Haute Khuuture

Monday, January 26, 2015

#JKID Project: Glam Luxe Guest Bathroom

So I’ve been working on this custom home in the harbor for over 3 years now, the last of which is currently on hiatus. This duration is VERY common in the design industry as it takes a loooooong ass time to renovate a home, let alone build it from the ground up. By the time the clients have somewhat settled into their new space, they’re usually so exhausted from all the planning and construction that they’ll take a minute to recoup and unwind before diving right down to the details in the final phase. In this case, they’ve taken an entire year off, but hey! Who’s counting? ;D

So now this break becomes the perfect opportunity to share what I’ve been doing for the last couple of years on this incredibly gorgeous, incredibly custom estate!

Starting with one of my favorite elements of a home: The Guest Bath

{The INSPIRATION}

Second only to the master suite, the guest bed and bath should evoke a sense of warm and luxurious hospitality, like you’re staying at a super posh hotel that charges more per night than a pair of Louboutins. I typically design the guest quarters with so much detail that often clients stay in there more than their own master bedroom, lol.

{The BEFORE}

{The PROCESS}

I found this porcelain tile at my vendor's shop and fell in lalalaLOVE with the raised diamond tufting! Like a quilted Chanel bag, how can one resist? So chic, my client and I decided to base the entire color story off of the metallic white glaze and pulled in soft shades of lavender/grey to complement the look. Tufted walls, check!

No onto the flooring and trim!

TONS of coordinating molding must be decided before we even get down to the details! Which often means selecting (and reselecting) the right pieces before locking down the entire design.

Black granite for high contrast! So luxe and refined...

Stone trim, check!

Which brings us to the flooring...

I found this superFAB Carrara marble tile and went NUTZ for its inherent gradient lines. When you piece 4 of them together, they make the coolest diamond pattern. Not sure of what size to go, small or large? Lotsa photoshop scenarios to present for approval before pulling the trigger...

Ultimately, the lines didn't all match up (contrary to what my photoshop images depicted), we scratched this idea entirely (after weeks of debating) and instead opted for something much simpler without a lot of variation.

But alas, even these marble stunnas didn't make the cut and the search continues...

No > No > Meh...

Yes! Yes! Yes!

We FINALLY found the winner y'all!
Translucent white marble with the MOST magnificent violet lines running jagged throughout the body. Perfect color story to coordinate with our walls and black trim, she was soooo right on! And while the large 12x24 tile was only somewhat usable, we had to trim off an additional 50% white excess to make sure each resulting 12x12 square had a similar look.

Gotta lay them all out before we commit to the final installed pattern...

{The SOLUTION}

Flooring, check!

From my inspiration image (below left) I knew I wanted to design the shower curtain with a bold thick trim for our high-contrast look. After deciding on 1.5" grosgrain ribbon, I lined the front-facing side with washable lavender blackout drapery and the rear-facing side with a white soft vinyl-like material. Made for wet applications, the white textile is easy to dry and perfect for keeping the shower/tub interior bright like our tufted porcelain tile.

One thick border vs. Two thin borders?

Which do you prefer??

Textiles, check!

Keep in mind that these are ALL progress shots; nothing has been finalized, let alone staged for high-Pinterest value. As you can see, I make VERY bold statements. The best of which is usually saved for the guest suite where you can get a little crazier in there since it’s designed for short term stays.

{The FINALE}

Materials: Porcelain tile | Granite trim | Custom Bath Drapery | Marble Tile

{The REVEAL}

YUP! ALL THIS for a teeny guest bathroom.

Can you imagine the work that goes into building the rest of this 5000sf custom home?

Granted I haven’t seen the progress she’s made since this last shot, but ‘tis designer life my loves!

One day you’re in, the next you’re out!

Lol... But I’ll be baaaaaaack! And with professional pictures to prove it!

In the meantime, follow along as I begin to detail every facet of my designer life from this Glam-Luxe project to the next!

Thanks for reading lovers! <3

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Behind the Design: #JKID Custom Made Furniture

I get so swamped with the daily ins and outs of work that I rarely find the time to sit and collate all my custom goodies to share (and really show off, hehe) with y’all. It’s the curse of the constant designer and I’m making a public proclamation that from HERE ON OUT you’ll be seeing LOTS more of all my interior projects on the blog (and Facebook and Instagram so follow HERE and HERE).

{ABOVE: My own custom pieces, scattered throughout my studio and LA apartment}

I really pour all my heart and soul into a project so what starts out as a basic stylistic concept: Glam! Hip! Romantic! Industrial! always ends up being a one-of-a-kind custom design hand sketched/ drawn/ developed/ and sometimes even executed (gasp!) by me.

{ABOVE: A modern-glam home in Huntington Harbor that I've been developing for over 3 years, yikes! Will start sharing more progress this week}

Except of course the crazy upholstered pieces you see, which I must admit is by the hands of my vendors and professional fabricators. Can’t take ALL the credit ya know, but what you see is 100% based on what my brain manifests and what my vendors build-out.

{ABOVE: Some of my FAVE pieces I've ever designed, specifically for a tattoo studio in downtown Pomona. The client is a crazy talented artist who appreciates custom work as much a I do! A dream collabo, more on that next week!}

So why hire a designer?

We understand what you want even before you know you want it, honey!

Guaranteed or your money back ;D

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Friday, January 16, 2015

Food Porn Friday- Church and State

It’s been a minute since I’ve spent an entire weekend at our LA pad so sadly date nights downtown are few and far between. But when we go out, we go all out hunnies! Usually at the behest of my recurrent French cravings, I always try to pick a little spot that not only satisfies my palate for rich yet refined food, it’s gotta have a little je ne sais quoi to boot! Entrez Church and State, nestled right in the heart of the downtown Art District, an oldie but goodie, transformed with a notable menu at the helm of Chef Tony Esnault. I hear Esnault won’t be staying for long with a new venture down the street; however the technique will remain as well as that darling little escargot puff pastry dish. Praise the lord!

Here’s a little snippet of what Church and State is serving up nowadays.

Steak Tartare with sun fed ranch grass fed beef heart, mesclun salad, and French fries. A little heavy-handed on the EVOO but well-seasoned nonetheless. Love that they used beef heart, a perfect mix of buoyant and chewy.

Moules Marinières with Mediterranean mussels, celery, shallots, cream, French fries, aioli. The BEST mussels in SoCal I think. Beats Charlie Palmer’s flavor profiles by a stretch, I can pour the sauce in my vodka martini and call it a cocktail hunnies! So good, perfect for soaking up with bottomless frites!

Escargots de Bourgogne en Croûte with burgundy snails, garlic butter, puff pastry. While the garlic butter doesn’t have that much flavor (little to no seasoning) I’m quite happy with the marriage of crispy chewy dough enveloping crunchy little critters. Like opening up a pastry prezzie with each spoonful. Delightful!

Bouillabaisse Provençal fish stew, prawn, mussels, clams, celery, potato, leek, rouille. This was le bf’s dish and by this point I was all mussel-ed out! I’d pass on this entirely and just order the moules appetizer.

Canard: Mary’s duck breast, confit leg, braised red cabbage. The duck was super tender and well-seasoned. The braised cabbage with pomegranate and apple is also a great touch, I LOVES me braised anything. Soaks up so much flavor and the slight tartness adds that much needed kick.

Steak Frites with sun fed ranch grass fed hanger steak, french fries, sauce béarnaise. Sooooo DELISH! Reminds me of steak frites straight from L’entrecote in Paris!

House Special Venison with seasonal root vegetables. This was my dish and boy was I glad I ordered it. The most well-charred and flavorful protein of the night with nary a game trace to its name. The sauce was simmered in a red wine reduction rendering the meat helpless at its mercy! Ooh lala c’est si bon!

CHURCH & STATE

1850 INDUSTRIAL ST., #100
LOS ANGELES, CA 90021

(213) 405-1434

*Insider’s tip: There’s always free parking in DTLA, you just gotta exercise a bit of patience while patrolling the dimly lit streets of the Arts District. Upon approaching the old Nabisco building, you’re met with a storied brick façade not unlike something you’d frequent in the Bay Area. I love how the interior space is lined with overhead string lights and faux-liage making you feel like you’re at some quaint little bistro in the Marais rather than in Los Angeles mixing it up with fellow Francophiles. While tables are spaced literally within inches of each other; I find it almost like a communal dining atmosphere when you can easily peek right over to your neighbor’s plate and ask…Is that good?? Lol Such a great spot for date night or cocktails with your girlfriends!*

TGIF hunny bunnies!

Hope it’s a spectacular start to the weekend for ya!

Bon Appétit mes amis!

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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Fresh Looks for a Fresh Year

The New Year always denotes a time to change it up. I use it as a starting point to get rid of everything that no longer speaks to me, that no longer inspires me in some sort of creative way. It’s a process of purging that I welcome with open arms.