Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/238007
DECORATION Noteworthy Nouveau to Deco Drama, Maharajahs to Princess Grace: CARTIER,THE EXHIBITION T he house of Cartier, sumptuous 600-piece overview, established spanning the mid-19th century 1847, was to the 1970s, Mystery clocks to never a tank watches and tiaras, and mere their accompanying ephemera jeweler. including workshop drawings, Now fashions of the era and one exhibition proves historical advertisements. it. A decade after Curators Laurent Salomé the illustrious and Laure Dalon raid international the vault of Cartier, plus Cartier design coax some once-in-ablockbuster curated lifetime loans. Watch by Ettore Sottsass for a showcase devoted (which touched down to Princess Grace's jewels at the Museum of Fine and also a cache of dazzling Arts, Houston, in 2004), Deco-era Tutti Frutti. A broad comes a show that tops swath of the bejeweled epochs even that. Cue "Cartier: Style and fabled collectors of Cartier and History," a glamorous, are here — the 1930s-era Halo over-the-top display of the wonders tiara Kate Middleton donned on and riches of the art of fine bijoux. her wedding day, the Duchess of But this exhibition is more than Windsor's flamingo brooch, other an amalgamation of beautiful creations sported by Daisy Fellowes, baubles. It's jewelry Barbara Hutton, Liz Taylor, as a grand novel Marjorie Merriweather Post, and full-on historical Marlene Dietrich, Mona romance , flaunting Bismarck, and natch, witty design, the aforementioned Cartier Mystery Clock, 1921, platinum, gold, rock crystal, rose-cut diamonds, turquoise-colored and black enamel, turquoise cabochons, global passion maharajahs. If you're obsidian base, ebonite platform and glamorous contemplating a Parisian royals, a parade of escapade this winter, maharajahs and of make it before February course, America's 16, so you can do own aristocracy. some serious gem The Grand Palais gazing at this altar to in Paris is the mise Cartier. grandpalais.fr. N.HERRMANN, COLLECTION CARTIER, © CARTIER en scène for this Catherine D. Anspon Off The WALL At the end of the month, venerable British paint and wallpaper house Farrow & Ball unveils four new handprinted papers: Jasmine, Samphire, Parque and Chromatic Stripe, all custom-made in Dorset, England, at the factory famed for producing heavily pigmented hues with names such as Mole's Breath, Cooking Apple Green, Purbeck Stone and Dead Salmon. The new collection, in five colorways, uses metallic copper paint for the first time. Created using traditional block and trough printing methods with eco-friendly FSC-approved paper and minimal-VOC water-based paint, all designs have a specially formulated glaze to ensure strength and stain resistance. $170 to $260 per roll, at Boxwood Interiors, 1839 W. Alabama St., 713.528.1501; farrow-ball.com. Lauren Scheinin Design Buzz E verything is new again, and lines are coming and going at the George Cameron Nash showrooms in Houston and Dallas. Powerhouse designer J. Randall Powers is the new director of design at GCN in both cities, while continuing his personal design business. "It's a complete reinvention of how a showroom should look and how furniture and fabric lines should be presented," Powers says. "This isn't just fresh paint," agrees George Nash. One major addition to the showroom is Dessin Fournir, where Powers, in an unprecedented move, has reworked Fournier finishes and fabrications for custom pieces for the GCN showrooms. Dessin Fournir president Chuck Comeau was so pleased with the reworked designs that he's adding them to the collection. Meanwhile, Powers is wrapping up the redesign of the lobby of Four Leaf Towers, with hallways and other public spaces on the agenda. More to come next month. And speaking of lobbies, Giorgio Borlenghi and Joseph Lopez's magnificent Belfiore high-rise on Post Oak Lane and S. Wynden has tapped London-based design firm Linley to design the lobby. Linley was founded in 1985 by bespoke furniture designer Viscount David Linley, nephew to the Queen. Belfiore is 26 stories tall with only 46 residences — two per floor, approximately 4,650 square feet each. Jacob Sudhoff, Sudhoff Properties, is marketing the luxe tower, and it's over 50 percent sold at the juncture. It breaks ground in early 2014, with an expected completion in Spring 2016. Trompe l'œil TEXTILE STYLE Chromatic Stripe wallpaper LA VIE in Blue The custom-made wallpaper installed at Saint Cloud tells of quest for beauty and vanity. With his signature blue-lead pencil drawings, Alexandre Rosa interlaces branches and corals with braids to frame a female figure in his narrative. This muse flirts with the viewer, hiding herself behind a peacock's plumage, while dilapidated crystals and hairpieces illustrate femininity and raw natural beauty. Wallpaper and commissions upon request at 713.302.4372; alexandrerosa.net. Michelle Aviña N o, that's not a dhurrie or Kazak. It's a bath towel, reimagined by California-based Fresco Towels. The witty and imaginative absorbers are long-staple cotton, into which are woven sumptuously detailed motifs that were previously the sole domain of damask and oriental carpets. One's almost tempted to do an entire cabana in them, for an effect echoing Renzo Mongiardino's work for Lee Radziwill's London drawing room. From $23, at Blue Leaf, 2303 South Blvd., 713.520.9975, blueleafhouston.com. Seth Vaughan