Book Review: Downtown Chic

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UKJ8z10a_y_3lV2x_vpy9NWEDr7CrZ65cPnV-YGUT9IwjOlfQTmXLmR4xdHkPcud7BR_08nDK7CmxSK98pNTM5k3gkgAtC1EhkkqwGKB76YMQTXTdCIQ4yTM2raHiM6nvlg-UpN_sXA/s1600-h/sixxdesignbook4.jpg"><img alt="sixx design book" border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrKhRz6gAfRWx1lC3PcJ3vEzbWsj8unjAnlRJIWkDJKJnMGnNDlK1KTiaaAg8c6SjUouz3QguLWjcI2gUxCypsb5zXqH5V66B6qExrlNhNIYMLRxITPipJMrJkK-84oy6Y_3Yw1RbrMO3/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design book" width="437" /></a> <br /><div align="center">I was thrilled to receive an e-mail a couple of weeks ago stating that the incredibly hip duo, <a href="http://www.sixxdesign.com/">Robert and Cortney Novogratz of Sixx Design</a> were fans of my blog. They thought I might like to read their new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Downtown-Chic-Designing-Dream-Ravishing/dp/0847831736/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222120634&sr=8-1">Downtown Chic</a>, so they sent me a copy. Well, not only did I like it, I absolutely loved it! Not only is it a testament to the Novogratzes’ design aesthetic, but to the way they go about living their lives. They have the ability to see the beauty in even things and places most people would disregard. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCb3gIbTNAARlc3ISI5k8co0B17KyzsRHA42ZL2ru61yGBxibTEznbAuS7dXPUSiWNmWRAEmYs9RjgUxzlEueM3vcysu5Eor7kOZh4st8wyd8BfUfBMNAdjJaJp4aDh6ijEeZMqWNKcI/s1600-h/sixxdesign3.jpg"><img alt="sixx design" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSjYHoNOAriluN5QjSb0Bj2vznTgsHIsc9o8TKkKEjqMcu6sO8KfiRWMfOMGD6RBx2b-YBPPuTPRiQrQZd5FzxJ-9sa9O8VijArlOgneXpXq58QLKXw6XOr8bJuznrQoVGttlnX1Mx4E/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design" width="484" /></a><br /><div align="center">Downtown Chic chronicles some of the Novoogratzes’ best known and best loved projects including their incredible townhouse and two of their most recent projects, 24 Bungalow, a chic boutique hotel on the Jersey Shore and 5 CENTRE MARKET PLACE, a conversion of a former gun shop in SoHo. </div><img border="0" height="362" src="http://www.notempire.com/images/uploads/sixxcot.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="362" /><br /><div align="center">Each project features an eclectic mix of modern and vintage elements as well as high-end and thrift store pieces. The book serves as a wonderful guidebook for anyone who is about to buy a home or is in the process of renovating. It is filled with helpful hints such as: “Tips for Buying a Wreck, Get Inspired: Where to Go for Ideas, Shopping for a New House: Style on a Shoestring, and How to Flea, and Decorating with Flea Market Finds.”</div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd3naHp76u1j36UiOhcSwcyX618Q4vEBEx-mefm7_lrk2q3GE17c40U5KkE6dR6ufuUQTgMhNp6MqSIwuv-h9gy8lu7WQmooGb3qE2OHJye6DuO61rHSA0aiYFlnYr2nXDa5l7LjJLqfe/s1600-h/sixxdesign25.jpg"><img alt="sixx design2" border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nelF7EtEDPNP5aPw_i2nC39XBqv-EgTHL_zguaGW8pFvpHEJCsOSMcEhb7wg7uojDB_raCSyGa3NzHseudUZSKSBWg8PIIUVCZJ_eTCil3qh9fzohDgKU2v_uDokun770mlMzE0bp-Y/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design2" width="503" /></a> Then, the book goes on to nine chapters filled with invaluable information and inspiring images for anyone who loves design. There is an entire chapter on renovating one’s home, as well as chapters on adding “French Urban Flair” to your home, designing a country house, entertaining, design for families with children (The Novogratzes have seven children including TWO sets of twins), and designing a dream home in a foreign land. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQFRVKyEgU98RGCUAejqkXzYZsp86Q6grno2QxILDbn7lPJ962gGijnK7t3hRtcpz90RU_MD1yGBewVWRAD9Ic-jDwmEywLtMr6qzEhdD5v7bIQnmcqKsC2xhP4SsykGkCzZirO8pf-A/s1600-h/sixxdesign53.jpg"><img alt="sixx design5" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6voDQ3WzUNsU1y23jlvu844GQeuEVAQQAaApGgTHhjuQM2PTQoAF8fbElomgbJp0BHyuK76qG4Eyti9Kv5tF9SKb-5TSkAkbCuk4NwGZDEl95k-Rub_vkzFmEz4C22KHqIaMnI76HOmY/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design5" width="381" /></a> <br /><div align="center">The book is essentially a treasure trove of information written in a witty and humorous style. One of my favorite things about it is the collection of inspiring quotes that are peppered throughout, naturally. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFL7JJg2jw4cM__V08ZsbWtPAolvrzl4VO5IZZBWul7PYC9yHICGkbo7znw28kCsAeQ_c9tvF094zsUrHdmPrlG0MFRxkIwo0VXN95sA-X7n-Bku8x0lRnhaeANngyZfhrFWBvJ5tNkUn/s1600-h/sixxdesign13.jpg"><img alt="sixx design1" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9haJHPW3p7s1ft3Bmtsz2Tw_H5nycW7pCtg_fHH3qEf7vht70bmVpzVLIIUD1JgwVxNKkVTccWMVAFYzn4Skl30HYmO72SsHn6GqDPalhjrBpZU4CrFT-TDpL7I5RxE759HEGkC3753D/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design1" width="324" /></a><br /><div align="center">“I met a lot of people in Europe, I even encountered myself.” </div><div align="center">– James Baldwin</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2E3BbpKUKWp_jGFDY6_mE9z4_Bqask-aDsDHj0B48VRMhAIXycfSPgGZ9lYfv-73nJ1MnRsYV31fFqk7xMVGnCQ7rt8q92HMPs_IvUcPjfWBV4ik_6J8SnInJ3GzEyR1hA7Q7W2xa-WOU/s1600-h/sixxdesign64.jpg"><img alt="sixx design6" border="0" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECIKmHR9vYfo0HnRMTVsbQhDlhsjhdO59l2quWcR_XU6iPYpmqZNqCPHyiIMvTAmEacKMhgFbtVFqki7eO_DFbYVzEHSE3tx-JrVfYAKtXChreYJVdb7mTp879mI6ZXkHbilGBS7khSc/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="sixx design6" width="491" /></a> <br /><div align="center">“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own instead of someone else’s.”</div><div align="center">– Billy Wilder</div><div align="center"><img alt="sixx desgn3" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nb7k3eGlDu70ReJJs_lqqUhQPNkZusLbuVSsvz3-1LBQF4c32SNB5j41J75kTdYfd4ihsbaZksyNmA_LH3bIMQazv1cjWh-WWViDflh5ta3uRF-c9tR9z6q4xQkh5SRgy-Xm6QRwMQd5/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx desgn3" width="485" />“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” </div><div align="center">– Jean Cocteau</div><img border="0" height="394" src="http://www.designmom.com/uploaded_images/Picture-14-721611.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="499" /><br /><div align="center">“Design is not making beauty. Beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.”</div><div align="center">– Louis Kahn</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwJdb2ILNsu994QLTw_P5ImZnMKULCs4TUPBqlRnre_KDGQQ3eg3x5Piw4PEcGcFSjzCUECALCQFfePOnR8wIMXqvi4GKyZpy8AqUAIzaVTRNiClcjIP_wx_Mx4HSNKtlAJKEQkoLWer0/s1600-h/sixxdesign43.png"><img alt="sixx design 4" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta9yRLaLlYJBdfxKdQlPJbHCU4Bmk-VHC1r9n9jjGLXHutSKx_X12p8kRGNK_2rie7Lkvsls56NyYxcJKpdAsyPsM2tyKa4rJFlsdT47IB1lAaCVuLICQLeEqHdoD-A_5PhOARelZ2ojS/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design 4" width="484" /></a><br /><div align="center">“It is better to fail in originality that to succeed in imitation.”</div><div align="center">– Ben Franklin</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQlYX15_fOAFmivxV40QOii0hFm_KDTrblkyPeNp-66zZwga5JzOtnypETtzQ3wM0cFrpEDbWGjSqKjq-CB_6HHE2FO3I3jeJHtxSzBrA-03Bbg4jE6GE8NDFSOn-izMdvwuL5LtF4Q8/s1600-h/sixxdesign71.png"><img alt="sixx design7" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKcMp9osB_W7WuSnPaEI6v7D-5tfEUfMZWHhAIkos-FNXDU6t2bjLlgC7uLJTN_PDP3kyQp_0ugrexJ8UPYOLBWeUAcA2_X8zCLW_D4WYXHkcZWrY2YUO7fcLhR9K49dZg2pxitjGxGA/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sixx design7" width="384" /></a> <br /><div align="center">“The details are not details. They make the design".”</div><div align="center">– Charles Eames</div><div align="center">Downtown Chic truly makes for an inspiring read and would make a fabulous holiday gift for your favorite design lover. If you’re like me and you can’t get enough of Sixx Design, look for their new reality show on Bravo, Design Sixx which is slated to premiere in January 2010.</div>

Book Review: Downtown Chic

I was thrilled to receive an e-mail a couple of weeks ago stating that the incredibly hip duo, Robert and Cortney Novogratz of Sixx Design ...

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