The term "good bones" is often used to describe a building with intrinsic structural beauty that has been obscured by bad renovations or fallen into a state of disrepair. Restoring these faded gems to their former glory is an art. One that has been mastered by London-based firm 6a Architects.

Ever since they founded 6a Architects in 2001, Tom Emerson and Stephanie Macdonald have developed a reputation for award-winning contemporary projects set within "sensitive historic environments." Their trademark style involves stripping old buildings of all extraneous detail in an effort to expose the timeless elegance of the structure—"bones" such as a graceful arch, a paneled wall, or a dramatic enfilade. Then, at the same time, any modern updates they make are so congruous that they appear less as "additions" and more as seamless "evolutions" of the original space.

Above: Built around 1690, the buildings at Raven Row, a contemporary art space in the Spitalfields area, experienced subsequent renovations in the Rococo (1750) and Regency (1827) styles. Here, 6a Architects transformed a mishmash of 18th century rooms into elegant flats for curators and visiting artists.

Above: Raven Row received a RIBA Award and was the only UK project selected by the Design Museum for the Brit Insurance Design Award.

Above: The "before" pictures of Raven Row reveal a space overwhelmed with ornamentation. With a simple application of subtle gray and white paint, 6a highlighted the Rocco details and at the same time minimized their competition with other striking architectural features.

Above: Recently completed, the Romney House was built in 1789 as a residence and painting studio for Georgian portrait painter George Romney. With the addition of a gracefully curving partition that maintains the original sense of volume, the architects converted a large assembly room into two bedrooms.

Above: After Romney's death, his home suffered from a series of bad renovations. Returning the house to a single-family dwelling, 6a knit together the various levels with a dramatic winding staircase, which runs from basement to roof, where a newly added tower takes in the surrounding view from Hampstead. 

Above: Details of the Romney House demonstrate 6a's talent for blending the old and the new.

Above: The new South London Gallery won the New London Architecture Award 2011 and the Civic Trust Award Commendation 2012.

Above: A seamless incorporation of modern minimalism with historic elements, the bathrooms in the South London Gallery and LC House, exemplify 6a's signature style.

N.B. Want more modern minimal grandeur? Take a tour of Vincent Van Duysen's absurdly compelling contemporary residence.

High on our wish lists: modern classic brass lamps from Italian designer Maurizio Navone of Restart Milano.

Recently added to Merchant No. 4's carefully curated collection: A brass lamp by Italian designer Maurizio Navone of Restart Milano. "This is not a quest for new forms, which certainly are not lacking on the design scene. It is actually a means of studying and reactivating things and situations which have left an indelible trace in the memory," Navone says. The lamps come in three different shapes (long wall, short wall, and table) and feature a tubular brass arm that swivels. For more information, contact Restart Milano. 

 Photography by Merchant No. 4.

Above: The Table Lamp is $575 and available via Merchant No 4. The lamp features a brass visor for the globe bulb and an in-line dimmer.

Above: The Long Wall Lamp in bent brass tube is $610 from Merchant No. 4.

Above: The Short Wall Lamp is $550 from Merchant No. 4.

Above: A breakdown of the lamp components.

Above: The Short Wall Lamp. 

Are you looking for the perfect brass lamp? Here are 20 Lamps you might want to consider. A recent favorite of ours is the Nightwood Brass Lamp.

The Chelsea Flower Show is coming to town. This year more than ever we've been able to see that it doesn't just land, like a perfectly formed spaceship, on the banks of the River Thames. Everyone with a hi-vis jacket also has a phone, so the stress, hilarity, and adverse weather conditions have been tweeted  for all to share.

It's the 100th Anniversary of the greatest flower show on earth and as per tradition, there is some royalty about. Prince Harry is involved, via his charity Sentebale, and thankfully for us the designer of his garden is Jinny Blom, who approaches this event with great panache. Here, then, is a Jinny Blom-Gardenista semi-exclusive: Chelsea, the Build-Up.

Photographs by Jinny Blom.

Above: "Nocturnal wind has never caused so much discomfort!" tweeted Jinny yesterday. "Awake all night worrying about our poor plants, storm damage, etc. Ghastly and typical." Mild, dry weather is forecast for judging day.

Prince Harry's charity, Sentebale, means "Forget me Not" and was set up for the children of Lesotho. There will be a hut, laser-cut steps, an embossed wall, and an inlaid terrace with a hearts-and-crowns design. There will also be specially commissioned music and lots and lots of roundness, in the planting as well as in the hard landscaping.

 All of the show gardens start with a rectangular plot, overshadowed by vast London plane trees. "The plane trees do affect scale," tweets Jinny. "The pine is 5.5m tall and the pavilion looks vast at 4.5m. Will shrink to nowt!"

Above: A returning star this year is Christopher Bradley-Hole, who caused a very big stir in the 1990s with his modernist design for the Daily Telegraph garden. The show judges were forced out of their comfort zone of considering only plants and plantsmanship and things were never quite the same again. No effort is too great these days in the hard landscaping element: built for permanence and gone in a few weeks. Expect a "Japanese approach" to the English landscape in Bradley-Hole's garden this year, featuring hazels and densely congregated clipped yew blocks.

Above: The round patio in the Sentebale garden, its motifs inspired by a Lesotho blanket. "Look how beautiful this workmanship is. Well done to all the masons who worked on it," tweets Jinny. "We can't let these skills die."

Another favorite exhibitor this year is Swedish Ulf Norfdfjell, who won Best in Show four years ago. Expect subtle color and much Cypress Oak, both espaliered and in tall spires. Clipped yew blocks also populate this space.

 Jo Thompson, whose garden for the Caravan Club last year featured a Winnebago, is a well-liked contender and this year she focuses on the threatened native environment (ash tree die-back is a huge concern in the UK). The garden features some dead trees in one section contrasting with lively and lovely planting in another.

Above: Plants arrive at the garden of Jinny Blom with this reaction: "The 'smell of fear' returned this morning when I saw the trolleys. Just Scott and me planting as per usual."

Above: Half of the planting team (Scott). The other half is holding up her phone (Jinny).

This year there will be further evidence of pleaching, clipping, and topiarizing—in the gardens of Chris Beardshaw, Robert Myers, Roger Platts—as well as an increasing environmental awareness. Nigel Dunnett, of Olympic Park meadow fame, will be having another go at a gold with his rainwater-harvesting roof garden.

Above: "And before you know it it's time to go home," tweeted Jinny earlier this week. "Plants won't look so pointillist in a few days as it relaxes."

The Great Pavilion at Chelsea is always the greatest draw for serious plant nuts, with Jekka McVicar's herb display a reliable highlight as well as the roses of David Austin and the late Peter Beales. Kelways peonies have been showing in the floral marquee since year one.

Above: "Not something you see every day, I grant you," tweets Ginny as a team member struggles under the mud rondavel in her Sentebale Garden.

As well as the vast floral marquee—3.5 acres, the biggest tent in the world before it was replaced with plastic modules—there are smaller designed gardens. Those named "Fresh" are intended to show the newest ideas, and the "Artisan" gardens will reflect the changes and developments in gardening during the first 100 years of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Above: A strong sense of skills, craftsmanship, and team work comes through in the tweets from London, SW3. "The only photo I managed today was the top of the pavilion expertly lowered in by Steve @SwattonLS," said Jinny yesterday. Soon followed by: "I SALUTE THE TEAM. Amazing."

Above: Texture! Salix in the foreground, a mud wall behind. "Mud and willow wands in a very direct interpretation of a Basotho design," tweets Jinny (the Basotho people are Lesotho dwellers). "Looks very 1960s to me." Looks very intriguing to us.

We'll be covering the 100th Chelsea Flower Show all next week, live from London, so come back on Monday for Kendra's next insider's installment.

Remember last year's Chelsea Flower Show? Kendra was there too; for her report, see A Surprise Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Founded in England in 1837, John Boyd Textiles is one of the last surviving horsehair weavers in the world. Once used as upholstery stuffing, horsehair-woven textiles became a covetable fabric in the 19th century and was favored by illustrious designers such as Charles Rennie MackIntosh and Sir Edwin Lutyens. John Boyd Textiles still offers their original designs among their collection of 150 horsehair fabrics (which can be found in some of the world's most discriminating residences, including the White House). For further details and sourcing, go to John Boyd Textiles.

Above: Vigilia Bench with horse hair cushion from British Architect, Eric Parry Designs.

Above: Lacquered beech Roman Chair, upholstered with stitched horse-hair by Christopher Howe.

Above: Ochre offers a custom three-panel Horsehair Screen on casters; one side is covered in horse hair fabric from John Boyd and the other is covered in padded Novasuede.

Above: Horsehair fabric is made from cotton warp and horsehair weft. The production process; images via the BBC.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on February 16, 2011.

If the Christopher Howe sofa appeals, check out our post on more of his work: Manor Worthy Furniture from Christopher Howe.

I once had a mere brush with the .001 percenters, when I was invited aboard a 170-foot motor yacht, owned by a friend's father-in-law. It was so fancy that the bathrooms had real gold faucets (as did the seat belt buckles in his helicopter). That was too much. But if you're willing to settle for more base metals, a couple of gold-toned accents can be just the thing to add a bit of luxury and warmth to the bath.

One secret to successful gilding in the bath is black. All white with gold accessories can feel too much like my daughter's golden-horned unicorn, too fanciful and precious. But add a little ink, charcoal, or indigo and you have a different story: something a little more sophisticated, with more mystery, more noir. The second trick is to strictly edit your application of golden accents. Too much can quickly become, well, ostentatious. Here are five baths with just the right touch of gilding.

Above: Designer J. Ingerstedt used several gilded accents to warm up a minimalist bath.

Above: The now-famous former bath of J. Crew's Jenna Lyons features brass accents and midnight walls. Photos by Melanie Avecedo.

Above: In this bath at Dutch Mountain, the architects at Denieuwegeneratie employed brass pipes to fashion an industrial-style faucet that foils the more traditional ornamentation on the mirror.

Above: In this dramatic black and white bath by designer Stine Langvad, a bit of bling from a solitary gold faucet is subtly echoed in the trim of the mirror.

Above: At the Ace Hotel in New York, Roman and Williams applied a touch of gold to brighten a subway-tiled shower. For ideas on recreating the look of a similar bath, see Steal This Look: Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.

N.B. Interested in introducing some bling in the kitchen? (I'm updating mine with brass accents right now.) See our favorite picks for gold-tone faucets.

Noticed lately: unapologetically minimal kitchens in wedding cake ornate spaces.

Above: In a Boston brownstone kitchen, architects Katarina Edlund and Scott Slarsky (of designLAB Architects) paired marble-topped work stations with a Poul Henningsen artichoke lamp suspended from an ornate plaster medallion.

Above: An arched mahogany cabinet in a kitchen by Caden Design Group.

Above: An ornate kitchen via Style Files.

Above: In a Brooklyn kitchen, Elizabeth Roberts adapted an old wardrobe to house the kitchen appliances and tableware.

Above: A kitchen in Belgium by Minus Interier Architecten.

Above: A loft kitchen by NYC designer Magdalena Keck (a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory).

Above: An ornate space with a cantilevered workstation by Italian firm Weiss Cucine Bianchi.

Above: A minimalist kitchen in a Chelsea townhouse by Julian King of Julian King Architect (a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory.

Above: Sara Ruffin Costello writes of this kitchen in the WSJ: "The ratio of modern stainless counter to old-lady molding in this kitchen makes a formidable statement."

New York has Balthazar, Paris has Brasserie Lipp, London has the Wolseley. Centrally located on Piccadilly, the Wolseley is a modern all-day cafe-brasserie in the European tradition, where grandees and grungers alike feel welcome.

The building dates from 1921, when the Wolseley Car Company (which began life as the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Company) hired architect William Curtis Green to design a luxurious car showroom. No architectural mark of opulence was omitted: high arches, sweeping stairways, marble floors—it all adds up to a munificent temple for the mechanical wonder of the age. The cafe's interiors, orchestrated by David Collins Studio, are almost a decade old but continue to exude an Art Deco glamor. As longtime devotees of The Wolseley, we concocted an all-day dining experience (breakfast, tea, dinner) in their Private Dining Room.

Photography by Simon Bevan and floral design by Michelle McKenna.

Above: The Wolseley's breakfast setting: Herbal Teapot; £98, Silver Tea Strainer; £75, and Linen Napkins; set of six for £70.

Above: The early morning light streams in from Piccadilly Circus.

Above: Breakfast at the Wolseley, by A. A. Gill, with photographs by David Loftus, offers a glimpse into the world of the Wolseley and includes recipes and reminiscences; £12.99. Canisters of the Wolseley's English Breakfast Tea; £8.99, and Cafetiere and Filter Blend Coffee; £9.49.

Above: Afternoon tea goes in hand with the soft fading light. 

Above: Afternoon tea at the Wolseley. A similar Victorian Fluted Teapot can be found in the online shop; £250, Silver Tea Strainer; £75, Black and White Cake Stand and Cloche; £205.

Above: The Wolseley offers a Champagne Afternoon Tea.

Above: In the evening, half height black curtains offer privacy from the dining room below.

Above: Dinner setting: Wine Glass; set of six for £90, Water Glass; set of six for £106, Salt and Pepper Cruets; £72.

Above: The table setting exudes Old World glamor.

Above: The layers of vaulted arches in the main restaurant are visible through the Art Deco arches.

N.B.: This post is an update of a post which originally posted on September 29, 2011.

Planning a trip to London this summer? See some of our other favorite London Restaurants listed in our City Guides.

The glamor of New York, for me, has to be the view of its skyline from within the depths of its buildings as an insider pondering the history of the city’s glorious skyscrapers.

With their classic talent for reworking existing spaces to achieve their maximum potential, New York architects Platt Dana (a member of the Remodelista Architect and Designer Directory) have remodeled a 2,800-square-foot apartment in New York’s Flatiron district to great effect. By moving the kitchen into what was previously a green house, the apartment now offers the perfect viewing platform for the glamorous city beyond; a glass of wine included.

Above: The living and kitchen area are on the top floor of the apartment, where the view is always present. A Hanging Mobile light fixture by David Weeks hangs above the island's statuary marble counter top.

Above: The architects gutted the apartment completely and took the opportunity to move the kitchen to the existing greenhouse.

Above: Custom walnut cabinets provide storage and a location for the ovens.

Above: The minimally detailed glass stair rail shows no hardware - an engineering feat.

Above: The architects replaced sliding picture windows with casement windows to emulate industrial loft spaces in the entry hall of the first level of the apartment.

Above: Walnut window sills were added to match the walnut herringbone floor.

Above: While the walnut wood flooring is continuous throughout, the walnut herringbone in the entry becomes four-inch-strip walnut flooring everywhere else.

Above: The custom-designed bookcases are paint-grade poplar and were sprayed in a mill work shop.

Above: New York- and Seattle-based furniture and cabinet makers Henrybuilt supplied the bathroom vanity as well as the kitchen cabinets.

Above: A combination of Asher Gray Marble Tiles on the walls and Luxor Gray Tiles on the floor (both from Ann Sacks) create a quiet and luxurious but modern backdrop in the bathroom.

Interested in seeing more work by Platt Dana? See The Architect Is In: Making the Most of Your Floor Plan.

Who has $2,000 to drop on a glass coffee table on wheels? I don't, which is why I'm considering making my own.

If you're like us, and admire the pricy Tavolino Con Ruote (a glass table designed by Gae Aulenti, recently seen in 10 Versatile Coffee Tables on Wheels), then read on to see how you can create something similar for a fraction of the price. 

N.B. Etsy seller Andrew Kim also offers an Aulenti and Fontana Arte Inspired Glass Table for $885.

Above: A living room via Marie Claire Maison.

Above: The Tavolo Con Ruote Coffee Table on wheels is $2,080 at Design Within Reach. 

Above: The Tavolino Con Ruote Wheel. For those who prefer the look of new casters, consider ordering two pairs from McMaster-Carr (which carries endless options in different dimensions, starting around $30). Source the glass (make sure it's tempered) from your local glass shop or online from a supplier like Vermont-based Dulles Glass & Mirror. They will be able to cut the table to your preferred dimension and drill holes to fit the wheel hardware (screws and nuts).

Above: We also like the idea of using vintage wheels, which can be sourced from Etsy. Photo by Gazaboo via Etsy.  

If a glass table isn't your dream idea, here are 17 other DIY Tables to consider.

For the record, Jamie Iacoli and Brian McAllister were using metals like brass and copper long before they were the material du jour. We particularly like their use in their line of Spica lighting, named after the brightest star in the Virgo constellation. For more information, go to Iacoli & McAllister.

Above: Large Brass Spica; $1,295 (also available in copper or steel).

Above: Detail of Large Copper Spica; $1,295.

Above: Small Copper Spica; $795.

N.B. If you are headed to ICFF, be sure to check them out; for more, see our previous Posts on Iacoli & McAllister.

Last year I was obsessed with tasteful white Carrara marble (I now have a collection of polished pastry boards and candleholders from Etsy). But recently I've been really into ugly marble.

You know the kind I'm talking about: green, slightly stained (we'll call it "wabi-sabi"), maroon, and even pink. I like it all mixed together and lately I'm noticing, well, I'm not the only one. Here are 10 of our favorite new uses for colored marble in interiors:

Above: A marble bath in a Collector's NYC Townhouse designed by Selldorf Architects.

Above: Flor di Pesco in the kitchen of Belgian designer Michael Verheyden seen on Emma's Design Blogg.

Above: A master bathroom clad in Brescia Violetta, an extremely rare marble, in a London Victorian townhouse by Rundell Associates.

Above: A London apartment designed by Rose Uniacke features an original navy colored marble fireplace.

Above: A penthouse bath by UK designer David Hicks featuring a dark-veined marble sink.

Above: An original brown marble fireplace photographed by Diane Hendrikx for Belgian Designers and Their Interiors.

Above: A vintage marble sink from Tom Givone's Floating Farmhouse.

Above: Another bathroom by Rundell Associates in London in a patchwork of pink Flor di Pesco.

Above: A pale pink countertop from A Guest House in Porto for the Creative Set.

Above: A bathtub in a Topanga Canyon, CA, house designed by Barbara Bestor.

Not convinced? Sticking with white Carrara? Check out our Marble Bath Roundup and Baths from the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory for more.

Just as pets resemble their owners, the 5.2 million trees that manage to survive in Manhattan and its boroughs closely echo the mad mix of humanity that calls the metropolis home. Some are young and struggling, some tall and far reaching, quite a few are drop-dead gorgeous, many have been around seemingly forever, most are anonymous. And all have stories to tell. Having you been listening? 

Fortunately, writer, photographer, and former parks employee Benjamin Swett has. For his new book, New York City of Trees, Swett roamed the city, from the Bronx to Washington Square Park to Staten Island, and from garden to sidewalk to highway median, photographing and chronicling the stories behind some of New York’s wildest and most stalwart residents.

Photographs by Benjamin Swett.

Above: This tulip tree, the tallest tree in Queens, overlooks six lanes of traffic on the Long Island Expressway. After comparing the tree's measurements with those from a 1943 park map, Swett discussed its "balding bark and narrow, dense crown" with a specialist at Columbia University's Tree Ring Lab and surmises it could be 168 years old.

Above; Swett wasn't fixed on merely finding out the age of the 50 or so trees he investigated; he wanted to celebrate their connection to New York history and the impact trees have on those who live in their midst.

“We know that trees improve living conditions in cities by filtering and cooling the air, absorbing excess rainwater, and making neighborhoods more attractive,” he writes. “But little has been said about the importance of trees as keepers of a city’s past. The aim in taking these pictures—aside from taking the best photographs I could—was to try to bring back into focus an aspect of the city that most people tend to take for granted until something happens to it. The idea has been to remind New Yorkers how much of their own lives and the lives of neighbors these trees quietly contain.”

He photographed this Yoshino cherry, one of 27 specimens that form a double row along the east side of the Central Park Reservoir, early in the morning "before the sun had a chance to introduce its fatal yellows." It arrived in 1912, he tells us, as part of a gift of 2,000 cherry trees to the city from the city of Tokyo, and was a replacement for an earlier shipment, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of the Hudson, that was entirely lost at sea.

Above: "As everyone knows, the tree of heaven is a weed tree, a vicious invasive that would take root in a soda can if given the opportunity," writes Swett. "Just the sight of it, in many people's minds, breeds thoughts of insurrection against the urban grid."

Ailanthus, as its properly known, was introduced, he notes, as an ornamental from China in 1784 and is now the most common tree in New York. These specimens sprouted in "classic ailanthus territory," in a forgotten spot under an abandoned railroad track. Eight months later, Swett returned and found them missing. Just weeks before the photo was taken, he later learned, the city council had voted to turn the defunct railroad track into a park. It's now part of the thriving and much-copied High Line, which features sophisticated plantings that evoke the look of the tracks when they were long abandoned.

 Above: A flourishing Chinese Maidenhair ginkgo overlooks Broadway along the southeast corner of Isham Park, in Inwood. First imported from China as specimen trees for parks and estates, the species, Swett explains, exhibited great hardiness, and soon became a favorite for not-very-hospitable city streets. "Building superintendents love them," he notes, "because in the fall their leaves drop all at once, making cleanup easier."

Swett traces this one's origins to the late 1860s or 1870s when it was likely planted at the entrance of tanner William B. Isham's estate, now an urban park with nothing like an estate in the vicinity. It stands on what was the Boston Post Road, the main route to and from Manhattan. If you visit, look for the 18th century marker that Swett says is hidden on the retaining wall beneath it. Part of Ben Franklin's traffic marker program, it indicates that City Hall is 12 miles away.

Above: Swett captured this English elm in Madison Square Park as it was failing. One of a grove of seven that originally shaded the park, which opened in 1847, it may have been damaged by extensive paving—Swett notes that its roots "at some point curled back around each other and around the trunk in a process known as girdling"—or, he says, it may have succumbed to old age.

Tree fashions, Swett points out, are ever changing. Planted in the Boston Common, the English elm was for a 19th-century moment the specimen of choice for parks, streets, and gardens. The horse chestnut and osage orange later came in vogue, followed by the soon-to-be-diseased American elm, and, in more recent years, the resilient Callery pear, honeylocust, and Norway maple. Proliferation, as it always does, breeds a desire for the new. But the remains of the English elm are still in place. Now just a gray shaft, it was in the prime of its life back in 1931 when the Empire State Building rose in the skyline behind it.

Above: Swett was drawn to this European Hornbeam at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, not because it's exotic or impressively old or tall, but because it's so good looking. "Sometimes—and often, as with people simply because of the way they appear on a particular day, in some combination of weather and light—a tree stands out for the perfection of its form...It is simply, purely, what it is supposed to be."

Above: While passing a parking lot en route to a Chelsea art opening, Swett discovered one of his favorite trees, a humble Callery pear. He visited it often, in different seasons.

Above: Callery pear trees, Swett says, are prized for their fast growth, tolerance to pollution, and beauty in all seasons.  "It was not a big or unusual or important tree," he writes, "but it had a nice shape and went well with the building behind it and I liked it."

Above: In the most poignant portrait in his book, Swett captured the crane that he discovered in place of his tree—removed out of the blue to make way for an extension of the No. 7 subway line. "Maybe," he wonders, "somebody thought that so many Callery pears are planted in Manhattan (about 7,800 at last count) nobody would mind the loss of this one."

Above: A century-old copper beach with an auburn afro-like canopy stands at the top of the lawn at Wave Hill, a tiny gem of a public garden in the Bronx where in fall and spring Swett teaches a series of tree photography classes.  For more on Wave Hill, see A Visit to an Amazing Fall Garden.

Above: Like most successful New Yorkers, the American elm has the ability to bend and stretch rather than be crowded out. This one, likely planted in 1934 by Robert Moses' crew, grows on the side of Harlem River Drive originally known as the Speedway. The bridge behind it, the High Bridge, dates to 1848 and once carried water from the Croton Aqueduct across the Harlem River. Intended as a pedestrian-only walkway—Edgar Allan Poe "spent much of the last melancholy year of his life strolling across it from his cottage on Kingsbridge Road," writes Swett—it's slated to reopen to walkers some time next year.

Above: New York City of Trees is $20.25 from Amazon.

The book's cover shows a century-old cluster of Katsura trees in a park in Flushing, Queens. Its fallen leaves, according to Swett, smell like cotton candy and its branches create a cathedral-like canopy, making the clearing under them a favorite spot for wedding photos. Swett traces the trees' origin to seeds sent home from Japan by one of President Lincoln's consuls whose brother ran a nursery in Queens.

As part of the Parks Department's program to preserve the genetic stock of the city's designated Great Trees, these Katsuras, he reassures us, have been cloned and eventually will be planted in all five boroughs. In other words, New York's tree future seems promising. Here's hoping that tomorrow's sprouts make their way into books like this one.

Do you want to grow your own giant tree? See "A (Tiny) Giant Sequoia Tree."

When New York's Fort Standard adds dark marble to their mix of offerings, you know it's time to pay attention. Here are our current five favorites in the dark marble department:

Above: Fort Standard's Rainforest Brown Marble Candlesticks are $70 from Sight Unseen.

Above: Currently coveting: the wall-mountable  Marble Box from Belgian designers Fien Muller and Hannes van Severen (of Muller Van Severen).

Above: Fort Standard's Stone Coasters with leather bottoms are $84 each from The Future Perfect.

Above: Discovered via Ensuite, Parisian artist Olivier Sévère's En Mains Propres is a reinterpretation of the Pro Ven Di Revolving Soap Holder. Sévère works with marble in much of his work; contact Olivier Sévère for more information.

Above: Green Marble Mortar and Pestle; $24.99 from Chef Gadget.

 What's the ultimate use for marble? We think it might be this: Sculpture for the Urban Surfer.

Will Fisher, founder of antique and reproduction house Jamb Limited, is known around London as the antique dealer with an eye, which he applies artfully not only to furniture and objects but to the elegant, spare spaces which they inhabit. His newly expanded showroom on Pimlico Road in London embodies his grand aesthetic that speaks of another time as much it speaks of today. We recently caught up with him there to get his tips for creating grandeur in the  home.

Above: Dr. Oliver Bronson's House, an important 
survivor 
from 
the
 Picturesque
 era 
in 
America architecture located in Hudson, NY, displays a faded grandeur behind its layers of peeling paint and wallpaper.

Remodelista: Your spaces are filled with an Old World yet comfortable grandeur. How do you bring this about?

Will Fisher: The key to success is faded grandeur. The suggestion of a slightly tiered gilded surface hidden under layers of grime; a flamboyant painting bowing under the weight of its own surface! Furniture and objects need to look as if they have grown roots they have been in situ so long. A room should have a sense that it has evolved with time, grown with its occupants or generations.

Above: A classical head on an overscaled base lends an air of stateliness to Fishers' home. Photograph by Simon Upton.

RM: Does scale play a significant part in your work?

WF: I have always loved overscaled objects. Architectural monumental bookcases at the back of rooms which loom over their surroundings like a Roman sky line. Vastly deep sofas give a sense of luxury whilst monumental sculpture adds an unsurpassed grandness.

Above: Fisher has painted Jamb's new showroom in soft colors which provide a quiet back drop to his antique furniture and chimney pieces. Photograph by John Hammond.

RM: How do color and materials come into your work?

WF: Color is probably one of the most important factors in creating the right ambience. I tend to favor soft colors that give a quiet backdrop to the surroundings; however vibrant colors and different materials can work exceptionally well. Spanish 18th-century embossed leather and Chinese painted wallpaper both give a rich layer and a sense of grandeur.

Above: Antique dealer, Will Fisher flanked by two key pieces in his living room, an overscaled monument and an antique chimneypiece. Photograph by Simon Upton.

RM: What are the basic requisites to creating a grand, glamorous and comfortable space?

WF: Always start with the chimneypiece , this sets the scene and the entire tone of the room from which to work.

Above: A low ceiling room can take on an air of grandness with an authentic chimneypiece, antique floors, and a quiet ceiling cornice. Photograph by John Hammond.

RM: I live in a small modern townhouse with no historical details and 9-foot-high ceilings.  If I came to you and said I wanted to create grandeur without artifice, what would you advise?

WF: Firstly, I would focus on the fireplace and moldings. Change the fire surround to one that suits your desired aesthetic and install a ceiling cornice that looks quiet but formal. Change the doors, door moldings, and skirtings; and then install an antique floor. The stage is set!

Above: A view of Jamb's new showroom showing Fisher's artful mixing of new and old. Photograph by John Hammond.

RM: Steeped in the world of antiques, the grandeur you help to create is imbued with history.  Do you think it’s possible to create glamor and grandeur from new things without being too "shiny"?

WF: It’s all about surface and mixing new and old. In this day and age there is no excuse for new things to be too "shiny." I love creating environments that are entirely our new line but appear authentic in every way. It is a challenge but extremely satisfying when a room looks entirely plausible.

Above: A set of Roxburghe armchairs from the period of George II.

RM: What is the one item that you think would instantly imbue a room with grandness?

WF:  A George II Roxburghe armchair which is a gilt wood and upholstered open armchair circa 1740, simply because it exudes pure decadence.

See how Will Fisher practises what he preaches in At Home with London's Antiques Whisperer or in An Antiques Collector at Home in London.
 

 

This week we'll be heading to ICFF, the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York; where we'll be checking out some of our favorite West Coast designers showing this year. If convention centers are not your thing, the Noho Design District has plenty of good design on offer as well.

• Alexa is admiring this chair by Kyle Garner for his Sit and Read line, on view at Inventory as part of Noho Design. Also check out the latest collaboration between Environment and LA firm Commune.
• Need some design advice? Check out Paul Wiseman's renovation tips for Dering Hall.
• Sarah shares her current crop of design books on the Mulberry Blog.

• You might be too late to sign up for Sunday Supper's Foraging and Styling workshop, but there's still room for their upcoming Paella and Tapas Class on June 30th.
• If summery weather has you in the mood to entertain, check out Real Simple's Party Checklist.
• Julie is heading to SummerHouse in Mill Valley this weekend to check out their annual spring sale.

• Stacey is taking notes from LA linen designer Heather Taylor.
• For the Aspen bound, a new Bar and Eatery designed by one of our LA favorites, Scout Regalia (check them out at ICFF, too).

If "cabin" for you conjures small and humble, then admittedly we use the term broadly. Here, ten homes that speak the cabin vernacular; some in east coast style, some west, but all summery, nature-based, and beautiful.

For more, visit the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory. 

Above: This cabin by San Francisco-based Nick Noyes Architecture sits on a 60-foot-wide ocean bluff in the Sonoma County coastal community of Sea Ranch. A copper-clad chimney connects two wings shielding an inner courtyard from the coastal winds.

Above: A small modernist cottage on Shelter Island by NYC-based Deborah Berke Partners; see more at Architect Visit: Deborah Berke and Suzanne Shaker in Shelter Island.

Above: This East Hampton residence by NYC-based Billinkoff Architecture is comprised of a string of small buildings connected by an indoor corridor, maximizing opportunities for indoor/outdoor living.

Above: Seattle-based Heliotrope Architects designed this Whidbey Island, Washington, summer home for a retired couple who wanted ample space to entertain guests but wanted to keep the overall scale of their home small. Heliotrope maximized the oceanfront space and eliminated sprawl in the back. Photos by Julie Marquart. 

Above: This beach house from the portfolio of Bainbridge Island, Washington-based Michelle Burgess Design welcomes guests with a covered waterfront sitting porch.

Above: This cabin by Seattle-based FINNE Architects looks right at home in the Pacific Northwest but is actually on the shores of Lake Superior. The main living area sports a simple shed roof and timber ceiling and a 40-foot-high glass wall facing the lake. Photo by Eric Hausman.  

Above: This vacation home by Bethesda, Maryland-based McInturff Architects was designed for a multigenerational family with strong connections to the site. Residents enter the home via a boardwalk that crosses the meadow and extends through the house and beyond toward the lake.

Above: The owners of this Orcas Island, Washington, cabin wanted all the comforts of home without any excess to distract from the land and view. Heliotrope designed a minimal space with glass walls, providing views onto the beach in front and meadow behind.

Above: This 1920s creekside cabin in Calistoga, California, was remodeled by Sonoma-based Amy A. Alper, Architect. The original layout of the weekend home occluded views of the seasonal creek, so Alper designed a double-height living room addition to wrap around the exterior. Photo by Eric Rorer. 

Above: This summer ranch by San Antonio-based Lake | Flato Architects sprawls over several buildings, meant to recall the summer camps of the owner's youth. Above, a lakeside pavilion with a screened sleeping porch, outdoor dining area, and dock.  Photo by Chris Cooper.

For a cabin on a smaller (but equally modern) scale, see Architect Visit: Pine Forest Cabin by Balance Associates. 

Danes often dress in colorful clothing, and lately we have noticed those bright colors rubbing off in the design of their home goods. Newcomer Oyoy is no exception.

It's not by coincidence that designer Lotte Fynboe named her home accessory company Oyoy; the first two letters (oy) have been written on every Danish airplane since 1929 and symbolize an international approach to design (fittingly, Fynboe takes her inspiration from both classic Scandinavian and Japanese style, with an emphasis on simplicity and quality materials). Luckily for those of us in the US, the line is available from LA-based Huset. For more information, visit Oyoy.

Above: The Oyoy Circus Cushion in pink (R) is $58 from Huset. 

Above: The 100 percent wool Barbell Cushion (L) is $105 from Huset.

Above: Oyoy offers a variety of colorful home goods. 

Above: Cutting Boards are available in blue and white or black and white; $38 from Huset. The Hexagon Tea Towels are $18 for a set of two.

Above: The Una Box comes in two sizes (large and small) and is made from ash with a copper or brass lid; pricesstart at $52.50 from Huset. 

 Above: The Oyoy Japanese Cushions are $48 from Huset. 

Are you into Danish design? See our Shopping Guide for 85 more Danish products that might pique your interest. 

Like many onetime household standbys, linseed oil paint is making a comeback—and we're all for it.

When London artist Marianna Kennedy told us about Holkham Linseed Paints (she uses them throughout her artistic home in Spitalfields), we wanted to know more. Holkham, based in the UK, makes all of its linseed paints and accouterments in Sweden. Unlike conventional paints, which use a physical barrier to protect wood, linseed oil paint actually absorbs into the wood itself, nourishing and protecting the wood for the long haul. About every seven years, the pigment will start to fade and should be given a maintenance coat to revive its color. What's more, linseed oil paint is nontoxic and safe for use in your home. (In fact, linseed oil is better known in the US as flaxseed oil, the stuff nutritionists keep encouraging you to drink more of.)

Above: Holkham Linseed Paint with a traditional Scandinavian Round Spooned Brush, available in sizes from 20 mm to 45 mm; prices start at ₤12.59 for the brush at Paint & Paper.

Above: Linseed Oil Paint in Old Blue, Linseed Blue, and Ice Blue. ₤45.46 for 1 liter.

Above: Linseed Coloured Wax is ideal for wood in need of restorative care and protection but where only sheer color is desired. ₤15.74 for 200 ml.

Above: Linseed Oil Paint in Sea Mist, Lichen, and Spruce Green.

This post is an update; the original ran on June 7, 2012

A friend of mine uses tin cans with votives for outdoor lighting in the summer (the reflection of the light on the tin makes for a good glow). We like this iteration too: pastel color painted tins used as instant pencil holders. Easy enough for even the DIY averse. See below for details.

Above: Dip dyed cans via Frkmayasloft.

Carefully peel off the label of a tin can and make sure to completely remove the glue bit where the label is attached. Dip the tin into a can of your favorite colored paint and set out on wax paper to dry.

Above: Here are a couple of pastels from Olympic to try: Parchment Paper (L) and Pale Petal Pink (R).

For the pastel-color inclined, here's another DIY project: Pastel Painted Chopping Boards. See more of our Pastel Posts. 

A while back a reader wrote asking for more color (his words might have been, "I love gray and white, but I need some other ideas!"). We came up with this casual living room featuring a single wall painted a bright absinthe-tinged yellow, with cheerful botanical-green accents. Recreate the look with the following elements:

Above: Photo by Tom Leighton, via Desire to Inspire.

Above: A wood-burning stove (the Russel Pinch table is not kindling, FYI).

Above: How Australian: a vase of fragrant eucalyptus.

Above: The Hans Wegner Coffee Table is $2,490 from Design Within Reach. 

Above: For a similar midcentury sofa, consider the Case Study V-Leg Daybed from Modernica.

Above: The Night Carafe from Tortoise General Store in LA is $53and also comes in blue or clear glass.

Above: Bud Vase in verde is $22 at Heath Ceramics.

Above: The table shown is UK-based Pinch Design's Twig Cube, made from copiced hazel (also available as a bench); contact Pinch directly for more information.

Above: The Bestlite Wall Lamp BL5 designed by Robert Dudley Best is available from Matter in NYC; contact them directly for pricing.

Above: Heather Amuny-Dey Pear Bird Print; $40 at Design Public.

Above: Heather Amuny-Dey Bird Tree Print; $40 at Design Public.

Above: India Yellow, a paint shade first available in England in the 18th century. Go to Farrow & Ball to locate a dealer.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 24, 2009.