Favorite AD Home of all Time

I've been thinking a lot lately about beautiful homes.  Not just beautiful rooms, beautiful decor, or beautiful furniture, but homes that truly stand out among the best in overall aesthetic.  I think about what it takes to create amazing spaces and the amount of labor, time, and creativity that must come together cohesively for a project to evolve.  Peter Marino might be one of the most intriguing designers/architects that I've ever come across.  He has created magnificent buildings and homes across the world (think Four Season, Louis Vuitton to name a few) and I recently toured one of them in Shanghai, although I didn't realize he had designed it at the time.  I'm always amazed when a designer can create and execute beautiful homes that are so strikingly different in their themes.  This is one area I struggle with myself!  From a very formal Rennaissance-period town house in Manhattan, to the modern and tropical abode in Palm Beach that happens to be my favorite home of all time, his work is nothing short of extraordinary.  I first discovered this house in the Architectural Digest issue from way back in January of 2008 (yes, this home left that big of an impression on me!) and it has stuck with me since.  Here are photos of Mr. Marino's spectacular creation:

Chamberlain Hotel- West Hollywood

I just recently returned from a brief trip to Los Angeles (unfortunately sunny, it was not..) and had the good fortune to stay at a newly renovated boutique hotel in West Hollywood.  The Chamberlain Hotel is on a quiet side street lined with trees in a mostly residential neighborhood.  I loooved the Hollywood-era, 60's vibe it had!  Here's a pic of my room:

And my bathroom!  How cool is the pattern of the marble floors?!

And the console in the restaurant..

This is in the lobby--love the Asian antique and large-format art!  I've been preaching about how "in" this is lately :)

And the image below is from their site (my camera didn't do this room justice!)

It;s in the main lobby and it is GORGEOUS! There are so many periods going on and it's a little busy in my eyes but I still admire how well they pulled together the various colors and patterns!

That's it for our first post!  Stay tuned for more of our favorite things!

Ciao,

Betsy