A warm thank you to Lauren for reviewing our LeBlanc and the Laundress laundry care products. She also gives a little tour of her beautiful laundry room, of which we’re quite envious. We’re sure you will love it as well!

Read all about it at the Pure Style Home blog.

We hope you’ll enjoy perusing the breathtaking photographs in this very special book as much as we do. It’s the perfect way to gear up for Fashion Week. Written by Ingrid Sischy and photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, who’s known for his work in Vogue, Elle, & Harper’s Bazaar, Dior Couture comprises a portfolio of portraits of over one hundred incredible gowns from the entire era of Christian Dior haute couture, including dresses designed by Dior himself.

What do you do with leftover pieces of teak wood? This is the question that the founders of Selamat Designs asked themselves. Working in the furniture industry in Indonesia, they noticed that there were often bits of wood left over after building large furniture pieces. They decided to use these “off-cuts” to make stylish home decor accessories, and Selamat was born in 1988.

The company became so popular that they expanded into full-sized furniture. Selamat remains true to its original values, using select and sustainable mahogany and teak for their designs which blend easily into contemporary interiors.

In addition to furniture and accessories, they also create modern lighting fixtures.

Selamat pieces are stylish and classic – made to bring you years of use and enjoyment in the home. Their signature style of casual elegance easily fits into homes and commercial spaces.

Click here to see our entire collection of Selamat furniture, accessories, and lighting.

We loved this inviting sunroom featured in September’s issue of House Beautiful, especially the Fenwick coffee table by oomph.

This lovely sunroom was designed by Ashley Whittaker, and the trellis was inspired by Elsie de Wolfe. The white lacquer on the table is a wonderful neutral counterpart to the bright greens and patterns used in the room. The Fenwick coffee table is available in 16 glossy colors, so it will fit right into any room.

To get the look, here are some of our favorite accessories:

I am not a designer.  But I’ve learned a lot about design, and I’ve grown to love it.

I’m probably your poster child left-brainer.  I went to Wharton and worked as a fund manager, managing investments for pension funds, central banks, foundations, and hedge funds.  I’ve also been writing software since I was eleven, and today, I’m responsible for the technology that runs Gracious Style.

“Designer” was simply never something I imagined myself to be.  Yet, over the last twelve years of working at Gracious Style, I’ve learned a lot about design.  This knowledge of design has opened up my eyes, and  I have a better appreciation of people and culture because of it.  It has also helped me in my other professional endeavors.  From software to real estate development, I can now see that success often hinges on better design.

I think — I know — that there are a lot more people like me out there.  We’re not professional designers, but we innately appreciate good design, even if it’s in the form of a well-crafted deal or a well-designed app.  We’d like to know more about design, but in that structured, top-down, ask-all-the-questions way of ours.

So today I’m starting a new series, “Design for the Analytically Minded,” to share with you how one finance/technology person learned design, what it’s taught him, and why it’s opened his eyes to the world.

– Si Chen

We love the luxury soaps from Claus Porto, our unique toothpaste from Marvis, and the scented body washes and lotions from NEST.  But the men at the Gracious Style team pointed out that something was still missing from our bath collection. We didn’t have any quality shaving products – or any shaving products at all.

Never ones to leave such an oversight uncorrected, we went on an extensive search and discovered a great manufacturer of top-quality shaving creams, foams, and aftershaves.

We’d like to introduce you to Proraso.

Created in Italy by the Martelli family, these one-of-a-kind shaving creams, soaps, and foams are still being made in the time-honored traditional way. The distinctive quality and performance of Proraso products has made them a staple in barbershops throughout Italy.

The traditional recipe contains no parabens, SLS, artificial colors, silicones or mineral oils, only natural moisturizers and essential oils that are good for your skin. There’s a shaving cream in a tube, a shave soap in a jar for lovers of tradition, and a shaving foam in a can for those that like convenience. Pre- and after-shave creams and balms round out the collection.

Proraso has three formulas. Refresh contains refreshing Eucalyptus oil and Menthol. Nourish features Shea Butter to keep the skin soft and supple and Sandalwood Oil for a calming and soothing effect. Sensitive is formulated for the most sensitive skin with Green Tea Extract and oatmeal extract.

We love this old-fashioned shaving brush, the result of a collaboration between Proraso and the famous Omega company.   And you know what else?  The well-designed packaging on all Proraso products looks great on the counter next to our Marvis toothpaste!

See the entire Proraso collection here.

We’ve just spotted one of our favorite brands, Graphic Image, on LuckyMag.com. The Orange Crocodile Leather Dictionary was featured on their list of luxurious school supplies. Take a look!

Faux bois, or faux woodgrain, is a trend to look out for this fall. Elle Decor’s September issue had a sampling of stylish faux bois accessories. One of our favorites is the Sous Bois Dinnerware by Alberto Pinto.

This fun and chic dinnerware features a hand-painted woodgrain pattern on Limoges porcelain. It’s a versatile look that can be mixed and matched with other patterns, and will work from fall all the way through the holidays.

Elle Decor shows the buffet plate; we also love the rectangular candy dish. Not just for the dinner table, it can be displayed in any room that could use a little extra style.

Sferra’s Abbey pillows are another great way to try out the faux bois trend:

The woodgrain is pressed into richly colored velvet for a subtle look that’s trendy and sophisticated.

When I was young, I remember going to the county fair and watching the glassblower create tiny, beautiful animal sculptures. He would deftly take a shapeless lump of molten glass and turn it into a prancing horse or a graceful swan. The process seemed quite magical.
 

This video from the Simon Pearce Company brought back that memory for me. At Simon Pearce, they create beautiful blown glass stemware, bowls, and other products for the home. All of their products are created from blown glass and finished by hand. Unlike other glass makers, who use factories full of machinery, Simon Pearce continues to use the traditional methods. All of their products are made in America.
 

Simon Pearce opened his first glassblowing shop in 1971 in Kilkenny, Ireland. 10 years later, the factory was moved to Quechee, Vermont, where it remains today. The Ottauquechee River provides clean, hydroelectric power for the facility. Simon Pearce has expanded with two other factories in Vermont and Maryland.
 

Although they make it look easy, glassblowing is a difficult art to master. The material is unforgiving – mistakes usually mean the artist must start over on a new piece. An apprentice glassblower studies under a master for a period of 2-5 years. During this time, the apprentice learns the traditional methods and skills, as well as developing their own unique signature. This gives each piece of glass its own distinct character.
 

In addition to glass, they also make pottery. Like his father, Simon Pearce was a potter before he began working with glass. The company carries on this tradition as well, creating beautiful, durable pottery dinnerware that is lead-free and safe for use in the dishwasher and microwave.
 

Simon Pearce glassware and pottery is an affordable, everyday luxury. It’s made to be beautiful as well as functional. The pieces are meant to be used and enjoyed every day, and will last long enough to be passed down to future generations.

See the whole Simon Pearce collection.

We recently took a trip to the curious world of Natural Curiosities. Set in Echo Park’s converted Jensen Recreation Center, the studio itself is an ode to the ever-evolving and fantastical nature of art. Once an Ancient Egyptian-themed bowling alley, it’s now an inspiring space for creating oversized prints, silkscreening, metallic leafing, and other artistic techniques.

With Natural Curiosities pieces being spotted everywhere these days, with notable appearances in Elle Decor, Vogue.com, House Beautiful, and Stylebeat, among many others, it was refreshing to see that owner Christopher Wilcox and his team remain close to their hands-on roots. Beyond the inventive design of the space itself – high ceilings, exposed brick, and other thoughtful remnants of the original Jensen Rec Center – the art house is filled with beautiful finished pieces hung floor to ceiling as well as large tables for aging prints, drying racks filled with delightful new pieces, printing screens and inks, and sustainably sourced natural specimens awaiting their close-ups.

Despite their popularity, Natural Curiosities has managed to retain the feeling of an intimate artists’ co-op. This comes through in each of their whimsical collections, which they take care to keep from overproduction, retaining the integrity of the art.

Natural Curiosities silkscreen and metallic-leaf pieces, like the Rumana Seahorses, are stunning. See how these incredible techniques are used: Metallic Leaf and Silkscreen

We also love the uniqueness of hand-colored prints like Noah’s Ark. Take a look at the process: Hand Watercoloring

Photographs from Natural Curiosities carry a nostalgic and magical feel, while remaining chic and modern design statements.

Their sculptures breathe new life and beauty into objects we’ve seen many times before.

Prints come in a variety of styles with something for any room. The Lord Bodner Triptych speaks to Natural Curiosities’ octopus fascination.

Finally, we think their specimen art, like Fallen Feathers, is right on trend in the art world with clever ideas we’ve never seen before.

For more art from Natural Curiosities, visit GraciousStyle.com. And don’t forget to take a look at our entire Art section.