ELLE DECOR April 2014

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, designers and shelter magazines exhorted everyone to bring the outdoors inside. And they were happy to suggest ways to do so: floral wallpapers and chintz fabrics, skylights, oversize windows, potted plants, trellises on the walls—even, in the 1970s, macramé hangings filled with ferns. Today, it seems, Americans prefer to bring the inside out. We have moved beyond simple porches and terraces and gazebos to outdoor fireplaces and fire pits, as well as open-air kitchens complete with stoves, wine coolers, and dishwashers. Hot tubs have expanded into full-scale spas. So much of what we enjoy inside the house has now moved to the other side of the walls that the term interior designer no longer covers the territory. Top interior talents are bringing their creativity…

PETER TERZIAN Last year, articles editor Peter Terzian helped launch our "What's Next" section (page 55), which brings together the latest news on exhibitions, restaurant and hotel design, architecture, and more. The focus on culture is a perfect fit for this Brooklyn resident, who has served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle and edited an anthology of essays on music. "I like learning about what's out there," Terzian says, "whether it's a museum show in London, a quirky new building in Japan, or a restaurant opening here in New York. There's always something new to discover." J. J. MARTIN When she's not writing for ELLE DECOR—her story on a house in Umbria, Italy, begins on page 180—J. J. Martin nurses an Insta gram habit. An American living…

APRIL 2014 MAIL Since I can't afford to subscribe to all 24 of your global editions, I've come to look forward to your January/February international issue. It's like a miniature trip around the world—I get to peek inside homes in other countries, something I don't always get to do even when I'm traveling. Thomas Marx, via e-mail I just cleaned out my house after years of accumulating what seemed like everything under the sun. It finally feels like I can breathe. So it was a treat to see the super-minimalist Danish home in "Coastal Calm" [Jan/Feb]. Give me lots of space with only the essentials! Cathy Barr, via e-mail I have been a longtime reader of ELLE DECOR. However, for the sake of convenience and home organization, I am now…

25 YEARSof STYLE THE HOT SEAT OUR FIRST ISSUE APPEARED IN SEPTEMBER 1989, STARRING A 59-YEAR-OLD COVER MODEL: A CLASSIC CHAIR The cover of our debut issue was graced by a singularly striking beauty—aside from Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Ashley Richardson, that is. The model 904 club chair was first produced by the Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau in 1930, four years after the untimely death of co-founder Renzo Frau. (The finished product was elaborated from designs that Frau left to his wife.) Later dubbed the Vanity Fair, the chair, with its distinctive rounded back, has become an Art Deco icon. (Filled with down and horsehair, it's as comfortable as it is comely.) While Poltrona Frau's creations can be found everywhere from luxury car interiors to the seats of the…

ARCHIVAL ALCHEMY CONSIDERING VINCENT DARRÉ'S AFFINITY FOR THE SURREAL—HE CREATED A LINE OF DALÍ-INSPIRED FURNISHINGS AND DESIGNED THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE NEWLY RELAUNCHED SCHIAPARELLI—A PARTNERSHIP WITH FANTASTICAL FABRIC HOUSE PIERRE FREY SEEMED TO BE IN THE STARS. SIFTING THROUGH THE FIRM'S ARCHIVES, THE DESIGNER EXCAVATED PRINTS FROM THE 1940S AND '50S BEARING MYSTICAL CREATURES AND ASTROLOGICAL WHIMSIES. THE HOUSE IS REINTRODUCING THREE OF THOSE VINTAGE TEXTILES ALONGSIDE THREE OF DARRé'S CREATIONS (PIERREFREY.COM). DARRé HAS EMPLOYED THE FANCIFUL PRINTS IN THE WINTER GARDEN HE DESIGNED AT PARIS'S PRINCE DE GALLES HOTEL, WHERE DADA-INSPIRED COCKTAILS ARE SERVED AMID PALM TREES AND HEAT LAMPS (PRINCEDEGALLESPARIS.COM). BLANKET STATEMENT Eye-popping colors, pulsing patterns, and textural rhinestones are the hallmarks of Mickalene Thomas's vibrant paintings of African-American women. But in a new collection of signed and…

MODERN GEOMETRY The M3 lounge chair—part of Austrian designer Thomas Feichtner's line of airy, angular wood furniture for Neue Wiener Werkstätte—has a leather seat suspended from a solid oak frame that comes in a natural-oiled, shown, or black-oiled finish. The handmade piece measures 25" h. x 31" w. x 31" d. and costs $3,550. 772-257-5148; nww-design.com 1 / HEAVY METAL Crate & Barrel's Antuco serving utensils are made in India from stainless steel that is given a burnt finish. Their sturdy, generously sized forms make them ideal for outdoor entertaining. The two-piece set costs $30. 800-967-6696; crateandbarrel.com 2 / SLEEPING BEAUTY Tara Shaw's Neoclassical Palm Frond iron bed is hand-forged in New Orleans for her Crescent City collection. The queen size, shown, has a…