The Renzo Collection from Currey & Co.

I have to tip my hat to my dear friend, Will Merrill. Not only is he a very talented interior designer (he has decorated some amazing homes in North Carolina,) but he's an accomplished furniture designer too. He has collaborated on a few furniture lines with Currey & Co. in the past, and the collections have deservedly garnered a lot of attention in the press. No doubt the same will be true with his new Renzo Collection for Currey & Co. that is set to debut at High Point this week.

Will's latest collection, one made entirely of wrought iron, was inspired by the vintage metal rope and tassel furniture that was produced in post-war Italy. Interestingly enough, these midcentury Italian pieces hearken back to the mid-19th c. when rope and tassel furniture was made from carved and gilded wood. While most of the Italian metal pieces were primarily small stools and boudoir chairs, Will chose to branch out into larger items like a console and coffee table.

The aged gold leaf finish of this collection is really quite remarkable, something that gives the furniture even more of an antique feel. And according to Will, the metal chairs in this collection are extremely comfortable, even without a cushion. I can't wait to test one out myself.

If you're in High Point this week, please visit the Currey & Co. showroom to see the new collection in person. Or, visit their website for more information.




Renzo kidney-shaped cocktail table.




Renzo Arm Chair that is supposed to be quite comfortable.




Renzo Console Table




The Renzo Side Chair




Renzo bench. Will mentioned that this bench would work well at a dressing table, at the foot of a bed, or as a window seat. It can also double as a small table, without the cushion of course, thanks to its metal mesh seat.

All photos courtesy of Currey & Co.

Know When to Fold 'Em

The first time a folding chair made a big impression on me was when I was a young student at the Atlanta Ballet. I remember that my rather stern ballet mistress, Miss Joanne, used to conduct class while sitting in a folding director's chair. I can't recall if the canvas back was emblazoned with her name, but considering the fact that the Atlanta Ballet was a serious ballet school, I'm assuming that it didn't. Truth be told, I have never thought that those oak directors chairs were much to look at, although I do understand the practicality of them. And for a while there, back in the 1970s and early 80s, canvas and wood directors chairs were used in quite a few homes.

While I was reading the 30th anniversary edition of World of Interiors, I was struck by the photo, above, of the tented room at Charlottenhof. Believe it or not, it wasn't so much the tented walls and ceiling that caught my attention, but rather the folding wood and metal campaign chairs that were covered in that jaunty striped canvas. It reminded me, in a way, of Miss Joanne's chair, although I find the example at Charlottenhof much more appealing.

I've rounded up some photos of metal folding chairs. Some appear to be campaign pieces, while others are slick metal versions of the modern director's chair. And the beauty of these chairs is that not only do they look great, they can also be folded up and stored away when not in use. If you live in a small space, these chairs can really be a godsend. That said, some of these chairs are so stylish, you might not want to stow them away.



Here, a folding metal chair finished with black leather was used as a desk chair. Interior by Charles Dear, c. late 1960s.



These dining chairs may not have actually been folding, but they have the look of old campaign chairs. In the Paris apartment of Mme Goldsmith, early 1960s.





A sleek take on the director's chair. The chrome and black leather chairs were used in a dining room, while a white leather version was used at a card table.



I couldn't resist showing this photo of the late Audrey Hepburn's director's chair in the home of Hubert de Givenchy.


Photo at top: World of Interiors, Dec 2011, Fritz von der Schulenburg photographer. Photo #3 from Nouvelles Reussites de La Decoration Francaise 1960-1966; Photos #2, #4, and #5 from House and Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration.

Cane and T-Abel

How could that photo above not capture one's attention, what with the Lichtenstein and the shocking red walls and bed. There's a lot going there ("there" being the New York bedroom of designer Arthur Smith, c. 1982), but what really made me sit up and take notice were the Bielecky Brothers side tables. This photo served as a (cruel) reminder that I have yet to get the Bielecky Brothers side table that I so covet. In fact, one of their cane wrapped tables would look perfect in my study with its Albert Hadley for Hinson "Trixie" wallpaper, its gray sisal carpet, and my black lacquered Parsons console. I like to think of the room as looking very Van Day Truex meets Albert Hadley with a dash of Jennifer Boles thrown in. At least, that's what I think.

According to Adam Lewis' Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator, we have Billy Baldwin and Van Day Truex to thank for the Bielecky Brothers' iconic cane wrapped chair, a design that was inspired by a Jean-Michel Frank piece. The two men commissioned Bielecky Brothers to make the chairs for use in various Tiffany & Co. salons, although I would venture to say that most of us probably associate the cane wrapped pieces with Baldwin's glossy chocolate brown studio apartment. Since that first chair, the line has evolved into cane wrapped tables, bookcases, and chests. One could say that these are investment pieces as they don't come cheap. But what's important to note is that they wear like iron. Atlanta designer Stan Topol has Bielecky Brothers' chairs and tables that are 30+ years old and they look good as new. You would think that he bought them yesterday!

I'm hoping that my table will look that good thirty years from now. I just need to get my hands on one first.



Van Day Truex used Bielecky Brothers chairs in his last apartment.




Mrs. Harding Lawrence (Mary Wells Lawrence) incorporated the chairs into this table setting for the book The New Tiffany Table Settings.




Angelo Donghia was an ardent fan of the line. Here, in his New York town house, he used two different styles of the Bielecky cane table.




I could have shown the Bielecky Brothers pieces in Billy Baldwin's Manhattan apartment, but I've featured those photos so many times before that I wanted to show something different. Here, in the games room of the S.I. Newhouse Jr. townhouse, Baldwin used both the chairs and the game table.




In this New York Social Diary photo of Adam Lewis' beautiful New York apartment, you can see that he too has the classic Bielecky Brothers' chairs. Fitting for the author of books on Van Day Truex and Billy Baldwin! Seeing that I admire all three men greatly (that is including Lewis), it's fitting that I want a cane wrapped piece too.




Stan Topol has Bielecky Brothers galore in his Atlanta office that recently appeared in the May issue of House Beautiful.

Top photo from House & Garden, January 1982; photo #2 from Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style by Adam Lewis; #3 from The New Tiffany Table Settings; #4 from New York Interior Design, 1935-1985, Vol. 2: Masters of Modernism by Judith Gura; #5 from Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator; #6 from New York Social Diary, Jeff Hirsch photographer; #7 from House Beautiful, May 2011, Thomas Loof photographer.

Soane Pop-Up Shop

Have you ever spent time perusing the Soane website? If you haven't, you don't know what you're missing. Their furniture, lighting, and accessories are absolutely exquisite. Good thing for those of us on this side of the pond that the London-based Soane just opened a pop-up shop in conjunction with 1st dibs. (That's a shot of it at top.) Located at the New York Design Center, the temporary shop will feature many of Soane's 500 designs. All of their wall lights plus some of their upholstered furniture, desks, bookcases, mirrors, and cocktail tables will be displayed, and all will be available for immediate purchase. It's also worth nothing that the entire Soane line is crafted in British workshops.

Soane has so many American fans that this is indeed exciting news. But you better be quick. The shop is only open through May 20. Time to start shopping!




Soane founder Lulu Lytle. Click here to see Lulu's feature on 1st dibs.



The Pineapple Light



The Bascule Desk



The Star Mirror



The Vendome Sofa


All images courtesy of Soane.

A Patchwork of a Post

When I first saw photos of Gloria Vanderbilt's patchwork bedroom a few years ago, I did not know what to think. Oh, okay, I did know what to think- I thought it was rather unfortunate looking. That's blasphemy to many, I realize, but I'm just telling the truth. I really didn't get the concept of covering walls and ceiling in patchwork quilts.

And then last week, while I was reading Wendy Goodman's new book on G.V., The World of Gloria Vanderbilt (what a fun read), I started to rethink this room. In fact, thanks to Goodman's text, I developed an appreciation for the room's floor especially. G.V. painstakingly cut up old quilts to cover the floor in a collage of fabric pieces that were later varnished to a high shine. Now let's stop here to look closely at that floor:



The famous patchwork bedroom (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) with its lacquered floor. Horst P. Horst, photographer.


I get that patchwork isn't for everybody. Quite frankly, it's not for me either. But the idea of lacquering fabric? That's a concept I do get, and it's one that can look absolutely fetching. G.V.'s lacquered floor was inspired by one she had seen years earlier in the apartment of Juliana Force, the first director of the Whitney Museum, the museum founded by Vanderbilt's aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. In Force's home, the floors were covered in a floral fabric that had been sealed with numerous coats of lacquer. A rather original idea, don't you think?



The apartment of Juliana Force as photographed by André Kertész.



Reading about G.V.'s lacquered bedroom floor reminded me of a Karl Springer table that I had recently seen on dealer Liz O'Brien's website. The c. 1970 table, seen below, is wrapped in a glazed batik fabric. Not only do I find the batik print charming, but the glazed finish seems to impart some spiffiness to the rather humble fabric.

While I honestly don't think that I'll ever do a lacquered fabric floor in my home (especially a patchwork one!), I can absolutely see one of Springer's glazed fabric pieces fitting in quite nicely. Do you?



A c. 1970s Karl Springer glazed batik low table, available at Liz O'Brien.



A pair of glazed batik Karl Springer tables that were sold a few years ago through Rago Arts & Auction Center.




A Karl Springer batik wrapped hanging console and mirror from the 1970s, available from Palumbo.




A Springer trunk with lacquered batik finish from Lobel Modern.




Another Springer table sold a few years back through Rago Arts & Auction, although this one has a far more graphic batik than the previous examples.

(Photos of Vanderbilt and Force homes courtesy of The World of Gloria Vanderbilt by Wendy Goodman.)

White Webb and Donghia...A Match Made in Heaven

If I were to list the must-have pieces of furniture that every home should have, drinks tables would rank near the top. And note I said "tables", not "table". After all, you really should have some type of table near every armchair and sofa. Is there not anything more annoying than having a glass of wine or iced tea in your hand and then realizing that you're going to have to sit there and hold it because there are no tables close at hand?

The only downside to this, of course, is that all of those little tables scattered around can lend a bit of a cluttered look to a room. This is why I'm a fan of White Webb's Clearly Classic line of occasional tables. First, they're made of lucite which means that they don't add a lot of visual heft to a room. You can have all of that function without having to worry about how to incorporate the form into your room. The other thing that captivates me are the tables' architectural shapes. They're exotic yes, but thanks to the lucite, it's exotic-light. These tables will work in any interior.

I've written about Clearly Classic before, but the reason the line is on my mind again is because the tables are now available at Donghia showrooms across the country. Creative Director Chuck Chewning has been breathing new life into Donghia while still staying true to the vision of its namesake, so I think it's only fitting that Matthew White and Frank Webb have partnered with the firm. (By the way, I think it's time for an Angelo Donghia revival. Just my two cents.) And in honor of the new partnership, Matthew and Frank have designed the Arc Table (seen above), a piece inspired by the classic Roman arch.

So, which one will it be? The Arc? Akbar? Maybe Pasha? I'll take one of each. That way, my guests will never be table-less again.


Akbar table


Two different sizes of the Alexander


The Alexander in situ


Tangiers table


Pasha table


Ming table


Many of you probably remember White Webb's room from Kips Bay a few years back.


Hadrian table

(All photographs courtesy of White Webb)