Tuesday, December 28, 2010

TUESDAY: Inspiring Spaces by Ellen O'Neill

So you all know that I am huge fan of the Ralph Lauren and the uber luxurious, super layered look of the RLHome. I am also aware that a lot of you are on the wagon with me. So I knew that you'd all love the Manhattan studio of the woman responsible for many of those Ralph Lauren rooms we chase: Ellen O'Neill.

Researching her was much more difficult than I had assumed. No website, no portfolio. She was intereviewed earlier in 2010 by Carol Prisant, of House Beautiful on the decor and challenges of living within her small (but beautiful) Gramercy Park studio. Very Ralph Lauren, even from the description: a character filled "wonderful urban tree house, on the last gated private square in Manhattan."

From the interview - we find out that O'Neill has traveled the world as a design consultant with clients in interior design, home-product design, retail, hospitality. High-end, LUXURY hospitality that is: St. Regis, and the Luxury brands of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In fact, it was the experience of designing luxury rooms for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, that made her leave the 7-room apartment she had (featured in Designing Women) and dive head first into the planning of the one-room studio in GP. The idea of one perfectly proportioned room really appealed to her. She bought a little house in the country, which you can rent here, so she didn't need a big apartment, filled with towers of items. She wanted a modern cubicle, where she could recline on a daybed and touch everything.


The above referenced daybed is beautifully covered in a soft, and faded toile and draped in belgian linen throws and pillows. The studio feels larger than it really is, 10-foot ceilings and the big, windowed doors and the terrace, the painted floors. Ellen confesses in the interview that she has always had painted floors — "I use automotive paint. Brown floors depress me to death. And I knew from the start that I wanted a black-and-white palette. But just black and white can be too hard and cold, too optical. You need some creams and grays and sepias to ease you into a softer, gentler world and add a little romance." She then layered in Modern Rugs, like the giraffe printed hide you see peeking through.




Her vignettes are stunning - exactly what we're used to seeing in those RL ad's right? Can you believe that even with these lovely layered spaces Ellen created in her studio, she had towers of items that aren't here!? After taking months to sort everything out, rooting in dark old closets, she had a huge sale. It was a healthy purge.

She kept books, black and white clothing, and a few sentimental bits, but only four days later, she felt so naked, it was almost like "I didn't have clothes on. I really needed my papers and things." So slowly, stuff began to creep back in, new collections began to emerge, all with the new and fresh perspective born by the one-room luxury of her suite creations.



Here, a better picture of the patterned rug, the true height of those elevated ceilings, wall of doors with the terrace beyond - so lucky, with a view she refers to as being "like St. Petersburg with the domes lit up." Ellen was inspired by that chicken-wire mesh embedded in the safety glass on the terrace doors, bringing her to use vintage wire baskets to hold firewood, garden supplies, and stationery, and the wire-framed topiaries on the mantel. Just in case you were wondering, that's an old wire parasol frame hanging behind them.

And let's not overlook the wire chandelier. It's by Ingo Maurer, and I'm sure that by now Ellen has filled it with personal notes and cards.

I would normally leave you with the portfolio here, but I couldn't find one. Instead, I leave you with the link to Starwood's St. Regis in NYC, which I believe Ellen O'Neill designed: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/photos/index.html?propertyID=81#photo_section_2Link

15 comments:

  1. Artie- Fascinating! I had never really read anything about her before. She has wonderful taste..and I was lucky enough to visit a Starwood Hotel one time several years ago.

    I love that daybed and can only imagine the view she has. I am going back to see if I can find out about her house in the country.

    Thank you for the research of this talented lady. I trust you are recovering from a wonderful Holiday! xxoo Diana

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  2. Artie- Did you look at that country house rental? It is gorgeous and the reviews all rave about it. What fun that would be...oh to have more free time and more money to boot! Hugs- Diana

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  3. I just wrote a post for tomorrow on using plants in rooms and the last image would be a perfect example of how plants add life to an already spectacular room, Love all of her work, so lovely,Kathysue

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  4. I love the neutrals and that rug -- fantastic. Oh to have more than one place to decorate and call home!

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  5. Hey Kathysue ... feel free to take the image for your post! I'll be by tomorrow to read it! :)

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  6. Very inspirational! And look...all of three colors. Black, white and some green for good measure!

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  7. Oh Artie---fabulous post. You've outdone yourself. I want my house to look like that. Kathy

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  8. May your New Year be filled with many Blessings and abundances of Joy for 2011. From my mountain to yours, Until next year
    Hugs and Smiles Gl♥ria
    Thanks Artie Ben for a fun year...

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  9. Really amazing STUDIO apartment. She could probably live anywhere and she has firmly planted herself here.
    Great post!

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  10. Thank you Jane, I could move right in!

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  11. oh I remember this house in House Beautiful!! I loved it then and LOVE it now! Creative, thoughtful, perfect!!

    joan

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  12. I am breathless. Truly inspiring post. I think I have seen the first photo perhaps in HB however I was not familiar with Ellen either. I do love me some RL. He has gathered some of the finest design talent in the world. I adore this space and think her country place is charming as well. I stop by from time to time to peruse you have a very well done blog. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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  13. I really enjoyed the use of space and the space planning in this apartment. Very well designed and beautiful as well. The simply adorned mantle really has both texture and form and I like the asymmetrical nature of the vignette. And in the last image I saw the reason for a one sided mantle design. Kitty needs his place for display too.

    The only thing I am not fond of is the chandelier. Love the idea of it just not the execution.

    These Tuesday Inspiring Places posts are the best on the web. Love them and look forward to them each week.

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  14. GORGEOUS and inspiration style! Just in time for the NEW year!

    HAPPY NEW YEAR Artie!!

    xoxo
    Lynda

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