ELLE DECOR October 2013

It is a truism that no matter how big your home, no matter how many homes you own, you can only be in one room at a time. And for many of us, that one room is the place that we return to again and again, where we spend a disproportionate amount of time, and that somehow both pleases and comforts us. That was the impulse behind "Fashion Favorites," our special portfolio beginning on page 109. We asked seven top New York fashion designers to pose in their favorite rooms, the spaces that nurture them and fuel their creativity. I find the diversity of their choices fascinating—and revealing about the personality of each, and about his or her aesthetic. A favorite space need not be large, expensively furnished, or even…

ROBERT RUFINO ELLE DECOR's new interiors editor started out in fashion, dressing the windows at Manhattan's Henri Bendel store. Over a three-decade career in magazines, he has transitioned to the world of home decor. Does he miss fashion? "I don't miss models talking back. I don't miss racks of clothes," he says. His debut story, a high-octane Miles Redd project, begins on page 224. But Rufino, left, describes his own home as "antique furniture and clean lines—a Billy Baldwin sofa and a glass cocktail table. It's about what works for you. Interiors are like clothing—you have so many choices to express who you are." KATE BETTS Kate Betts—whose feature about a colorful Hamptons home begins on page 224—has been an editor at Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. The author of Everyday…

MAIL Your July/August issue was filled with the inspiring and the beautiful, but nothing was as moving as Peter Hofmann's words about his Hudson Valley home ["Going with the Flow"]: "It's such a pleasure and a privilege to live here. We're completely happy—we want for nothing else." His gratitude is so refreshing. Kate Fowler, via e-mail I usually read the Editor's Page, pause to reflect for a moment, and then move on to the rest of the magazine. But Michael Boodro's comments in the July/August issue stopped me cold. "If where we live during the workweek is the prose of our lives, our weekend and vacation escapes are the poetry," he writes. Exactly—and that is why I like ELLE DECOR so much. I savor the photos of the featured homes…

DANGEROUS AND POWERFUL, THE QUEEN IS CONSIDERED THE MOST VALUABLE PIECE ON THE CHESSBOARD. "A QUEEN WITHIN," AN EXHIBITION AT THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, EXPLORES HER FABLED PERSONA—AND HER CLOSET—AS INTERPRETED BY FASHION DESIGNERS. THE SHOW RANGES FROM FAMOUS PIECES BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AND MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA TO WILD-CARD CREATIONS BY SUCH RISING STARS AS HIDEKI SEO, RIGHT (OCTOBER 19 THROUGH APRIL 18, 2014; WORLDCHESSHOF.ORG). WOMAN OF STEEL Maria Pergay has one everlasting love: stainless steel. For more than five decades, the French furniture designer has rendered the unforgiving material into daring forms, such as her sculptural Lounge chair, left, from 1970. Now she is partnering with Fendi Casa on a limited-edition collection of new works, including the jagged-edge Cassé cabinet, above, and a…

CARTE BLANCHE Working in Brittany, France, Yann and Sandra Jallu create Art Deco–inspired furniture using the luxurious materials that were hallmarks of the style. The craftsmanship of their firm, Jallu Ebenistes, is exemplified by the Gypse cabinet, with its marble top, brass-and-chrome trim, and sycamore body paneled in gypsum, a soft mineral that has a mother-of-pearl luminescence. Measuring 31.5" w. x 34" h. x 12" d., the piece is $22,592. 212-537-0112; bespokeglobal.com 1 / FOR GOOD MEASURE New York City lighting firm Apparatus looked to the triangles and cones of trigonometry for its playful series of Triad hanging fixtures. Triad 9, made of solid brass, is offered in four finishes, including aged brass, shown; a version with white porcelain bulb holders is also available. The 44" dia. x…

Achille Castiglioni brought post-war Italian design into the future, but he never left his sense of humor behind. The architect and industrial designer (1918–2002) created dozens of products and was so influential that New York's Museum of Modern Art granted him a full-scale retrospective in 1997. His studio in Milan draws thousands of acolytes each year. And his many iconic designs—including the 1962 Arco lamp with its marble base and great curve of steel, his Mezzadro tractor-seat stool, and his Fucsia hanging lamp for Flos—are still sought after for stylish homes around the world. But for all his stature, Castiglioni remained fascinated with the everyday. He applied his penetrating vision and joie de vivre to everything from ashtrays and tableware to folding chairs and light switches. He once won an…