Monday, October 14, 2013

Marie Warren and Michael Greer


Marie Warren is not only one of the grandes dames of Atlanta decorating, but she is also a neighbor of mine.  Everybody knows Marie and respects her decades-long contribution to the Atlanta design community, so it was only natural that she be featured in the debut issue of Milieu.

Milieu's article included Marie's thoughts and opinions on decorating, but what really struck a chord with me was her emphasis on the importance of being familiar with the work of other designers, especially past greats like Sister Parish and Dorothy Draper.  "The people I work with are aware of the work of the designers of the twentieth century," said Marie.  That is obviously music to my ears.  And one design great who got honorable mention by Marie was the late Michael Greer, someone who Marie deemed "my personal favorite".

So, in honor of both Marie and Michael Greer, I thought that I would show just a few photos from Greer's classic design tome, Inside Design.  This book, a personal favorite of mine, is also a favorite of Marie, who says that she refers to it often.  That's high praise indeed.











Photo of Marie Warren and quotations from Milieu, Fall 2013, written by Timothy E. Revis, David Schilling photographer.

10 comments:

  1. Excited about the new Milieu and love this post on the lovely Marie Warren and the talented Michael Greer. I am headed to Atlanta to moderate a panel on Wed with Chuck Chewning, John Oetgen, Amanda Nisbet and Susan Ferrier. Hope to see you, and DANG wish I could stay and hear you and Steven Stolman! Hope our paths cross anyway. xo Frances

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  2. I too am a fan of Michael Greer. His book is not only a classic, it is very wittily written. I was a student at The New York School of Interior Design when he lectured there. Fascinating. My copy is about as beaten up as yours.

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    1. Edward, How fortunate you were. Did he lecture in a similar manner to the tone of his book? He seemed to have an acerbic wit.

      My book is even more beat up looking since I took that photo!

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  3. adore m g + my book is almost as beaten up as yours. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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    1. There must be quite a few of us who reference that MG book frequently!

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  4. Poor Michael Greer had such a tragic end.....

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  5. Jennifer,
    I enjoyed this post. As you may know, one of my Naples clients, from Pittsburgh, was also a client of Mr. Greers'...and he gave me some old invoices from 1967...! I will send copies to you! I had given this client an orange Sevres' coffee "can" which I purchased from the Atlanta antiques shop that bought part of his estate after his death. Mr. Greers' office was located at 27 East 62nd Street, between Madison and Park- and he took my clients wife shopping in his chauffeur driven Rolls Royce. This was all re-lived by me when I worked for George Clarkson, who lived and worked on 57th off Park, and also had a RR and clients/friends like C.Z. Guest and many other old society figures, just as Mr. Greer did. The"People" magazine article on MG's dramatic death was quite a shocker! When I later leased a small studio on East 57th near Sutton, for my personal use, Tice and I did it as an homage to the late Michael Greer. So, as you can see, I've been most interested in his career. I was also very intrigued to learn of your neighbor- what an elegant lady she is! Thanks for the post!

    Dean

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