We’re really excited to feature and introduce Daniel VanHall and Gail Shields-Miller on Second Hand Social today!
These photos are from a gut renovation and decoration of a suite at the Lombardy Hotel on East 56th Street in New York City. Gail and I believe a truly interesting interior has an eclectic mix of objects and elements. We find many of those things at flea markets, both local and abroad, estate sales, antique fairs, consignment shops…the new phenomena since the downturn in the economy…and even from friends and family members tossing things out they don’t care for anymore, but in which we see hidden potential!
- The credenza under the TV was a great find at Housing Works right here on 17th Street, in NYC. It is a late 1930’s French piece that needed some refinishing and a little TLC. We paid just $1500 for it.
- The lovely 1960’s table lamp in the corner is from a sale we stopped at upstate near Hudson while visiting a client. We polished it up and dressed it with a new shade and now it looks like a million bucks. We paid $150 for it.
- The writing table was a toss out from a family member who had no use for it anymore. We refinished and inlayed it with a metal top and now it’s a show stopper and we paid nothing for it!
- In the dressing /sitting area we incorporated a great painting from a large flea market just outside of New Hope, PA, that cost only $300. We added a beautiful new gesso frame and voila, a dramatic addition to a small desk area in the apartment.
- The deco chandelier in the bedroom came from a flea market in Paris where we paid only 1,000 Euros, plus shipping back to the States. A real find, as it turned out to be a signed piece!
- The bedside lamps, which we believe to be 1940’s, are from a trip some years back to the Brimfield Market in Massachusetts, where we go annually to walk the show. The lamps cost $400 for the pair and again we dressed them with new shades and had them rewired.
All these items integrated with high end custom upholstery and case pieces, art work and accessories truly make a rich, original interior and we simply love finding them and then mixing them up all together.
About the Designers: Daniel has been doing interior design in Manhattan for a decade and a half. “I began my studies in North Carolina, Chapel Hill where I studied Art and Art history. I then came to NYC and completed my Interior design Degree at The Fashion Institute of Technology. I joined forces with Gail Shields-Miller and Shields & Company in 2005 where I have been to present date. Gail started her business in 1988, and moved it into Manhattan in 1991. She studied Interior Design at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, and had real hands on training working in her family’s interior design business, Joan Shields Interiors, while she was going to school.”
The suite looks like a million bucks! What are your thoughts? Feel free to share your comments below!