Inside Lhuillier's Lair

(LOS ANGELES) Monique Lhuillier and husband Tom Bugbee hosted an intimate cocktail party Wednesday evening to celebrate the completion of their new Bel Air home and its current cover status in the pages of Elle Décor. The beautifully redone estate, decorated in sumptuous grey tones and minimal décor that's both clean and welcoming at the same time, afforded guests Jennifer Beals, Martin Katz, Cristina Ehrlich, Elizabeth Stewart, Gelila Puck, Colleen Bell, and Liane Weintraub the ease of casual conversation as they chatted in the entryway and kitchen while sampling hors d'oeuvres from Top Chef's lanky third season contestant CJ.

Entourage star Perry Reeves fully embraced the décor in her Lhuillier confection, taking particular interest in the couple's home office, what with its slate grey paneled walls and whitewashed floors, an aesthetic that carried over to her recently opened Melrose Place store. "I love your office!" she exclaimed to Bugbee. Lhuillier, meanwhile, took it upon herself to take guests on tours of her French manor-style home. "I started out on my own with story boards, much like designing a collection," she said. "But four months in, I realized it was too great a task and brought in my friend Jennie Abbott." The collaboration was a huge success in the eyes of Dita Von Teese, who shimmered in a silver brocade dress designed by the host and Chantal Thomas stockings. "I love the richness of her clothes, yet the house has a real feeling of modern Art Deco but it's not stark, it's warm, which is so hard to do."

A select few guests later retreated to the Chateau Marmont for an intimate dinner hosted by the indefatigable Paul Wilmot, whose firm recently signed on to represent the shelter title, where Margaret Russell was giddy over the prospects of shooting Lhuillier's closet for a feature in the magazine in five weeks time. "Naturally, we wanted to shoot it because it's extraordinary, but it's not quite ready yet," she lamented.
MONICA SCHWEIGER