Jennifer Boles's Blog

My, it's been a while since I last blogged.  Holidays, family commitments, and, most of all, a book tour have kept me away.  I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do so than by featuring a couple of my favorite new book releases.

First up, John Richardson: At Home (Rizzoli New York), a memoir of the many homes inhabited over the years by art historian, writer, and Picasso biographer John Richardson.  I know that many of us have been waitin...

Ever since I first saw glimpses of photographer Victor Skrebneski's house in those Seventies and Eighties-era Estée Lauder ads (Skrebneski often used his Chicago home as a backdrop for the stylish ad campaign), I became intrigued by its pitch-perfect blend of minimalist architecture and formal, traditional furniture, a mix you still don't often see in America. Decorated with the assistance of interior designer Bruce Gregga (Gregga was once Skrebneski's assistant and, incidentally, happens to...

If you happen to be in High Point this Sunday, I hope you'll join Paloma Contreras, Richard Keith Langham, Jeffrey Dungan, and me as we participate in a discussion on--what else?--design.  Sponsored by Flower Magazine and moderated by the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Margot Shaw, the event is sure to be lively.  Details are above.  A book-signing will follow.  Hope to see you there!

"The top". "An institution". The "Secretary of Grooming". These were just some of the titles and accolades given to Kenneth, the legendary hairdresser who tended the locks of Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill, Brooke Astor, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few of his high-profile clients. Although Kenneth did have a last name (it was Battelle), he became so famous that he was always referred to by his first name only. You'll recall that it was Billy Baldwin whom Kenneth hire...

I hope you'll join the Kravet team and me this week at What's New What's Next, where I will be interviewing three of my favorite designers, Alexa Hampton, Markham Roberts, and Tom Scheerer, on who and what inspires them. The day-long event at the New York Design Center features an outstanding line-up of panel discussions and receptions. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.nydc.com/wnwn.

A friend recently gave me the most interesting book about Marie Antoinette: To The Scaffold, by Carolly Erickson. To borrow my friend's description of the book, it is gripping. Although I knew well the history of the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette's sad fate, I found myself on the edge of my seat as I turned each page. But one central figure that I had forgotten about until reading this book was Yolande de Polignac, one of Marie Antoinette's closest friends and confidan...

Goodness. It feels strange writing a blog post after a year-long hiatus. I was worried that I may have forgotten how to blog, but it seems that after eleven years of writing The Peak of Chic, blogging has become second nature. It feels good to be back.

As some of you know, I have spent the past year writing my latest book, Inspired Design: The 100 Most Important Interior Designers of the Past 100 Years (Vendome Press). I spent countless hours doing research (thank heav...

You may not hear from me frequently this summer as I’ve just started work on my next book, which I’m happy to announce will be published by Vendome Press and edited by Stephen Drucker. Commissioned by Kravet to celebrate its centennial anniversary, the book will profile the 100 most important designers of the past 100 years.

In order to write this book, I need your help. Who do you think is the most influential designer of the last century? Your answers will be used to compile the book’s list...

There were many highlights of last month's High Point Furniture Market, but one in particular made quite an impression on me: the gratifying appearance of canopied beds at a number of furniture showrooms. After playing second fiddle to upholstered headboards for years, it seems that the canopy bed is once again captivating furniture designers.

For Kindel's Dorothy Draper Collection, Carleton Varney debuted the Tuxedo Park Poster Bed, which was inspired by Draper's own bed at her Carlyle H...

And while we're on the subject of High Point, another favorite introduction of mine are the Mario Twins, a set of bunching tray tables designed by the great Mario Buatta.  Part of Kindel's Designer Artist Series, the tables have removable tray tops, meaning they're the perfect tables on which to serve tea or hors d'oeuvres or on which to enjoy a tray supper.  Available in any of Kindel's wood or painted lacquer finishes, the Mario Twins just might be my next furniture purchase.




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