Nourishing Decor

Before winter is over, I plan to do as Constance Spry once suggested and create an arrangement made entirely of kale. For dining, I'm more of a collard greens person myself, but collards just wouldn't have the same effect in an arrangement as kale. Kale has that wonderful texture thanks to its curly leaves.

Spry's kale arrangement reminded me of some beautiful table settings that I have seen in which vegetables and fruits were the main decoration. Now we're not talking about watermelons cut to resemble baskets holding fruit salad or hollowed out heads of cabbage doing duty as dip bowls. (Although I have to say that I am fond of those watermelon baskets.) Rather, I'm thinking of more organic, natural arrangements like those on the tables of designer Diane Burn (a photo of her dining room is above) and Julie Janklow (see below.) Don't those vegetable centerpieces remind you of Dutch still lifes? The Burn table looks like a vegetarian Lucullan feast.

And then last week, I saw the cover of the July 1935 issue of House & Garden in which a farm scene was created entirely of vegetables. Clever yes, but not quite as elegant as the Burn and Janklow tables. Still, it was in keeping with the fruit and vegetable theme that has been running through my head, so it seemed appropriate to include in this post.

Anyway, take a look below and you might be inspired to create your own vegetable tableaux. The beauty of these arrangements is that they can always be used later for stew or soup.




Spry considered kale to be "one of the most valuable of all plants for winter decorations." The arrangement at top included Purple Kale and Callicarpa Berries, Mauve Rhododendrons, and Grey Lichen. The second arrangement was far more simple, composed only of kale leaves.





Julie Janklow's dining table set with a large cut-crystal punch bowl holding carrots and another bowl containing large strips of cucumber.





The cover of the July 1935 issue of House & Garden. The cow appears to be made of a potato and parsnip body and legume ears. I especially like that cauliflower sheep.




Of course, no post on fruits and vegetables would be complete without mentioning Arcimboldo and his fanciful paintings. "Vertumnus" (c.1590-91), seen above, depicts the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II as the Roman god of the seasons.


Photo of Diane Burn's table from Architectural Digest California Interiors; Spry photos from Flowers in House and Garden by Constance Spry. Janklow photo from an old issue of Vogue.

Jim Thompson at the Musée Guimet

I heard through the grapevine that Jim Thompson Fabrics hosted a stellar party during Maison&Objet. The event was the launch party for the new Jim Thompson Spring collection as well as the debut of The Spotlight Collection by David Rockwell. The charming vignettes, all of which incorporated fabrics from the new collections, were the work of the very creative Douglas Little. (Don't you think the lions look right at home amongst the Asian artifacts of the Musée Guimet?) While I wish that I could have seen the fantastical menagerie in person, the photos below do a great job of capturing the beautiful fabrics used in very whimsical ways.














The lion and alligator installations incorporated fabrics from The Spotlight Collection by David Rockwell.









The three photos above show fabrics from Jim Thompson's Spring 2012 collection.



Eric and Waan Booth with Kenzo. (Yes, Kenzo!) Eric is the President of Jim Thompson America.


Douglas Little, Mai Timblick (Director of Global Marketing, Jim Thompson), and Chad Holman (Managing Director of Jim Thompson America).

The Stately Shugborough

I recently stumbled upon a 1969 copy of The Great Houses and Finest Rooms of England. Written by the late British House & Garden editor Robert Harling, the book profiles some of England's most beautiful stately homes including Hatfield House, Charlecote Park, Blenheim Palace, Leixlip Castle, and Sezincote. The book (which is now on my top twenty list of favorite books- it's that good) is an interesting mix of interior and exterior photos plus text that includes interviews conducted with each of the estate's owners. Downton Abbey fans take note: as these interviews took place during the late 1960s, the then-owners (including the Duke of Marlborough, The Marquess of Salisbury, and the Duke of Argyll) recall what life was like at their respective homes during the early part of the 20th century, a time when houses were tended to by large staffs like those at the fictional Downton Abbey.

If you're also a fan of John Fowler and David Mlinaric, then you're really in luck. The work of both designers appears in this book, including the Mlinaric designed private quarters of Shugborough, a Staffordshire estate once owned by the Earl of Lichfield. That's him, below, with his Swinging Sixties hair and attire. (Lord Lichfield was a prominent celebrity photographer whose professional name was Patrick Lichfield.) I'm showing a few photographs of Shugborough here so that you can get a taste of this book. If you're as enchanted by these country estates as I, then you should try to get your hands on a copy so that you can see it for yourself.



Lord Lichfield




The Bird Room




Lord Lichfield's bedroom





The private study.




The circular breakfast room.




A guest bedroom.









Two of the estate's follies, the Temple of the Winds and the Doric Temple, were built by James "Athenian" Stuart. The Chinese House was transported from the Far East by one of Lord Lichfield's ancestors.

The engraving at top depicts Shugborough.

Loretta Caponi Linen

Hand-embroidered linens are a weakness of mine, but in my opinion, it's not a temptation to which I mind succumbing. My lack of restraint has resulted in some great additions to my linen closet including a set of beautiful embroidered floral cocktail napkins from Paris. As far as I see it, it's not a such a bad problem to have.

Recently, I've become intrigued by the linen of Florence, Italy based Loretta Caponi, whose reputation for fine embroidery is known the world over. Along with her daughter, Caponi runs her eponymous linen shop that specializes in hand embroidered table and bed linen, lingerie, and baby clothes. Thank goodness for Caponi and others like her (Leron comes to mind) who are keeping the tradition of hand embroidery alive. It, like so many other crafts, is a dying art.

And because I couldn't resist, I also included a few photos of Caponi's christening gowns and children's dress clothes. If I had a son, I would be mighty tempted to dress him in that Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit- if I knew he wouldn't be traumatized, of course.





































All photos from Loretta Caponi's website.

Nature's Fabulous Jewels

Some of the most interesting collections that I've seen are those which consist of the fruits of Mother Nature's labor. Natural things like shells, rocks, and bird nests (not really made by Mother Nature but rather Mama Bird.) Through the years, I have collected shells, pine cones (I once had a great cache of enormous pine cones from South Georgia, but they disappeared during a move a few years back), and even acorns. For some odd reason, I absolutely love acorns.

The most striking of all natural collections are minerals. Now I don't know much about minerals, something that I attribute to my utter lack of interest in chemistry and geology, but I do admire their beauty. And the more organic looking they are, the better. Out of curiosity, I recently bought a 1974 book titled Minerals: Nature's Fabulous Jewels, written by Ian Campbell and Arthur Court. (Yes, the very same Arthur Court of aluminum tableware fame.) Both Court and Campbell are noted mineral collectors, and many specimens from their collections were photographed for this book. The examples are really quite stunning thanks to their fantastic shapes, unusual colors, and heavy texture. After reading the book, I'm sorry that I didn't pay more attention in science class. Well, almost.



Part of Court's collection of minerals that have been mounted.



Mimetite and Plumbogummite from Alston Moor, Cumberland, England



Halite from Brawley, California



Crocoite, from Comet Mine, Dundas mining district, Tasmania, Australia



Chrysocolla "stalagmites" and drusy Quartz, from Concepcion del Oro, Mexico




Calcite with Limonite, from American Nettie Mine, Ouray mining district, Colorado




Bayldonite, from Tsumeb, South-West Africa.




Azurite and Malachite, from Apex Mine, St. George, Utah.




Autunite, from Daybreak Mine, Mount Spokane, Washington


All photos from Minerals: Nature's Fabulous Jewels by Arthur Court and Ian Campbell, M. Halberstadt photographer.