ELLE DECOR January-February 2014

At ELLE DECOR, we've been doing a lot of looking recently. We've been paging through dozens of magazines searching for homes for this issue, our annual roundup of the best of our 24 global editions. And we've been examining our own work of the past several years, selecting the rooms we admire most in the process of putting together our third book, which will be published this fall by Abrams. And because this year marks a quarter-century of ELLE DECOR, we are beginning to assemble special sections that will appear throughout 2014, culminating in our 25th-anniversary issue in September. One thing I've noticed while doing all this looking is how much each international edition varies from the others, despite their shared DNA and devotion to design. Swedish ELLE INTERIöR, for…

BECKY KHO ELLE DECORATION Philippines, below left, the most recent addition to the Elle Decoration network, is heading into its second successful year thanks to the leadership of editor in chief Becky Kho, left, who has previously helmed both the Philippine edition of Good Housekeeping and Yummy, the country's leading food magazine. Our story about an art-filled home in Quezon City, which begins on page 100, was adapted from the September 2013 issue of our sister edition. "What I find especially noteworthy is the way the homeowner, landscape artist and bonsai authority Bobby Gopiao, weaves together antique pieces rich in history with contemporary works in various mediums," she says. DAVID PRINCE "The challenge of food photography is creating an image that suggests a much larger world around it," says David…

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 MAIL As sophisticated as ELLE DECOR is, every room in your November issue is positively tantalizing. Tova Navarra, Middletown, NJ Thank you for featuring San Francisco in your November issue ["ELLE DECOR Returns to…"]. You presented an insightful overview of my beloved city. I own 1228-32 Sutter Street, the building where Dan Zelen has his shop. In 1977, my late husband, Robert Hutchinson, designed the facade that you so beautifully featured in your story. He bought the building in 1961, and it served as his home and interior design studio until his death in 2008.Robert Lescoe, San Francisco Visiting Chicago, I remembered Michael Boodro's recommendation to see the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute [Editor's Page, September]. I was absolutely amazed. Thanks for the information. Sharon H.…

POET, FILMMAKER, ILLUSTRATOR, PLAYWRIGHT: JEAN COCTEAU WAS A MAN OF MANY TALENTS, AND THE CELEBRATIONS MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH ARE JUST AS VARIED. ROCHE BOBOIS HAS INTRODUCED COCTEAU-THEMED ACCESSORIES THAT INCLUDE REISSUES OF HIS CERAMICS (ROCHE-BOBOIS?.COM). THE CINéMATHèQUE FRANçAISE IN PARIS IS SCREENING HIS FILMS ALONGSIDE A SHOW OF HIS POSTERS AND DRAWINGS (THROUGH FEBRUARY 9), AND ITS VIVID RESTORATION OF HIS 1946 CLASSIC, LA BELLE ET LA BêTE, WILL TOUR U.S. THEATERS LATER THIS YEAR (CINEMATHEQUE.FR). OUT OF AFRICA This season, bold African textiles and handicrafts are at the forefront of art and design. For "My Rock Stars Experimental," a video installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj filmed musicians in Europe wearing a mix of traditional fabrics and luxury…

SMOKY VISION The Italian firm Silia transforms ordinary Lucite into luxurious accessories. Within its simple column, the Fumé lamp features mysterious overlapping geometric shapes. It measures 19" h., comes with a 14" w. x 9" h. x 6" d. silk shade, and costs $2,400. The Degradé vase, 8" w. x 12" h. x 6" d., is dipped in pigment to achieve its ombré effect, and is $2,400. The Mosaico box has a lid of hand-dyed tiles trimmed with brass; it measures 9" l. x 5.5" w. x 3" h. and retails for $800. 212-274-1750; flairhomecollection.com 1 / WEAVING A SPELL Hamptons designer Eliza Gatfield's Custom Cool rug collection includes the vibrant Zig Zag pattern. Hand-knotted in Nepal from wool, nettle, and silk, it can be made in custom sizes…

In the 1940s and '50s, the self-taught Italian designer Gino Sarfatti created lighting that echoed the elegant yet playful spirit of the furniture by his fellow countrymen Gio Ponti and Franco Albini. Sarfatti's company, Arteluce, based in Milan, became a fun house of futuristic shapes, from starburst ceiling fixtures to conical torchieres. But Sarfatti went beyond aesthetics, overseeing every step of product development and using then-innovative components, such as halogen bulbs. When he retired in 1973, he sold his Arteluce designs to the cutting-edge lighting firm Flos. Now Flos is putting five of Sarfatti's signature designs back into production, painstakingly adapting each lamp with 21st-century technologies. A sophisticated cooling system utilizing running water lets the LED bulb in the ultraminimal 1095 floor lamp maintain a shine comparable to its original…