An Easy-to-Appreciate Home

The day after a holiday weekend is never a good time to deal with anything challenging, so today, I thought we would ease into the work week with a Paris home that requires little effort to appreciate. The apartment you see here, which was built around 1790 and is located on the place du Palais-Bourbon, belonged (and, perhaps, still belongs) to Didier and Barbara Wirth. Through the years, the homes of the Wirths have been published frequently, including their noted house in Normandy, Chateau de Brécy.  Barbara Wirth also authored one of my very favorite books on table settings, The Elegant Table, so perhaps it's not surprising that I very much admire her sense of style.  In fact, if you were to search my blog archives, you would find a number of Wirth-related posts.

When it came to decorating her Paris apartment, Barbara Wirth worked with her frequent design collaborator, Christian Badin, who also happens to be her cousin.  (Both cousins were associated with David Hicks' Paris design shop.)  Wirth has an obvious penchant for beautiful things, and yet, there is nothing remotely precious about this apartment.  Here, dressy furnishings are tempered by the unobtrusive, like rush matting and casual furniture arrangements.  It's the home's easy sensibility that I find so appealing, although I suspect that the sight of the Wirths' inviting library might have influenced me as well.  I could easily have spent my Memorial Day weekend in just such a room. 

The sunny drawing room was made sunnier by yellow curtains, upholstery, and throws.

The entrance hall evoked the outdoors thanks to those wooden cypress trees and Wirth's collection of watering cans.

The library, which was filled with books, objects, and comfortable furniture.

Wirth switched out her dining room's décor seasonally.  In the spring and summer, the cool tile walls were left visible, while during winter and fall, they were covered by panels wrapped in a David Hicks fabric.  The dining chairs, designed by Badin, had seats and backs that could be changed out according to seasons.  A number of years ago, Veranda featured a more recent version of this dining room.

The Wirths' bedroom had a lit à baldaquin, which was designed by Badin, while roman shades covered the room's walls.

All photos from House Beautiful, January 1995, Antoine Bootz photographer.

Wirthy Design

I can't tell you how many times photos of the homes and gardens of designer Barbara Wirth have caught my eye. There was the Veranda article about Wirth's holiday table as well as her Paris home that she shares with her husband, both of which I wrote about here. Then there was yet another Veranda article, this one about the Wirths' bigger claim to fame, the gardens of their Normandy home, Château de Brécy. And then, as I was recently rereading Architectural Digest Traditional Interiors, I found photos of a previous home owned by the Wirths. Somehow, I missed the Wirth connection when I first read the AD book.

Wirth is not only a talented interior designer, but she also once managed the David Hicks shop in Paris. For her villa that is seen here, Wirth collaborated with her cousin, designer Christian Badin, on the home's decor. Like Wirth, Badin also worked for David Hicks. I think you can see traces of the Hicks look in these photos, and perhaps that is one reason why they piqued my interest. The modern lamps, uplights, sleek side tables, and the living room's skirted table all seem very much from the Hicks play book, and yet, the cousins added their Gallic flair to the house with their exuberant uses of indigo and blue toile de Tanlay in the dining room and feminine, floral chintz in the bedroom.  Even better is the fact that not much of this 1970s-era home looks dated, with the exception of the bedroom's wall to wall carpet.  Not bad for a house that was decorated decades ago.

All photos from Architectural Digest Traditional Interiors, Pascal Hinous photographer.

A Decorative Remedy

When I see baskets in use in luxe interiors, I am reminded of the (possibly apocryphal) story of the elegant international socialite who, when attending a party at the opulently-decorated Manhattan apartment of a nouvelle society figure, was said to have remarked, "It will take her a lifetime to understand baskets."

It could be said that baskets are decorative remedies that cure lofty interiors from looking too shiny and too rich. Whether they are used as cachepots or repositories for magazines or firewood, baskets add a down-to-earth touch in both grand and casual rooms alike. And the same could be said of baskets on dining tables, too.

Lately, I have been revisiting photos of elegant table settings which incorporate small baskets.  In most of these photos, the baskets have been put to use in their traditional role, which is to hold bread and crackers.  That's exactly what jeweler Jean Schlumberger did in the photo, above.  But there are also small, shallow baskets that have been employed in lieu of bread plates as well as basket-like sleeves, which cradle drinking glasses.  And then there is the elegant table setting, seen directly below, with its dramatic-looking silver candelabra and proper stemware.  Here, baskets were used as centerpieces to hold modest little mums.  Both help to tone down the formality of this table.

Considering that most of these photos were taken in France, I can only assume that the French must have good sources for such baskets.  Any thoughts on where we can get similar baskets here in the U.S.?

This majestic-looking dinner took place at l'hôtel Lambert and was hosted by Marie-Hélène de Rothschild. The table was set with "three Sèvres dinner services, Louis XIV glasses, eighteenth-century silverware, and vermeil dessert cutlery", all beneath a magnificent Le Brun ceiling. And still, there were baskets on the table.

The late Alberto Pinto certainly knew how to set a pretty table. Small baskets, which held bread, were placed at each place setting. Adding to the rustic charm were straw place mats.

I have shown this photo before, but it's worth showing again. For her working lunch table setting, Primrose Bordier used Philippine baskets for chargers and Japanese hot-towel baskets for bread plates.

In the South of France home of Dick Dumas. Note the small terracotta pots that hold cigarettes. Terracotta works just as baskets do by adding a casual note to one's table.

In the Paris home of Carole and François Rochas

Barbara Wirth set a charming, casual table that celebrated Summer's bounty. Baskets were filled with cherries, strawberries, and some delicious looking radishes.



Rochas photo from R.S.V.P. by Nan Kempner; Pinto photo from Table Settings by Alberto Pinto; the remaining photos from The Elegant Table by Barbara Wirth.

Winter Entertaining

Because so many of us are already decorating our homes for the holidays, I figured that there was no time like the present to start writing about Christmas table settings. While rifling through my holiday files over the weekend, I found this Veranda article about Christmas entertaining in the Paris dining room of Barbara and Didier Wirth.

I think that the first thing one is struck by is all of that fabulous red blanketing the room. Come December, Barbara hangs custom-made red fabric panels over the room's green and white tile walls. A red tablecloth and red taffeta blinds add to the color theme. What's nice, though, is that blue is used as an accent color on both the table and the mantel, something that gives the room more of a wintery feel rather than a holiday one. And the table itself is perfection when set with Venetian stemware, silver candlesticks and chargers, Malbranche embroidered napkins, and lampwork figures placed around the table. (The figures, made in Nevers during the 18th century, were made from glass softened over an oil lamp flame.)

Coincidentally, I happened to find other photos of the Wirth's Paris apartment in the book Paris Interiors. I'm not sure if this is the same apartment or not, but the photos are so attractive that I wanted to include them as well. You can see the Wirths' entrance hall and study below.





























Dining room photos from Veranda, Thibault Jeanson photographer. Remaining photos from Paris Interiors, Eric Adjani photographer.

Executive Dining

Have you noticed that many vintage entertaining and tablesetting books devote at least a few pages to executive dining? It's quaint, really, because I believe that few of us devote much effort to weekday lunches, especially those we consume while working at our offices. In fact, I am writing this very post while eating Orzo Salad at my desk. It may not be a civilized way of eating, but it certainly is efficient.

But, back in the days when life was just a little bit less frenetic and when emails and social media were a burden yet to be discovered (and, by the way, when men wore suits and women wore dresses and skirts to work,) many people did take the time to enjoy a proper lunch. Sometimes they met friends at restaurants while at other times, they broke bread with their colleagues in the break room. A few brave souls ventured as far as three martini lunches (!) There was even a tradition in some offices, especially those of decorating establishments, of taking tea or coffee in the late afternoon, sometimes from a tea trolley that was pushed throughout the office.

Of course, not everyone had access to executive dining rooms, tea trolleys, and power lunches at the Four Seasons. But looking at these old books with their attractive workday tablesettings does make me realize that sometimes I really should slow down and enjoy life's little pleasures...even if that means eating Orzo Salad on proper china and at a proper table!

Image at top: In the 1930s-style Maple dining room of Cartier, a panther motif table was set for executives to discuss business. Note the wine and cigarettes.

"A Client Lunch at Wells, Rich, Greene, Inc." as conceived by Mary Wells Lawrence.  Tiffany & Co.'s "Bamboo" flatware and "Jardin de Jade" china adorns the table, which is surrounded by Bielecky Brothers rattan chairs.

"A Small In-Office Lunch" at the Manhattan office of John T. Sargent, former Chairman of the Board of Doubleday.  The table is set with "Si Kiang" china, "King William" flatware, "St. Remy" glasses, and a silver Monteith bowl filled with pears, all from Tiffany & Co.

"Luncheon at Chanel Inc.", where this fantasy lunch included Caprese Salad, grilled sole, and cantaloupe sherbet and gaufrettes for dessert.

"Lunch in the Corporate Boardroom" at the New York Bank for Savings.  Letitia Baldrige, who was a trustee of the bank, set this table with Tiffany & Co.'s "King William" flatware.

Primrose Bordier set her table for a "brainstorming session with her colleagues."  Asian accents include Philippine trays used as chargers, small Japanese hot towel baskets that served as bread plates, and Japanese porcelain bowls.

"Luncheon at an Executive's Desk" at the Time & Life Building, c. 1960. The table was set with tableware from Tiffany & Co., including what appears to be their "Hampton" flatware.  I myself have "Hampton" flatware, but I have never once used it for lunch on a workday!

"Luncheon in a Board Room" at the Time & Life Building, c. 1960.  Again, the tableware is from Tiffany.

Not a working lunch, but rather a working dinner in the Sutton Place apartment of the late designer, Valerian Rybar.  The menu included cold lobster, brochettes of baby lamp chops grilled aux herbes de Provence, and eggplant caviar.  A ginger-scented Crème Bavaroise would have been served for dessert.  The table was set with vermeil pieces from Tiffany.



Photos from: "Tiffany Tablesettings", "New Tiffany Tablesettings", "Tiffany Taste", and "The Elegant Table" by Barbara Wirth.