To Leopard or not to Leopard, That is the question?

courtesy of Ralph Lauren Home

Leopard Print is a word that often scares your typical client away. They find only by suggesting it, or the thought of even using it makes you a tacky designer.

On the contrary, it could be extremely chic if used in the right doses and the best quality of fabrics. Kings and Royalty alike have used it on their Thrones as a sign power, depicted in many of The Masters paintings.

Modern Day designers, the likes of Alberto Pinto (in my humble opinion one of the best designers of our time) Jacques Garcia, Ralph Lauren, and many more in the past such as Tony Duquette, have often used Leopard Print in their interiors as it adds that element of richness to a place. Be it a Grand Salon, a Cozy sitting room, a lodge, or an oriental style Majlis; just the right piece in Leopard can pull a whole look of a room together.

People often associate leopard print with Tackiness, unrefined taste, and the Nouveau riche!
Yes; Leopard Print could be extremely tacky if not used in the right way. For example Gianni Versace’s use of it in an entire living room, which I am pretty sure he has used the best quality fabrics, yet it looked exceptionally vulgar! Saying that though, I still do respect his aesthetic, as he marketed and made a name for himself as the designer for the Nouveau riche!

Excessive use of Leopard Print can only be pulled off, if it’s in a certain night club with a certain theme or mood in my opinion, but a lot of it in a home wouldn’t be the right choice.

Leopard Print should be used as accent pieces in a room. Such as a cushion, an arm chair, a bench, a beautiful throw on an Emerald Green Damask sofa, a chaise, a rug, would definitely add drama, opulence and refinement to any room.

Even men should not be fearful of using Leopard Print, as I think a few cushions would look wonderful on an aged leather chesterfield sofa in a den or private home office. It even works wonderfully with plaids.

Avoid purchasing cheap velour leopard print cushions, or bed covers from places such as low end department stores. Especially those awful ready made drapes in Nylon!

Either go for high end quality, or forget it! Lorenzo Rubelli carries the most beautiful Silk Velvet Leopard Print I have ever worked with. Just running your hands on that fabric feels rich, and sophisticated.

Same goes for Zebra or any other animal print for that matter!

Be bold and go for it! There’s no wrong in trying. Trust me; it would look wonderful if used correctly.

Leopard and Animal Prints used Correctly

courtesy of Ralph Lauren Home


A beautiful colored Tiger Print Ottoman

A beautiful Bench in Silk Velvet

The work of Tony Duquette


Bisazza has made Mosaic Cool again. Would look great on one Wall in a Bachelor's Pad
An Elegant Zebra Cowhide Upholstered Armchair
courtesy of Ralph Lauren Home

A sophisticated and contemporary way of using Zebra Printed Hide as a bed throw

A Moroccan Boudoir
courtesy of Alberto Pinto

A Grand Salon with touches of Leopard Print Armchairs
courtesy of Alberto Pinto


Tacky and Awful Use of Animal Prints


The ready made drapes I mentioned earlier. Absolutely AWFUL!

A Versace Home Disaster


I really dont know what to make of this. Animal Printed Canvases???

Unfortunately, a beautiful room with Tacky furniture! Donatella Versace's Bedroom

I have always wondered who designs these useless wall hangings, which dont make sense at all whatsoever, and to top it all off they are just plain UGLY. Who even buys such ugliness??

The Piece De Resistance. What the heck was Versace Home thinking when they designed this Eyesore of a sectional? It was feaured in Kanye West's Home.

A very classy Limo interior, custom made for Mel B...Seriously she designed it for herself.

Nothing worse than cheap Animal Prints bedding with matching Drapes

One of the ugliest washbasins and counter tops I have ever laid my eyes upon. Titled the Artist Edition by KOHLER

NO COMMENT ROLEX!

A BEAUTIFUL SONG

Its been ages since I posted anything, and I must apologize. I have been quite busy working on my new collection of furniture, which I shall be posting pictures of very soon, but be prepared to be shocked:) It's my most eccentric work to date. I have also been working on a few Interior Design projects as well which I will also be sharing with you.
As a fresh start, and getting myself back into the world of blogging, I would like to share this beautiful song of a Lebanese singer named Yara who has the most amazing voice. The reason for choosing this specific song though, is because the video as well as the music reminds me of Burlesque and old world circuses. Until my next post, ENJOY!

Happy Holidays!

Burlesque wishes you all Happy Holidays

Eid Mubarak

We wish you all a very happy Eid Al Adha. May this Eid fill you're lives with Joy, good health and prosperity.
We also decided to share with you some images of the marvelous Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the eighth largest mosque in the world, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful ever built.

RAMADAN MUBARAK

Burlesque Gallery and Interior Design wishes you all Ramadan Mubarak

In the memory of Zahid Ansari

I’ve been thinking about writing something for quite sometime now about a man whom I respected and admired very much. Zahid Ansari.
He was a man of passion, fine taste, opulence, and grand interiors. A true perfectionist! His passion for furniture, and fine details were beyond anyone I had ever met.
He had an eye for details; everything about him was in his details. From the finish of a chair, the trimmings, the embroidery, the lace, even the studs were hand picked and finished in a certain way.
He could transform an ordinary piece of furniture into something totally unexpected, and turn it into a work of art. No one could mix or combine colors, textures and materials as effortlessly as he did.
Zahid’s untimely passing at such a young age, has left us with wonderful memories of his wonderful soul and incredible work.
You will be greatly missed Zahid!

Zahid Ansari 1953-2008

image courtesy of Nini Voilette

Zahid's Last Winter Window Display

image courtesy of Nini Voilette

Working on a Project

I must apologize for not posting anything lately, as I have been extremely busy working on an amazing project. I do promise to post something exciting very soonJ

Stay Tuned!

Until then, I though I'd leave you with a panel I designed for a wall at Burlesque. Crazy I know!

Alice in Wonderland Pictures Unveiled

Finally, Disney released some wonderful pictures of the highly anticipated Alice in Wonderland the movie, directed by the incredible visionary genius Tim Burton. Can't Wait!!!

Alice Walking through Wonderland. Notice the talking flowers

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen

Matt Lucas as Tweedledee & Tweedledum

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen

Desert Fish

You have to excuse the quality of these amazing photographs, as they are scans of a magazine. I do promise to re-post the actual ones once I get them from the increadible PETER RICHWEISZ This was a fashion spread shot for Desert Fish Magazine by peter on location at Burlesque. The idea of the shoot was based around Pin Up Girls made famous by Bettie Page in the 1950's. The make up artist did an amazing job by recreating the pin up look and adding some fake tattoos on the model. Burlesque's enviroment was perfect for such a photoshoot. Enjoy!

Boudoir

This project was a HUGE challenge, as we ONLY had 30 days to finish it. When I say a huge challenge I truly mean it! We had to change and revamp everything from the staircase railing, the reception, the living room, the dining room, and the guest powder room. Wallpapers, murals, faux finishes, custom furniture upholstery, lighting, drapery, accessories, wall paneling, heavily carved architraves, you name it we did it! We even custom made the floor rugs (Savonnerie), incorporating the entire color scheme of the fabrics into them.
Fabrics were ordered from Paris, furniture from Theodore Alexander, chandeliers from Turkey, accessories from Germany and Italy. Every single element in this project was custom made and ordered. It wasn’t easy at all! We were all on top of one another, like ants day and night trying to finish it in our 30 day period.
The client wanted to the whole look to be ultra feminine, rich and extreme extravagance. The color palette was derived from Marie Antoinette, Madame Pompadour and Laduree’s macarons.
The entrance of the house was done in purples, lavenders, apple green and touches of pink. The main sofa under the staircase took 15 days to upholster alone, because of all the patchwork done on the back of the sofa. Using different fabrics, laces and trimmings, and sewing them together. It was a very complicated piece. The single chairs next to it, we named the cupcake chair.
The drawing room was done in yellows, pinks, and greens. The 2 large green sofas were in Veraseta silk, and J.Pansu velvet. We even had the crochet trimming on the edges custom made to match the colors of the sofas. The 2 pink sofas were also in J. Pansu velvet, and we created green roses to go in place of buttons for the capitone look. The yellow curtains were hand embroidered with bouquets of roses.
The dining room was slightly darker using burgundy and turquoise. The burgundy silks were Veraseta and the turquoise damask metallic velvet was from Persan.

The Lobby

Drawing Room

Dining Room

Powder Room