Staging my Dream Parisian Hotel Suite with Sothebys

A few months ago Sotheby’s International Realty reached out to partner on a post where we style out and stage one of their high end properties in LA to showcase its potential. We toured a bunch of the properties in the LA area and ultimately landed on this beauty in Pasadena that is currently on the market. The quick history of this property is that it’s a 20k square foot mansion built in the 1920’s in Pasadena by a very wealthy and prominent couple, Mr. & Mrs. John S. Cravens. The family lived in it for a period but for the last 30 years it has been occupied by the Red Cross and used as their offices as well as many film/tv shoots. After touring through each and every single room we ended up choosing this room to redesign and style. It had beautiful floor to ceiling windows, original herringbone floors, lots of character and felt big enough to really tell a larger story.

Here’s what it looked like when we first saw it:

Since this was just for a shoot we could kinda do anything with it, and Sotheby’s International Realty gave us full creative control as long as we took inspiration from some of their other luxury properties. Sounded easy (and fun) enough. We landed on creating my dream Modern Art Deco Parisian Hotel Suite (obviously). I haven’t been to Paris since I was 22 and I’m not necessarily a Francophile, but this mansion is so historic, with such beautiful classic details and molding. We knew we could do something really high end and editorial this time and so we really dove in.

We first created an inspiration board and rough floor plan:

Neutral with an edge. European but modern. Masculine but with romance.

We had some layout options and stuck most closely to this one, but ultimately we knew that things would change once we got pieces into the room.

We locked down the major pieces prior to the shoot, but we knew that we were going to mostly shop and borrow accessories a few days prior once the larger pieces were in place.

So without further ado, Chateau Hendo – My dream Fantasy Parisian Hotel, in a Sotheby’s International Realty luxury property.

We wanted the room to be neutral but full of drama and tension, so we created this plan with a lot of dramatic black lines and graphic circles (a hearken to our art deco theme). These vertical black lines are everywhere, juxtaposed with large scale circles. It started to feel really pulled together, cohesive and stark – but in a comfortable and inviting way. It is a hotel, after all.

We started by reaching out to some of our favorite vendors that were willing to loan in exchange for us showcasing their items. We were really wanting a tall dark bed, as this room could handle it and we craved the drama that it would bring. Just because I was trying my hand at neutral and minimal didn’t mean that we didn’t want it to be full of drama, contrast and style. We found this one from Noir and checked that box. It was classic and not too fussy, but certainly felt traditional, yet gender neutral.

The nightstands and lamps are also from Noir. We discovered this company a couple years ago and fell in love with their modern and more edgy silhouettes and finishes. They make super high quality, high end pieces (and they are located in LA so easy for us to borrow from or purchase).

We carried this circle theme from the nightstands, lamps (Noir but not currently on their site), ball fringe, finials, desk lamp and vases.

The dramatic floor to ceiling curtains created softness and is very on trend according to our recent post about the Parisian Art Deco Trend. We simply bought eight 120″ Ikea panels (4 per window) and added that huge ball fringe onto them (I believe the ball fringe was $16 a yard… not cheap but big impact).

The chaise in the corner created the most inviting sitting area for my journaling of my romances. I love how its traditional shape is juxtaposed with that skinny modern floor lamp. We added a little cocktail table to round out the vignette.

The rug was borrowed from Cisco home and I believe it’s still available, and is so versatile and beautiful. It’s a 9×12 and fit the room and style perfectly.

That might be my favorite shot of the whole room. I love how stark and simple it is, but with these big graphic moments of amazingness. The art is by The Fourth Artist, two incredible artists who work in conjunction to create multi-media art. This series is available for sale at Angel City Brewery from now until Sept. 11th, 2017. The large piece above the desk that I collaborated on with them is on sale for $5000 and will be available at the show as well. During the show email info@artsharela.org for purchase inquiries. Once the show has closed you can email them directly at fourthartist@gmail.com.

Black and white circles and stripes everywhere. We added hits of wood to warm it up, and simple branches for drama. That striped vessel is from Kelly Wearstler and my is it intense, yet perfect for the space.

On the other side of the room we have another corner vignette, this time with the most amazing vintage rocker from Big Daddy’s. The second I saw that piece I died of joy, and then was immediately reborn. It was just so special and dramatic. It carried through our graphic circles and brought warmth to that side of the room.

We commissioned this huge piece of art also from Patrice and Jackie of The Fourth Artist. We did a whole post about it because they actually created that collage there on site, using our inspiration of the room. I made the first mark, and they worked off that mark and finished the piece. We made a frame for it similar to the one we did for Orlando years ago.

The desk is from Ave home and comes in beautiful raw wood (ready to be painted, or can stay as-is). We had a feeling we were going to need to paint it so we waited till we got it in the space to choose a color. We painted it Satin Black by Behr. It’s such a beautiful classic desk, and I very much considered having it in my office (but not big enough for big conference meetings). The chair is from Kelly Wearstler and we loved the juxtaposition of how modern and 70’s it was with the traditional desk. We needed something relatively solid and light so it wouldn’t get lost against the dark desk. The scale of the desk is fairly wide so we needed a chair that could handle its weight visually.

We styled it out simply – like a hotel would with a large tray (from Kelly Wearstler) donned with tea, flowers and a water carafe. We added that amazing dot vase (from Consort) and that really dramatic lamp (also from Noir).  This is me doing minimal, folks. I wanted to leave it more bare but it just felt so sad without some styling on top.

We styled out the bed to be as luxurious and inviting as possible.

The sheets are sateen from Parachute, the comforter is linen from Target and the blanket is from The Citizenry. (secret – we added another comforter underneath the folded one to make it look extra fluffy). We used four king pillows (even though it was a queen – good tip) and then kept it symmetrical with the two Rebecca Atwood pillows and the middle Cb2 pillows that mimicked our graphic lines elsewhere in the room.

That piece of art above the bed is by Colin Glasgow, from Consort and I may need to purchase it. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s so simple, but dramatic and it just commands the photos. I finally tried it above my fireplace, but the white in it was so cool that it made my walls look yellow. But someone should invest in that piece because I think it’s really visually powerful (it’s $3k).

On the opposite side of the room we brought in this vintage deco armoire that I borrowed from a friend. We have these hits of wood or leather peppered around the room, which all tie in with this intensely beautiful piece.

We flanked the armoire with two amazing modern chairs from Consort (that we all freaked out over). We brought in a bit of the color from the larger art piece here (by artist Kristen Georgi which is also from Consort) and these beautiful 1950’s French sconces from Gallery L7.

We added a dresser from Cisco, lamp from Noir and that KW dish did double duty. That lamp is so graphic and strong, it really pulls your eye over there and adds so much depth to the shot.

The curved back sofa really softened the lines of the bed. It’s wood frame tied in with the other wood pieces and the simplicity of the upholstery kept it feeling quiet.

We all loved this room and we were so sad to pack it up the next day. It was such a great opportunity to explore a different style, pull back on color and be more minimal. A huge thanks to Sotheby’s International Realty for partnering on this post and asking us to design a space that shows off our skills and the beauty of this property. They are all about connecting extraordinary homes with extraordinary lives. It might be my favorite makeover of all time and has definitely influenced my style. Someday I will design my dream Parisian Hotel but the one-day staging of this beautiful room was definitely satisfying, in the meantime if you are in the market for a beautiful property and are ready to purchase then the Craven’s Estate just might be the perfect place for you, (if you have the budget for it of course).

Now for those of you interested in this look, here you go:

1. London Arched Table Lamp | 2. Black Polka Dot Bowl | 3. Decanter | 4. Old-Fashioned Glass | 5. Checkered Tray | 6. French Press | 7. Coffee Cup | 8. Fourth Artist Print (similar) | 9. Desk & Paint Color | 10. Desk Chair | 11. Bed Frame | 12. Colin Glasgow ‘Temple 1’ Graphite Oil Painting | 13. Curtains | 14. Arch Lamp | 15. Nightstand | 16. Ceramic Box | 17. Sateen Sheet Set | 18. Linen Duvet Set | 19. Spring Pillow | 20. Noren Pillow | 21. Sentido Blanket | 22. Striped Lumbar Pillow | 23. Sofa (similar) | 24. Urchin Table Lamp | 25. Striped Catch All | 26. Sconce | 27. Chaise Lounge | 28. Side Table | 29. Bud Vase | 30. Collective Studio ‘Kolorblock Nude V’ Painting | 31. Accent Chair | 32. Floor Lamp | 33. Black Pillow (similar) | 34. Striped Gray Cashmere Blanket | 35. ‘Transition 11’ Print | 36. ‘Transition 17’ Print | 37. Luna Table Lamp | 38. Capri White Vase 

*This post is in partnership with Sothebys International Realty, where their distinctive properties around the world.

Thanks to all the our favorite vendors who loaned for this shoot – Ave Home, Big Daddy’s, Cisco Home, Consort, Gallery L7, Kelly Wearstler, Noir and The Fourth Artist.

***Photos by Tessa Neustadt

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