A Chat With Jeremy Corkern

Mid-century renovation by Bates Corkern Studio.  Interior design by Betsy Brown.  It was a treat to tour this amazing project with Jeremy earlier this month!

One of the best parts of working in the design world is meeting the wonderful, creative individuals who influence the industry.  Architect Jeremy Corkern of Bates Corkern Studio in Birmingham, Alabama is one of the first talents I met in the business, and one of the nicest, too.  It had been a few years since I had seen Jeremy (although it is easy to follow Bates Corkern Studio's projects in House Beautiful, Veranda, and many other magazines) so during a recent trip to Birmingham, it was great fun to chat with Jeremy about architecture, his inspirations, his favorite houses, and his recent work.

Brunschwig & Fils Purchased By Kravet

Brunschwig and Fils chintz was quilted and made into slipcovers for this East Hampton living room designed by Rob Southern as featured in the March 2011 issue of House Beautiful.

In January 2011, iconic fabric house Brunschwig & Fils filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of declining revenues since the onset of the financial crisis.  At yesterday's heated auction, competing fabric house Kravet outbid investment firm Soverign Partners to purchase Brunschwig & Fils.

Slab Marble - Coldstone minus the Ice Cream



The carved marble wall panels bring the eye up and add architectural oomph (bathroom by Mary Spalding as featured in Veranda, June 2009). 

Marble can instantly elevate a kitchen or bathroom from ordinary to luxurious.  There are countless ways to cut and install marble, but my favorite is to keep it in the slab form.  Slab marble shows off the irregular lines and natural beauty of the stone.  Slabs can add scale and drama to a large room or make a smaller space seem bigger with less interruption from grout lines.  Be careful when installing slabs on bathroom floors and buy some pretty mats so you don't slip!  

Hubby's Corner: Wall Curtains

 Bedroom with wall curtain by Lindsey Bond as featured in the October 2010 issue of House Beautiful.

Big fan of the unnecessary curtain against a wall.  The fact that there’s a curtain begs the question to what it’s hiding, and if people are questioning why it’s there, they’re interested, no? The point is to fill a void.

"Something's Gotta Give" Inspire Jim and Phoebe Howard for House Beautiful's Showhouse Apartment



Living Room from Something's Gotta Give.

 Something's Gotta Give is one of my favorite movies not only because of the charming storyline, but because of the gorgeous, oceanfront Hamptons cottage setting.  The style is similar to that of my first employers, the uber talented design duo Phoebe and Jim Howard.  House Beautiful commissioned the Howard's to create their Designer Vision's apartment in The Setai Fifth Avenue, Manhattan's newest luxury hotel and apartment high rise.  Classic movie sets was the theme of this year's Designer Vision's so naturally the Howard's chose Something's Gotta Give as their cinematic inspiration.  The Howard's did a beautiful job and you can check it out in the November issue of House Beautiful. 

A subtle palate makes this living room blend in with the sky view. 
The high gloss ceiling adds glamour.