Flipping Out: Jeff Lewis Designs

I almost never watch TV mainly because it bores me right to sleep in under five minutes…LITERALLY! One show I discovered last year that bowls me over on Bravo on Tuesday nights is “Flipping Out” with house flipper turned back to interior designer Jeff Lewis. He’s an obsessive-compulsive neat freak/control freak who would be absolutely impossible to live with but watching him is fun.

Kitchen at Valley Oak One House, Jeff's personal home until it sold

I got a little curious about his finished designs since you almost never get to see them on his show. The houses are usually under construction and the show seems to be more about Jeff’s bizarre behavior rather than his finished work. I could never have a glass refrigerator like the one pictured I would be trying to arrange the contents all the time.

Kitchen at Valley Oak 2 House, Jeff's personal home now but for sale

I have to admit his obsessive behavior shows right down to the smallest detail. He designs are clean and open, well laid out and very contemporary, he says his designs are "California Modern" and I'll agree. I know from watching the show Jeff prefers open shelves in place of upper cabinets.

Commonwealth Kitchen by Jeff Lewis

While those open shelves look nice they show Jeff doesn’t cook. Those shelves don’t hold much and people who cook need their stuff. Plus what happens to all that stuff out in the open from cooking grease, the dust? I know I don’t want to be cleaning something when I don’t need too.

House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2010 by Jeff Lewis

House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2010, the other half of the kitchen

I love this kitchen! Tons of gourmet cook conveniences, nice clean lines with an eating area and sitting area all combined. The only thing I would change is the dining table since I prefer something lower and more intimate when having guests. Love the shot of red in the dining area, every room needs one little surprise.

House at Edgemont, LOVE the gray paint color and how warm this room looks!

Edgemont Living room by Jeff Lewis

Perhaps it's just me but what is up with everyone placing the flat screen TV above the fireplace? I thought the fireplace WAS the focal point of the room and the TV with its size takes away from it. Love this room otherwise!

While this living room is masculine looking it's stunning and so clean. While I think this guy is an absolute riot he's also a wonderful designer, shame Bravo doesn't show a little more of his finished designs. What do you think?

Antiques: Sunday Find!

Several weeks ago while wandering about the Internet looking at antiques I found an amazing pair of 19th century French cane chairs from Alhambra Antiques here but unfortunately for me they were sold. Love that lady medallion in the center.

19th Century French transition style cane chairs

You know when you find something and it’s out of your reach and you can’t quite get it out of your head? That’s how these chairs were for me. But I think I found just as good of an alternative if not better, at least for me.

French 19th century Louis XVI style cane armchair

I only needed one chair really and this is a single chair. While it has a lot of decorative detail it isn’t as “high” of style and has cleaner lines which is more my taste.

Look at the curve of the arms, the carved detail on top, the fluted spindles……

I love the chipped and missing paint. While the remaining paint says it used to be blue I prefer the look it has now, more of a gray foggy hue. Best part is the cane seat is in perfect condition with just a slight sag but that’s typical of something over 100 years old. It only needs minimal gluing to one arm and leg and voile…perfection!

The only thing it needs now is a special pillow, good thing I’m in the business huh?

Michael Trapp is on the Move!

While perusing the Internet looking for a certain antique item for my new kitchen I remembered Michael Trapp Antiques and web site Here . While browsing his pages I had a look at his profile and was very surprised to find a little box right below his picture. Michael Trapp is a garden and interior designer extraordinaire, theatrical designer, antiques dealer, and trendsetter, who is well known on the east coast, is selling his amazing home in Sharon, Connecticut.

View of the house before renovation

Perched on the edge of a cliff with spectacular views of the Berkshires foothills sat an unassuming 3000 square foot bungalow style house that Michael purchased for $365,000 in 2003 and set about creating a little magic.

View of the house after renovation with landscaping, stonewalls, steps and cobblestone walkway. Notice the color of the house and trim.

View of the dining room, notice the wall color, with a 19th century Spanish chandelier, the teak chairs are sold on his web site. The dining room and living room face out to the deck so the windows and French doors were all elongated to capture the view.

The antique French limestone table base and the fabulous 18th century flooring from Burgundy are all available on Michaels' web site.

The 900 square foot deck that runs the length of the house brings those captivating views home! This picture was obviously taken in the fall since the leaves are changing. Now do you understand why someone with so much talent bought such a house?

 

The living room is outfitted with eight dead birch trees, while an unusual decorating statement inside they would have been worse outside for a garden designer. Upon arriving for the front yard Michael found they were diseased and dying so he brought them inside. The living room is bigger in height then width so he needed something to make the scale more human like without blocking the light coming inside.

The other side of the living room noticed how Michael used black paint to mimic wainscoting on the lower half of the walls. He has another variety of tree hanging above the large clam shell, an orange tree. I love all the antique frames on the wall, sometimes they make more of a statement empty.

The master bath is tiled with late 19th/early 20th Century Spanish glazed concrete tile that are available on Michaels’ site in three different colors. The sinks are all carved stone.

In the bedroom, a pre-Rafaelita painting of St. Sebastian is framed on either side with finials from a Samuel McIntire house. You can see Michaels’ love of antique architectural pieces in the side tables and throughout the house.

The floors are all inlaid 18th century French Terra cotta tiles from Burgundy all outlined with bands of dark stained wood.

Michael was able to open the house up and bring the light and outside in blurring the line between the two. If you’re interested in seeing a wonderful slide show featuring this house go Here.

If you're interested in seeing Michaels' shop with attached gardens and house go Cote de Texas Joni did a wonderful spread not to be believed.

Oh, if you're interested I did buy my new kitchen a little something from Michaels' shop here.....

a 16th century Italian wine vessel

Happy Shopping!