Buy Two?

Remember back when we talked about Steven Gambrel's bathroom papered entirely with pages from Taschen's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities? I think the designer told Elle Decor that he bought two copies of the book. One to keep and one to take apart.


Well, word on the street is that artist and textile designer Lulu de Kwiatkowski's book, Lulu, is the new lavish volume decorators are secretly aching to use in a similar way. There are whispers of "buy two copies and frame some of the gorgeous pages."



I've only had the book in my hands a few hours -- it will take days to pour over all the details and layers of meaning. But it was definitely worth the wait. And I have to confess, I'm more impressed than I expected to be.



I knew the illustrations would be as sumptuous as the press releases promised. The happy surprise is the highly personal text from Lulu. Her goal is to take us on a voyage of passion, and she does. Some of the stops along the way include Africa, Southeast Asia, Paris, the American East Coast, and the 1970s.

Personally, I'll look at her textiles with deeper understanding from now on. Lulu (the woman) is gorgeous in person and refreshingly easy-going. (Today Jennifer, Millie and I had the fun of meeting the designer in person, hosted by the gracious team at Max & Company.)

Since Lulu has twin boys on the way, I asked about her ideas for the nursery. She said she's been experimenting with blue-and-white -- a mix of her own fabrics and other people's. But when her sons are older she will no doubt let them make their own color choices. That's what her mom did, and clearly Lulu grew up with a well-nourished soul.

A portion of proceeds from the book go to I See Maasai.

For more visit Ammo Books. Gambrel photo by William Waldron for Elle Decor, June/July 2004.