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Lauren Tennenbaum of the riotously creative INDECOROUS TASTE is one amongst many out there in the blogging world, uh well- maybe the world- certainly the world beyond the one she is creating with her painted rooms. Lauren's rooms are Moody (my favourites) ,Romantic, Sparkling. Full of reds, full flourishes-full of Baroque-with her must have touches of funk- the rooms feel well worn but very alive- no dour dust- unless it is pixie dust.
She has fixations- this one.
witness One fetish...
for shoes (are all her own creations)
here
here
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here
I told you-
But Look at this-
This is what intrigues Me, what brings Me to her posts, sends me back to them again -to scrutinize, applaud.
It is Lauren's ability to take her decorative painting and then design a moody room that- for instance this tapestry (painted) is perfect.
This You may wonder, well So?
Well, So-It is unusual.
What designers today do you know that are painting the walls for the rooms they are designing? There are those in past that have done so- the most famous I think must be the incomparable RENZO MONGIARDINO.
It is a truth: Those that decorate- design do not, or should I say- can not paint. Yes, there will be Painters out for Me- but Decorative Painters do not decorate-can not decorate.
It does not follow-
Do not try to convince me otherwise!
No.
but- well, there is Lauren Tennenbaum.
I couldn't wait to ask Lauren some questions. Her own blog has such a lot of information about her & her work.
But what really makes her Louboutins skip a beat on the cobbles?
LA: Who or what period are you most inspired by?
LAUREN: I'm inspired by characters with individual styles and distinct personalities: Isabella Blow, Denning and Fourcade, Marcel Duchamp, Tony Duquette, Florine Stettheimer. Oh, and really exceptional window dressers and fashion stylists: Gene Moore, Edward Enninful, Linda Fargo. Essentially, people who create fantasies. And especially those who possess the ability to take something unexpected (even ugly) and turn it into something absolutely desirable and wondrous.
Always put "something mad on top of something very good, or something very good on top of something mad."
- Geoffrey Bennison(this quote found on the Indecorous Taste site)
The periods I gravitate toward change. A love for Gothic churches and their objects (reliquaries, texts, etc.) is a constant. The Byzantine Empire. Also, imperialist Russian decorative arts. And a sort of Baroque spirit underlies everything, but the more I can be inspired by, the merrier!
Gothic Quatrefoil Wall
Imperial Malachite
LA: When did you start painting? Were you a childhood talent?
LAUREN: I don't think I was particularly talented as a child— at least not in painting. My mom enrolled me in many, many art classes when I was young; I never liked painting. (Should I be admitting this?!) She paints, and my grandfather did so in Europe, professionally.
up close-Lauren's
We've done lots of decorative work together, and I think that's where I've picked up most of my painting skills. It's when I realized that there were certain rooms and styles that I LOVED that my painting skills blossomed. They grew from necessity. I get captivated by a fantasy or idea, and then, I'll do whatever it takes to get there: painting, sewing, hammering, plastering, gluing, soldering... sometimes it works, other times it results in a giant mess. Painting is just one of the mediums I employ to get there. My mom and I influence each other in that way. She loves painting for painting's sake, I love style and fantasy— the ways in which it can be used.
Lauren's own LX IV herepersonally, I have past the point of them- but this would be just the sort of thing I would buy to look.
LA: What led you to enter the Architectural Design competition recently?
LAUREN: It was a pretty last minute decision. I ran across it by chance and entered because I thought this room fit the theme of the competition, which was "interesting use of fabrics."
Lauren's Bloomsbury meets Beaton Bedroom
(more views of the room)
LA: What would your personal fantasy room look like?
LAUREN: I'd need five houses full of rooms— I have too many personal fantasy rooms! My bedroom as it stands right now is one of them— light aqua bluish green Fortuny style walls, lots of delicate apricots and golds, painted inlaid wood floors, TONS of mirror, glass and crystal, an antique Cuban feather mahogany bed, crisp white linens, plenty of damask and layered patterns. It's all very light and very reflective.
Often, though, I fantasize about darker, dustier, more cavernously cozy spaces. But lately, I've been fantasizing about the bedroom Denning and Fourcade designed for Oscar de la Renta's Paris apartment, in the 80s-see Lauren's fantasy here. It's covered floor to ceiling in the most gorgeous chintz, with layer upon layer of pattern and luxurious fabric, paintings, furnishings... It's a jewel box: very small, very extravagant, but it's also very cozy.
the de la Renta room
a last look at Lauren's own Summer Palacelooking very much Onegin &Tatyana
read more about Madamoiselle here Maison Archinard hereINDECOROUS TASTE here
all photographs are Lauren's -please inquire with her for use.
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- Geoffrey Bennison
