MILIEU Spring 2019

editor’s say

The new and the renewed. That is the theme and idea we chose to focus on at MILIEU for this spring issue. There is an obsession, especially among the millennial generation, for all that is new, but much of what is considered new actually has its roots in the past. The old can become the new and sometimes is the new. We invite you to look closely at our features this month, just to see how we really embraced this idea. Some of our featured interior designers brought new life and identity to old houses—a centuries-old stone building in France, a classic home in Charleston’s historic district, an 1860s church and school in New Orleans that’s now a boutique hotel. And to emphasize our wish to celebrate people of the past…

featured designers

Kay O' Toole Kay O’Toole, who runs her namesake antiques business in Houston, likes to say of the items she acquires, “I try to buy things that are dramatic, that make a difference in your home, and that represent a personal connection.” She describes herself as a Texan and someone “who believes that a home should be personal and have drama, with room to breathe.” Kathryn M. Ireland A native of England, Kathryn Ireland was raised both there and in Scotland. Prior to launching her interior design business in the early 1990s, Ireland, who established herself in Los Angeles in 1986, was an actress, clothing designer, and filmmaker. Today she is considered one of the most influential interior and textile designers in the world. In addition, she is the founder of "The Perfect…

competing for attention

spring bling

close knit

Thomas Callaway Pattern Works’ Left Bank Collection is a line of handprinted Belgian linen fabrics with a decidedly mid-century French feel. “It’s been a long time since I designed things in a painterly, print-making way,” says Callaway, “but the process of creating these textiles reminded me of my admiration of that period in art history and of that early time in my life. These patterns reflect those influences with a range of designs that share a particular flavor; my love of that period and of that remarkable group of artists is recalled very romantically in these designs.” When he was a young art student, Callaway became enthralled with the early twentieth-century painters he studied while living in Amsterdam and Paris, post-Cubist artists who continue even today to influence his design work.…

indian itinerary

I have been to India more than fifty times, and I never go without visiting Delhi. Many visitors just stop there overnight while recovering from jet lag, enroute to see the Taj Mahal in Agra or the Pink City of Jaipur. What a mistake! Scottish writer William Dalrymple labeled Delhi “City of Djinns” (City of Ghosts) in his travelogue/memoir of the same name. Djinns because Delhi has been burned, destroyed, and rebuilt eight times; the djinns loved it so much they could never bear to see it empty. Part of Delhi’s magic is about the visible traces left from each past life. Delhi is a multi-layered city with each layer telling a story, not only about the place itself but also about India. New Delhi is so lush and verdant that…