Williams-Sonoma Home Cashmere Blanket Winners!

We're expecting a snow storm in New York tomorrow so I am sure I will be bundled up with my cashmere blanket watching movies! Soon the winners of the Williams-Sonoma Home Cashmere Blanket Giveaway will be wrapped in warm cashmere too! Out of 1276 entries, the three chosen from the random number generator were EJ M. from Stafford, CT; Kisha from Ontario, Canada; and Jennifer V. of Chicago, IL. Congratulations! You can also choose your color so email me back soon with your choices! Bon Weekend!

Habitually Chic Week of Giveaways!

I'm in the giving mood this week and my readers will be the lucky recipients of this holiday spirit! I will be posting a new item everyday through Thursday so you'll have lot of chances to win! Today's giveaway is the fabulous Williams-Sonoma Home cashmere throw blanket! Williams-Sonoma Home is generously offering three blankets to Habitually Chic readers just in time to curl up with this winter!

To enter the contest, please send your name and address to the special contest email address, habituallychiccontest@gmail.com so that Williams-Sonoma Home can send you the blanket directly. No one will be using your information for any other purpose but this giveaway. Please include the word blanket in the subject line. Anyone who emails me directly or does not include their mailing address will be disqualified. One entry per person. Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm EST on Thursday, December 17, 2009. Three winners will be randomly selected from the entries and will be announced on Friday, December 18, 2009.

Happy Holidays and Good Luck!

Williams-Sonoma Home Designer Series

I am beyond excited and thrilled to one of the designers featured in the new Williams-Sonoma Home Designer Series! I'm also more than a little humbled to be in company of the inaugural group that includes the venerable designers Carolyne Roehm and Alexa Hampton, as well the uber talented Monelle Totah and Kirsty Williams from Williams-Sonoma Home. I enjoyed reading their design advice and I hope you enjoy reading mine too! I owe a big thank you to the kind folks at Williams-Sonoma Home who've been great supporters of me and my blog and also to my photographer Jonathan Ragle for his great portrait photo! And of course, a big thank you to all my loyal readers and friends for whom I write my blog everyday! Your continued encouragement means the world to me! Merci beaucoup!

Meet Monelle

I first met Monelle Totah, the vice president of design for Williams-Sonoma Home at the new store opening party last October and was immediately interested in her job. The product development aspect sounded so interesting and quite frankly like a dream job that few know about or even realize is an option when they are going to college. I asked the powers that be at Williams-Sonoma Home if I could interview Monelle for the blog. Everything was on track until I suggested that photos of her home would make a great addition to the story and was told that a big fancy shelter magazine has just shot it and there was no way to post them until it was published. I am happy to report that Monelle's beautiful home was just featured in the July issue of Elle Decor which means that I can finally present her to you! So with out further ado, please meet Monelle!

Monelle Totah grew up in Louisiana and has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Louisiana State University but it is her childhood that really influenced her future career in design at Williams-Sonoma Home. She says she read somewhere that “southerners are a tenacious lot, we take our homes seriously.” She can also remember the first time she met her mother’s decorator. “He came over with story boards and I was in complete fascination,” she says. Monelle also traveled a lot on family vacations where even at a young age she was purchasing, rummaging and collecting. “I love product!” she also states. “I am constantly shopping…yes for shoes and handbags as well!” She grew up wanting to be a merchant in the truest sense of word and loved to discover, design, develop beautiful things. “I suppose that is why I love what I do!”

Another interesting and influential aspect to her childhood was that both her parents were excellent cooks. Monelle’s father had a restaurant in Louisiana for 20 years. “I grew up in a family that the kitchen was the center of the world and the home was an extension of that. Even today in my home, I love to cook and entertain!”

Monelle Totah has been with Williams-Sonoma for over 19 years! It all began in 1986 when, alongside the company’s founder, Chuck Williams, she created the Chambers brand. Launched as a catalog in 1989, Chambers was the first brand in the U.S. to offer the finest in European linens and hotel quality towels. During her 9-year career with the brand, Monelle was responsible for product design, merchandising, and inventory management. Her history with Chambers led her to also create the Chambers Heritage bedding collection, now a Williams-Sonoma Home mainstay.

Prior to Williams-Sonoma Home, she was the director of furniture and lighting design at Pottery Barn where she helped grow the lighting and upholstery assortments into the core collections they are today. In addition, she was the senior director of design for Banana Republic Home where she was responsible for designing home textiles and bedding.

Monelle has since led the design team at Williams-Sonoma Home since the launch of the brand in 2004. Under her guidance, the Williams-Sonoma Home custom upholstery program has grown to offer more than 150 fabrics on more than 77 different frames. She has also led the creation of a fine art assortment that includes rare lithographs and limited-edition and signed art previously unavailable in a retail environment.

HC: Williams-Sonoma Home represents classic style. How do you reinterpret that each season to make it fresh and exciting for your customers?

MT: Based on our travels, where we have been or read, our inspiration changes for each season. Whether we are picking a fabric, a texture, a material, or sometimes a place – with color, icons, materials and fabrications, we do try to keep each season exciting and new. We edit through a lot!

HC: Does WSH look at trends? And if so, how do you incorporate them without creating "trendy" products?
MT: While we are often inspired by fashion, especially in the textiles area, when creating the color palette or a design detail that can be incorporated into a home textile. We rarely look to “trends.” Each season we tell a story by creating environments, compelling color stories and interesting materials, weaves and finishes.

HC: Do you travel for inspiration and if so, in what cities or countries have you found the most inspiration?

MT: We do travel and get inspiration from so many cities for so many things. My first is Paris, of course! The Porte de Clignancourt flea market is always a source for inspiration, as is my favorite “best for rummaging” Porte de Vanves market. London is great for design inspiration. The interiors are filled with color, there is always that element of surprise! I love the flower markets, whether a restaurant, museum, hotel room or flea market you never know what will inspire you next.

HC: Is there anything you have brought back from a trip that was redesigned as a product for WSH?

MT: I love to hunt for objects that inspire. I have been collecting textiles for over 20 years and we have reproduced so many textile programs from my collections. The antique paisley shawls in fabulous colors will be a woven duvet and I also can’t get enough of the great antique upholstered chairs I have found in Paris. I always come home with one because the silhouettes are often perfect and ready to be brought back and redesigned.

HC: I've noticed a lot of products for entertaining at WSH. Do you find that customers are entertaining more at home these days?

MT: I know I am and do feel that people are staying close to home. Casual “Sunday suppers” are always on the calendar.

HC: Which interior designers past or present have a style that you admire?

MT: I really admire David Hicks, Dororthy Draper, Elsie de Wolfe. It’s amazing they are still so influential! A present day interior designer that I admire is Suzanne Kasler. She is the picture of southern glamour!

HC: Are there any books that you look to time and again for inspiration? Are there any new books that you love or can't wait to read?

MT: I love interior books – Michael Taylor’s new book Michael Taylor: Interior Design is on my list and Carleton Varney Houses in My Heart is great! I am a huge Daryl Carter fan and have not gotten to his book yet either. Too many books, so little time!

HC: The design world is always talking about the movie set designs that inspire them like Auntie Mame and Somethings Gotta Give. Are there any movies that inspire you?

MT: I watched a rerun of the Doris Day and Rock Hudson movie Pillow Talk. The set epitomizes Hollywood chic! I loved the grey walls!

HC: Color trends change for the seasons but are there any colors that you are noticing transcend the seasons and look good all year?

MT: I can’t get enough of the beautiful neutrals, from whites to khaki. We are working a lot with the most beautiful creams, warm wheat tones and buttery yellows.

HC: What is your best advice for anyone who needs a little inspiration right now?

MT: Get out of your office! Go to museums, shop store windows, etc. I love browsing through trim shops, fabric stores and of course book stores!

Photos by Simon Uptown

Williams Sonoma at Home

I was leafing through the March 2008 issue of House Beautiful when I saw a photo of chairs on a stair landing that reminded me of the new Williams-Sonoma Home store in New York. When I looked closer, one of the names of the designers, David DeMattei, sounded familiar. Then I realized that he is the group president for Williams-Sonoma and I actually met him at the opening party last fall. The home has a Williams-Sonoma feeling but is not a literal translation of the store. I'm swamped with work so for more information, you can check out the details at House Beautiful online. Bon Weekend!

Photos by Jose Picayo

Congratulations!

Over 1500 people entered the Williams-Sonoma Home Cashmere Throw Blanket Giveaway but there could only be five winners! They are Heather Morris, Jessica Miller, Merry Hope Hulsey, Chelsea Watlington, and Caroline Brown! I'll be sending your addresses to Williams-Sonoma Home so that soon you can wrap yourself up up comfy cashmere! Congratulations!!!

Habitually Chic Holiday Giveaway!

I've been trying to think of a way to thank my wonderful blog readers for their continued support and encouragement and what better way than a Holiday Giveaway! My friends at Williams-Sonoma Home have generously partnered with me to give FIVE lucky Habitually Chic readers a fabulous cashmere throw blanket!!! Woo hoo!

Now before you get all excited and start emailing me or leaving comments, let me read you the fine print! In order to be qualified for the giveaway, you must email your name, mailing address and telephone number to the special content email address, habituallychiccontest@gmail.com so that Williams-Sonoma Home can mail you your cashmere throw blanket. Anyone who emails my regular email address or who does not include their contact information in their entry will be disqualified. One entry per person please. Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm EST Friday, December 19th. Five entries will be randomly selected and the winners will be announced on Saturday, December 20th. Employees of Habitually Chic are not eligible. (I guess that means me!)

Good luck and happy holidays!

The Social Event of the Season!

I guarantee that no client could get a hold of their interior designer last night to discuss their decorating emergency because everyone in the industry was at the Williams-Sonoma Home store opening party! The place was packed with more than 800 guests and I ran into old friends and made a few new ones during the night. I was very excited to meet Ron Marvin who's apartment is a favorite. I think my excitement might have scared him a little so sorry about that Ron! Ashley Whittaker couldn't have been sweeter and also has a few bachelor clients which was funny to talk about! My friends wouldn't let me leave until I talked to my design idol Steven Gambrel. He and I actually met briefly late last year so it was funny to give him my card and tell him that I styled it after his! Eddie Ross and Ondine from Top Design were also there, as were my friends from Flair. So fun! I unfortunately missed getting a goodie bag though! I hope there wasn't anything too fabulous in it!

I was also very surprised that the team at Williams-Sonoma even knew about my blog, let alone that they were as excited to meet me as I was to meet them! Above are just some of their amazingly talented team from San Francisco including President Dave DeMattei, Patricia Sellman, Monelle Totah, Abigail Jacobs, and Kirsty Williams. Missing was Amanda who I hear is a big fan of my blog! (Sorry you couldn't make it! Email me and we'll chat!)

Williams-Sonoma Home is a welcome addition to the New York marketplace. We often source items from the catalog and online so it will be nice to now be able to go into the store to check things out in person. I especially loved the shagreen boxes and all the sparkly accessories! Stop by and see for yourself the next time you are near Columbus Circle! You won't be disappointed and then on your way out, you can pick up an espresso maker, bundt pan or cookbook in the regular Williams-Sonoma store. One stop shopping at it's finest!