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Home Away From Home: Chandelier Creative

casasugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:00:00 -0800

Chandelier Creative is a three-year-old, full-service creative agency based in New York City with a focus on fashion, beauty, retail, travel, and luxury lifestyle brands. Among Chandelier's clients are Coca Cola, Four Seasons, Parfums Givenchy, Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Old Navy, Nanette Lepore, and W Hotels. Though the agency's client list is certainly an impressive one, you know me: I find myself more taken with the interior design of its SoHo penthouse, designed by agency owner, Richard Christiansen. Much like its work, Chandelier's space is slick, colorful, and imaginative and in every sense far from what the word "office" conjures in even the most forward-thinking mind. Here, a black leather Chesterfield sofa with matching tufted Louis XIV chairs and a Saarinen table set on glossy white floors form a creative conference area. Soccer balls roll about to lighten the mood. A Chippendale chair at a turned wood dining table makes a desk space, and an overflowing book case with colorfully spined volumes infuses the space with life and language. To see many more photos of this amazing space,

Wal-Mart Worker Dies on a Very Black Friday

LibertySugar — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:01:00 -0800

A 34-year-old temporary holiday worker died under a stampede of 2,000 discount hungry Wal-Mart shoppers yesterday. Witnesses described crowds at the Long Island, NY, Wal-Mart as savages; shoppers busted down doors and cut each other in line. Other shoppers, including a pregnant woman, were rushed to the hospital.

Not every store saw a surge, violent or not, in shopping. In anticipation of lower than usual performance, retailers took a hit in the stock market, as company shares dipped on Friday. But regardless of tough economic times, foreign shoppers vacationing in the US came out in significant numbers to take advantage of bargains compounded by a favorable exchange rate. Some speculate that tourists could save the holiday shopping season this year.

Did you brave the stores yesterday for Black Friday, or are you waiting for less chaotic Cyber Monday?

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Justin Timberlake Takes Tribeca

casasugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:00:58 -0800

Justin Timberlake wasn't kidding around when he said Manhattan is the greatest city in the world. He's such a great admirer of the city that he decided to buy his own little slice of the Big Apple. According to Real Estalker, Timberlake recently purchased a 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath loft home in Tribeca for $4.774 million. The listing for the property reads:

This 3 bedroom, 3 bath room loft home offers gracious entertaining space in the extravagantly oversized living area as well as four exposures, 14 floor-to-ceiling arched windows, fabulous river views and completed with a brand new lighting package and built in Sonos sound system featuring inclusive Lutron technology controlling temperature, lights, sound, shades and more. This Tribeca Condo is adorned with the highest quality finishes and appliances including Wolf cooktop w/ grill and Wolf double wall oven, 48" Sub-Zero fridge and wine cooler, Miele DW, Miele W/D. Truly a unique TriBeCa residence.

JT's new pad sits a block from the Hudson River Park which will soon boast a mini golf course, so you can bet he'll be brushing up on his golf skills — even though he finds the game easy. To see more photos of the digs,

Top Chef 5.2 — Show Your Craft Recap

partysugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:15:31 -0800

Hot dogs and ostrich eggs were important ingredients on last night's episode of Top Chef. Things heated up in the kitchen of Tom Colicchio's Craft as the cheftestants had to make "new-American" cuisine. To discuss the episode (warning: spoilers ahead),

On the Market: Former Estate of Brooke Astor

casasugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:30:11 -0800

The former New York State estate of Brooke Astor, a beloved American philanthropist and socialite who passed away last year, is on the market for a whopping $12.9 million, according to Real Estalker. The sprawling 1927 stone mansion, designed by architect William Adams Delano, measures in at 10,000 square feet, with 13 bedrooms and 9 full and two half bathrooms. The property description reads:

At the heart of this bucolic 64.60 acre haven, the 1927 stone manor designed by prominent architect William Delano embodies the quiet elegance of a classic English country house. There are 6 marble fireplace and 13 bedrooms, including staff quarters...Indoor and outdoor pools are featured along with extensive dependencies including a greenhouse, 4-bedroom gardener's cottage, carriage house and barn.

You can read about another historic Astor family home in my recent Before and After. To see more photos of Briarcliff Manor,

Before and After: John Jacob Astor IV's Heavenly Pavilion

casasugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:15:47 -0800

The New York Times has a jaw-dropping article, "A Fixer-Upper to End Them All," and coinciding slideshow about the 1902 Stanford White-designed Beaux-Arts sporting pavilion in Rhinebeck, NY, which was purchased and renovated by Kathleen Hammer, a retired producer for Oxygen Media. The building was originally designed for John Jacob Astor IV, great-grandson and heir of the fur and real estate magnate, and originally served as a weekend retreat and entertaining spot.

Astor's elder son Vincent inherited the property, and his third wife, Brooke Astor, made it more of a residential spot. Brooke donated it to the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and it became a convent and nursing home, and later a residential home again.Shown above is the main hall of the home, which connects two wings. It can be closed off by French doors on all sides, and is the most central part of the pavilion. It measures 35 by 60 feet in magnitude, and for this reason was considered by Stanford White “one of the greatest rooms in America." Aside from its overwhelming size, the hall's heavenly domed skylight with elaborate plasterwork and vast fireplace are astounding, to say the least. Unfortunately, years of neglect left Hammer with a lot of work to do to restore it to its former glory. So, she hired the best person to do the job, Sam White, architect and great-grandson of the original architect. To see this room as it is today,

This Just In: Natalie Portman Is Homeless

casasugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:30:47 -0800

Natalie Portman recently stopped by The Late Show With Dave Letterman and admitted to being homeless. Apparently, after she sold her West Village condo in October, she moved back to her parents' home in Long Island, where she'll camp out until she finds a new place. She said, "I'm a Long Island girl. Yeah, I just went and voted out there because I'm homeless right now and residing with my parents." Here are the pros and cons of living with your 'rents, according to Natalie:

Pros: It seems like a lot of fun in the beginning: "You get like . . . good meals, your laundry done."
Cons: "It's rough. I'm old to be residing with the parents." And, they scream at her: "They're like, 'Get a job!'"

Well, Miss Natalie may be homeless, but at least she has $6 million to keep her warm this Winter.

What's Cooking at Slashfood

partysugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:30:46 -0800

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Everything you need to know about Rhum Clement VSOP.
Honey butter popcorn is a delicious, easy-to-make treat.
Eight foods and drinks to help you sleep.
Cafeteria: the place in New York to get good food all night long.
Learn how to make gnocchi.
Wine that pairs with leftover Halloween candy.

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New York Taxis Won't Go Green Under City's Watch

CitizenSugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:00:13 -0700

New York City's plan to turn its whole fleet of yellow cabs green by 2012 got the red light this week from a federal judge, who ruled that regulation of fuel emissions standards falls under federal authority.

The plan called for every new taxi to have a standard of least 30 miles per gallon — a benchmark met by hybrid and clean diesel cars.

US District Judge Paul Crotty said enforcing the new regulations now would be costly to the taxi industry, which prompted Mayor Michael Bloomberg to release a statement saying the city is considering an appeal.

Green taxis are a focal point of Bloomberg's environmental plan. There are currently about 1,400 hybrid taxis in the city.

Guess Who Wants to Live in Central Park?

casasugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:00:00 -0700

When asked of his dream NY address, a celebrated interior designer recently told Page Six Magazine, "If I could, I would create a house in Central Park. It would look like a tree and be invisible to passersby. And, yes, I recognize what a selfish gesture it would be." Can you guess who it was?