Working It
Lauren Buxbaum (left) and Sasha Adler know how to put a look together-in the office or anywhere.
When you’ve got as much style as Nate Berkus, decorator-in-residence on The Oprah Winfrey Show, you need equally fashion-savvy people working for you. People to whom you can say “Dior gray” (a light gray inspired by the shade Christian Dior used for his dressing rooms, which Berkus uses in many of his projects) and they will know instantly what you’re talking about. Enter Lauren Buxbaum and Sasha Adler, Berkus’s version of Charlie’s Angels. “We meet on every project together,” says Buxbaum, who has been with Berkus for five years. “Nate relays his vision to us, and we go from there,” adds Adler, who joined the firm three-and-a-half years ago. By now, certain Nate-isms have become ingrained in their brains. “He loves pieces with age and character—he’s always saying, ‘Look for chipped paint,’” says Buxbaum. “He also loves layering and using natural fibers,” adds Adler. “Lately, he’s been into using pops of color.” It also helps that the two gals are old friends who finish each other’s sentences (they met at the University of Michigan, and both later completed coursework at Harrington College of Design); shop at the same places, ranging from eBay to Blake; and, like their boss, are obsessed with antiques. Buxbaum has decorating in her blood (her parents own Antiques on Old Plank Road, in Westmont), while Adler had a crash course during her college years when her parents redecorated a vintage apartment in Chicago (“I came to every design meeting,” she recalls). All this training has culminated in their most important projects to date: the decorating of their own recently purchased condos. Here’s a peek inside each of them.
For more information on resources, see Buyer’s Guide.
Photograph: Andreas Larsson
Adler’s Golden Touch
Living Room: A shrewd mix of patterns and textures is brightened with accents of dark green and yellow, Adler’s favorite colors. Get Adler’s look »
What was the starting point for your design scheme? I’ve always been fascinated by Diana Vreeland, and she had a leopard-skin rug, so I wanted one, too. Of course, her apartment also had a completely red-lacquered room, which is a little much for me.
What’s your decorating approach? It’s similar to the way I dress-I love to pair vintage with J. Crew. I also like to mix materials. In my living room, I have a 1940s vellum Jean-Michel Frank-inspired coffee table and a gilded tree-base table, and the fur pillows on the couch are made from my husband’s grandmother’s old fur coat, so that adds a sentimental touch.
What is your most valued item? The Richard Serra lithograph above the couch. It’s called "Double Ring."My husband and I bought it for our first anniversary. It’s funny-I love color, but with art, I’m attracted only to black and white.
What overall feeling were you going for? I wanted the space to feel well collected, comfortable, but put together-not slouchy.
Buxbaum’s Hint of Paris
Dining Room: Buxbaum painted the Directoire-style cabinet (originally stained wood) Black and white to give it a modern flair. She filled it with her favorite things-including a bone-carved crab that "my fiance wishes I would throw away, but I love," she says. To add rustic flavor,she upholstered her LouisXVI-style chairs in burlap. As for the pieve de resistance- the glass topped, gilded-iron wheat sheaf table:" Coco Chanel had one just like it in her living room, " Buxbaum says. Get Buxbaum’s look »
What was the starting point for your design scheme? I often accompany my parents to France on buying trips, and there are two things, both French ’40s, that I’d been saving: the pineapple brass lamp and the brass faux-bamboo coffee table. The table was in storage at my parents’ for so long, my dad was threatening to sell it.
So, is your place inspired by a Parisian apartment? I love Paris and have spent time living there, but I was careful to mix styles. With every project, we have a system of checks and balances: We mix modern with rustic with antiques.
Tell us about your fabulous rug. I’ve always loved black and white, and I saw a similar antique tribal rug in British Elle Decor that I asked [rug and textile designer] Madeline Weinrib to re-create for me. Nate later bought the same rug, and it’s now part of her collection.
Did Nate help you design your place? He is a genius at floor plans. He came over one day and dragged the heavy mirrored cabinet I was using as a nightstand into my living room. I was like, "Great! Now I need a new nightstand!" So, I stole a campaign-style set from my parents’ store. They’re ready to put me up for adoption.
For more information on resources, see Buyer’s Guide.
Photography: Andreas Larsson