ELLE DECOR June 2013

What do designers do? If you believe the caricatures in movies and on TV, they swan about with bolts of fabric and swath rooms in chintz, spend hours discerning the tiniest differences among 40 shades of white, and issue imperious demands to cowed clients. If you read sensationalist newspapers and magazines, you might think they spend most of their time searching out flea-market junk, polishing it, declaring the pieces rare antiques, and then marking them up ten thousand percent. You might come to believe that their specialty is transforming otherwise savvy people into dupes. And I've heard just about every possible argument against hiring a designer—they're too expensive, or they push people into going beyond their budgets and style comfort zones. "I don't need one," I've been told, "because I…

ROBERT O'BYRNE Robert O'Byrne, right, author of our Dublin travel story (page 126), also writes a blog called The Irish Aesthete (theirishaesthete.com), in which he shares his passion for Ireland's old buildings. "It's thrilling to discover that readers around the world are as engaged with the fate of historic Irish properties as I am," he says. One such property became the subject of his most recent book, Luggala Days: The Story of a Guinness House. The 18th-century estate is owned by members of the legendary brewing family. JOHN SALADINO As part of its inaugural A-List in 2010, ELLE DECOR named John Saladino, left, one of its 10 "Grand Masters of Design," citing his serene and classical aesthetic. You can see his vision at work in a shimmering New York apartment…

JUNE 2013 MAIL I love it when homes from my favorite places are featured in ELLE DECOR, such as in April's issue, with the unique and historic residence of Costis Psychas on the Greek island of Therassia ["Sailor's Delight"]. His hotel resort on Santorini includes the cave house I stayed in for the summer of 1983. Psychas has remained true to the traditions of the local artisans who inhabit one of the most beautiful places on earth. His clean lines, curves, arches, and windows onto the sea, combined with a splash of modern colors in sparingly used fabrics, per petuate the magical connection between the blue Aegean, its legendary islands, and those inspired to live there. Brian Care, Toronto My daughter gave me the gift of an iPad with some…

FOLDING STARS THIS SEASON, THE ANCIENT JAPANESE ART OF ORIGAMI MAKES A RETURN—AND IT FEELS MORE CONTEMPORARY THAN EVER. AT THE SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, "FUTURE BEAUTY," A RETROSPECTIVE OF MODERN JAPANESE FASHION OPENING JUNE 27, EXPLORES THE FOLDED CREATIONS OF AVANT-GARDE DESIGNERS LIKE YOHJI YAMAMOTO (SEATTLEARTMUSEUM.ORG). PRADA'S SPRING LINE IS ACCENTED WITH ORIGAMI FLOURISHES (PRADA.COM), WHILE ISSEY MIYAKE'S BILBAO BAGS CRINKLE INTO WHATEVER SHAPE GRAVITY WILLS (SHOPBAOBAOISSEYMIYAKE.COM). PHILIPPE NIGRO'S LACQUERED TABLE FOR LIGNE ROSET EVOKES A PAPER AIRPLANE (LIGNE-ROSET.COM); TOBIAS LABARQUE'S STACKABLE CHAIR IS MADE FROM A SHEET OF ALUMINUM (TOBIASLABARQUE.WORDPRESS.COM); AND UNFOLD'S PAPER-THIN CERAMICS RESEMBLE INTRICATE ORIGAMI CUPS (UNFOLD.BE). WHAT WE LOVE Some still-life artists wait until they stumble on the perfect vase or bowl for their work. Not Laura Letinsky. The American photographer, known for her artfully disheveled…

CELESTIAL SPHERES Swedish designer Johan Lindstén's Meltdown lamp for Cappellini is designed to look as though the bulb is about to melt through the handblown glass ball. The 10.5 dia. spheres come in amber, rose, gray, light blue, tobacco, and amethyst. An eight-ball cluster, shown, costs $4,230; a four-ball cluster, three-ball strip, and single ball are also available. Cord lengths are made to order. 212-966-0669; cappellini.it 1 / COLOR REVIVAL Once famous for its avant-garde porcelain designs, the Site Corot factory in Limoges, France, has lain dormant for a decade. Now relaunched under a new creative team, it's producing fresh patterns as well as reissuing such classics as Florida, shown, from 1986. A 10.5 dia. dinner plate costs $88, an 8 dia. dessert plate is $75, and a cup-and-saucer…

NATURAL ORDER "I felt that perhaps I had too many rules…hanging over my head," Richard Diebenkorn once said of the work he produced between 1953 and 1966, the subject of a ravishing new exhibition at San Francisco's De Young Museum. After nearly a decade spent living in Illinois and New Mexico, among other locations, the 31-year-old artist settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he had spent most of his childhood. This geographic shift led to a corresponding transformation in his painting. Following a period of dedication to Abstract Expressionism—the prevailing style of the day—Diebenkorn began to work in a representational vein, blurring the lines between the two modes. The establishment response was not unlike that which Bob Dylan received when he went electric. "You would not believe what…