And The Winner Is?
Make A Rustic Sawhorse Table For Under $40
New York design icon Jeffrey Bilhuber, with his book Defining Luxury, at a Doyle New York gallery book signing event. Photo: Jane Freiman
Jeffrey Bilhuber, the tall, sandy-haired New York design icon, who has famously done houses for Vogue's Anna Wintour, Law & Order star Mariska Hargitay and pop idol David Bowie, is standing in the east gallery at the Doyle New York auction house, on East 87th Street, cell phone in hand, pulling up a photo of his son, Johann Christoph, an adorable 2-1/2 year old.
Bilhuber was at Doyle Monday night, signing copies of his second book Defining Luxury, the Qualities of Life at Home (Rizzoli, $65) two years post-publication.
His appearance was a draw to support the auction of furniture and decorative accessories assembled by three dealers who are Bilhuber' friends: Jonathan Burden, John J. Gredler and George Glazer. The 200-lot sale takes place tomorrow, Wed. January 27, at 10 am with a theme of The Well-Appointed Room. "I like what they sell and I like who they are and they have become my extended family," he said.
Bilhuber believes in "resources we need to inspire and guide us," the subject of his next book -- American Beauty -- due out in the fall of 2011. Those include Crate & Barrel, where he says he's as happy shopping "as I am at Christie's or Doyle" auction houses. He believes in salvaging good things when you renovate, as he did with his latest house on Long Island. He bought a stuffed peacock for his apartment living room on eBay.
This designer's designer is known for classic rooms furnished with a mix of antiques and elaborately upholstered pieces. His sofa skirts are lavishly pleated, finished with decorative trim, or embellished with special fringe. Fine upholstery and draperies are passions and his strengths, two reasons his work commands so much respect. "If you use a patterned fabric for the curtains, you should always use that same pattern on at least one other piece of furniture in the room," he advises.
Still, he says, he would be as happy in a "monochromatic modern setting as I am in an exuberant traditional country house. I would love to do a one-room shack on the beach as much as I would love to do a glamorous, glistening penthouse on Fifth Avenue. I'm open to contemporary ideas and changes. There's nothing I really hate."
Jeffrey Bilhuber's New York living room with its stenciled wood floors, gingham-upholstered walls and a stuffed peacock found on eBay. Photo: Jeffrey Bilhuber
