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Courtesy Dom Pérignon When it comes to fine wine,Restaurants &, many consider the question of terroir or provenance neither here nor there,michael kors outlet onilne, accepting any glass as long as it packs a punch. (The proof is not in the pudding―the pudding is in the proof.) But to a certain order, the experience approaches the religious, and to close one’s eyes and drink deeply from a renowned vintage is to see the face of God. If you count yourself among the enlightened, a pilgrimage to a certain abbey near Epernay, France―freshly restored in loving historical detail―may be a source of spiritual ecstasy,michael kors factory outlet. The Abbey of Saint-Pierre d’Hautvillers―a Benedictine monastery founded around 650―has attracted pilgrims for more than a millennium. While most have visited to pray at the relics of St. Helena, zealots of a different sort have also crowded its cloisters in modern times. The abbey happens to be the resting place of Dom Pérignon, the namesake of Mo?t & Chandon’s prestige cuvée and a leading contender for the patron saint of sparkling wine. Though Pérignon did not invent Champagne, he is often cited as its father because he perfected nearly all the techniques that go into making it―and he did so right in this monastery,michael kors outlet, whose vineyards and wine cellar he directed in the late 17th century.? This month, more oenophiles than ever will come to pay their respects as Mo?t & Chandon completes the massive renovations it began in 2009. The project, in collaboration with architect Fran?ois Chatillon, required the use of master craftsmen, 17th-century methods and specially commissioned, antiquated tools. In a stunning feat of piety, Mo?t & Chandon has managed to restore the cloisters, the gardens, the wine rows, the library and the abbey’s famed Saint-Hélène portal to the state of grandeur that Brother Pierre Pérignon would have recognized. Visitors seeking the vine inspiration will be happy to learn that the miracle is ongoing. Richard Geoffroy, chef de cave of Dom Pérignon, frequently walks the grounds when in search of new ideas. “The Hautvillers Abbey continues to inspire the creation of Dom Pérignon vintages,” he says. “It is essential to my work. This is where it all began.” For a tour, call the Mo?t & Chandon visitor’s center in Epernay at 31-3/26-51-20-00; .

Mar/Apr-2007 Playing golf with my immensely successful shoulder surgeon recently, I was surprised to hear how his mainstream bank had tortured him for weeks then charged him $15,000 in fees for a simple collateralized $350,000 loan. When I told him I paid less than $3,000 for a much larger loan and that all it took was one phone call and a 20-minute closing, he yanked a nine iron into the water. The right private bank can structure your investments, minimize your taxes, put together your estate plan, direct your charitable giving, build an art collection, open a checking account for your daughter, and move money between your accounts by phone. Its execs will deliver foreign currency to your home before a trip, send mortgage documents and lawyers to your office for a closing, and always cover an overdraft. With the role of private banking services changing from simply taking deposits to offering a full menu of global investments, banks have discovered that high-margin advisory work blends well with low-margin retail service. This has led to giant firms buying up small service-oriented banks or building out high-net-worth coverage internally. So though you may still find a private banker willing to walk your proverbial dog, he’d better be able to also execute a Eurodollar bond swaption on his satellite phone while the pooch does its business. "Our goal is to have a positive impact on our clients’ future," says Eric P. Hayes, northeast regional head of U.S. Trust, which requires clients to meet a $2 million threshold of investable assets. "We help them build and protect their wealth and provide for the coming generations. We also try to help them consider the impact of financial success and how to prevent it from becoming a burden." U.S. Trust regularly hosts programs to educate teenagers about financial matters and has created a platform and rationale for meaningful philanthropy to help families use their wealth purposefully. The Three Disciplines Philanthropy—along with tax and estate planning, performance measurement and reporting, and insurance—is the soldierly work of "wealth management," one of three functions in modern private banking. The other two are daily transactions and global investing. Each of these disciplines requires specialists. Back in the 19th century, titans of industry discovered that a full-time staff was needed to invest and manage their money. One such industrialist, Henry Phipps of U.S. Steel, decided to make this "family office" available to other wealthy individuals (with a $10 million threshold) and created Bessemer Trust, which today manages $5 billion for the family and $48 billion overall, spreading the overhead around. Every client at Bessemer is assigned a dedicated relationship manager and account team at one of the firm’s 11 U,michael kors outlet.S. locations. This group, explains Bessemer’s senior managing director Rob Elliott, acts as the investor’s "alter ego," quarterbacking a client through the full menu of services. Though Bessemer does only a limited amount of direct lending, it maintains excellent relationships with sophisticated lenders on referral and helps find the best deal. "We want to take the worry out of being wealthy," Elliott explains, "providing our clients with dedicated financial expertise. If they want someone to get them theater tickets, of course we are happy to refer them to a great provider." The fees that private banks charge may seem unnecessary to sophisticated investors willing to do the research and pick their own strategies and vehicles. But bankers who have greater access and resources can be a good buy, particularly if you use the full range of services available. For example, some will even act as brokers for both life and property insurance, negotiate the best deal, and often, within regulatory limits, reduce or eliminate commissions. The Web of Globalization Modestly scaled private banks have entered the snarling web of global money-spinners, making investment management a lot more complicated than picking stocks. "As the world’s capital markets opened and expanded in the nineties," says John Duffy of JPMorgan Private Bank ($25 million threshold), "the burden on the private banking business essentially changed us into a private investment bank. A client who sells his business may need a team to properly value his holdings and analyze his tax liabilities long before the sale closes." Duffy points out that wealth management is "all about after-tax outcomes," and JPMorgan has 37 advisors on staff who could be partner-level tax attorneys at major law firms. Paraphrasing BASF’s clever ad campaign, he says, "We don’t write the returns or documents, we just make them better." The buzzword du jour in the trade is "open architecture"—meaning that your banker evaluates all investment options, not just funds or products managed by other departments in the same firm. The purpose is to avoid any conflict of interest. "We come out of the true fiduciary tradition," says Bill Whitt, senior vice president of strategic marketing at Northern Trust ($1 million threshold). Northern, born in 19th-century Chicago, has managed accounts for tycoons from Marshall Field and Philip D. Armour to the Bush family and some 22 percent of the current Forbes 400. "But protecting our clients’ best interests and being conservative," Whitt adds, "doesn’t mean being stodgy. The proprietary, state-of-the-art technologies and investment disciplines we’ve developed in more than thirty years of managing money for institutions enable us to deliver cutting-edge tools to our relationship teams [in 84 dedicated offices],michael kors handbags outlet. We bring a long-term institutional investor’s ’buy side’ approach and sophistication to private banking, rather than Wall Street’,for now.;s ’sell side’ notion of selling whatever happens to make the firm the most money." The Power of the Balance Sheet Ironically, one of the advantages of private banks with the power of a large corporate balance sheet is their ability to make borrowing money—even a lot of money—easy for people who you might assume don’t need credit. "We have clients who may look to finance the acquisition of professional sports franchises, art, and aircraft," says Joe Giglia, regional director of Wachovia Wealth Management ($2 million threshold). "It’s not unusual for a client to be asset-rich and prefer not to reallocate his holdings. We understand how to bring leverage to very complex balance sheets—quickly, quietly, and all in one place." The bigger banks bring other chips to the table as well. They can often negotiate better fee structures with top fund managers and command better service from the investment banks, plus they often tend to be invited to look at the most appetizing transactions because of their ability to commit quickly and in size. Relatively new are the microbanks and multi- family offices that serve localized markets. One, New York Private Bank & Trust ($3 million threshold), was recently started by New York’s Milstein family—real estate and banking billionaires. President and CEO William Fuhs points out that clients may have the opportunity to invest alongside the Milsteins in everything from hedge funds to real estate partnerships chosen by the bank’s analysts. Sometimes Bigger is Just...Bigger For my money, the specialized firms with their roots truly in private banking make the most sensible choice. Companies such as Bessemer, JPMorgan, U.S. Trust, and Northern Trust have been in this business for generations. They are big enough to have deep, experienced staff and to command special attention from major banks, private equity firms, and fund managers but are small enough to be service-oriented,michael kors outlet onilne. Private banking has become a huge revenue engine for the financial industry. It may be that the European model of discreet, even secret, clublike institutions is fading in the techno-swirl of postmodern global finance. For the affluent customer, however, the perfect combination of white-glove service and truly expert advice is hard to beat. Checks + Balances For basic banking services, you can open accounts and get a personal banker at U.S. Trust or Northern Trust by making "significant" initial deposits and maintaining average balances. If you want attention and service, the minimums of $7,500 to $10,000 will not get much. Accounts of more than $100,000 seem to receive a bit more focus. These accounts, however, come with small annual fees. If you want access to estate planning, wealth management, and investment management, there is some flexibility in the minimum investments at each company. Fees generally start at about 1.2 percent of assets for the first $1 million to $5 million and decline to an average of 0.6 percent by the time you reach amounts in the $15 million range. New Account Numbers Bessemer Trust 212-708-9141 JPMorgan Private Bank 212-464-1468 New York Private Bank & Trust 212-850-4080 Northern Trust 312-630-6000 U.S. Trust 212-852-3944 Wachovia Wealth Management 888-283-9633

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The green kitchen's godmother. Courtesy of Alice Waters/Chez Panisse Foundation. Berkley's famed restaurant Chez Panisse,michael kors outlet onilne, the cradle of the locavore movement, is turning 40 this week—and what better time to honor its singular founder, ? The indefatigable 67-year-old has dedicated her life to changing the way we eat, leading a "delicious revolution" to chuck frozen and processed foods in favor of local, market-fresh cuisine. This weekend,michael kors outlet, the Bay Area is bursting its buttons to honor all things Alice and raise funds for her nonprofit organization,If someone ever writes a history of Russian alternative art, . VIEW: The unveiling of Alice Waters's Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery portrait, at the University of California Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, on August 26. The photograph was shot by Dave Woody under a mulberry tree in the Edible Schoolyard. (Mulberry cocktails will be served at the party.) This marks the first time the NPG has allowed a portrait to be debuted off-site. HARVEST: The BAM/PFA flowerbeds on August 27. Use the squash, herbs, lettuces, corn and beans in interactive cooking installations by OPENeducation. EAT: A Proven?al feast of a lifetime at Chez Panisse on August 27, or snag a seat at the table in one of the many private homes hosting alumni chefs that evening. WATCH: A film by Marcel Pagnol at BAM/PFA until August 31. The French filmmaker's lovestruck widower, Honoré Panisse, is the restaurant's namesake. BUY: Alice's new cookbook, 40 Years of Chez Panisse: The Power of Gathering, which hit shelves August 23. Portrait-unveiling party, $100; Chez Panisse dinner, $500-$2,500; . To request a seat at the table, email . Getting hungry,michael kors handbags outlet?

ByJeff Book Oct-2000 They first came here for its desert climate and hot springs. Crosby, Hope, and Sinatra would follow. And now, writes Jeff Book, a whole new generation is rediscovering the modern cool of Palm Springs. The fin-de-siecle modernist revival rolls on, influencing everything from architecture and furniture to fashion and graphic design, as a generation that missed modernism's heyday finds it newly fresh and compelling. Its resurgence has turned Palm Springs—that same Palm Springs of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby—into one of the coolest spots on earth. The town long known as "God's waiting room" is being rejuvenated as savvy newcomers, led by creative types from New York and Los Angeles, buy and restore vintage-modern villas that just a few years ago would have languished on the market. Why now? Partly it is nostalgia for a simpler time and hunger for pared-down design in a world awash in styles and stimuli. Ultimately, more than 30 years after its peak, after waves of postmodernism, deconstructivism, and neotraditional design of every stripe, modernism is due for a revival. And so is Palm Springs. The decline of the Coachella Valley's best-known city began in the seventies, as the wealthy shifted to the gated golf course developments and Mediterranean-style homes of Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and other newer communities "down valley." Fortunately, decades in the doldrums preserved Palm Springs' distinctive charm, a mix of modernist élan and Hollywood-flavored hedonism that now seems as refreshing as an icy martini. The first visitors came here for the curative power of the desert climate and the hot springs—still owned, along with half the real estate in town, by the Agua Caliente band of the Cahuilla Indians. The transition from sleepy desert outpost to glittering getaway began in the thirties with the arrival of Hollywood players seeking relief from the studio grind. Palm Springs became world famous as a playground for celebrities such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Kirk Douglas, Gary Cooper, Lucille Ball, and Elvis Presley. They'd go to hear Lena Horne or Sammy Davis Jr. belt out ballads at the Chi Chi Club, or have drinks at The Doll House, where the barstools were equipped with seat belts. In those days the season traditionally kicked off in late October with a party at the Racquet Club, with impromptu soirees at which Frank Sinatra, "Honorary Mayor" Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby performed for their peers in the club's bar. For many recent arrivals the spirit of that lighthearted era remains vivid and appealing. "Palm Springs represents the last time you could drink, smoke, tan, and have debauched sex without guilt," says L.A. interior designer Brad Dunning, who bought a house here ten years ago. Drive around neighborhoods like Las Palmas and you will pass vintage-modern homes once occupied by the likes of Elvis Presley, Jack Benny, Beach Boy Carl Wilson, and Dean Martin. This was, after all, the Rat Pack's favorite refuge. Their houses were slightly grander versions of the typical Palm Springs modernist villa: a low-slung pavilion with plenty of glass to capture striking views of desert, mountains, and the pool and garden that made the private oasis complete. Constructed during the go-go fifties and sixties, they embody postwar optimism and a ring-a-ding-ding vision of the good life. But then, Palm Springs was uniquely suited to become modernism's place in the sun,michael kors factory outlet. The town flourished from the forties through the sixties, when the modern movement was in full flower. Sophisticated visitors (both Hollywood stars and vacationing tycoons) looking for a more adventurous style than they had at home found clean-lined design an ideal complement to the relaxed desert lifestyle. The area attracted architects now recognized as modern masters, both L.A. imports like Richard Neutra and John Lautner and locals like William Cody, Stewart Williams, and Albert Frey. Land was plentiful and tradition weighed lightly upon it. "Palm Springs was a blank slate for modernist architects," explains Adèle Cygelman, the author of Palm Springs Modern. "They interpreted the style of the time in ways that were appropriate for the desert—big overhangs, sun-resistant metal and rock, pools that had a cooling effect. And it looks just as right today as it did when it was built." As the newly arrived Albert Frey wrote in a 1935 letter to his former employer, Le Corbusier, "The sun, the pure air, and the simple forms of the desert create perfect conditions for architecture." One example is the house Frey built in 1963 and lived in until his death in 1998,autumn leaves pressed into wax paper.. Perched on a rocky slope overlooking the city, it's an elegantly economical composition of glass, metal, and concrete. Though the Swiss-born architect is sometimes seen as an International Style prophet in the wilderness, "Frey's creative interaction with California, the desert, and the car culture was more influential than the ten months he spent with Corbusier," insists Alan Hess, coauthor of Palm Springs Weekend, a forthcoming look at desert modernism. No doubt Le Corbusier would have dynamited the massive boulder that Frey left to divide the living room from the sleeping areas. Spare forms never looked better than they did in the desert's stark, elemental environment, their lines etched by the klieg-light sun. But many of these houses were in sad shape by the recession of the early nineties. (Realtor Allen B. Miller recalls that "many houses were selling for far less than their replacement cost—below the value of the lots alone today.") People with an eye for design began rescuing modernist gems tarnished by time. "They are architectural collectibles, trophies of material culture," observes artist and art historian Hal Meltzer, who lives in one (a group of high-ceilinged pavilions, designed in 1962 by architect William Cody, arrayed around a pool) and is restoring another (Richard Neutra's Miller House, from 1936, once lauded as the most beautiful house in North America). In the late nineties, Frey's house for industrial designer Raymond Loewy, with its amoeba-shaped indoor/outdoor pool and its view-framing trellis, was restored by metalware manufacturer Jim Gaudineer. "It was built in 1947 as a compact bachelor pad and Loewy added onto it when he got married," says Gaudineer. "When you slide open the glass walls, it's almost like living outdoors." Supermarket magnate Ron Burkle rejuvenated the spectacular John Lautner house built for designer Arthur Elrod in 1968, a concrete-and-glass aerie that appeared in the movie Diamonds Are Forever and the pages of Playboy. A couple of years ago property renovator Marc Sanders hit the real estate jackpot when he came across a neglected 1947 house designed for Frank Sinatra by Palm Springs architect Stewart Williams, complete with a piano-shaped pool in which Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, and Lana Turner had splashed. Sanders purchased and refurbished it, then sold it for a hefty profit. The desert's most celebrated architectural rescue remains the lavish, museum-quality restoration of Richard Neutra's exquisite Kaufmann house (designed for the same family that built Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Fallingwater house). Fanatical in their devotion to Neutra's design, financial executive Brent Harris and his architectural historian wife, Beth, put the new air-conditioning ducting below ground so as not to mar the roofline, quarry-matched the original stone cladding, and even recast the original toilet-seat hinges. "We removed everything that had been added to the house, which is what the Harrises wanted, and we added a complementary pool house," explains architect Leo Marmol, of Marmol and Radziner in Santa Monica. Jim Moore, the creative director of GQ magazine, was one of the first to recognize Palm Springs as "ground zero of the modernist revival." In 1993 he bought one of the steel-frame prototype houses that local architects Wexler and Harrison designed in the early sixties for U.S. Steel. Seven such houses were built in a cluster at the north end of town before rising steel prices halted large-scale production. The free-flowing interiors and expansive windows that open onto walled patios make the houses seem larger than their 1,500 square feet. "I've always been a minimalist, and when you live in one of these houses you have to keep things sleek," remarks Moore. His neighbors include filmmaker Doug Keeve and L.A. artists David Blomster and Jim Isermann, who have outfitted their house with vintage furniture by Knoll, Saarinen, and Verner Panton. The modernism of Palm Springs is far from monolithic. "There was no single response but many visions," notes Hess. Cody strove to reduce roof slabs and beams to the bare minimum (the roof on his own house was a mere four inches thick). Reflecting his affinity for Scandinavian modern design, Williams used wood and stone to root his houses in the desert landscape. As influential as these architects were, none did more to popularize modernist design than L. A. architects Dan Palmer and William Krisel, whose plans were replicated in hundreds of houses built by father-and-son developers George and Robert Alexander. Delivering on the Bauhaus promise of progressive production housing, this was modernism for the masses: appealing, affordable tract houses, open-plan, post-and-beam structures with butterfly roofs and sweeping windows. TV reporter/producer Huell Howser, the host of the California's Gold series seen on the state's PBS affiliates, recently bought an Alexander house. "There are a dozen or so expensive architectural icons, but many more simple modernist houses such as this one that regular people can still afford to buy and fix up," he says. "You can still find the California dream here, away from high prices and congestion. I like the sense of freedom and informality." Howser and other modernistas decorate their houses with vintage-modern furnishings from the seemingly endless supply in local shops. "Everything in this house is secondhand but the mattresses and the blender," he says proudly. The white sectional sofa came from ModernWay, where proprietor Courtney Newman mixes the familiar and quirky, giving the latter labels such as Hollywood Arabian Moderne and Mafia Modern. Other favorite sources are John's Mid-Century Modern, Dazzles, and (for new modernist designs and reproductions) Lunacy. And that is only the beginning: The area has over two dozen thrift shops, consignment stores, and other resale outlets. "It's a treasure trove," says L.A.'s interior designer of the moment, Brad Dunning. "Because many of these houses were vacation homes you find slightly more flamboyant designs, more custom furnishings." And modernism flourishes not only in Palm Spring's residential architecture but in the city's civic and commercial buildings too, among them the city hall, the airport (complete with putting green), the Palm Springs Desert Museum, retail shops, even banks, including one modeled on Le Corbusier's famous chapel in Ronchamp. A young British couple, Fraser Robertson and Sarah Robarts, have transformed what was a dilapidated hotel on Indian Canyon Drive into Ballantines, a chic retro outpost of modernist furnishings and memorabilia evoking Hollywood habitués from the old days. In November they will be opening the refurbished, Albert Frey-designed Movie Colony. Dunning is adding modern decor to the well-preserved L'Horizon motel, designed by William Cody. And Oregonians Christy Eugenis and Stan Amy have renovated the Orbit In, a classic courtyard motel in the Tennis Club district. "We are furnishing it with modern icons like Eames and Bertoia chairs,michael kors outlet onilne, George Nelson benches, and Richard Schultz outdoor furniture, as well as new designs in the modernist spirit," Eugenis explains. (Like other recent arrivals, she enthuses about the town's "evolving, interesting mix of people—seniors, gays, artists, young couples, and families.") "What is most interesting about Palm Springs is that modernism became the vernacular style of the city," comments Marmol. "In every neighborhood you find elements of modernist design, like flat roofs and a strong relationship between the exterior and interior." Still, the appeal is lost on many of the blue-rinse brigade, who'll always prefer Spanish Colonial. (Until recently, there were no modernist buildings listed in Palm Springs' official Architectural Guide.) "Every resort city today wants to be Santa Barbara," says Hess. "What Palm Spring residents don't realize is that they have something unique that is at least as attractive to vacationers." A catalyst in the debate was Albert Frey's 1965 Tramway Gas Station, which marks the northern approach to the city with its soaring, flying-wedge roof. In 1997, meeting in the Frey-designed city hall, the city council granted it protected status, then rescinded it days later under pressure from the owner and others who dubbed the building an eyesore. Finally, it regained landmark status and was sensitively renovated as the Montana St. Martin Gallery, specializing in garden sculpture. "A lot of people who have moved here care deeply about preserving the character of the city," says Peter Moruzzi of the Palm Springs Modern Committee. They cite the positive effect of modernist design on real estate values and tourism. They draw parallels with Miami Beach's money-spinning Art Deco Historic District. When it came time to debate the preservation of a Frey-designed fire station this summer, no one spoke against it. "The city government and powers that be are finally catching on to the fact that they have something no one else has," says Howser. Something that has brought the desert dowager a flock of young admirers,michael kors outlet. There are currently more Palm Springs residents aged 25 to 44 than 65-plus. ("My typical seller is eighty years old, and the typical buyer is forty," comments Miller.) Palm Springs is becoming a year-round town. The figures for off-season tourism and year-round residents are rising, with the population in the Coachella Valley projected to reach half a million by 2015—almost double what it is now. The demand for vintage-modern homes led Palm Springs developer Dennis Cunningham to start building new clean-lined boxes with shady overhangs and patches of colored stucco. The first group sold out before completion. "The houses use common materials in uncommon ways," notes Cunningham. "They have plenty of glass but conform to current energy standards." Marc Sanders has commissioned a house from architect Donald Wexler and plans, with partner Jeffrey Adkins, to develop a cluster of Wexler-designed townhouses. We've arrived at the point where "neo-modern" is not redundant. "The current craze for modernist design will abate, but appreciation of modernism will endure, just as happened for earlier styles," predicts Hal Meltzer. Palm Springs may be the Colonial Williamsburg of midcentury modern, but it's also an inspiration for creators and consumers of new modernist design. For them, both the city and its signature style are, as Sinatra sang, even lovelier the second time around.

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ByJeff Book Jan/Feb-1999 The latest manifestation of late-nineties taste? A wealth of rare and luxurious materials that create a world at your feet Anyone who finds the subject of floors pedestrian should talk to Michele Oka Doner. "Floors are part of a great landscape of change," the New York artist declares, launching into a discourse that dances from the packed-earth past to a present rich in material possibilities. For her, a hard (i.e., uncarpeted) floor is a beautiful canvas that can transform a room and its occupants. Of course, she's talking about floors with unusual flair, such as her own exquisite terrazzo compositions. These floors are generally costly, admits the artist. "But what are the real luxuries of life?" she demands. "To walk barefoot on a wonderful floor is a luxury. Good Champagne is never going to be cheap." Top designers have never overlooked what's underfoot, but the late '90s have simultaneously presented them with more flooring resources than ever before and a new breed of client who is not only informed about all the distinctive possibilities but is also willing and able to pay for them. "People are realizing that floors are the largest unpainted surface in the house, and they want to make the most of them," says New York architect Jim Biber of Pentagram. "Increasingly, each room in the house has a different flooring design to define its personality," observes Santa Barbara designer Sue Firestone, adding that transitions between materials are a key element. "The floor is only one part of a total design," says New York architect Bill Georgis. "It has to harmonize with what's going on architecturally." Flooring has followed the up-market vogue for traditional architectural styles. Thus what's new in high-end residential flooring is mostly what's old��old techniques, old or recycled materials, and especially, floors that look old. Chalk this up to greater awareness of design traditions and an appreciation of the sensual potential of flooring materials themselves. "What has changed is the established American attitude that everything has to look brand-new," comments San Francisco designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy. "People have decided that it's even better if things look old." The showy '80s spawned oceans of glossy wood and highly polished stone (as in Donald Trump's emblematic penthouse, with its eye-popping excess of gold and onyx). "The nineties," says Dallas designer Richard Trimble, "are more about understated elegance��women wear less jewelry, men compete to have the smallest cell phone. Clients are still spending, but they want value for their money." That means designers and craftsmen across the country are using antique materials or aging new ones with techniques such as scraping, acid-washing, and staining, to make floors that appear transplanted from a venerable East Coast estate, Tuscan villa, or London townhouse. Here's a look at how these materials are being used by the country's best flooring artisans. Wood Flooring and Marquetry Wood flooring has long been prized for its natural warmth, comfort, and durability (no wonder it's increasingly used in kitchens and baths). However, as standard strip flooring has become more common, designers at the top of the market are opting for different approaches, such as herringbone and basketweave patterns (especially suitable in scale for large rooms) and wider board widths, which can evoke old-fashioned plank flooring. The lighter tones that prevailed in the early '90s have given way to darker, richer ones or floors that mix both. With a bow to the past, designers are creating striking compositions of wood and stone as well as wood inlay in the form of parquetry and marquetry. (In general, the former consists of precut pieces assembled on site in geometric patterns, while the latter tends to be more intricate��sometimes incorporating metal and other nonwood materials, and is fabricated off site to be installed as a whole in situ.) "Quarter-sawn white oak used to be the most commonly specified wood,michael kors factory outlet," says Roger Berk of New York wood-floor specialists Haywood Berk. "Now about a third of the wood we install is exotic hardwood from South America, Asia, and Africa, such as ipe (pronounced ipay)��which Bill Gates put in his house��wenge, afrormosia, incensio, jatoba, and Brazilian cherry. Their colors are all over the map, from white to black. They have unusual grains, and some, like angelique��from French Guiana��have an iridescent sheen." (It's worth insisting on woods from sustained-yield sources, which are certified by the Rainforest Alliance and cost a bit more than noncertified woods.) Several companies market laser-cut marquetry, but traditionalists find it too perfect and distractingly busy. Custom marquetry isn't much more expensive, and it has the appeal of hand-cut craftsmanship. Hunterdon Wood Flooring emphasizes traditional designs and techniques. "Marquetry can easily be overdone," states Hunterdon's Tonis Mang. "I often tell people to save the fireworks for the foyer." Noting that marquetry ought to complement furnishings and architectural details, not compete with them, he adds, "I try to create patterns that look as if they came with the house and have been there for years." In the unpatterned floors he installs, he sometimes fits together boards of tapering width and varying length, adding cracks and nail holes for an antique effect. America's preeminent master of marquetry, Eugene Klotz (who has won the wood-floor industry's equivalent of the Oscar eight times), specializes in period designs: delicately detailed Baroque, Renaissance, and Regency patterns. In the San Francisco workshop of his Renaissance Floor In-Lays, Klotz and company hand-cut medallions, rosettes, and fancy borders, some one-of-a-kind (like the orchid medallion they made for a Thai royal palace), some based on a catalog of more than 50 designs (including floral, musical, and geographical motifs), that can be customized as to size and choice of woods. "We fabricate other designers' patterns as well as mine, and often draw inspiration from other elements in a house, like architectural moldings or marquetry furniture," says Klotz, who trained in Poland. "Five hundred years ago they used pedal- driven scroll saws; we can still cut more intricate patterns with our scroll saws than others can with lasers." He notes that the patterns may look delicate but aren't. "Paradoxically, because it's made up of smaller pieces mounted on a solid backing, marquetry is more stable than board flooring and can outlast the surrounding floor." Randy Yost had his flooring epiphany when he saw the parquet de Versailles in The Metropolitan Museum's French period rooms while studying at Parsons School of Design. For the last 35 years his Houston-based company, Yost Flagship Flooring, has been putting fine custom floors in grand houses, starting at $120 a square foot. "We often combine wood with stone and other materials," he says. "Because we do everything by hand, we get close tolerances." Like other designers, Yost likes old wood, which has greater hardness and larger dimensions than managed-harvest timber. Rather than using antique wood flooring, which is difficult to rework, he'll salvage timber from old buildings or even riverbeds. "We have worked with big, all-heart pine recovered from river bottoms, where it was perfectly preserved," Yost says. "We can get eighteen-inch widths from salvaged timber, but by the time it's cut it looks new, so we have to make it look old all over again." That's par for the course in the Yost workshop, where each piece of wood or stone is given a slightly crowned surface; the softened edges result in a natural, worn-over-time appearance. Yost does not employ hand scraping, an aging technique that many installers use extensively, but admits that it can produce an appealing finish. He also acknowledges that matte-finish oil-based and urethane sealants can be suitable for old-look wood floors. But, he says, "We've always used a wax finish, which can range from matte to very high gloss. We use a buffer to drive a sealant into the wood, then burnish it and protect it with wax. If part of the floor is marred, you can spot-seal and wax it so that it blends perfectly with the rest of the floor. A urethane finish is harder to repair��you usually have to sand the entire floor and refinish it." On the other hand, maintaining a pre-finished solid hardwood floor involves nothing more than vacuuming and wiping with a damp cloth; an oiled floor should be lightly reoiled once or twice a year. A wax floor, in contrast, requires more labor: regular buffing, and once or twice a year a complete stripping and the application of a new coat to prevent yellowing. Stone and Mosaic Flooring With polished granite and marble cropping up in mid-range housing the top of the market has shifted to unshiny finishes such as honed or tumbled stone (achieved, as the name suggests, in a dryerlike machine), with a stain sometimes applied for an aged look. Limestone is much in favor for its warm, elegant but relaxed character, as are slate and travertine. (For actual warmth, in-floor heating is always an option with all three.) More exotic stones are often used as cabochons (jewellike accents) in floors and borders. "We did Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' library," says Yost. "The floor took about a day and a half to put down, the border about three weeks. That border combined brass, ebony, and black-and-gold marble, as well as afrormosia and quarter-sawn lacewood." Richard Trimble has seen an increase in stone floors inlaid with wood or terra-cotta, or truffled with inlaid accents of semiprecious stones like malachite, lapis lazuli, rose quartz��even industrial-grade rubies, in one lavish floor fit for Dorothy's famous slippers. (Regardless of the price of the stone, as in any floor, installation accounts for much of the cost.) The quarries that supplied stone for the great churches and monuments of the Old World are now paving some of the New World's poshest houses. Through Paris Ceramics, for example, you can purchase the same blue limestone used in Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey or the golden limestone used for Lincoln Cathedral. You can even acquire floors with an authentic patina: Paris Ceramics, Ann Sacks, Stone Selection, and Exquisite Surfaces all sell antique stone imported from Europe. But it's also possible to go one better than this. By the time Alexander the Great was raising his first army, mosaic had elevated floors to the level of art, utilizing tonal gradations, surface texture, and varied patterns. New York's L'Antiquaire & The Connoisseur sells sections of mosaic floors dating from the first to the fifth centuries (among the buyers: Yoko Ono and Jann Wenner). "The mosaics that we have were all legally exported from Syria, from the area around Antioch," says L'Antiquaire's Helen Fioratti. "We have several��including geometric patterns and a lovely hunting scene��but unfortunately we won't be able to get any more from this source, and I'm not sure we'll be able to replace them." Fortunately, there's a large selection of materials to feed the burgeoning interest in mosaics. Versatile and long-lasting��and best laid on a concrete subfloor��mosaics are composed of tesserae, small tiles traditionally made of marble and other stone as well as terra-cotta. Firms like Country Floors, Ann Sacks, and Paris Ceramics offer preassembled patterns as well as individual tiles in a wide spectrum of colors, and work with designers to create custom mosaics. Preassembled floors are also available from the Ancient Venetian Floor Company, which achieves opulent effects with designs of richly colored inlaid stone in geometric patterns. "We've been seeing designers mixing mosaic and wood, putting mosaic medallions and borders in wood surrounds," states Ancient Venetian's Saad Chehabi. "We do a lot of borders for people who don't want a whole floor." While mosaics are generally associated with classical style, they can also make a contemporary statement, particularly with the use of shimmering glass tiles (some with metallic tones), produced by companies like Italy's Bisazza and Brazil's Vidrotil. New York-based Michael Golden is known for his artful mosaic and intarsia floors; among his clients are Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds and Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of the Paris Ritz, who's hired Golden to replicate the hotel pool's mosaics in the pool of his American residence. "With mosaics you must consider not only color and cut but surface finish, which can range from rough to glossy, and the relation of the foreground to the background," Golden says. Like many top designers, he works only with hand-cut tesserae, shunning the uniform look of those sliced with high-pressure water jets. But, he adds, "Much of the cost is in fitting the mosaic to the field around it. For a decorative-stone surround we use a water jet to cut the contours around a hand-cut mosaic, then ship the entire floor so it can be laid down by a competent installer." Tile Although tile has its own centuries-old tradition, many designers reject it in favor of costlier materials. But tile is terra firma��a transmuting of earth into an infinite array of colors and finishes��its diversity of pattern, texture, and mood unsurpassed."There's nothing ignoble about tile," says New York architect Peter Marino. "I use handmade Tuscan terra-cotta tiles polished for twenty-plus hours. You find them in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and they've looked great for centuries." New York-based Solar Antique Tiles sells original antique tiles as well as reproductions of unusual antique designs. (Exquisite Surfaces and Stone Selection also sell reclaimed tiles from France.) "Antique tiles are expensive and hard to find," says Solar's Pedro Leitao. "We have tiles from the sixteenth century to early in this century, from Portugal, Italy, Holland, France, and other countries. Some have low-fired glazes that will show wear if laid in high-traffic areas" (which some designers like). Glazed tiles of all sorts may be used as borders as well as accents, but to stand up to years of wear, glazed tiles should be high-fired. One of the most unusual types of tile is leather. It's handsome, resilient, and suitable for any but high-moisture rooms like baths and kitchens. The top supplier, Teddy & Arthur Edelman, Ltd., tans choice, unblemished hides in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy and aniline-dyes them all the way through so scratches and nicks do not show. Custom colors and sizes extend an extensive range of finishes and grains, including cowhide stamped to mimic ostrich and crocodile or silk-screened to resemble leopard, zebra, or jaguar skin. Laid like tile and finished with carnauba wax, leather floors wear beautifully. "They're very good for dressing rooms," says Peter Marino, citing a checkerboard floor he designed in espresso brown and oxblood. "One of the things I like about leather is that it so quickly becomes aged-looking," notes Randy Yost. "In 1985 the Crescent Club in Dallas installed a leather dance floor. In about three weeks it had picked up a fantastic patina, like a beautiful old leather trunk or catcher's mitt." Terrazzo Though it's associated with contemporary architecture, terrazzo was used in the floors of Renaissance palazzos. It typically consists of chips of marble or glass that have been mixed with cement or epoxy, poured in place, and then ground smooth. A hard-wearing material, it can be self-effacing or splashy, as monochromatic as travertine or as colorful as confetti, and is only slightly cheaper than high-quality stone. Most terrazzo floors go into commercial buildings, notes Michael Magnan, whose company, D. Magnan & Co., installed the terrazzo flooring in Philip Johnson's landmark Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. "But," Magnan adds, "terrazzo is not cost-effective unless you have at least five hundred square feet." (Terrazzo tiles are an alternative for smaller spaces.) In her terrazzo floors for public places, such as Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport and Miami International Airport, Michele Oka Doner has used cast-metal motifs to symbolic effect. A Florida residence boasts a lighter version of the airport floor, complete with bronze marinelife forms and glittering mother-of-pearl chips. "These floors have a sense of movement and energy," remarks the artist. "The initial cost is high, but they last forever." Other Materials The impact of wear and tear on flooring has been joined by a concern for flooring's impact on the environment. One recently developed "green" material is tongue-and-groove flooring made from fast-growing bamboo; offered in various wood tones and colors, the hard, laminated strips are installed much like wood flooring. Another is Environ, a hard substance improbably fabricated from soybean resin and recycled paper, which looks like stone but can be worked like wood and is available as tongue-and-groove flooring and accent strips. Visit the Center for Sustainability in San Francisco's Presidio and you will find Terra Green tiles, made from recycled glass, in both glazed and matte finishes. Some of the materials exciting interest are neither new nor luxurious. Infinitely renewable, cement has become more popular for floors as designers have learned to achieve various effects with integral pigmentation, stains, wax, and finishes ranging from rustic to glassy. "Cement floors can be beautiful in traditional as well as contemporary-style homes," comments Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, who recently put one in a high-budget Napa Valley house. And humble, durable linoleum��first produced more than a century ago��is drawing attention as a natural material (made of linseed oil, pine resin, cork, and jute) with an appeal at once retro and modern. Furthermore, it's antibacterial and antistatic. Ultimately, it falls to the design community to master the growing universe of flooring materials. The best designers are dedicated to creating solutions uniquely tailored to their clients��and, notes Sue Firestone, "That doesn't necessarily mean using the most expensive or exotic materials." As Richard Trimble says, "A well-designed house is just like a well-dressed woman. You shouldn't notice any particular detail, but the overall effect should give a sense of well-being and continuity." In other words, the right floor makes an interior perfect from the ground up. Flooring Resource Directory The Designers Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Designs 45 Maiden Lane, San Francisco, CA 94108; 415-362-4500; fax 415-788-2311. Paul A. Dierkes, Architect 428 Hudson Street,michael kors handbags outlet, New York, NY 10014; 212-255-4545; fax 212-255-2452. Michele Oka Doner 94 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-334-9056; fax 212-334-9236. Sue Firestone & Associates 5383 Hollister Avenue, Suite 140, Santa Barbara, CA 93111; 805-692-1948; fax 805-692-9293. William T. Georgis, Architect 41 Fifth Avenue, Suite 9F, New York, NY 10003; 212-529-5153; fax 212-529-5258 Michael R. Golden Design 37 West 20th Street, Suite 303, New York, NY 10011; 212-645-3001; fax 212-645-3003. Peter Marino & Associates, Architects 150 East 58th Street, 36th Floor, New York, NY 10022; 212-752-5444; fax 212-759-3727. Pentagram 204 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010; 212-683-7000; fax 212-532-0181; . Richard Trimble & Associates, Inc. 6517 Hillcrest Road, Suite 318, Dallas, TX 75205; 214-363-2283; fax 214-363-6364. Dealers, Manufacturers, and Installers Ancient Venetian Floor Company 1516 Edison Street, Dallas, TX 75207; 214-741-4555; fax 214-741-4147. Makers of hand-crafted, classically inspired stone and mosaic floor medallions, wall panels, and borders of marble and semiprecious stones. Ann Sacks Tile & Stone 8120 Northeast Thirty-third Drive, Portland, OR 97211; 800-278-8453; fax 503-287-8807; . In addition to fabricating tile and stone at her Northwest facility, the "Queen of Tile" imports tile, marble, and limestone from 10 countries. Among the company's offerings are stone (antique and newly quarried), terra-cotta, architectural and relief tiles, and unusual artist-designed tiles. Bisazza North America 8530 Northwest 30th Terrace, Miami, FL 33122; 305-597-4099; fax 305-597-9844; . Italian-based manufacturers of glass mosaic tiles in a rainbow of colors and semiprecious-stone finishes, as well as terrazzo tiles. California Art Tile 8687 Melrose Avenue, Suite B447, Los Angeles, CA 90069; 310-659-2614; fax 310-854-6502; . Vidrotil glass tiles, distinctive artisan tiles, encaustic tiles from Mexico, as well as stone. Country Floors 8735 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069; 310-657-0510; fax 310-657-2172. A top source of stone,refreshments and private restrooms, glazed, and terra-cotta tiles, including superb accent tiles. Teddy & Arthur Edelman, Ltd. 28 Hawleyville Road, Hawleyville, CT 06440; 800-886-8339; fax 203-426-3840. Fine, European-tanned leather flooring in a variety of colors and grains. Exquisite Surfaces 731 North La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069; 310-659-4580; fax 310-659-4585,michael kors outlet. Importers of antique European stone, terra-cotta, and architectural elements. Forbo Industries, Inc. Box 667, Humboldt Industrial Park, Hazelton, PA 18201; 800-842-7839; fax 717-450-0258; . A major source for linoleum. Gerbert Limited 715 Fountain Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17604; 717-299-5035; fax 717-394-1937. Linoleum in many colors and patterns. Haywood Berk Floor Company 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014; 212-242-0047; fax 212-242-0995. Top-quality wood flooring, with an emphasis on traditional patterns. Hunterdon Wood Flooring 16 Water Street, Clinton, NJ 08809; 908-735-8760; fax 908-735-4811. Specialists in traditional wood flooring and handmade marquetry. L'Antiquaire & The Connoisseur Inc. 36 East 73rd Street, New York, NY 10021; 212-517-9176; fax 212-988-5674. Roman and Byzantine mosaics; stone from Europe and Africa. D. Magnan & Co., Inc. 32 Cortlandt Street, Mount Vernon, NY 10550; 914-664-0700; fax 914-664-4499. Installers of terrazzo floors. Mintec Corporation 100 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Towson, MD 21286; 888-964-6832; fax 410-296-6693. Suppliers of Bamtex bamboo flooring, laminated tongue-and-groove strips made of this highly renewable resource. New York Flooring 129 East 124th Street, New York, NY 10035; 212-427-6262; fax 212-410-1348; . All aspects of hardwood flooring, from sanding and finishing of existing floors to custom installations. Paris Ceramics (U.S.A.) 150 East 58th Street, Seventh Floor, New York, NY 10155; 212-644-2782; fax 212-644-2785. Purveyors of antique stone and terra-cotta, European limestone, mosaic, glazed, and special decorative tiles. Phenix Biocomposites, Inc. Box 609, Mankato, MN 56002-0609; 800-324-8187; fax 507-931-5573; . Manufacturer of Environ flooring, made of recycled materials. Rainforest Alliance 65 Bleecker Street, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10012; 212-677-1900; fax 212-677-2187; . Renaissance Floor In-Lays 1330 Egbert Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124; 415-822-3379; fax 415-822-1501. Award-winning hand-cut marquetry by Eugene Klotz, in both stock and custom designs, primarily in traditional styles. Solar Antique Tiles 306 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10021; 212-755-2403; fax 212-980-2649; . Antique and reproduction tiles from various countries, dating from the 16th to 20th centuries. Stone Selection, Inc. 3382 Enterprise Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545; 510-782-3000; fax 510-782-1383; . Importers and fabricators of limestone and other stones from France, as well as antique French limestone and terra-cotta pavers. Studium V 150 East 58th Street, Seventh floor, New York, NY 10155; 212-486-1811; fax 212-486-0898. Stone and tile flooring; custom design and installation of fine mosaics. Terra Green Ceramics, Inc. 1650 Progress Drive, Richmond, IN 47374; 765-935-4760; fax 765-935-3971; . Makers of high-wear tiles, each style available in 16 colors and matte or glazed finishes. Tiles A Refined Selection 42 West 15th Street, New York, NY 10011; 212-255-4450; fax 212-727-3851. Tiles in many materials and finishes. Yost Flagship Flooring 2212 Woodhead, Houston, TX 77019; 713-526-3434; fax 713-526-4660. Designers and installers of one-of-a-kind floors in a wide range of materials. Walker & Zanger 8901 Bradley Avenue, Sun Valley, CA 91352; 818-504-0235; fax 818-504-2226; . Source of high-end ceramic and stone, including Mexican shellstone and Jerusalem stone, prefabricated and custom mosaics and decorative-stone intarsia, and designs from artisans and smaller manufacturers geared to handle custom orders.

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ByLee Marshall Oct-2003 Cliffside getaways, great gardens and thermal springs Hot Property: Cliffside Refuge Though larger than Capri, Ischia is equally prey to high-season crowds. Which is where the Mezzatorre Resort & Spa comes in. Standing proud on a rocky headland and surrounded by its own 17-acre park, Mezzatorre is a refuge from tour-bus chaos. Its best rooms are the 22 in a red building created on the foundations of a 16th-century watchtower. Done in warm, earthy colors reminiscent of the Moorish style of the tower, many have private terraces overlooking the shimmering blue-green sea below. There's also a large pool perched above the hotel's private bay and a spa,michael kors factory outlet, which uses water from one of the island's thermal springs for treatments. Rooms, $290-$810. At 23 Via Mezzatorre, Forio d'Ischia,attention to detail; 39-081-986-111; . Hot Table: Local Flavor ONE TO WATCH Riccardo d'Ambra, who owns La Trattoria Il Focolare, is a champion of Ischia's endangered culinary traditions. To help support his cause, have dinner at this rustic dining room in the hills between Casamicciola and Barano and try what D'Ambra, cousin of the island's best winemaker, is famous for: a local species of rabbit used in a succulent stew with olive oil, white wine,michael kors outlet, tomatoes, garlic, and fragrant island herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, and basil). D'Ambra is also passionate about snails, which he stews in white wine. Express an interest and he'll give you the lowdown on the cuisine of Ischia. Dinner, $75. $ At Via Cretaio al Crocefisso, Barano; 39-081-902-944; . In The Wild: The Great Gardens English composer William Walton came to Ischia in 1949 with his new bride, Susana, to escape the incessant rain and high rents of his homeland. Here Lady Walton created her own masterwork: the garden of La Mortella. With the aid of American garden designer Russell Page, she turned this barren valley into a tropical paradise where tree ferns, giant Amazonian water lilies, passiflora, and agapanthus grow in lush profusion. Twenty years after her husband's death, Lady Susana is still going strong: She recently turned an abandoned water cistern into a "Temple of the Sun" with the help of British sculptor Simon Verity, whose statues of Apollo and Cumaen Sybil can be seen inside. It's not a large garden, but there's lots to see,michael kors handbags outlet, so allow an hour for a tour. Open April to mid-November. At 39 Via F. Calise; 39-081-986-220; . Trek To Take: Spa Au Naturel The Sorgeto beach looks like just another Ischian cove. But locals and tuned-in travelers know that it is one of Ischia's best thermal springs. Reached from Panza via a steep unpaved road, then a rock-strewn flight of steps (look for a faded sign pointing the way on the village's main street) it's a definite adventure. There are no changing facilities (no facilities at all), so dress ready to take a dip. $ Establishment accepts no charge/credit cards or accepts cards other than American Express.

Four Seasons charges no additional fee for children 17 years of age and younger occupying the same guest room as their parents or guardians (space permitting). Special rates may be available for two adults and two children 17 years of age and younger occupying two rooms,The Dalí Theatre-Museum, subject to availability,michael kors handbags outlet. Age limits for children occupying parents' or guardians' guest rooms at no additional charge may vary at some properties. For reservations and information,michael kors factory outlet, please contact the Hotel directly,michael kors outlet onilne.