7 Luxury Design Tips Inspired by Christopher Guy and Julia Buckingham in Vegas!

Remember last week I said it was Tradeshow Season with Color and Texture On Trend?  Well, Las Vegas Market is wrapping up, and since I’m not there, and had no time to share all my wonderful photos from that AMAZING whirlwind trip last year, this week’s Texture Tuesday is dedicated to:

Christopher Guy is a design icon with a sophisticated elegance in his luxury brand with showrooms worldwide.  Curves, details, craftsmanship, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, lush textiles, and a very distinct style are what draw me to Christopher’s designs. I was particularly impressed by his Las Vegas Showroom. Truthfully, I was blown away!!

When you walk into the Christopher Guy Vegas showroom (above) you enter an entirely different world, a long marble-floored hallway in tailored black and white with utterly elegant bedrooms, dining rooms and sophisticated vignettes on either side.

The Christopher Guy Las Vegas showroom is NOT your typical tradeshow showroom, and I love it for that. You are transported to a world that is so refined, gorgeous, opulent and magical that I could have stayed there forever, it is that beautiful!  

And to have the wonderful opportunity to meet Christopher in person, well….I never dreamed of it.  Okay, maybe when I saw his showroom in NYC I DID dream of it, but I never knew it would ever come true!! I mean, really!?!? (Photo below wasn’t that clear so I made it into sort of a painting).

Yup, you got it….I’m totally star struck with Christopher Guy. He’s the nicest gentleman and of course creates the most gorgeous designs inspired by his life and everything he loves which to me harkens back to the 1940’s Golden Age of Hollywood Glamour that I absolutely adore. My dream would be to create one-of-a-kind luxury pillows for his brand. You know the old saying, if you don’t put it out to the universe you might never realize your dream. So there, I said it!

This lovely Christopher Guy vignette features the beautiful Palm Beach mirror, which is an artwork unto itself.

Last February you briefly saw my GIANT BURST of excitement in this blog post HERE, after I returned from the 2016 Las Vega Market.  I had so much to share, but 2016 quickly turned out to be THE most jam-packed year I’ve ever had from Vegas Red Carpet Tour, to showing at High Point, NYC, Dallas AND then also launching my brand NEW new website, Deborah Main Designs. So you see, there was absolutely no time to share my thoughts, photos, all the interior designers I met, showrooms filled trend-setting design, and the sheer thrill of it all – It was a lifetime experience I’ll never forget!

Below I feature highlights from that FANTASTIC Las Vegas Red Carpet Tour, sharing with you designs from Julia Buckingham and Christopher Guy, two top talents with totally unique luxury design aesthetics.

I had never been to Las Vegas before, so to be at the Las Vegas market was incredibly inspiring!  Here’s the wonderful group (below) I was with last year.  And our fearless leader, Jackie Von Tobel.

Be sure to check out Jackie’s website, because she is an incredible artist and designer and rockin it with her new rug designs for Feizy rugs and all the gorgeous textiles, pillows, and dinnerware she designs. Jackie is a one-person power house of gorgeous art and design products right HERE!

The Goddess of the Las Vegas Red Carpet Tour, Jackie Von Tobel.

I can’t even begin to share all I learned. But hopefully these images I culled from hundreds of photos I took will inspire you this spring, just like they continue to inspire me.

If you EVER get the opportunity and want a behind-the-scenes look at the latest trends in the home design industry, be sure to hitch a ride with Jackie VonTobel on any of her tours to Vegas or Highpoint market.

As a textile pillow artist, details and textiles are really important to me and both Julia and Christopher had many to admire. With such an awesome experience and so much inspiration at the 2016 Vegas market, here are

My 7 Tips to add touches of luxury to your home:

  1. Texture and color
  2. Dramatic lighting
  3. Variety of scale
  4. Powerful artwork
  5. Fur, faux fur or vintage fur
  6. Unique mirrors & headboards
  7. Gold accents
  • Texture and color are on trend for 2017, but for me both are two key design elements that are on trend EVERY year! Julia Buckingham created a signature collection of magnificent pieces for Global Views in 2016. It was incredibly exciting to meet Julia for the first time and see her new collection in person at their Vegas showroom below. I also really enjoyed meeting the owners of Global Views and seeing their showroom for the first time. I had a delightful discussion about vintage brooches with Frederick, who is also an avid collector.

Julia Buckingham and me at Global Views showroom at Las Vegas Market, 2016.

  • What’s so striking and unique about Julia’s collection is how she mixes color and texture! The unexpected patterns and raindrop shape with bursts of color are remarkably modern and vintage at the same time. I love that she created pieces, like the chair and rug, that we’ve never seen before. To me they are so distinctively different that I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for 2017!

The gorgeous Global Views Vegas showroom, 2016.

Julia Buckingham’s magnificent “Wiggle Dining Chair”, “Raindrop” rug and accessories designed specifically for Global Views. Check out Global Views 2016 Catalog HERE.

Here’s Julia flanked by the wonderful partners of the Global Views brand, CEO, David Gebhart and Frederick Rayner.

  • Julia also created beautiful accessories and probably didn’t know that when it comes to texture and color, I snap photos of everything. The velvet heels of Julia’s shoes matched the purple velvet in the rug and the lovely “Strands of Pearls” pillow. The green metallic textile is a detail photo of the material of Julia’s fabulous dress, which reminded me of one of my fave vintage fabrics in my collection.

  • Dramatic lighting can transform any room or entry way into magnificent luxury, especially show-stopping chandeliers. This shimmering gold one below from Julia Buckingham for Global Views is incredible!!! I wish I had a dramatic foyer to my home just so I can hang this fabulous chandelier!
  • Julia Buckingham also designed for Global Views this spectacular “Tea Light” gold chandelier. Now THAT is a luxurious statement piece in a foyer in any home!

    In the photo below, the Christopher Guy chandelier is a real luxurious statement piece as well. It not only makes a lighting statement, but the oblong discs are mirrored, so you have two luxury features in one. Also, tucked in the corner there is one of Christopher Guy’s signature chair, the Le Jardin. Christopher Guy is very well known for his unique chairs with curved and crossed legs. They are not your usual chairs, you can see a wide selection HERE.

Couldn’t find the name of this magnificent chandelier by Christopher Guy, but the lamp in the corner is the Annecy and one of his signature chairs, Le Jardin.

Christopher Guy’s signature chair, the Le Jardin, was designed and carved with mahogany to pay homage to Coco Chanel’s love for Fleur de Camelia.

  • Variety of scale in lighting, mirrors, sofas, or even a side chair, is important to create unique luxury visuals at different heights in each room of your home. The above photo in the Christopher Guy showroom is a great example of that from the pillows on the sofa and side chair to the art on the wall, very tall lamp, and massive chandelier. There’s something luxurious at every eye level!

Made from thousands of individually hand-painted mosaic pieces, sprinkled with semi-precious stones, the Piaf represents the Parisian Burlesque nightlife.

  • Powerful Artwork is so important to not only add character to your home but to bring in a textural luxurious feel. Especially with Christopher Guy’s incredible mosaic pieces like the above silver-toned one to the striking two below with flowers, fur and midnight blue colors. Each of the art pieces is massive in person and made of tiny chips of colored glass.  Incredibly inspiring to me!

Our Christopher Guy showroom tour guide, the delightful Tracey Lin, in front of the mosaic artwork Le Regard, an 8-piece panel after the 19th century Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt.

This magnificent Christopher Guy mosaic, Le Bouquet, features 17,000 hand-colored glass pieces.

  • Fur, faux fur or vintage fur can go a long way to add luxury to your home, particularly in the bedroom. As evidenced above in the Christopher Guy showroom and below in a luxurious throw on a bench. Even our fabulous guide, Tracey Lin, brought luxury to her stylish outfit with a fur scarf below.

Our fashionable marketing guide, Tracey Lin, at the Christopher Guy showroom; Vegas, 2016.

  • Unique Mirrors & Headboards of a variety of shapes and sizes really add a striking sense of luxury appeal to a room. Mirrors can serve a function by helping to make a smaller room appear larger. They also can be art unto themselves with gold, silver, bronze finishes and starburst shapes like the Christopher Guy one below. Please see his entire mirror selection HERE.

This Christopher Guy vignette features the Dandelion mirror and the Branchment wall light with its gentle curves.

The Christopher Guy Pearl mirror inside two hand-carved ovals.

  • In addition, a unique headboard, particularly ones as dramatic as Christopher Guys, can quickly make a luxurious statement in choice of textile, finish, height, width and shape. I love this explosive gold Cosmopolitan one below that is bursting with texture and the spectacular Pebble Beach headboard that features padded circular shapes like you’d find along the coastline.

Christopher Guy Cosmopolitan headboard.

Christopher Guy Pebble Beach headboard, which can be installed vertically or horizontally.

2017 SNEAK PEEK! One of Christopher Guys gorgeous bedrooms with luxurious headboard and luxury fur accents. Love the Art Nouveau detail in the center of the headboard! Photograph by Farah Mirhi of Inspire Me Home Decor, Las Vegas Market, 2017.

  • Gold Accents can instantly make a home luxurious whether you choose a powerful statement piece like the above Christopher Guy Cosmopolitan headboard, or a cabinet and simple accessories like in the Global Views showroom below. I absolutely love the textured gold handles against the textured wood cabinet below.

Magnificent gold textured handle against the textured wood cabinet at Global Views showroom.

Global Views cabinet with textured gold handles accented with gold candlesticks.

I love too how Julia Buckingham’s Wiggle chair is trimmed in gold. It makes it so regal! They would look very striking around a dining room table, don’t you think?

Julia Buckingham’s Wiggle chair trimmed in gold for Global Views.

Please enjoy additional images from Las Vegas market of our 2016 Red Carpet Tour group at the showrooms of Phillips Collection, Worlds Away, Codarus, Zuo, as well as book signings by Julianne Taylor Burke and Christopher Kennedy and a luxe presentation by Brandon Smith of D Coop Media.

And lastly, the final evening right in front of the gorgeous fountain and Eiffel Tower replica. That alone made me understand why Las Vegas is surely a magnificent destination. I hope you are inspired as much as I am with the gorgeous designs at Las Vegas Market of Christopher Guy, Julia Buckingham, and Red Carpet Tour Mama, Jackie Von Tobel.  Till next time, take a break from politics and enjoy all the color and texture.  XO PG

(Note: This is not a sponsored post. All photos are mine except where noted. Thank you for following my blog.)

Christopher Guy with three of his models (also featured below in black and white image) during the opening of his Vegas showroom, 2016.

A beautiful curved textured chair by Christopher Guy, Las Vegas, 2016.

Great example of the curved leg details of Christopher Guy’s work in these lovely nesting tables.

A peek into a Christopher Guy dining room with a spectacular chandelier and his signature Chris-crossed leg sexy chairs, the Sadie.

Me with the lovely Tracey Lin at the Christopher Guy showroom, Las Vegas, 2016.

Interior designers Scot Meacham Wood and Jackie Von Tobel with Julia Buckingham at Global Views, Las Vegas, 2016.

Loved all the texture and color at the Phillips collection Vegas Showroom.

Brandon Smith of D Coop Media presenting “New, Modern Fundamentals within the Luxury Market” at Phillips Collection showroom, Vegas Market, 2016.

From left to right 4 rockin interior designer and writer friends I adore and finally got to meet in real life (#irl) at the 2016 Vegas Market: Jane Dagmi of Steelyard Access, DeAnna Mackensen of REDesign Interiors, Brandon Smith of D Coop Media, and April Elizabeth Hewitt and her darling daughter) of AE Interior Design.

Elegant display of Bliss Studio decorative pillows full of texture.

Detail of one of Bliss Studio’s beaded pillows.

Our fabulous Red Carpet Tour guide Jackie Von Tobel along with three other interior designers, Kerrie Kelly, Julia Buckingham, and Michael Boyd, all debuting their 2016 Haute Trends rug designs at Feizy Rugs, Las Vegas, 2016.

2017 SNEAK PEEK! Artist and leader of Red Carpet Tour, Jackie Von Tobel and her daughter ,in front of Jackie’s debut of her NEW Midnight Prairie Rug for Feizy Rugs. Photo courtesy of Jackie Von Tobel, Las Vegas Market, 2017. Can’t wait to see more from 2017!

Scot Meacham Wood and me hanging out on a bright yellow fun two-seater 🙂

Taking a break at Worlds Away showroom with these two women, Kimberley Harrison and Deborah Moats, who both quickly became my saving grace, as upon my arrival to Vegas my American Express Credit Card did NOT work (comforting right?) . Embarrassing to say the least, but these gals sure made up for it.  Thank you!! Note to self: never go on a trip w/out calling your credit card company first.

Take your pick, orange or black velvet edged in gold-tone metal. Love these chairs at Worlds Away showroom.

Thurston Reed and his lovely wife and pillow line at Codarus showroom, Las Vegas, 2016.

Also at Codarus showroom was Julianne Taylor of Taylor Burke Home for her book signing of DesignHER.  So wonderful to meet Julianne for the first time!

Christopher Kennedy’s book signing at the Zuo Mod showroom. I had met Christopher, the king of mid-century modern, a few years back when he came to Austin to speak. He’s such an incredible nice person and talented designer. See more of his work coming up at Modernism Week., Feb 16 – 26, 2017.

Me enjoying one last awesome chair at the Zuo book signing reception for Christopher Kennedy, before our group was whisked off to the surprise finale cocktail evening.

Chinese New Year display at one of Las Vegas luxury hotels.

Enjoying the final night cocktail party in front of the spectacular water fountain show with friends Deb Moats and Kimberley Harrison, Las Vegas, 2016.

The crowd at the surprise final evening cocktail party in front of the Vegas fountain, celebrating Thomas Pheasant’s design Icon awarded at the 2016 Las Vegas Market.

Christopher Guy congratulating Thomas Pheasant for his award as one of the Design Icons, Las Vegas market, 2016. Loved meeting both these incredible Design Icons, and attending Thomas’ book signing and presentation earlier.

What a jaw-dropping show the fountain gave about half-way through our final cocktail party. Spectacular view right up front!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments
  • abhinav
    Posted at 18:23h, 02 June Reply

    These design tips are awesome love this. Can I use this for the f-trend fashion forecasting company’s blog post.

    Thanks and Regards

    • Deborah Main
      Posted at 20:46h, 02 June Reply

      Hello. Thank you for stopping by to read my blog. Glad you enjoyed the 7 Luxury Design Tips piece! It has some great trends in there. Yes, you most certainly can use this for your fashion forecasting as long as you credit my blog and the corresponding images to any photographer I list. Please email me a direct link should decide to use it. Thank you for asking for permission! That’s a rarity these days, so really appreciate it. Note: If you want to use my entire blog piece you’ll need to say it was written by me, give full credit, and directly link it to my blog. Thank you for your interest!

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