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The Classicist: Movie Star Style at the Beverly Wilshire's New $25,000-Per-Night Penthouse

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Travel & Hotels, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

Following a recently completed $40 million facelift, Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel has just unveiled its newly renovated Penthouse and Presidential Suite for the ultimate in movie star style. The Penthouse, beginning at $25,000 per night, is the largest hotel suite in Los Angeles and now one of the world's most expensive as well. L.A.-based architectural firm Barry Design Associates transformed the historic suites into modern, sophisticated spaces. They even throw in a Porsche. The Beverly Wilshire is a true piece of Hollywood history; the Italian Renaissance-style stone and marble building was completed in 1928 when the city had fewer than 18,000 residents, and its grand suites have played host to many of movieland's most famous faces over the decades.

The three-bedroom Penthouse offers guests 5,000 square feet of space. Positioned on the private top floor of the hotel's Beverly Wing it features floor-to-ceiling windows, high ceilings and a wrap around balcony with sweeping views of downtown L.A. and the Hollywood Hills. An entry way welcomes guests with marble mosaic flooring and Swarovski crystal chandeliers, while a dining room offers seating for 12 people adjacent to a state-of-the-art designer kitchen with Michelangelo marble countertops and Miele appliances. The elegant master bedroom is highlighted by an antique mirror and silver leaf detailed bed frame along with huge walk-in closet finished in stained oak. The master bath is fitted with glass tiles, exotic stones, a marble soaking tub, dual steam and rain shower contains a light and music system. There's also a media room for private screenings of your latest blockbuster.

Gallery: Beverly Wilshire Reborn

The two-bedroom Presidential Suite offers 4,000 square feet of space, entered through a spectacular grand foyer (above) with Corinthian columns and intricate crown molding designed when the Hotel first opened over 80 years ago. Located on the eighth floor of the hotel's original Wilshire Wing, it features sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills and has been graced by numerous celebrities, legends and dignitaries over the years. The suite comes complete with its own living room and library as well, while the master bath is fitted with a soaking tub, steam shower for two and integrated televisions in the mirrors above the black lacquer vanity counters. [continued]

Tags: Beverly Wilshire, California, celebrity, Four Seasons, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, hotel suites, hotels, library, Los Angeles, luxury hotel, marble, movie stars, penthouse, Porsche, Porsche Panamera, presidential suite, Swarovski, worlds most expensive

Continue reading “The Classicist: Movie Star Style at the Beverly Wilshire's New $25,000-Per-Night Penthouse”

The Classicist: Sotheby's to Auction Treasures from Chatsworth, England's Most Famous Country Estate

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Art, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

On October 5–7 Sotheby's will stage what amounts to the world's most luxurious yard sale at Chatsworth (above), England's most famous and beautiful country estate, owned by the the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The treasures on offer include art, architectural elements, furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, and other items – even an antique motorcar – with estimates ranging from £20 to £300,000, or about $30 to $450,000. The sale comprises 20,000 objects in over 1,000 lots which will be on view in a series of marquees on the grounds of the house from October 1st. The several million dollars which the sale is expected to generate will go towards upkeep on the famed estate, which has 126 rooms – including a bathroom with murals painted by Lucian Freud – and sits on over 30,000 acres.

Several of the most magnificent pieces – handsomely carved fireplaces, architraves, doors and shutters - were once part of the fabric of the many great houses that have featured in the Devonshire family's extraordinary history, including Chatsworth itself, Chiswick House, Hardwick Hall, Lismore Castle in Ireland, Compton Place, Bolton Abbey and especially their palatial London residence, Devonshire House – now destroyed but for centuries the centre of the city's social, political and cultural elite. The sale includes works from almost every conceivable area, including books, carriages, glass, collectibles, sculpture, garden statuary, natural history, jewelry, prints, carpets, textiles, tapestries and wine. Some items relate to royalty and others to one of the family's most colorful members, the beautiful and charismatic Georgiana Cavendish, 5th Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806), one of the most beloved and influential characters in British history. [continued]

Gallery: Treasures from Chatsworth & Devonshire House

George III gilt-bronze mounted library bookcase / doorway, circa 1800

The Devonshire Borghese table, an Italian carved giltwood console table with a serpentine alabaster veneered top, mid-18th centu

An ormolu-mounted Sevres style jardini�re, late 19th century, Est. �2,000-3,000

Tags: antiques, architectural, aristocrats, British style, castle, Chatsworth, Chatsworth Estate, country estate, country house, Duchess of Devonshire, Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Duke of Devonshire, England, English country house, fireplaces, furniture, Jane Austen, Keira Knightley, King George IV, Lismore Castle, London, mahogany, mansion, marble, Pride and Prejudice, royalty, silver, UK

Continue reading “The Classicist: Sotheby's to Auction Treasures from Chatsworth, England's Most Famous Country Estate”

Jay-Z and Beyonce Charter $40 Milllion Superyacht

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Celebrity Shopping

Add another famous couple to The Classicist's list of superstars (including Madonna and Brangelina) sunning themselves on superyachts this summer: Jay-Z and Beyoncé. R&B's royal couple have been cruising on the French Riviera on a $40 million superyacht, the London Daily Mail reports. The pair, who earned an estimated $150 million between them last year, are chartering the 180-ft. Altitude (above), built by Italy's Benetti yachts in 2003, for $370,000 a week. The yacht can accommodate 14 guests in 6 cabins. The vast split-level owner's apartment has his and hers white marble bathrooms, a separate study and a private 180º raised observation lounge with spectacular views forward. A sun deck features a huge spa pool complete with wetbar and a well equipped gymnasium. The yacht is also available for sale at about $40 million.

Gallery: Jay-Z and Beyonce's Superyacht Charter

Tags: Benetti yachts, Beyoncé, celebrity, French Riviera, Jay-Z, Madonna, marble, superyacht, yacht, yacht charter

Roman Antiquities Sells High At Sotheby's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Our modern culture remains fascinated by Ancient Rome. History has its price, in the case of a recent Sotheby's Antiquities auction in New York, that price was a total of $17,479,940, a huge win for Sotheby's for a sale of this type. That number, against estimates of $3.2-$4.8 million was the highest total for a sale in this category at Sotheby's since December 2007. The top lot was a marble torso of an emperor dating back to the first half of the first century A.D. which sold for $7,362,500 handily beating the high estimate of $1.2 million. The torso is believed to be of one of the Julio-Claudian emperors, likely Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius and sold to an anoymous telephone bidder.

At the sale nearly 90 percent of the pieces achieved prices at or above estimate. The Austrian family collection that consigned the marble torso also consigned Three Satyrs Fighting a Serpent, a Roman Imperial sculpture dated to the circa 1st century A.D. that was once part of Lorenzo DeMedici's collection. It sold to an anonymous
private buyer for $3,442,500 which was more than six times the high estimate of $500,000. A marble bust of the Athena Giustiniani, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D. sold for $4,114,500 far above the pre-sale estimate of $600/900,000.

[via Art Daily]

Tags: antiquities, marble, roman antiquities, roman history, sculpture

The Classicist: The Biltmore Rises Again at The Gates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Dining, The Classicist

An historic landmark has been reborn in New York, "marking the intersection between decades of nightlife expertise and over 100 years of luxury design." Located in a circa 1865 building in the heart of the city's most famous nightlife neighborhood, The Gates features an interior salvaged from the art nouveau masterpiece the New York Biltmore Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Upon the hotel's demolition in 1984 the most impressive elements from the lobby and bar (including an original bronze and marble telephone booth) were rescued and re-established in the Chelsea space which has since become one of the most iconic rooms in the city.

After laying empty for several years and having fallen into a state of neglect, The Gates (formerly the Biltmore Room) was recently brought back to life by nightlife impresarios Danny Kane and Rod Surut. The lavish space, featuring floor-to-ceiling Carrera marble walls (valued at $2.5 million alone), is kept private from the street by a pair of stunning brass gates from the original hotel, which give the venue its name. A VIP room complete with a fireplace and crystal chandeliers, a full kitchen and bar catering to 285 people, a state of the art sound system, DJ booth and the refinement of the bar room to its previous glory are the key elements breathing new life into a storied space.

"We were working with a room that had such a strong personality, it was great to play that against all the innovations we were making to create one of the most unique spaces in the country," Kane notes. The project felt like the "re-emerging of a character who's played such an important part in the social history of New York City." The New York Biltmore Hotel, opened in 1913 with nearly 1,000 rooms, was a landmark luxury hotel designed by Warren and Wetmore, who also designed the adjoining Grand Central Terminal. Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald honeymooned there (and were asked to leave on account of rowdiness) and the Biltmore figured in several of his stories as well as in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.

Gallery: The Gates

Tags: bar, cocktails, F. Scott Fitzgerald, F.ScottFitzgerald, hotel, J.D. Salinger, J.d.Salinger, Manhattan, marble, New York, NewYork, The Gates, TheGates

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Michelangelo Book Features Marble Cover

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

I've covered many expensive books over the years but there aren't too many like "Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano" the new book by Italian publisher FMR. The book measures 18 by 28 inches and weighs a backbreaking 61 pounds. Why so heavy? The cover is a marble carving of a replica of the Madonna della Scala encased in a velvet binding. Inside there are reproductions of drawings by Michelangelo, photographs by Italian photographer Aurelio Amendola and writings on Michelangelo spanning centuries of scholarship. The book commemorates the 500th anniversary of the start of Michelangelo's work on the Sistine chapel. You can see the book at the New York Public Library's Bill Blass Public Catalog Room from Dec. 2-8. Or, if you have the money and sturdy shelves you can pick up one of your own from the limited edition of 99 for $130,000.

[via LA Times Jacket Copy]

Gallery: The Pricey Tomes

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Tags: book, marble, michelangelo

Stone Forest Papillion Bathtub

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Bring a little contemporary Japanese style into your bathroom with the Papillion Bathtub by Stone Forest. Shown here in Carrara marble, it's also available in Black Granite and Limestone versions. The rounded form and sweeping rim is relaxing and makes me think of gently moving water, and it's nicely both functional as a bathtub and beautiful as a sculpture. And as always with natural marble, each is unique due to individual grain patterns.

Two things I wonder, though, looking at this beautiful tub: It looks like it has a small and rounded base, so is it comfortable to sit in? And it looks just a little too easy to slosh water out and all over the place.

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Tags: bathtub, marble, new papillion, NewPapillion, papillion, papillion bathtub, PapillionBathtub, stone forest, StoneForest

Maison Sijilmassa Fossil Marble

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

We've covered fossil countertops from Wyoming before and let's check out Maison Sijilmassa, a New York-based company that sells stones from sourced from 450 million year-old prehistoric Sahara sea fossil stone found in Morocco.Their latest collection includes floor tiles and slabs as well as sinks and tables. The fossils are available in five general tones ranging from black to bordeaux red. The fossils are quarried from ancient seabeds of the prehistoric Paleo-Tethys and Tethys seas that are now part of the Sahara desert. The stone features a wide variety of fossilized orthoceras (rocket-shaped remains) and ammonites (spiral shapes). Their website has more pictures of the new designs available for Spring 2006.

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Tags: countertops, decor, fossils, home improvement, marble, stone

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