Lindsey and Kristen's home in the March 2009 Elle Decor

[michelej1]

[The Elle article inspired this spotlight on the wicker makers]

Island business seats the stars
Written by Mark Good, Mount Desert Islander
Friday, February 13, 2009

http://mdislander.com/site/index.php...8820&Itemid=36


TREMONT — When Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham relaxes on the loggia of his recently built home in Los Angeles, chances are he settles down into wicker furniture purchased by his interior decorator wife from E. L. Higgins Antique Wicker.

Kristen Buckingham, who has her own design firm, Kristen Buckingham LLC, supervised every detail during construction of the couple’s home, creating what has been described as “haute bohemia meets 1920s.” The home is featured in the March issue of Elle Décor magazine.

It’s not the first time wicker from the Tremont business has helped furnish the homes of the famous. Edward and Linda Higgins count film director Steven Speilberg and actors Tommy Lee Jones and Kristie Alley as clients. But, it is the first time the business received mention in a magazine. The wicker chaise lounge, sofa and chairs from E. L. Higgins are pictured prominently in the article on the Buckingham home along with information on where the items were purchased.

“Usually we don’t get the credit,” Ms. Higgins said, adding that wicker from their company has been pictured in national magazines before. “The excitement for us was to actually get our name in there.”

Ironically, Ms. Higgins doesn’t recall the details surrounding Ms. Buckingham’s purchase. The transaction occurred three years ago.

“I can’t remember if she came in or called on the phone,” Ms. Higgins said. “Most designers find out about us from our Web site.”

The Higgins learned of the Elle Décor article after receiving a telephone call a few months ago from someone at the magazine asking for details about the business.

The antique wicker business began in 1975, after Mr. Higgins injured his back and was unable to continue working at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. The couple started in a small building next to their home in the village of Bernard. As the business grew, more space was needed and they moved a quarter mile down the road to the former Bernard Schoolhouse.

The schoolhouse provides the perfect setting for the couple to display the 800 to 1,000 pieces of wicker they have on hand at any one time. They specialize in products from the “heyday of wicker,” the period between 1870 and 1940. Those products can be quite diverse. Among the wicker chairs, tables and settees in the inventory are wicker lamps, bureaus, desks and even a birdcage. Perhaps the most unusual item they have had for sale is a wicker viewing basket, which held the deceased at a wake.

When the couple started, antique wicker was easier to find; many items were purchased locally and came from summer cottages on Mount Desert Island. Now, other antique dealers seek them out. But not every piece meets their standards.

“I look at 100 pieces and probably buy only the 20 best,” Mr. Higgins said.

After 34 years, Mr. and Ms. Higgins say they still enjoy every minute of running the business. Getting to know their customers is one perk, they said. And there’s always the possibility of stumbling upon a special item.

“You think you’ve seen it all and then a couple of pieces of museum quality furniture comes in,” Mr. Higgins said.

E. L. Higgins is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday during the summer and by appointment during the winter. An online catalog is available on their Web site, antiquewicker.com.

[michelej1]

The full text is posted, with slide show images: http://www.pointclickhome.com/celebr..._home?page=0,0

Rock Star Lindsey Buckingham at Home
Written by Deanna Kizis • Photographed by Simon Upton • Produced By Cynthia Frank

This Haute bohemia meets 1920s elegance at the home of rock musician Lindsey Buckingham and his interior designer wife, Kristen

Anyone arriving at the Los Angeles home of Kristen and Lindsey Buckingham—of Fleetwood Mac fame—should be prepared for a boisterous family welcome. Son Will, 10, and daughter Leelee, 8, tumble out of a car with their tennis instructor, while an exuberant Stella, 4, greets guests wearing a red velvet holiday dress—even though it's 80 degrees—as she bosses around the three dogs. Kristen appears, herding kids and proffering coffee, all the while insisting she makes truly terrible coffee.

It's a warm introduction that befits the beckoning Norman-style house, which was built by architect Kevin A. Clark. An aficionado of period details, Kristen used legendary Hollywood architect Wallace Neff's homes of the 1920s as inspiration and kept an office on-site in a trailer during the construction. "I was here every day to answer questions," says Kristen, an interior designer. And while her approach features occasional bohemian flourishes, it's often rooted in research on historic buildings and interiors. "I wanted our house to look authentically Neff and have a feeling of quality in the surfaces, moldings, and cabinetry," she explains.

She also wanted it to feel livable for her active brood. "I'm not a fan of volume," Kristen says. "Two-story entrance halls echo, and kitchens with walls knocked out for a loft effect are popular but impractical. I wanted everything to have a human scale." This philosophy is reflected throughout the five-bedroom abode, where cozy alcoves abound. The master suite includes a snug reading room, the dining room has a bar area perfect for card games, while the kitchen abuts a charming breakfast nook. And the entrance hall's winding staircase—modeled after one in decorating icon Nancy Lancaster's beloved family home in Virginia, Mirador—is striking without feeling grandiose.

Kristen's look—"a combination of traditional and edgy," as her husband calls it—and many of her own designs, are best showcased in the dining and living rooms. In the former, a Directoire-style mahogany table is surrounded by green leather chairs embossed with crests and studded with brass tacks (she is reproducing these in her new home-furnishings line). The walls are papered in Zuber's high-spirited L'Hin*doustan pattern, and chandeliers lend a chic contrast to plank ceilings. Paintings and photography fill a wall behind a black-lacquer piano in the living room, while a brightly upholstered Dunbar-esque sofa echoes the vivacity of the art display. "My pieces are all very personal, and I like to layer things," she says. "And I'm not an art snob. I like what I like."

Before she became a designer, Kristen was a portrait photographer; she met her husband on an assignment 13 years ago. "I went to the studio to shoot some guy—that's who Lindsey was to me then," Kristen recalls with a laugh. "He dropped some corny line like, 'Haven't I met you before?' We had a drink and have never been apart since." Of his wife's talents, Lindsey says, "Kristen intuitively applies her sensibilities across genres. She's a gifted designer, photographer—she's even written lyrics for me." But Kristen sees their disparate professions as a plus: "I can't sing or play instruments, and he doesn't decorate. I'm convinced that's why our marriage works. That said, I love his taste and always ask his opinion."

Of course, no musician's home would be complete without a state-of-the-art recording studio. Lindsey's is located beneath the garage for soundproofing and boasts a soundboard so large it had to be lowered in with a crane. Since it is fully equipped with comfortable furniture, a bathroom, and a kitchenette, "a few guys working full days have all they need so they never have to come into the main house," Kristen says.

For a family that loves outdoor sports, there's a large, lush lawn for croquet and badminton and a pool for daily swims. "Lindsey used to be a competitive swimmer, and his late brother, Greg, was a medalist in the 1968 Olympics, so it's a sport that's close to his heart," Kristen notes. The poolhouse was inspired by an image from designer David Hicks's book My Kind of Garden. Just outside the living room is the loggia, where sun-bleached wicker chairs and a vintage Baker cocktail table supply the perfect setting for board games with the kids. Says Kristen, "We play a lot of Yahtzee. It's great to be out here and not sitting in front of the television."

Kristen even designed their master bedroom to open onto the garden—a change from the family's previous house in Bel Air. "We used to be on the second floor, very high up looking down at the city," she says. "It was a beautiful view, but it often felt kinetic and unrestful." As the sun starts to set, Kristen opens the door to the terrace from the bedroom, the sounds of her kids playing outside filling the room. "This is what we wanted—to feel connected to our surroundings."

[slowdancer]

Originally Posted by spacejunky

"there's a large, lush lawn for croquet and badminton "


ummmm what??? he plays croquet??? i need a drink!!!

God, make mine a double!

[Nico]

Though no one may care, I happened to find this information of a study Kristen recently designed for a music producer's kids:


I think it's lovely. I like the lighting and the ceiling especially. I have a room in my house with a high slanted ceiling and it's gorgeous to me. I have always loved them.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Nico

I think it's lovely. I like the lighting and the ceiling especially. I have a room in my house with a high slanted ceiling and it's gorgeous to me. I have always loved them.

I like the space and I did think the rolling chairs with metal legs worked well with the library table type desks, but I did think it clashed with the more traditional chair and ottoman. I do love the slanted roof and what she said about the openness of the room.

"The owners wanted a space that created an appetite for learning," Buckingham says. "The openness of the room creates an atmosphere where the outside is present and gives the feeling that there is much to see and understand about the world."

I have a room under the eaves of my home with a slanted roof and all glass facing the front. I'd love to have something like that. Too bad I can't afford a KB. I'm just making do with Pottery Barn!

Michele

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I have a room under the eaves of my home with a slanted roof and all glass facing the front. I'd love to have something like that. Too bad I can't afford a KB.

Have you thought about calling her and getting an estimate? I bet if you sound convincing enough, you can get her out to your house for a 20-30 minute consultation.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Have you thought about calling her and getting an estimate? I bet if you sound convincing enough, you can get her out to your house for a 20-30 minute consultation.

When I have people out, I get so embarassed, because I don't want them to feel that I wasted their time, that I always buy more than I ever planned. I only wanted some front shades for the house and when the Smith & Noble lady came and spent 2 hours showing me samples, I felt guilted into buying $7000 worth of window treatments that weren't in my budget.

I'd hate to think what Kristen could get me to spend. I have a feeling she's persuasive.

Michele

[Nico]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I'd hate to think what Kristen could get me to spend. I have a feeling she's persuasive.

Michele

Please! That's probably her biggest strength.

Since you do live in Cali, the possibility is more realistic than her flying out to some dingy mid-western state. However, I have a feeling her clientèle run more along the hills- that is Beverly Hills. And she'd probably consider anything else a waste of time. Not a slight. Just business. That's how they do it in LA...

[gretchen]

Originally Posted by Nico

Though no one may care, I happened to find this information of a study Kristen recently designed for a music producer's kids:

I love it because it's breezy with an edge.

[BTFLCHLD]

a splash of orange seems to be signature? semi-cool the first time...now? not so much. also, what the hell happened? in this case, not a fan of the contrast patterns.textures.colors; stripes, plaids, vinyl, leather, metal, wood, wool, berber...makes my head spin.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

a splash of orange seems to be signature? semi-cool the first time...now? not so much. also, what the hell happened? in this case, not a fan of the contrast patterns.textures.colors; stripes, plaids, vinyl, leather, metal, wood, wool, berber...makes my head spin.

The rolling chairs don't go with the other decor. While I understand you're using it as a desk and study area and need to roll around, you can still find wooden bases with wheels at the very bottom. You have a more homey, comfy look clashing with an art-student-in-industrial-loft look. But I do like the airy feel of the space.

Michele

[GypsyJas]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

me likes all except the bathroom.
and where the heck is that 70s bucket couch?

LOL, I grew up with that bathroom wallpaper....oh, excuse me, I mean "fabric wall covering"....

But seriously, that black and white bathroom was like some bad optical illusion...

[GypsyJas]

Originally Posted by gretchen

I love it because it's breezy with an edge.

That loft looks like something right out of an Ikea catalog...and no offense to Ikea Lovers, but if your spending some Lindsey Buckingham bucks I think you can go a little more upscale looking....??

[Nico]

For those who may follow KB, someone showed me this...

So cool to have that job...any kind of job with drawing involves would probably be somewhat enjoyable.

Also, found this and it was recently posted. I'm not sure if this is new stuff or old, I've actually forgotten, but there's certainly a lot of great pieces going on here.

[Peestie]

I love her design style. Maybe if it was my house I'd have slightly fewer pictures on the wall but there is something I like it. I think it actually reminds me of my house, except hers is made to look old fashioned and my house really is old fashioned!