An Evening To Inspire

Last night I was invited to Peter Dunham's garden party in Almont Yard, the chic alfresco courtyard fronting his showroom, Hollywood at Home. I consider it one of LA's most enchanting spaces -- a secret, tucked-away oasis on one of the most charming streets in West Hollywood.

I'm not alone in feeling this way. There were the stirrings of a movement afoot to start meeting there every Friday afternoon for an impromptu happy hour. (Joel, Seth and Shannon -- you've been warned.)

The occasion was a book signing for the launch of "Rooms to Inspire in the Country" by designer Annie Kelly, with photographs by Tim Street-Porter. 

I've been avidly following their work for years through "The World Of Interiors", to which they are both frequent contributors. 

It's almost impossible to put into words how beautiful and inspiring their new book is. I can't decide whether to gobble it in a single sitting or savor it slowly. It's a dilemma, but a wonderful one.

Here are two sneak peeks of the contents, courtesy of that excellent blogger Mrs. Blandings.

I was especially excited to meet Annie because I owe one of my favorite styling tips to her. I once saw a photo spread of their amazing Hollywood home in which she had hung ivy from her chandelier. It was unexpected, it was faintly exotic and I was completely smitten by its simple brilliance. I've been dripping my own vines at every dinner party since.

(My Annie Kelly homage at our previous home, 2007)

One of the highlights of the evening was meeting both of them. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Annie told me that she not only knew about my blog, she had it bookmarked on her computer! 

In addition to her work as a designer and author, Annie also reviews design books for 1st Dibs in a section called "Required Reading." (Be forewarned: you'll want to buy everything.)

(Tim Street-Porter and Annie Kelly)

Before leaving, I browsed through the Hollywood at Home showroom and was again overcome by Peter's dazzling way of combining pattern, texture and color. There is a distinctive shade of green that crops up again and again in his work. It appears in his fabrics (check out"Almont Stripe" and "Fig Leaf"), his furniture and his business cards and looks something like this:

For me, it's become his signature color and I think of it as "Peter Dunham Green." I'm waiting for him to bottle it.