Zebra wallpaper and in Spades

Heather of Habitually Chic posted photos from Kate and Andy Spade's NYC home a while back and it was fun to get a peek of what their place looks like. Obviously I loved it (how could you not with style like theirs?), but one room in particular stuck out in my mind: the guest bathroom. I'm crazy for the crisp white and black color scheme, with that amazing pop of fresh green from the wallpaper. Good, right?:


I thought I recognized the wallpaper, but it took me a day to figure out where I knew it from:

Remember Margot Tenenbaum's 3rd floor in The Royal Tenenbaums (one of my favorite movies, by the way)? I always loved that safari-papered bedroom and bathroom.

It turns out that the wallpaper has quite a story of its own beyond a guest appearance in TRT. It was designed in the 1940s by paper company Scalamandré for Gino Circiello, the owner of the iconic Gino restaurant in New York. As explained in The New York Times, "Mr. Circiello was a hunter without the means to pay for an African safari, but he reasoned that he could at least afford zebras on his wallpaper." The Scalamandrés, family friends, designed the leaping zebra and arrow paper for Gino's, and the rest is history (and supposedly Gino ended up going on his safari later in life, so all was well in that respect too).

Pretty good back story, no? And it helps that I love that paper, even if it had just come out of a boring old factory.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what the rest of the Spades' home looks like, here are some of my favorite rooms from the lot:

That bedding is very Kate Spade.


Although what's up with the men-with-dots-on-their-faces art?


Cute kitchen.


Lurrrv the built-in bench, with its black and white stripes against the black and white checkered tiles. Brilliant use of pattern. (And again with the pop of green against the b/w - I sense a theme...)