Chairish Magazine - January 2023

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GREAT BIG EMPORIUM

FOR EXPLORERS OF STYLE

Welcome to the latest edition of Magazinish, the print companion to Chairish.com. If you’re new here (Hello!), Chairish is where interior designers and sophisticated home decorators discover exceptional vintage and antique furnishings and art. This issue is a special one as we are celebrating our 10th birthday and… boy, we’ve come a long way, baby!

In 2013, my husband and I started Chairish in our dining room as a simple way to offload extra pieces we’d acquired thanks to my serial re-decorating habit. Since then, Chairish has grown into a leading global marketplace with an extraordinary selection of over one million items sourced from esteemed European and U.S. dealers and galleries, selling to the world’s leading tastemakers.

To celebrate our birthday, we’re throwing a party at my favorite store in the world, Bergdorf Goodman! The Chairish Art Gallery is now open on Bergdorf’s famed seventh floor, featuring original works by our most coveted artists. Please do drop by—it’s gorgeous!

I always keep close to my heart the original intention for starting Chairish: to create a great big emporium of style, offering unique pieces both high and low, for chic tastemakers with one-of-a-kind perspectives. Ten years in, I think we have lived up to that aspiration. Even better, having resold over 700,000 vintage and antique items to date, Chairish proudly proves that being stylish and kind to the planet go hand in hand.

As the new year gets underway, I’m grateful to everyone who’s joined us on our journey so far, from our brilliant sellers to our passionate shoppers to our inspired team. Thank you. What a ride it’s been, and we are just getting started.

Viva La Vintage!

ANNA BROCKWAY Co-Founder and President, Chairish

10 YEARS OF

HOW TO SHOP THESE PAGES

This issue is entirely shoppable—even the cover. Scan a page’s QR code to instantly shop featured items plus others just like them! Chairish is home to over a million unique pieces, with thousands of new arrivals daily. Find your new favorites on chairish.com.

NATALIE BLOOMINGDALE BEL AIR AERIE

BLOOMINGDALE ’ S

AERIE

FASHION ENTREPRENEUR NATALIE BOND BLOOMINGDALE BRINGS HER SINGULAR SENSE OF STYLE HOME, OUTFITTING HER CHIC BEL AIR PROPERTY WITH A SOPHISTICATED PALETTE, EXCEPTIONAL FURNISHINGS, AND RUNWAYREADY ACCESSORIZING.

Photography by Joe Schmelzer; Styled by Stephen Pappas; Interior Design by Amy Meier

AS THE BRAINCHILD

of Natalie Bond Bloomingdale, The SIL is one of a kind—quite literally. Short for “Stuff I Love,” the online fashion incubator is a place for the former publicist to shine a light on up-and-coming designers and showcase pieces you can’t buy anywhere else. The young mogul applies this same M.O. to creating her home as well, making her a perfect client for interior designer Amy Meier. The results are serene and irresistible, at least from a shopping devotee’s perspective. “Amy is so naughty,” Natalie says. “She knows exactly what I have to have—and nails it every time.”

Meier, who works deftly with neutral tones and well-curated dramatic flourishes to create intriguing rooms, was a perfect palette partner for Bloomingdale’s aesthetic. In lieu of look-at-me color stories, it’s bold silhouettes, indulgent textures, and thoughtful accessorizing that do the talking. Skirted swivel chairs, curvy sofas, and vintage casegoods bubble with cocktail party-ready personality. “They just don’t make things like they used to, do they?” Bloomingdale says. And while the fashionista’s Bel Air pad is outfitted in an inventive mash-up of the classic and contemporary pieces that she loves, it’s Meier’s expert editorial eye and gift for crafting cohesive spaces that allow it to coalesce so sublimely.

Inspired, impeccable pairings, like a pale pink onyx vanity and delicate gold chair in her bedroom’s dressing area, along with tailored window treatments, scenic wallpaper, and a tree lamp with feather fronds in the living room, give the house an air of polished whimsy that lets the Texas-born entrepreneur’s individuality shine.

“My approach to art and design is much like my approach to fashion: I have to feel drawn to [and] moved by the piece—it has to have meaning,” she says. “I gravitate toward the unique, the unfamiliar. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum.”

Portrait by Morgan Pansing

ART GALLERY AT

Is there a better place to celebrate Chairish’s 10th birthday than Bergdorf Goodman? No ma’am! We are thrilled to unveil the Chairish Art Gallery on Bergdorf’s legendary seventh floor, showing now through April 10th. If you can’t pop by NYC to say “hi” in person, discover other works by our featured artists here.

Ta s te m a k e r s ’ f a v o rite

LIT T LE LUXUR I ES

STEPHANIE HALL

“I believe that glassware can be a gorgeous accessory, which is why we refer to our pieces as jewels for your table. Color is a major part of how I move with the seasons—soft pastels in the spring and summer, moving to jewel tones in the fall, which is also how I organize the brand, too. It is so much fun for me to add vibrant elements to everything, whether it’s my outfit, workspace, mood boards, or even plating meals for my family. A splash of color just brings a sense of happiness!

I’m the same with the art I love, particularly watercolors. I’m a big believer in incorporating original artwork and one-of-a-kind pieces, whether they’re vintage or newly made.”

“The perfect little luxury for a house is chic, custom hardware. It is like fine jewelry expressly made for doors, drawers, and windows. In our new Palm Beach studio, we had our stone carvers make all the knobs for our cabinets and doors from semi-precious stones.

When it comes to materials, one of my favorites for both jewelry and interiors is actually petrified wood. I love all the amazing patterns and colors as well as the incredible story of its creation millions of years ago. I frequently carve it into drops for earrings, and it is also the star of our Millbrook living room, where we have a coffee table made from an amazing petrified wood slab.”

MANDY CHENG

new

“The wonderful thing about little luxuries is that this is where your unique personality shines. I love to indulge in candlesticks and holders, coffee table books, and floral arrangements. They all add height to a surface and really pull a decorated room together. And every space can use more plants. The second you pop a plant into a beautiful vessel and place it on a table, it warms up the entire room beautifully.

When it comes to incorporating vintage finds with newly made pieces, the most important thing is simply to pick what you like. This gives a room a rich, layered look, and the uniqueness of the vintage objects just makes the design feel that much more special and well curated.”

The founder of Estelle Colored Glass on tabletop treasures and the power of color

The AD100 designer on her favorite finishing touches and mixing old and

MISH TWORKOWSKI

The esteemed jewelry designer on elegant finishes and marvelous materials

We’re big fans of little luxuries—those petite special somethings that elevate a design and light up a room. We asked three top tastemakers about the pieces they can’t do without.

Portraits from top: Catherine Hurt; Carmel Brantley; Madeline Tolle

Greek Drama

What’s classic, curvy, and Greek all over? Why it’s the klismos chair, of course, the unique seat with ancient origins that’s survived through thousands of years of style wars. Dating back to at least the fifth century BC— making it the same age as the Parthenon—the klismos chair is famed for its rounded backrest and outward-turning legs, sometimes called sabers for their resemblance to the sword. In an ironic twist, the culture that obsessed over developing several types of straight columns for their architecture devised a chair with more curves than the Aegean coastline. (And in case you’re curious, the concept of irony is a Greek invention, too.)

Like any trendsetter, the klismos has seen its share of ups and downs over the millennia; cool for the Classical Age, it fell out of favor

during the Hellenistic Period. The gallivanting globetrotters of the Grand Tour revived the klismos during the Neoclassical era in Europe, bringing it back in vogue in the late 18th century. Since then, new iterations with local flavor have taken root, including ornamentations and carvings introduced in the 19th century, while curved legs started popping up on other furniture, particularly settees and chaise longues.

So, what’s next for the crowd-pleasing klismos? Anything’s possible. These enduring chairs were literal seats of power in Ancient Greece, and a set of them sits in the White House today, designed by Anglo-American Neoclassicist (and Capitol architect) Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Whatever the style gods of one particular era may decide, you can never count out a classic.

Quagga Media Alamy Stock Photo

CHARLESTON CHARM

In South Carolina’s most historic city, artful tensions are alive and well in Ceara Donnelley’s 18th-century mansion, from the sun-drenched breakfast room to the gilded bedroom that deftly intermixes the past and present.

Photography by Brie Williams; Styled by Dakota Willimon

The languid coastal waterways and salt marshes that criss-cross South Carolina’s Low Country offer a peaceful refuge for interior designer Ceara Donnelley’s home, an opus to new Southern style housed in a circa-1740 mansion. This Charleston treasure makes an artform out of juxtaposition, with its clever mix of old and new, classic materials and contemporary accents, and a respect for the past with astute splashes of modern styling.

“Design is, for me, a deeply felt and intuitive process, and I cannot always say exactly why something speaks to me,” Donnelley says. “I collect pieces across a wide range of genres and periods. The common denominators, however, tend to be craftsmanship, originality, and a certain kind of whimsy.” This sense of artistic delight can be spotted everywhere in the home: the mid-century Austrian lantern by J.T. Kalmar that hangs in the entryway; the japanned cabinet in the living room; the delectable custom upholstery; the bespoke rugs.

Never forgetting her surroundings, Donnelley paid as much attention to the outdoors as she did to the interiors, letting the character of Charleston—and

its climate—infuse the home with charm. “With the exception of steamy summer months, life is best lived outdoors, or with doors and windows flung open,” she says. “I was intent on integrating indoors and out as much as I could, from installing new doors overlooking the pool and garden to ingenious bifolds in the breakfast room.”

These are far from the only renovations made to this 18th-century home— which hadn’t been refreshed in decades, mind you. Donnelley reimagined the existing layout, such as the old kitchen house, which now houses a modern kitchen and family room on the first floor and the primary bath and dressing room on the second. But even while pushing the home into the present, she held on to her passion for the classics.

“Spaces that contain only new things—even if they are the most beautifully crafted and designed pieces—feel soulless to me,” Donnelley says. “Similarly, rooms that are exclusively filled with antiques tend to lack a current, a dynamism I want to feel.” One tour of this stunning Southern gem makes it clear that Donnelley has found this spirit in spades.

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Design is… a deeply felt and intuitive process, and I cannot always say exactly why something speaks to me… I collect pieces across a wide range of genres and periods.

SHOP TALK

VINTISSIMO

With one-of-a-kind finds from around the world, Vintissimo offers restored, handmade furnishings in every category. Their team of expert curators scours the globe, traveling from Europe to Asia to Africa to source vintage treasures from a wide range of eras and styles.

GET TO KNOW SOME OF THE CREATORS AND SMALL BUSINESSES THAT MAKE CHAIRISH A UNIQUE PLACE TO SHOP, FROM ANTIQUES DEALERS TO ONE-OF-A-KIND MAKERS.

ROGALLERY

For the last several decades, the experts at New York’s RoGallery have been at the forefront of selling art online. The firm handles all sides of the art business, with clients including designers, hoteliers, and members of the public who are as art-obsessed as the owners.

SANTARELLA

Chris Santarella's passion for design was instilled at an early age, from sleeping on his uncle's Adrian Pearsall Gondola sofa to visiting his father's office, designed

HOUSE ALIVE VINTAGE

With a creative blend of Art Deco, Bohemian, and Hollywood Regency pieces, House Alive Vintage curates a unique mix of finds. They’re also experts at restoring midcentury marvels to their former glory, and can be counted on for an eclectic, inspiring mix.

DOLLY ARCHER

Dolly Archer Vintage specializes in antique pine, oak, and mahogany, as well accessories and art, all sourced from the English countryside with a focus on rustic elegance. Their special finds are hand selected and shipped to their Florida facilities, where they are prepared or restored as needed.

Based in Los Angeles, Design MIX directly imports unique found objects and furniture from dealers around the world. The company’s owners are designers and art collectors themselves, giving them special insight into sourcing specialty accessories, architectural elements, art, textiles, and one-of-a-kind furnishings for their clients.

RUG & KILIM

Founded just over 40 years ago, Rug & Kilim has become a go-to designer source for high-end rugs—and boasts the largest international assortment of kilims in the world, as well. Founder Jahanshah Josh Nazmiyal still selects every dazzling rug that enters their sprawling New York showroom.

LUCIA LANDA COLLECTION

Lucia Landa takes a global view toward vintage and antique finds. She’s passionate about Mexican Indigenous, Spanish Colonial, Spanish Revival, Middle Eastern, and American Arts & Crafts styles. Additionally, her custom upholstery shop is available to further beautify the pieces in her wideranging collection.