Valerian Rybar in Portugal

One of my favorites of the late, great decorators is Valerian Rybar. Rybar's clients were the swellest of the swells, and they hired him to decorate their Tyrolean schlösser, Parisian hôtels particuliers, and Manhattan triplexes. One of his clients, the American Mrs. Graham D. Mattison, even hired him to decorate her Portuguese villa, seen here.

The Mattison villa, located in Cascais, was designed to resemble an 18th century patrician Portuguese villa. With the help of French architect Pierre Barbe, Rybar chose polished brick and stone for many of the floors, Portuguese blue and white tile for the pool house, and ornate tray ceilings throughout. But just because this was a villa in the country, Rybar didn't forsake his noted high style decor. There were dressy rugs, elegant antiques, and even a mirrored oval bath. After all, even when Rybar's high flying clients wanted to relax, they wanted to do so in luxurious surroundings, and I can't think of many country houses more luxurious than this.



The Entrance Hall. Look at that wonderful rug with the rope motif border.






The Library also had a unique rug, not to mention that grand tray ceiling.





Another view of the Library which shows Rybar's use of symmetry.





The Dining Room with a patterned tray ceiling. The brass chandelier was Dutch.





Mrs. Mattison's bedroom was a vision in Chinoiserie. A Portuguese hand-stitched rug covered the polished brick floor.




The oval Master Bath. This ceiling was painted to resemble a cloudy sky.





The Swimming Pavilion. The interior walls were covered in blue and white Portuguese tile; their Chinoiserie design was meant to resemble Pillement's work.



All photos from Architectural Digest Chateaux and Villas.