a feeling for objects both priceless & plain

i've posted about him before, but can't really ever get enough. axel vervoordt is one of those designers/collectors i've admired from afar as if he were royalty. so this architectural digest top 100 architects & designers {ad:100} article really got me. i know this is an old, old feature {from way back in 2005} but for the archival delight on my blog, and to honor the great coincidence that i found it again recently, it's worth a nice walk down memory lane.

{“i like things of quality,” says axel vervoordt. “sometimes i like a beautiful stone that you’d find on the street as much as i like a brancusi that’s worth a million dollars.”}

{trompe l’oeil and grisaille paintings decorate a belgian castle}

{the daytime dining room of a residence in france’s bordeaux region contains boiserie and parquetry floors recovered from another château}

{a mix of art and antiques in a living room in belgium typifies the designer’s approach}

{the entrance hall of the designer’s former residence, a complex of medieval houses in antwerp, featured 12th-century cambodian ceramics}

{for friends' tuscan palazzo, vervoordt furnished the dining room with chairs from the 17th and 18th centuries}

p.s. if you're curious... the coincidence mentioned above is because his new book axel vervoordt: timeless interiors was just released, and in looking it up i stumbled across a video tour of his incredible home right here: interieurs. this, right after i found an old notebook in which i'd written down the link address to the ad:100 article above. wow.