When I opened the most recent issue of Inside Out magazine, I fell instantly in love with the NYC apartment of sisters Hollister and Porter Hovey (names like that belong in a Wes Anderson script). Their style (evident in the first two pics) gives me a chance to tout the glories of the "gentlemen's club" aesthetic -- a style I have long admired for its unapologetic masculinity and for the fact that it reminds me of England. To be clear, we're not talking about strip club decor. The gentlemen's clubs in question were first established in the West End of London in the eighteenth century. They were members-only clubs for upper-class men to socialize, play parlor games, dine, and sometimes retreat for the night. Dark walls, shelves full of books, lit fireplaces, leather club chairs, ancestral art and animal skins and antlers are all welcome in this environment. These are rooms for retreating from a rainy day or an unrelenting winter. They are spaces to sink into with a favored book and a hot cup of Earl Grey while noshing on shortbread.
Images: Inside Out magazine, July-August 2011 issue. Living etc magazine, September 2011 issue. Simply Seleta. Decoratualma.
Filed Under: club chair, gentlemen's club
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