A portion of the Piano Suite by Diane von Furstenberg at Claridges, London.
As a designer, Diane von Furstenberg is all about fabric. Her eye for print, wrapped around or laid over the female form, catapulted her to international consciousness and has kept her there for more years that it’s polite to name.
Recently she decorated two rooms for Claridges, her favorite London hotel (and one we love as well), and that fabric sensibility is everywhere. The DVF Studio is a haven of black and white draped across great architecture and framing modern-day electronics, without interfering with either.
But it’s the Piano Suite we love.
Black and white is prominent again. In the master bed chamber, matched geometric prints tie headboard, curtains and chair together as standouts against a dark wall with gold accents and crisp white accents throughout the room. A second full bedroom, surprisingly understated in taupe, cream and ebony, includes curtains that take tri-color liberties with a classic Greek key-inspired style.
In the living room, more black and white in stunning curtains (one wants a dress made from them) are cast against brightly colored seating arrangements. Among all these sights and luxuries, including the grand piano, our eye was caught by a beautiful glass branch, sweeping across its tabletop to bring up competing mental images of ice sculptures and magnolias blooming in spring at the same time.
Although the unveiling happened last month, Claridges held a launch reception yesterday for DVF and her pals, who include fashionistas such as Gweneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham. More DVF rooms and suites are to follow.
We say, hasn’t everyone scrimped enough over the past couple of years? Once in awhile it makes sense to break out the old Centurion card and stay in something as special as the Piano Suite, followed by dinner downstairs at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant for a quintessential London luxury experience. There’s plenty of opportunity to become your fiscal-conservative self again once you’re back home.
