We were so excited when we got this entry from Christian at Maison21. Many of you are familiar with Christians blog and his wonderful talent as a designer. It’s an honor to have him participate in our design contest. And what a great entry. This dude has taste and a wicked sense of humor. Enjoy!
Ed at Swank
Ed at Swank
By: Christian ( Maison21 )
Sex and the City- Samantha Jones
here we go:
every time we come across sex and the city on late light tv, maison2,
like gay men and straight women everywhere, drops what he is doing and
stops to watch. after all these years it still entertains, and the
story and characters are still so involving and well defined- right
down to the new york city apartments our girls live in.
as a designer, maison21 appreciates the work the set decorators put
into each set, to reflect the characters that lived within: carrie’s
apartment was a mix of extravagance and thrift store boho- a t.h.
robsjohn-gibbing chaise in her living area that probably cost a months
salary, and a bench at the foot of her bed that she probably found on
the street; miranda’s apartment was clean, contemporary, and stylish,
yet slightly corporate in it’s decor, and charlotte’s apartment was
impeccably turned out and decorated to perfection.
but somehow, maison21 always felt the production designer missed the
mark with samantha’s apartment- it just didn’t really seem to reflect
her character at all. it should have been sensuous and luxe as
befitting both her status as a bombshell and a very successful business
woman (and not afraid to flaunt it), it also should have reflected
both her masculine and feminine sides, and above all, it should have
SCREAMED sex.
now, these many years later, thanks to swank lighting and the material
girls, maison21 gets a chance to rectify the situation! ladies and
gentlemen, we give you “samantha jones’ waaaaaay sexier in the city
boudoir” (as imagined by m21).
first, to set a seductive mood, m21 started with a monochromatic
palette of mysterious twilight silver-grays and pewters for paint and
fabrics, to which he added a little sparkle, a shot of color and a
healthy dose of old-fashioned glamour. he kept the furniture and window
coverings tailored and somewhat masculine, but softened them with
feminine touches: the roman shade and headboard are pewter silk, with
a black satin ribbon border, and the black-lacquer custom nightstands
have mirrored drawer fronts for a femme-fatale vibe. on the walls,
we’ve added girly framed graham & brown chrysanthemum floral wallpaper
in a sensual plum and metallic print- the perfect backdrop for the luxe
chic of the swank lighting vintage white opaline barbini lamps, on
lucite bases. we’ve crowned the lamps with black satin shades, lined
with silver foil- so when lit, they glow like jewels.
we also gave samantha a king-sized bed on which to romp, but remember-
this is new york city, and though her apartment cost a small fortune,
the bedroom is still quite small- so the only place the bed and
headboard could possibly go was in front of the window. that’s ok- no
great loss there- just a million dollar air shaft view, anyway!
last, no samantha jones boudoir would be complete without some blatant
sex appeal, so we gave her a decadent and vaguely s&m-luxe faux
chinchilla bed cover, and in a slightly more tasteful nod to a classic
ceiling mounted “love mirror”, we’ve papered her ceiling in donghia’s
“looks like tea paper” silver leaf wall-covering.
our digital “in the mood” board:
um, feel free to cut my lengthy back-story when you post my winning
entry- you know how i get wordy.
