Filed under: Design, etc, House Tours, News & Trends
Photo: Claridge's
The famed fashion designer takes a turn as decorator for the newly revamped Claridge's Hotel in London.
Diane von Furstenberg has been flexing her interior design muscles a lot recently, with a collection of rugs for The Rug Company and a new line of home goods for Springs Global. While your ShelterPop editors weren't wowed by the home goods collection, we were thrilled to see von Furstenberg's style translated into three dimensions at the American Fashion: Designers At The Aldyn show house earlier this year. However, von Furstenberg's latest interior venture may be out favorite so far: A series of hotel suites and rooms at London's venerable Claridge's Hotel.
The von Furstenberg suites, designed in collaboration with interior decorator Olivier Gelbsman, all exhibit DVF's signature prints and style -- think big, bold and feminine. While a night at the luxury hotel is out of most people's price range, we can all still drool over the photos of the DVF-inspired rooms. Better still, we can learn a thing or two from Diane's super-chic decor style.
One of the DVF-designed guest rooms at Claridge's Hotel. Photo: Claridge's Hotel
For crisp contrast, you can't go wrong with classic black and white. Von Furstenberg, who is known for her colorful prints, demonstrated some restraint with color in her design for the suites at Clardige's. The bedroom above, for example, features a palette of mostly black and white. Follow von Furnstenburg's lead for a color scheme that will never go out of style.
A huge headboard is a whimsical touch in this bedroom. Photo: Claridge's
The oversized headboards in the von Furstenberg rooms give the spaces a sense of drama. While the headboards at Claridge's are custom-made, you could create a similar look at home. Simply take some instructions for a DIY headboard and scale up the dimensions to make a big impact.
Lesson #3: You can never have too much of a good print.
Never shy of pattern, von Furstenberg has used her fabric on multiple items in each room: Curtains, headboards, bedskirts, pillows, upholstery, etc. The result is a highly finished look that you can mimic in your own home: Find a pattern you love and buy yards and yards of it to use in your decor (IKEA is a great source for affordable, graphic prints by the yard).
The living space in the Piano Suite is a luxe mix of prints. Photo: Claridges
In the living room of the Piano Suite, von Furstenberg mixed a plethora of patterns. However, she's limited her palette and used patterns that relate to one another to keep things from looking too crazy. A pair of solid-colored arm chairs and fresh white walls ground the look.
All the rooms' seats get special attention with DVF fabrics. Photo: Claridge's
The lines for most of the upholstered pieces in the Claridge's rooms are fairly simple and unassuming. However, when clean-lined pieces are upholstered in a handsome print, like The China Vine pattern above right, they go from ho-hum to how-now in a flash.
A canopy bed gets the DVF treatment in this room. Photo: Claridge's
In this bedroom of the Piano Suite, the look is more traditional than in some of the other von Furstenberg rooms, but that doesn't mean it's stuffy or old-fashioned. Give traditional rooms a bit of a twist with an unexpected color palette like this purple-themed room. A bold, contemporary area rug like the one above is a subtle way for a traditionally-furnished room to show some personality.
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