween it was New Kids on the Block, Neneh Cherry and Madonna. As a teenager it was the CD player with genres ranging from classical to rap and country to reggae.
°°°
Over time I’ve developed a wide range of taste in music. With that being said, the My Little Boudoir Soundtrack somewhat expresses this range and so you may go from a slow Audrey Hepburn song to an upbeat Lady Gaga song.
You may like all of it. You may only like some of it. Or, you may like none of it. Therefore, I’m going to give a quick lesson on how to use the play list.
Q: How do I turn the music off?
A: Simply scroll down on the homepage of mylittleboudoir.com,
find the Soundtrack on and click the pause button
(or mute, turn down or turn off your sound).
°°°
Q: How do I change songs or replay a song?
A: You can scroll up and down within the playlist
or click on the left/right arrows to select the song of your choice.
°°°
Many of you probably best know Korto Momolu from season five of Project Runway (which happens to be one of my very favorite television shows), but that will not be her claim to fame for long. You see, Korto is quickly overshadowing her time on Project Runway by making a name for herself as a well-respected fashion designer outside of the reality TV world.
Korto Momolu
Korto is one of my very most favorite designers of all time from Project Runway. I was so disappointed when she was eliminated from the show; especially the Project Runway All-Stars episode. She’s going to make it though and show all of them who’s boss. I know this for sure. She recently launched a new line of handbags and jewelry at Dillard’s (if you have a location near you, check here for her tour/event updates). She always achieves that perfect balance between traditional and modern, topped with a perfect dose of Korto, showing the influences (including fabulous chunky jewelry) of her Liberian roots. I simply adore this handbag from her new line.
(dillards.com)
She also showed her most recent collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion on February 15th, which is exquisite and keeps you wanting more.
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
korto momolu on facebook
To view more photos of this event you can view Korto Momolu’s Facebook page.
Something that I enjoy doing in my little boudoir is visiting other blogs. One that I came across today is called Lily Lemontree. The header alone is enough to draw you in…
(lilylemontree.blogspot.com)
What’s even better is that she has a contest going through March 2nd where you can win Coco Before Chanel on DVD (which I have been waiting to see FOREVER). To enter, you can visit lilylemontree.blogspot.com for details.
P.S. Don’t forget to enter to win the vintage Chanel print ad on My Little Boudoir, too.
(lilylemontree.blogspot.com)
(lilylemontree.blogspot.com)
(lilylemontree.blogspot.com)
