Design Destination: Palm Beach

Caroline Gidiere: Hey, Paloma how are you?

Paloma Contreras: Wow, it looks like you are into them cozy Shelley-esque digs currently.

Caroline Gidiere: Yes, yes, we're in Zermatt. It is so it's a major charm offensive. I wish you could see out my window the beautiful view of the Alps, some snowy clouds up the top and all of these cute little chalets all over the mountainside. It's so, so charming here. I really love it.

Paloma Contreras: I'd love to see it. Have you had a good time? Good weather?

Caroline Gidiere: Yes, we have had a great time. The weather has been absolutely perfect, sunny and you know, like 32, 33 degrees. You can't get it any better than that for snowing. If it gets too much warmer, you know, the snow starts melting. But today we found other things to do because we've had three days in a row of skiing and you know, well, like I just can't physically am not built to go fourth day skiing straight because I just get too sore and everything. Plus it's like one degree. It's been snowing and the wind is blowing and I just I'm too old to like power through something like that. so we've all found other things to do all day today, but it's back sunny and perfect temperature tomorrow. So yay.

Paloma Contreras: Good. How did your pants work out? Your ski pants? If you listened last week, guys, then you know Caroline was a little bit concerned about whether or not her ski pants were gonna fit.

Caroline Gidiere: You know, they've been fine. I actually that that pair I have not put on yet. I'm hoping to wear them tomorrow. The great thing about Europe is ⁓ the food is so fresh and like I haven't had any except for lunch today when Lou wanted to go get McDonald's and so went with her to get chicken nuggets and french fries outside of that. ⁓ of that I have not had any processed food. Everything has been fresh and really wonderful. Although I'll tell you there's a lot of schnitzel in this town so I don't know. We'll see. The true test will be tomorrow when I try that pair back on but everything else has been fine.

Paloma Contreras: Ha Yum. Yum. God, I'm glad you guys are having a good time. ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: We're having a blast. And that, that I'm just gonna go ahead and say that covers my complete good week. It's been great. We've gotten Bud on skis and he's, it's really great as your family grows and gets older to find things that we can all do together. And, ⁓ and I don't want him to feel left out. And we had a great ski instructor for him and

Paloma Contreras: ⁓ wonderful.

Caroline Gidiere: got him on skis and built his confidence up and he was up on the mountain with us on Tuesday and we just had a great day. it's, it's been really, that's been really great. Yeah. Yeah. So I really, I guess I have to drum something up to complain about.

Paloma Contreras: That sounds fabulous. I'm glad. I'm glad everybody's had a good time. Have you had a low this week?

Caroline Gidiere: I mean, there's really, it doesn't get much better than this. how about you? What are your high and low?

Paloma Contreras: Good. I mean, we've had a lot of lows lately. ⁓ You know, as you know, we're dealing offline with family stuff with my mom's illness and everything. So that's kind of really come to head this week, which has been difficult. And then as I mentioned earlier, there's a plague upon the House of Contreras. We are all sick. So if I sound a little hoarse or if you hear a cough on this episode, you'll know why. ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, I know. Bless. I'm so sorry.

Paloma Contreras: but we're all on the up and up, we're on the mend. So aside from that, not to get into heavy stuff, I would say my low, and it could be a high depending on how you look at it. ⁓ I recently came to a place where I'm like, I kind of just want to purge my closet. I'm craving that purge. I want to get rid of everything. I feel like I have dresses that I've worn maybe once that I won't wear again or stuff that's been hanging in there that I haven't worn. And I just want to make space. So.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: And that, depending on how you look at it, I feel like it's a hassle to go through. You have to really carve out the time, but it feels so good after. So I kind of just want to do that. Maybe it's a spring cleaning sort of situation happening.

Caroline Gidiere: You should- Sure. I think you reach a certain age when you can take a critical eye to things that have been collecting dust in your closet and say, I'm not this person anymore. I'm like, there's no situation in which I'm ever going to wear this again. And it makes it very easy. as I, at the older I get, the fewer options I really need in my closet. You know, I'm like, I know what I want. I know what looks good. And I really just only want.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: quality right now. So it makes it easier to forego other things and to fold things up and put them as a stack. And there's so many people, you have such nice clothes. There's so many people that could truly benefit from, and I know without knowing that you take really good care of your clothing too. I mean, some people do, ⁓ some people sell their clothes. I never do. I try to find people for whom ⁓ they would work. you know, and direct them and if not and say you give these away if they don't work for you.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, yeah, that's really nice thing to do. Yeah, so that was my low and my high is that I made it a point this past week to pay at least one random compliment to a person. ⁓ And it's been so nice. I feel like, you you're just be like, you look really chic or I like your top, I like your top, you know, whatever, like anything. And it really...

Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ how nice. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: I think it makes such a difference in people's day. Like it may sound so superfluous, but ⁓ you just never know what people are carrying, what they're dealing with in life. And so to have a stranger just say something nice to you, I mean, I know when I'm on the receiving end, that feels really nice. So that's been, that's been really fun to try to carve out like a time. I I don't always see strangers or there isn't always an opportunity every day. It hasn't been as easy as I imagined it to be. Cause you know, I, my life is

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: very predictable right now. Like, you know, there's a triangle between my home and my office and my daughter's school. And so I don't always see strangers, but ⁓ when I do, I've been making it a point ⁓ to find a compliment to pay someone.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Well, and you know, the thing is, I know you've got a tough road right now with your family and your mom. And I find that when life becomes challenging, the best way to keep a sunny disposition is to push out and, you know, to... There is so much, ⁓ you know, there's such a place for positivity in this world that makes such a huge difference. you really can get that, keep your vibration really high and positive when you're engaging this way with other people. And you get the benefit of it too, because that keeps your energy in this real positive space or pulls you up out of the depths.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Totally, totally. That's so important. think just maintaining that frame of reference, having perspective, choosing to be positive, you know, regardless of what situation you're dealing with, makes such a difference. Actually, this morning Margo was ⁓ kind of in a mood. I mean, she's been feeling better, but she just was kind of cranky and she was upset that, I don't know, Fabian turned the light on or something. And she was like, I told daddy I didn't want the light. So then she like went.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: hid in the closet and was crying and mommy I need you and I came to her and she's like I said I want time alone I didn't say I needed you and I was like actually you did ⁓ so like you know true hysterics all the drama ⁓ but I said to her at one point like Margo we choose we can choose to be happy you know we choose to be happy or sad it's okay to feel to feel those things and if you need a moment that's totally fine mommy supports you daddy supports you

Caroline Gidiere: Mmm... Baby. You

Paloma Contreras: But at the end of the day, we can choose if we're gonna be happy or if we're gonna be sad. And she like thought about it. I don't know if she really understood, but ⁓ I do think at least in adulthood, it can be a choice. Sometimes it's a difficult one and it takes a lot of effort to maintain a sunny outlook, but it does make a difference.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Why? Yes, I mean there's certainly times when we need to just wallow in self-pity, you know, but then you do have to choose how long you want to stay there, you know.

Paloma Contreras: Yes, indeed. Well, ⁓ if we move on to today's topic, you know, if we're talking about sunny dispositions and sunny places, a really popular design destination that I think has become such a hot part of the zeitgeist in the last, I mean, it's always been iconic, but I think in the last five years, popularity has really soared for Palm Beach. ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: Okay. ⁓ yeah. Absolutely.

Paloma Contreras: Obviously post COVID, lots of New Yorkers and people from the East Coast moved down there or spent time at their houses there and then decided that they were gonna make it their permanent residence. So they've seen this huge influx of people and a lot of designers have decided to set up shop there. The Kips Bay Showhouse started in Palm Beach, I wanna say about five years ago, maybe 2021, 2019, 19, and then they skipped 2020 and came back in 21.

Caroline Gidiere: No, 1919.

Paloma Contreras: So, you know, around the same timeline, similar timeline, where it really became this buzzy design destination, I feel like it's always in people's feeds. ⁓ The season, you know, the season has gotten much longer. I feel like it used to be January to April, and now people are going down for the season in November. And I actually was just on the phone with my client whose home we did in Palm Beach before this. And she said she's staying until June, June 1st.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: this year, like they're just spending more time there. It starts to get hot. Yeah, it starts to get hot. ⁓ But anyhow, it's really, you know, become this sort of little cultural center for interior design and architecture and fashion even. So what do you think, aside from these factors that we've talked about, has made it as popular as it has become?

Caroline Gidiere: so hot down there though. Well, I think during COVID, obviously it was ⁓ Florida. So everything was open and New York was so locked down. And I think all New Yorkers who had the wherewithal were looking for someplace to land to get out of the city. And ⁓ there's always been that tight connection between New York and Palm Beach and the upper. upper echelon of wage earners in the United States. so I think then you get the momentum as far as once you get down there and it doesn't seem so foreign because you have all your friends around you, it just seems like that kind of got it started. And then with the influx of money, know, anything that's attracting the upper crust, everybody else is going to follow suit. it, you know, ⁓ so I think it's that. think it's probably also, ⁓ you know, probably we would have to acknowledge that Trump's presence there at Mar-a-Lago has an effect on ⁓ a demographic that wants to be near power. And so, you you've got that element too. then, you know, just a whole bunch you can patch together to create. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Yeah, it's really interesting. And I think, you know, in the time that I've been working there, which kind of lines up with this other timeline we've talked about with the sort of influx of people, I started working on a project there, gosh, it must have been like 2021. So about five years ago. And then I did the Kips Bay Show house in 2022. So I was there a lot for a handful of years and have been, you know, back since then. Just in that time, just in those five years, it has

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: loaded in terms of how crowded it can feel during the season, the traffic. mean, if you don't time crossing the bridge from West Palm and onto the island at the right time, it can get crazy. I mean, you might be sitting there for half an hour. And then, of course, as you said, you know, with Mar-a-Lago, I think when the president's in town, I'm sure the traffic is even worse just with Secret Service and everything. So I would be curious to hear what ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: Ridiculous.

Paloma Contreras: you know, those long-term Palm Beachers, the people who have been there for decades or generations, how they feel about it. If they welcome the change, if they like having, you know, more shopping and restaurants and all of those things, or if they just are so averse to the crowds and all of these people who have infiltrated their fantasy land.

Caroline Gidiere: Yes. Well, you know, ⁓ what's the Instagram account, Devonshire of Palm Beach? He's he's hysterical. Yes. ⁓ Yeah, I don't think he has much use for the infiltration, but, ⁓ you know, because so much ⁓ has gone the way of the dodo bird in extinction down there. But, ⁓ yeah, you know, doing Kips Bay last year,

Paloma Contreras: ⁓ yes, he's great. He's so witty.

Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ So Mar-a-Lago, was the president had been elected and they had, they completely shut down the highway ⁓ going in and around. So you can't, you can't pass by. ⁓ And so if you're on the lower end of the island, you know, like there, it's, it's a no go in so much of that area, but. That's not really high traffic area to begin with. really don't think so. Yeah, yeah. So it's really just an inconvenience for the people who live beyond that that are trying to commute, I think up. But I have the same feeling when I fly out of Palm Beach that I have when I fly out of New York City. And that is kind of like, you know, like that was fun, but I am glad to be heading home. Like I need to. ⁓

Paloma Contreras: No, it's very residential over there except for the beach club. Yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: It's too much. It's the energy is in is even though it's like sunny and warm and vacationy, there's a there's an intense competitive energy there, you know, and there's so much competition for all of the resources, whatever you name a resource, whether it's, you know, space at the bar or at

Paloma Contreras: Yes.

Caroline Gidiere: a restaurant table or a hotel room or whatever you want to name anything that can be had, there's competition for it. And so just after a minute, it's like, I need a breather from this. need to go where it's not so it's not such a, know, the that there are no hunger games for for all the resources.

Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. It's palpable. very much on the surface. And I understand what you mean. I can feel a little bit overstimulating.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yeah, for sure. For me, at least.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, well, our purposes for being there typically are work related. you know, working on a project, working on a show house, going down a source. ⁓ Palm Beach has always been known as a really great resource for vintage, especially, and also antiques. The Dixie Highway has been, you know, famed for a long time. And I think it's only obviously the design scene has exploded and it's grown and now there's all of the shopping on Georgia Avenue and obviously in West Palm there's Hive, which is like its own empire with all of their various facets of their business. Are there specific places that you like to go when you are in Palm Beach shopping for projects?

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, ⁓ I mean, there's so many. I know when we start naming places, we're gonna leave some things out that are ⁓ obvious and important. I always hate when I get started listing things that I'll offend somebody about not including theirs. But first up for me is Casa Branca and their atelier that's over on Georgia Avenue. They just have... ⁓ Alessandra and Mary ⁓ who works there with Andrew, ⁓ they have such an amazing eye and certainly for a Palm Beach client with a Palm Beach ⁓ budget, ⁓ they have both the quality and the eye that I think you're looking for down there. It's an easy stop. And then the other thing that's great about it, ⁓

Paloma Contreras: Dever

Caroline Gidiere: that became so real for me when I was putting my room together for Kips Bay because ⁓ Andrew and Alessandra ⁓ supported me and ⁓ basically sponsoring my room. The resources there are, the breadth is incredible because I was able to do everything from dishes and glassware to fabric, to have an upholstery workroom.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: and it's all custom furniture. mean, you specify your dimensions. They have the fabrics, they have the wallpapers, they have the people to put it together. So they're really amazing. But I also love Meg Braff's shop. It's so great. You and I both have spoken there, done book signings, I mean, her sourcing as well. she, I mean, she just has such a good eye for...

Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: all the different lighting options and the pieces of furniture and vintage that she has and I love her fabric and wallpaper collection. Yeah, sure.

Paloma Contreras: You know, it's interesting, they couldn't be more different, Casabranca and Meg Brath. I love them both so much. I love Alessandra and Meg as people and ⁓ love their showrooms. I think you hit the nail on the head. Casabranca is so well edited and there's everything that you need. Every category is present. They do a beautiful job. ⁓ And then Meg's place is sort of this treasure trove where she has all of the accessories that you could need. You could go in there and just like pull all the accessories you could need for an install. very well stocked. There's lots of stuff, lots of antiques, lots of vintage, and then of course her fabulous wallpapers and fabrics as well. ⁓ So there's something for everybody and I feel like you can really like tick all the boxes even just going down Georgia Ave now.

Caroline Gidiere: Absolutely. Yeah, and let's not forget, get the gusto, casa gusto. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't get much finer than that. mean, ⁓ absolutely. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Paloma Contreras: ⁓ yes, casa gusto. I think it might be one of the most sophisticated showrooms in the country. mean, forget Palm Beach, just anywhere, anywhere. They curate with ⁓ such an expert eye. The things that they put together are so unique. ⁓ Of course, I love that so much of the things that they make through their own atelier, their costa gusto things are ⁓ made in Mexico, which resonates with me, with my Mexican heritage. I love that they're highlighting artisanship and...

Caroline Gidiere: beyond. ⁓ Absolutely. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: working with such skilled and talented artisans while curating this incredible assortment of the finest antiques.

Caroline Gidiere: Yes, you know the thing is, ⁓ much like Casablanca, ⁓ ⁓ is so good. I mean, the things that they select is such a well edited collection, but then they go beyond that, and couple those great pieces with incredible artisans. you know, it's kind of like, I think of Soane you know, the furniture that ⁓ What's her name? ⁓ I can't think of her name. Zoner of Zone. Me too, anyway. Okay, it'll come flying out of my mouth here in a minute. ⁓ working with artisans in the UK and the authentic rattan that she does, things are more expensive because they're made by hand. I I feel the same way about Casa Gusto. It's not just rabid inflation.

Paloma Contreras: Well, it's on the tip of my tongue and I know her name. And now that you said that, I'm like, wait, I can't think of it either.

Caroline Gidiere: It's honoring the artisans who make so much of the handmade things that they do. ⁓ So I have mad respect for them, for sure, and everything in their showroom.

Paloma Contreras: Lulu, it's Lulu. Lulu Lytle.

Caroline Gidiere: Yes, ⁓ she's so cute and fun.

Paloma Contreras: She's so sweet. remember meeting her for the first time when we were on that trip. ⁓ now I can't think of anything. Jeffery Monticello in Virginia, yes.

Caroline Gidiere: No, Monticello, in Monticello. Yeah, yeah. Yes, I sat next to her at dinner that night and the stories that she told were, she's a hoot. mean, just ⁓ how she got her start and ⁓ working at Annabelle's and doing flowers at Annabelle's. She's got some stories. Yeah, she's got some stories to tell. Yes, exactly. ⁓

Paloma Contreras: Wow. ⁓ cool, I didn't realize that. That is quite the start, I'm sure. I'm sure she's seen a lot, yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: You know, one other place I can't let us leave a listing of places to shop in Palm Beach without mentioning Palm Beach Home Style. Warren, ⁓ who's also his whose is ⁓ on Instagram is Wexler Robichaux, his nom de shell ⁓ The guy who ⁓ and Antonio who their shop.

Paloma Contreras: Okay.

Caroline Gidiere: but they made my big shell mirror in Palm Beach. So, and he does so much custom. If you wanted a mirror, Warren can make you whatever you wanted. So, you know, I feel like if I was doing a house in Palm Beach, even though it's a little, I mean, his shells are so elevated and beyond, it's not like a hokey shell mirror. I think you could work with him and do.

Paloma Contreras: Yes, which was stunning.

Caroline Gidiere: and extraordinarily beautiful, understated, but like shell anything you could come up with.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, when you said Palm Beach Homeside, I wasn't sure what that was, but Wexler Robichaux of course I know, you know, he does the beautiful shell work and I've been in their showroom. It's really pretty. And then he's over in West Palm, right? Yeah, we're ⁓ on the Dixie Highway and then Meacox is there and then of course there's Hive ⁓ and Hive great. I actually, you know,

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Yeah, on the Dixie Highway.

Paloma Contreras: We haven't sourced as much like furniture or things for the home from there. I think we did a lot of bedding when we were working on our project there and odds and ends, but I love their children's section. They have really great children's clothing and even the women's boutique to this day. Like sometimes I'll check it online and buy things from there because it's a really nice curation of brands that I like and they're all in one place. So, ⁓ I don't know how she does. all of that, that is quite an undertaking because they have home, they have a to the trade showroom, they have men's, women's, and children's clothing boutiques, ⁓ they have a bakery and cafe now, and then surely, I think maybe I'm missing like a modern showroom or something that they launched recently, there's a lot. And I can't imagine as a designer who also has a retail shop and feels overwhelmed all the time having.

Caroline Gidiere: It's a lot. Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: that many businesses. I mean, it seems like it would be so much to keep up with, but she's brilliant because she was there before a lot of these other places that we're talking about that have opened in recent years. And so I think she was really ⁓ smart in anticipating what was coming to Palm Beach and opening all of these retail locations for people to shop because there weren't many places before. So you could go into her showroom and...

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: you if you just bought a house and weren't working with a designer or what for whatever reason, you could go in there and just furnish the whole thing.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Sure, sure. There are also great places like Rattan Bamboo. Have you been to that place? ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ well, I think you can custom order anything, but it's all vintage sourced from down there. That is another place. I'm just thinking if you...

Paloma Contreras: No, ⁓ I have not. ⁓ cool.

Caroline Gidiere: bought a place and you like wanted to turn it around within like two three months you know just have it done you don't want to have a long process of hiring a designer and you know you could turn it out pretty quickly almost between the two of those you could pretty much do the whole and then do your final shopping with Meg for all your lighting and everything you could really make it happen in a hurry.

Paloma Contreras: Have you ever been to Showpony? That like big vintage warehouse. Super cool. I mean, they have everything you could imagine. There's Showpony, there's Todd Hays who has really great stuff. And his, even though all of his things are vintage, I feel like it's curated through a very specific lens, ⁓ like more regency generally. So he's fun to go, you know, visit. And then there's another woman whose name escapes me and she's the sweetest woman on earth.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Mmm.

Paloma Contreras: She has a really cool consignment and vintage shop too. I mean, you could just drive up and down the Dixie Highway or Georgia Avenue and you're gonna hit 25 places that are gonna have a treasure trove of things.

Caroline Gidiere: Who is that lady I know you're talking about because she bought, yes, yes, yes, absolutely. And it's a good, know, just a little tidbit after the show house closes. Okay, everybody lean in. Because this is a pearl, yes. All of the...

Paloma Contreras: Paula, Paula Roemer, Paula Roemer. Yes, she's so nice. This is a good tip.

Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ consignment shops and they go in and buy everything off of the designers that ⁓ they don't want to have to ship back and there's a lot there are so many good deals to be had I would say in starting soon you know like show house is gonna

Paloma Contreras: ⁓ yeah, because ⁓ the current show house has just closed.

Caroline Gidiere: Just closed, yeah. So now's the time, like next week, I'd be, or whenever, I guess this will, early April, early to mid April, so about the time that this ⁓ episode will drop is the time to be hitting those consignment shops, because they will be full of gems. And the season is kind of over, so not as much.

Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. But yeah, it must be a new development. I don't think they did that when I did the show house in 2022. we always, we've learned through experience at the end of the show house, we're selling stuff anyway. Like we're trying to sell it. We don't want to have to bring it all home. And it's good to hear that the designers have that resource. I'm sure it was Paula. that's smart.

Caroline Gidiere: I think it was Paula. I think it was Paula. She came through and literally everything I didn't, I should zero, there was nothing that came back with us. She took every lampshade, all the books that I had, everything that was not a product that had been sponsored that was going back to its home. She took all of that, sold it all for me and

Paloma Contreras: That's amazing.

Caroline Gidiere: marked it up to the point that I got my cost out of it. So it was, I mean, brilliant. Absolutely. 100%. I don't know any other, any other Kips Bay that that would be, that that is available to you. You know, location as far as, yeah.

Paloma Contreras: That's great. I mean just to break even on a show house is you're doing great. You know that's going gangbusters if you're breaking even. No, no, definitely not. ⁓ Where do you like to stay when you're in Palm Beach?

Caroline Gidiere: It really depends if I'm not staying with friends or it's not ⁓ extended stay like ⁓ doing Kips's Bay, you know, when you're gonna be there. I don't like to stay at a hotel for an extended period of time. I need a kitchen, you know, just like ⁓ refrigerator that's bigger than, you know, ⁓ with the mini bar. ⁓ ⁓ don't like to have to eat out all the time, particularly like breakfast and sometimes, you know, anyway, so I did a lot of Airbnb's when I was down there and there are a lot of cute things available. But outside of that, I just stay at the Colony, ⁓ which is the rooms are tiny, ⁓ but it's chic ⁓ there's no more convenient. I mean, I guess there's several, ⁓ the...

Paloma Contreras: Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: for the dollars spent, the convenience, and it all just kind of works there. And there's always fun things going on, so I end up staying there.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, it's a fun vibe. I mean, it's so well located and it doesn't get more quintessentially Palm Beach than The Colony and that beautiful lobby. The rooms, like you said, are very small, but ⁓ very well appointed. exactly. It's old school. It's an old building. And they brought Celerie Kimball in to revamp everything a couple of years ago, a few years ago, and it looks fabulous.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. No. Old school, yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. crushed it. Yes.

Paloma Contreras: then there's that new hotel that just opened, which I haven't been to yet, the Venita, I think it's called. It's the old Chesterfield Hotel where the Leopard Lounge was. So they've just opened that. And there's something new called the Palm House that I haven't been to. You stayed at the Chesterfield?

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes. I stay, ⁓ I've been, before it was anything, it was when Bryan and I came to see you in 22 it ⁓ was a last minute trip. It was like, ⁓ let's go ⁓ Paloma for her Kips Bay opening.

Paloma Contreras: ⁓ yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: And literally everything was sold out. We weren't thinking Airbnb and Bryan found this ⁓ mean, somebody saying, you know, it's an old hotel. It was very ⁓ 80s. was like, the Chesterfield I've stayed there. Everything was kind like jewel tones, you know, which is a which is curious for Palm Beach ⁓ to go into.

Paloma Contreras: nice. Yeah. Yeah, but you know, it's interesting. I mean, you say that I feel like while Palm Beach has that very quintessential look, you think of Lily Pulitzer, think of like pale coral and pale green, like there's a palette, there's a sensibility that I think goes hand in hand with Palm Beach, like the quintessential Palm Beach style. I do think anything goes and perhaps that has to do with the fact that you have generally such an affluent ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: cross section of people there and they may not like that and if they want a modern house they can build a beautiful modern house and they can hire Victoria Hagen to do it. You know there's so many ways of doing a Palm Beach house or a beach house period without it like having to go into that quintessential look.

Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ sure. Yeah, feel like, I almost feel like the quintessential look is, if I'm doing a diagram of this, I'm gonna give that less than 25 % of the overall look. I feel like the overwhelming majority is very modern, very sleek with modern art and super eclectic where people want to...

Paloma Contreras: Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: there's to be kooky, weird and different than everybody else's and demonstrate their personality in a large scale through bold ⁓ art or furniture or ⁓ everything's bigger over the top, but very modern, I feel like a lot these days. Yeah, so much old school. I mean, there is the old school very refined.

Paloma Contreras: There's so much of that.

Caroline Gidiere: very ⁓ traditional, but I feel like that.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of those older, older homes that are just like, you know, the the Addison Meisner, Spanish Mediterranean, that house might be, it might lean more Mediterranean, or it might be dripping and like, really fine, but goopy, you know, continental antiques that are gilded and heavy, like much more ornate. There's a good deal of that too.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yes, sure.

Paloma Contreras: But that's anywhere. So it's interesting because it is such a tiny little microcosm. And now Palm Beach has grown and West Palm is more of a thing and people are living there too. But if you think about like the teeny tiny island of Palm Beach, there is such a span of design now, whereas years ago that might not have been the case.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, we are. ⁓ Okay, well, where do you like to eat when you're there?

Paloma Contreras: there's so many good places. ⁓ I know it's not specific to Palm Beach, but I like The Honor Bar. ⁓ always like fun for a lunch. ⁓ I usually start my day at St. Ambroeus. I love the coffee there. And they do these like little smoked salmon sandwiches. Like if you just want a quick bite from the coffee bar area, you can get that. And of course, you know, you can have a fabulous lunch or dinner there. It's so fun. And we don't have that in Houston. I always like to go there. ⁓

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, we went there together. Yeah. Yeah.

Paloma Contreras: There's Swifties at The Colony. What else? Flory's at the Four Seasons is really good. And then I haven't been, but I know that it's like famous, the Bucon Sandwich Shop. So there's a Bucon restaurant on County Road. And then there's the sandwich shop that's like tucked away. Have you ever eaten there?

Caroline Gidiere: Love that. Beachy. Yeah. I pass it and think that I should. What's the other one that's right there that they have in New York that they brought back with the yellow? ⁓ God, what's the name of it? Come on.

Paloma Contreras: Okay. We'll put it on our list. The yellow brick top.

Caroline Gidiere: it's the old school bar in New York. La Galue. Thank you. Yes. Yeah. Yes. that. Also, Bice ⁓ love Italian. Yeah. ⁓ And there are all sorts of cute little sandwich places. Le Bilboquet Yeah. ⁓

Paloma Contreras: La Galue, La Galue, Galue. ⁓ ⁓ yeah, be good. Bilboquet. Yeah, the Bilboquet we didn't name. I think we've been there together. So last time I was there was with our friend Bryan Huffman. ⁓ ⁓ we saw Tom Ford. ⁓ always like ⁓ fun spot of fun celebrity sighting there and the

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. ⁓ gosh. And if I know Bryan, he probably spoke to Tom Ford and was probably friends with him by the end of the evening.

Paloma Contreras: That would be correct. He was like, there's Tom Ford. And I was like, yeah, you're right. And he was like, I'm going to go talk to him. And I was like, seriously? And ⁓ he him. ⁓ They ⁓ like and chatted for a second. And I think Bryan said he like pitched a script to him. I guess somebody he knew was writing a movie script and he pitched it to Tom Ford.

Caroline Gidiere: Bye. Yeah. you ⁓ You know, I mean, that's the thing about Bryan. I think it was like some quote from Carol Burnett, like you should always speak and introduce yourself. And that's a wonderful way to live because Bryan doesn't strike often. mean, he's ⁓ nine out of 10, makes a new friend and a connection and all that kind of stuff.

Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm.

Caroline Gidiere: Whereas I'm sitting over here too insecure to put myself out there. You know, I mean, it's a better way of life for sure.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Absolutely, I mean we should all aspire to be more that way because I'm the same I'm like, ⁓ I don't want to bother anybody or like why would they want to speak to me? ⁓ But yes, I mean, I think we should all have the moxie to to do that because what's the worst that could happen?

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, ⁓ Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's right. So anyway.

Paloma Contreras: Okay, well moving on, ⁓ think, you know, Palm Beach obviously is fabulous and I think I might actually have a trip coming up, so we'll see. Are you planning to go this year at all?

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Not right now, not unless somebody calls and needs some work done. I don't think I'm heading, I don't have anything on my agenda.

Paloma Contreras: Yes. Well, if I find anything, if I happen to cross any other new fabulous places, I'll be sure to report back. ⁓ So let's move on to a design topic or hot take. I was just in ⁓ Alabama for a show recently where I was speaking and there was a pattern sofa that ⁓ a designer friend ⁓ had very strong feelings about. he was like, know, Bunny Williams once said to me that,

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, please do.

Paloma Contreras: you should only put patterns on chairs and never on a sofa because a sofa is such a huge investment and you'll tire of it more easily. So you can do a solid on a sofa and upholster your chairs in a pattern or do your pillows in a pattern, which I think is wise and sage advice and probably the rule of thumb that we follow more often than not. I rarely do a pattern sofa. Actually, I did a stripe sofa for Kips Bay Dallas. in November and that now lives in my living room. So when things don't go to consignment after a show house, they often end up in designers own homes or offices, which all of that is true for me. ⁓ But I don't dislike a pattern sofa. And I think it's dependent upon maybe the room that you put it in, or maybe it's a comfort level. Like if you, if it's a pattern that's iconic to you that you absolutely love, I don't see a problem with putting it in a more prominent room.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: But I also think it's super fun to choose a pattern and especially when you do like one pattern all over to do say like a TV room, sitting room or something in a really cool pattern and you have your sofa in that pattern and it's on the walls and it's on the drapery where you do this sort of like old school treatment on everything. How do you feel about that? Do you like pattern sofas? Do you do them often?

Caroline Gidiere: It's interesting when I saw this question because it's very prescient for me in that I am actually working on a family room and found a, for ⁓ a long time client, one of my very first clients has come back and said, kids are older, it's time to do the family room. And it's a large room with tall ceilings and ⁓ she wanted to keep the walls a similar color, but you know, I like to knit the colors through the house. I like to conjure them up in ⁓ rooms in different ways, so they're all knit together, but we're not kind of hitting the same note over whether saturated or diluted or what have you. And I found the perfect pattern, absolutely stopped me cold, was looking for something else, and was like, that is perfect for her family room. But now how am

Paloma Contreras: What is it? Will you share the fabric?

Caroline Gidiere: How am gonna use it? Yeah, I don't know the name of it. It's a Colfax and Fowler fabric. ⁓ just know it's a linen, but it is a floral and it's got the two shades of a cool blue and aqua, but there is a lot of brown in it, which makes it a little bit more masculine. It's got like a ⁓ heavy branch situation.

Paloma Contreras: Okay. Is it a gents, like a floral or no?

Caroline Gidiere: and beautiful dark green leaves that speak to the color of the walls, but in any event. now it's like, how do I approach this? Because we're gonna have two sofas, two chairs and ottomans and drapery, but it's like a Roman shade on one side and full drapery on the other. And so I busted out my Billy Baldwin book, the one by the... guy who did the Albert Hadley book and the Van Day Truax book. I can't recall his name right now. It's that book which has so many beautiful, ⁓ beautiful photographs. It's such a great library of Billy's and it's interesting that your friend designer had such a hot take on a patterned sofa because if we look to Billy's work he loved a patterned sofa.

Paloma Contreras: Yes. Yeah. I mean, that Arbre de Matisse sofa, became, that's an iconic fabric and it spawned from the fabric he created for that sofa.

Caroline Gidiere: love. Yes, exactly. That he create. Yeah, for his lover, you know, like his love letter. ⁓ And if you look at all the other so many of the other rooms, he has a pattern sofa. Now. He had a way of doing that, but still keeping a modern edge. And so while I didn't decide to put the fabric on the sofas. I kept it there for a moment because of Billy. ⁓ But I ended up at the end of the day, I'm doing the drapery and the pillows and ⁓ throughout the space in this pattern because I'm pairing it with a stripe. know me, I like to mix my patterns. So I've got the beautiful floral and ⁓ a kind of an understated stripe that's going with it. It's gonna be.

Paloma Contreras: Well, and you should. Mm-hmm.

Caroline Gidiere: It's going to be totally fire. I'm so excited for it.

Paloma Contreras: I have no doubt, I can't wait to see it. It sounds beautiful. Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: Yay! That's the fun part. That's the really fun part of our job, right? Like spinning up, like conjuring up all the details and doing the research and looking back through books and trying to come up with your own, you know, ideas. That's the fun part for me.

Paloma Contreras: I agree. And also doing something that's different or a challenge. I just had a consultation with somebody with a 1920s art deco house, which is so rare. And it's like a real fine example of art deco architecture. And I'm so excited about it. I mean, I don't know if we're going to get the job. I hope we do. But ⁓ I'm excited by the prospect of that challenge and working in a style that pays homage to that without feeling, you know,

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm, yeah. Wow.

Paloma Contreras: two on the nose, but like really honoring elements from that time period and going back and doing research, that's what excites me, you know? I love doing that kind of thing.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yes, ⁓ you know, when I was at Claridge's last, they've done the whole hotel in Art Deco. And it's ⁓ just a reminder. I don't think I've been in a space since then that is as on the nose Art Deco. ⁓ But I just, you know, who does a lot of that is Jacques Grange. He's really good at Art Deco, but I would love, what a fun challenge. I'm jealous.

Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, well, we'll see. Hopefully it pans out. We'll see. ⁓ Yeah, so it's time for our reader question or not reader or listener question. ⁓ Our listener question, somebody sent in a great question and one that we probably get from time to time in our practices. What is the most effective and least expensive way to make a spec home feel designed? And a spec home for those listening is

Caroline Gidiere: cluster. Thank

Paloma Contreras: Usually it's called a builder spec, which means it's a custom home, semi-custom, that a builder has decided to take on and build. And they usually will work with an architect. In the best case scenario, they've hired a designer ⁓ to come in and make all of the finished selections and material selections and that kind of thing. And then they put it on the market and they ask for a premium. ⁓ In the worst case scenario, they are driven solely by their bottom line and may skimp on finishes and still ask for a hefty price tag while not equipping the house with the finishes of the caliber the price tag would call for. So I've seen both ends of the spectrum and especially a few years ago when we were in the market for a house and touring different houses in the neighborhood we wanted to be in and we saw it all. There are ways, I think, to take something that is semi-custom and make it feel more like your own. And Caroline, you had, I think we talked about this a little bit offline, had some interesting ⁓ perspective and you said to start with deciding whether or not this is your forever home, right?

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, if we're talking least expensive, just, if this is not, if it's a spec home and you're not going to make this your forever home, then I would let go of any of my disappointment on any of the finishes. And I mean, just release all of that and just kind of follow the Mario Buatta mantra of if you can't fix it, decorate it, and just focus on purchasing ⁓ and pieces that you love and that you keep with you forever and not worry about any of those things. ⁓ you really can't it, don't worry about it. Don't put more money into something that is not great. that you're not gonna keep forever would be my advice. Now, if this is your forever home, then I would start slowly fixing things that bothered me the most first. Oftentimes you'll have really cheap floors and if they're not hardwood, if they're like that plasticky stuff, yeah, I would like, I might start there. You know what I'm saying? Like, and get rid of that or,

Paloma Contreras: like the laminate, yeah. Yeah.

Caroline Gidiere: Sometimes the stain is bad, you might change the stain, but then, know, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, ⁓ if you really, I mean, it's not gonna be inexpensive, but a lot of time the hardware through the house is really cheap too. Like the doorknobs and everything are a big tell.

Paloma Contreras: Yeah. I feel like that's such a big tell. And when you compare it to retiling all the bathrooms or like tearing up the kitchen, it's certainly a less expensive and easier endeavor to change out like, you know, any hardware, light fixtures, plumbing hardware, cabinet hardware, because those things, really, think if you have nice materials, nice finishes, when it comes to those elements, it makes a world of a difference.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: So you might still live with a countertop that wouldn't have been your first choice or tile that wouldn't have been your first choice. But if you have a nice finish on your plumbing fixtures, your lighting looks good, you have good quality cabinet hardware, that really can be so transformative. And again, it's something that can be done easily over time and it's not disruptive, like depending on your timeline, if you're having to move in right away and you can't do something like a massive like.

Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm.

Paloma Contreras: overhaul of a room that's going to cause, you know, take a lot of work and cause a lot of disruption in terms of messes. You know, it's not fun to live through dust or paint if you are already living in the house. So these things, you know, can easily be done in a handful of days over time and you can be there and it's not going to be messy or smelly or super disruptive.

Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Mm-mm. Mm-hmm. Sure. Can we hire some guys and like paint the kitchen cabinets and change out the hardware and just call it a day, you know, at the end of the day, like, yeah, maybe a light fixture, but if it's not permanent place, then I'm not even sure if I would do that. But little things like that, like, do you just, you know, paint the bathroom and the cabinetry and just roll with it or, you know, leave? I mean, I just, it,

Paloma Contreras: Yeah, give it a little facelift.

Caroline Gidiere: If it's not a forever home, then I wouldn't waste a lot of energy worrying about the details of a spec home.

Paloma Contreras: think that's good advice.

Caroline Gidiere: Yay! Okay, well this has been so much fun. I hope you get to feeling better and please give precious Margot a hug. Hope she has a better day tomorrow.

Paloma Contreras: So fun. Thank you. I will. Yeah, well, you know, the kids are so resilient. Like she's fine. She's home, but she's happy and she's playing and coloring and doing all the things she normally does and is generally upbeat and in a good mood. And she has a flu. I mean, if I had the flu, I would be in bed with the sheets covered, you know, pulled up over my head, but kids just bounce back so, so quickly. So we're just, you know,

Caroline Gidiere: Right. Yeah, quickly.

Paloma Contreras: giving her a little break. Hopefully her fever doesn't come back today and if it doesn't, like technically she could go back to school but since it's already the end of the week we're gonna keep her home and just give her a chance to bounce back all the way. Yeah. No, I she's in pre-K four, she'll be fine. Not missing anything. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your vacation. Safe travels home. All right, see you next week. Bye.

Caroline Gidiere: sure she's not missing any math homework, you know? Exactly, exactly. Well, I hope you get to feeling better too. All right. Okay. Thanks so much. See you next week. Okay. It sounds great. Bye bye.