01-26-2012

Crystal Ship Chandeliers

How My Obsession Started

Yes, you read that right…I have a long-standing obsession with crystal ship chandeliers. There is a story behind it and I feel that it was the beginning of my interior design career. I was designing sets for low-budget movies early in my career (first and last time you will hear about that, uggh) and I had just moved in with my then-boyfriend (now husband) to his fabulous brownstone apartment on Lexington. After a number of years with a revolving door of artist roommates, the apartment was definitely “creative” but not in a good way! The walls were white, but the fabulous, original over-scale mouldings were painted various shades of royal blue and purple.

The furniture consisted of 1980s relics that were handed down to Georges from a decorator that he worked for early in his career. I was so excited to move in and start nesting, this to be my first real home without futons and thrift store furniture.

Murial Brandolini Townhouse

During this pivotal year in my life (1994, I think) I came across a Muriel Brandolini spread of her first home in Elle Decor. In her townhouse, she had painted all the rooms in several hues of soothing blues and minty greens and it was the living room with the crystal ship chandelier that I fell in love with. I couldn’t afford this glass, rock crystal and jade version by Claire Cormier-Fauvel, but I did paint our living room walls and mouldings these exact same shades of icy blue and celery green.

Brandolini credits this townhouse as the launching of her “accidental career” and I credit her inspiration as the launching point for mine. The only mistake I made was buying a purple, I mean “aubergine,” sofa from Crate and Barrel because Brandolini’s silk velvet curved lavender sofa was so pretty with these wall colors that I thought I could pull off the whole look….well, I had a lot to learn! And now you can get crystal ship chandeliers from Z Gallerie for $799!

Times have changed!