Be Your Own Decorator - Susanna Salk

I first met Susanna Salk when she emailed me about a piece she was working on for 1stdibs.  She was writing a piece entitled "1stdibs Loves New Orleans" and was featuring some of 1stdibs' favorite New Orleans' dealers.  When she asked to interview me for the article as one of those favorite dealers to be featured, I felt like the soon to be crowned Miss America at the moment they announce "and the runner up is....."   Here I was, fresh on Magazine Street with my recent career change from lawyer to antiques dealer still giving me moments to pause and hyperventilate, when none other than THE Susanna Salk, accomplished design author and television personality who has also spent time working at publications like Elle Decor and House and Garden and appears regularly on the Today Show to discuss style and design, wanted to interview ME for an article on 1stdibs!  Needless to say, I ran out and bought a lottery ticket that same afternoon.

And so Susanna wrote the article ...

Almost two years have gone by since that article ran, and my style has evolved quite a bit from the  early days of my shop on Magazine Street (I have since closed the shop on Magazine Street and opened a showroom on the 1stdibs floor at the New York Design Center a/k/a 1stdibs@NYDC).  See for yourself the transformation:

Yes, I know, I can't stay away from white (except for in my wardrobe which, ironically, is mostly black), but now my New Orleans' antiques are infused with a touch of New York modernism.  

But I digress .... as always.

Back to Susanna.

I finally got a chance to meet Susanna in person at the grand opening of 1stdibs@NYDC last February (2011).  This tall, slender, gorgeous blonde came up to me and introduced herself, commenting on how beautiful she thought my gallery looked.  Again, I was humbled.  And from that day forward, Susanna was someone I looked up to from a professional and personal basis and someone whose opinion I have come to value.

The talented and gorgeous, Susanna Salk

I love this photo of Susanna and her son

Susanna has an immense knowledge of design and vast experience in the industry.  Most of you may already be familiar with some of her design books which continue to get better and better as they go (not that the first one was anything but amazing).  A Privileged Life: Celebrating Wasp Style started us wanting more from this style maven.

We were equally as excited when Susanna released her second book Weekend Retreats.

Then, came Room for Children, with a foreword by Kelly Wearstler.  

Room for Children is both visually exciting and inspiring, showcasing the work of Kelly Wearstler, Charlotte Moss, Alessandra Branca, Amanda Nisbet, and Jamie Drake, among many others.  Take a look at some of the images in this book:

I love this image.  Reminds me so much of a little French Louis XV giltwood chair (below) that I reupholstered in Les Indiennes fabric and flew off to San Francisco the moment I listed it on my 1stdibs storefront.

Well, now Susanna has done it again with her new book, Be Your Own Decorator, to be released next month.

Selecting favorite rooms from more than fifty renowned designers such as Kelly Wearstler, Bunny Williams, Albert Hadley, Nate Berkus, and Mary McDonald—and shot by the world’s top shelter photographers—Susanna offers insightful advice on how to apply basic design principles to interiors.

Organized into chapters on balance, color, mixing, accessorizing, arrangements, rule breaking, and whimsy, Susanna walks through the process of great design, illustrating how the featured designers made the decisions they did to make these rooms…

And here is a sneak peek into this gorgeous book that will surely be Susanna's best one yet!  Just click on the photo.

Susanna will be doing a book signing on April 10, 2012 on the 1stdibs floor at the New York Design Center (1stdibs@NYDC) located on the 10th floor, 200 Lexington Avenue, NYC.  I have already made my JetBlue reservations to say hello to my amazingly talented friend who has been so kind to me through all my "growing pains" (and while I'm there, fluff up my showroom a bit!).  

I hope to see you all there -- Champagne and pens in hand!

To pre-order a copy of Be Your Own Decorator (coming out March 27, 2012), click here.

And don't forget to check often for my new inventory at www.KarinaGentinetta.1stdibs.com

9 Hours in New York City

On Wednesday, I made a cameo appearance in New York City to see my 1stdibs showroom at the New York Design Center (1stdibs@NYDC). Apparently, the Obamas had the same idea. Mind you, we were there for different purposes and different agendas, but who has to know, right? And if that was not cause enough for a major traffic jam in New York City, that evening was also the much anticipated and ever so popular ("popular" being the operative word here) lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center. So between the Obamas and the tree lighting, I could not have picked a more crowded day to be in NYC.

But, hey, it was New York and I was determined to make the most out of my 9 hour visit to NYC. By the way, JetBlue offers this amazing flight where you can leave New Orleans at 6:10 a.m. (getting into NYC at around 10 a.m.) and you can fly out at 8:30 p.m. that same evening. All for the exciting low price of $195 roundtrip!!!! So basically, for the same cost as a long lunch at Galatoire's with the girls, I spent the day in New York. Talk about an ideal shopping day trip.

So after visiting my showroom, replenishing some of my inventory, and then hopping on over to the 1stdibs digs on 5th Avenue to have a girls' lunch with 1stdibs' PR dreamgirl, Stacy McLaughlin, I decided that I would spend the remaining 2 hours of my trip window gazing up and down 5th Avenue.

So in my 3 1/2" super adorable black and grey spectator mary jane pumps, I decided to walk the 40 some blocks from the 1stdibs' offices to the Plaza Hotel. At some point, at or around 5th Avenue and 40th-something or other Street, when I was at the point of crying from the excruciating pain in my feet on the shoulder of a total unknown pretzel vendor, I admitted that this had been a bad idea. Who did I think I was trying to walk some 40 blocks in high heels?????? By that point, the idea of taking off my shoes crossed my mind but I thought that if I did, I may never be able to get them back on and what could be worse than walking on stockinged feet on 5th Avenue????? I can see the headlines now.

So I wiped my tears, straightened my back and continued on, thinking that if I could just make it to the Plaza, then all would be well.

Of course, taking photos of the fantastic Holiday windows on 5th Avenue was first and foremost part of my original plan. But with the crowds and the nail driving pain on my feet, I kept thinking of one goal -- The Plaza. Scarlett may have had her Tara -- I had my Plaza.

And on I marched.

By far, this was the closest to finding out how binding one's feet must feel like. And I still don't understand how they do it! Or, most significantly, WHY???^$%$%#$@#$%$$%

Note to self: Do not ever bind feet.

Not even the windows of Henri Bendel, or Bergdorf Goodman's or even Tiffany's could draw me in. Had I seen the paramedics on 5th Avenue, I would have hailed them and have them push me on a stretcher, after having them amputate my feet.

But then I saw it, like a vision in the desert.......

There she was, standing tall and elegant (unlike me by this point, I may add).

I walked in like a homeless woman ...... with bound feet.

Aaaahhh.............

Even Eloise was delighted to see me atop of her Betsey Johnson decorated Christmas tree.

And when I saw the glitter and dancing lights of the gigantic Baccarat chandeliers up above, I knew I had arrived to all that was familiar to me, tired feet and all.

A glass or two of champagne later, I was in a cab to JFK for my trip back home to my sweet home New Orleans.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend wherever this post finds you and don't forget to check out my new inventory on 1stdibs.