I would like to invite Peak of Chic readers to join me this Saturday evening for Salone Italia, an event to mark the opening of Italia Furniture in Atlanta. The party, which benefits MODA (Museum of Design Atlanta), will be a celebration of Italian design. Talented designers like Brian Patrick Flynn, Laura Walker, Beth Webb, Raymond Goins, Michael Habachy, and Tui Pranich have all designed vignettes that will be unveiled Saturday night. Also, the new lineup of Ferrari 485 Italia cars will be on display as will a collection of vintage Ducati motorcycles. Cocktails and light Italian fare will be served.
The party is scheduled for 7 to 10 pm at the Italia Furniture showroom. For more details, please click on the invitation above. This is an invitation only event so if you plan to attend, please email RSVP@mogulpr.com
I really hope to see you there!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Please Come to Salone Italia
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
They Were Ready for Their Close-ups
I have a list of stylish movies that I want to profile on my blog, but lately I haven't had the time to watch them. (Capturing screen shots of a movie's interiors takes forever.) But, I did find an article in the April 1941 issue of House & Garden which featured the dressing and powder rooms in the homes of the leading movie stars of the day. Sounds like something that InStyle might feature today.
Anyway, the rooms are as glitzy as one might expect though they're actually not tacky at all. Look closely at the photos and you just might get a few ideas for your own dressing room.
Joan Bennett
The dressing room at the top of this post and the powder room above were in the home of actress Joan Bennett. Her mirrored dressing room was awash in seafoam green and pink which evidently matched her boudoir. The wallpaper and the chintz on the chair were the same pattern. The powder room, located downstairs in Bennett's home, was green and white striped. The floor was covered in hand-painted floral black canvas.
In 1941, Bennett shared this home with her husband, producer Walter Wanger. It's interesting to note that ten years later, Wanger shot and injured Bennett's agent, Jennings Lang, with whom Wanger believed Bennett was having an affair. Bennett denied the affair. Needless to say, it caused quite a scandal at the time. And to think that Bennett played the prim and proper mother in "Father of the Bride" and "Father's Little Dividend"!
Robert Montgomery
Only one masculine dressing room was featured in this article (although I would add that it's not terribly masculine): that of Robert Montgomery. His room featured photographs of fencers on the wall. (As it turns out, Montgomery was a fencer.) Note the mirrored corner.
Kay Francis
I have to admit that I usually like any Kay Francis movie that I see. That might be because most of them are a little tawdry. But, there is nothing tawdry about Francis' dressing room, one which H&G notes was carefully lighted to avoid casting any shadows on Francis' face.
Sam Jaffe
Of all of the dressing rooms featured in the article, that of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Jaffe might be my favorite. Yes, it's small, and I'm not so crazy about that frilly stool (it looks like it's wearing a petticoat.) But, I do like the use of mirror, not to mention the wall lined in Godey prints.
All images from House & Garden, April 1941.
See You Next Week
I'll be out of town for the rest of the week in order to attend the Lauren Home shop launch party on Thursday at Bloomingdale's. (Click here to see the invitation with full details. It should be a lot of fun so I would love for you to join me.) In addition to featuring our vignettes in both the Bloomingdale's Fall Home Book as well as on the retailer's website, Lauren Home and Bloomingdale's asked us to answer a few questions about our likes, our styles, and our thoughts on design. You can see my answers above (done Mad Libs style), though you might have to click on the image to read it clearly. Some of you will be happy to see that Alfie is even mentioned in the questionnaire portion.
Anyway, I'll be back to posting next week, but in the meantime, I hope to see you tomorrow night!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Jeffrey Bilhuber and The Way Home
Fall is approaching, and as we know, this is the season that every book lover anticipates. I have already started receiving review copies of design and lifestyle books, and based on what I've read thus far, it would seem that we need to start clearing space on the bookshelves for these new releases.
First up is Jeffrey Bilhuber's The Way Home: Reflections on American Beauty
This approach to chronicling interiors is certainly a breath of fresh air. So many times, one sees an interior that looks perfect, and yet it's that very perfection that strips the room of any real character. The book's photos, taken by the talented William Abranowicz, show the daily detritus with which we all live: books on the floor; newspapers on an ottoman. (I have to say, though, that in some of homes, the messiness stressed me out a bit. But, I'm a neat freak so that's my cross to bear.) The fact that the homeowners' personalities are so evident in these interiors did not seem distracting to me. I actually think that each of the rooms shown has added dimension because of it.
I believe that if you're a fan of Bilhuber (who, by the way, has such a way with color) or if you're someone simply curious about how others live, you should consider taking a look at this book.
All photos from The Way Home: Reflections on American Beauty
Monday, September 12, 2011
Chic It Up 1960s Style
I just received word that Winterthur's annual design conference, Chic It Up!, will be held on October 9 and 10 at Winterthur. This year's event focuses on 1960's interior design and the contributions that Henry Francis du Pont made both to Winterthur and to the design world during that decade. After all, du Pont was friends with such luminaries as Diana Vreeland, Billy Baldwin, Millicent Hearst, and Jackie Kennedy. In fact, you might recall that Kennedy appointed du Pont to be chairman of her committee to refurnish the White House, something which I'll explore in a future post.
This year's lineup of speakers includes Adam Lewis speaking on Billy Baldwin, Emily Evans Eerdmans discussing Madeleine Castaing, James Archer Abbot holding forth on Maison Jansen, and Mitchell Owens expounding on Swinging 1960s Style. I have heard both Lewis and Eerdmans speak before, and they are both interesting and engaging speakers. And although I have never had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Abbot nor Owens, I hear that they too are most impressive. Can you imagine a better way to spend the day than to learn more about 1960s design? I can't.
Later in the day on the 10th, there will be workshops that one can attend led by Winterthur's own Maggie Lidz, Tom Savage, Jeff Groff, and Linda Eaton as well as other Winterthur historians. I have heard this group lecture before, and they too will knock your socks off. And there is even an optional tour the day before of private homes in the area including one whose dining room appeared in Thomas Jayne's recent book, The Finest Rooms in America
Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this year's event because of a prior commitment. I am sick that I'll miss it because the Chic It Up! event that I attended two years ago was one of the best conferences that I have ever attended- truly. This is why I urge you to make plans to attend. You really won't be sorry. And if my ebullience seems a little over the top, just know that I am not receiving any type of compensation for this plug. I am doing it solely because I think that Winterthur is one of our country's great treasures.
For more information, visit www.winterthur.org/ciu or call 302-888-4786.
The Dining Room at The Big Bend, one of the houses that is part of the optional tour. Photo courtesy of The Finest Rooms in America (The Monacelli Press, 2010) by Thomas Jayne. Photo by Kerri McCaffety.
Madeleine Castaing's Winter Bedroom at Maison de Leves that will be discussed by Emily Evans Eerdmans. Photo from The World of Madeleine Castaing (Rizzoli, 2010) by Emily Eerdmans, courtesy of Sotheby's.
Adam Lewis will speak on design legend Billy Baldwin. Photo by Horst, from Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator (Rizzoli, 2010) by Adam Lewis, courtesy of Adam Lewis.
The White House Blue Room as designed by Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen. Photo courtesy of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
Photo of David Hicks interior, part of the Chic It Up! banner, from from The Best of European Decoration (Reynal & Co., 1963) by Georges Bernier, courtesy of L’Oeil.
Friday, September 09, 2011
Please Join Us
I'm off to New York next week to celebrate the new Lauren by Ralph Lauren Home shop at Bloomingdale's. The party will be held at Bloomingdale's on 59th next Thursday, September 15 from 6 to 8pm. The bedding collections that Marisa Marcantonio, Michelle Adams, Eddie Ross, and I styled will be on display, and more importantly, 10% of all Lauren by Ralph Lauren bedding and bath collections sales made during the event will be donated to Housing Works. For additional details, please see the invitation above.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood, please stop by and check out the new shop. I would love to finally meet some of you in person!
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Come for Drinks
Doesn't the photo above look inviting? I love the way in which this drinks table was arranged with a gracious plenty of everything: liquor, glassware, ice, drink garnishes, and cocktail nibbles. I wish that I could remember from which issue of Veranda this image came. Regardless, I think that a drinks table as elaborate as this one is best suited for a party (or a magazine photograph!) But for everyday use, a smaller drinks table in a library or drawing room is always nice for impromptu gatherings or a solitary drink while reading. If the table is placed near a fireplace, even better.
In an Indian noblewoman's London flat designed by Nicky Haslam.
In a far corner of the living room in a Faubourg Saint-Germain house.
In Blenheim Palace underneath a 1963 portrait of the 11th Duke of Marlborough.
In a niche in Madeleine Castaing's salon at Maison de Lèves.
In the lush red salon of a home in Paris.
In the London living room of decorator Anthony Denney.
In a glamorous New Orleans salon decorated by Nicky Haslam.
In the library at Clandeboye, County Down, Ireland.
Image #1 from Veranda; #2 from Interiors
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
In Memoriam: Tom Parr
Last Friday, I learned that the great English decorator, Tom Parr, had died in late July. My friend Will Merrill emailed me a link to Parr's obituary in The Telegraph. (Click here if you would like to read it.) A short time later, Toby Worthington also emailed me a link to The Telegraph article. What strange timing that many of us learned of his death a week after the obituary was published and more than a month after his death.
Parr was, to borrow Toby Worthington's description, "one of the last of the gentleman decorators." (According to his obituary, Parr preferred the term "decorator" to "interior designer.") After making a splash on the design scene with an early partnership with David Hicks, Parr went on to become Chairman of the venerable British design firm Colefax and Fowler.
I have featured Parr's work in past blog posts, but I think we should revisit it. His work possessed such finesse. His attention to detail, whether it be in the elaborate edging of a curtain or a decorative finish on a chair, lent polish to his interiors. And what is even more refreshing is that his design schemes don't appear to have been crafted for the sole purpose of publication. Rather, he worked to give his clients comfortable and refined environments in which to live with ease.
It seems too that Parr could be quite witty. When discussing suitability in design, he once said "What is maddening is when people want something that cannot be done in a particular space. Some people buy a cottage in the country and want it to look like a Hollywood villa. And there's that awful idea of putting double basins in a very small bathroom. Why? What is the point, unless the people are going to have a race to see who can do their teeth first." Good point and one that I had never considered before.
Below is a brief survey of his some of his interiors. Unfortunately, my library seems to be lacking in books featuring Parr's work. Thanks to Mr. Worthington's impressive design library, we were able to flesh this post out with some memorable examples.
The images above, including the photo at top, show Parr's flat in Eaton Square. Note that striking carpet in photos #3 and #4; named "Rocksavage", it's a replica of the carpet at Cholmondeley Castle.
A more recent photo of Parr in the famous Yellow Room at Colefax and Fowler. It was Parr who, in the early 1960s, recommended that the firm purchase the lease to their showroom at 39 Brook Street in Mayfair. The showroom remains at that location today.
A drawing room in a Swiss villa that was decorated by Parr. Again, "Rocksavage" carpet was used. According to Mr. Worthington, the velvet was stamped in Parr's favorite "Sans Gene" pattern.
Parr also designed a converted vicarage home for the Earl and Countess of Wilton.
Designed by Parr in the late 1960s, the decor of the drawing room at Easton Grey (an 18th century house owned by Didi and Peter Saunders) still looks fresh today.
A drawing room in a stone manor house near Bath that was decorated by Parr.
In this bedroom at Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire, Parr created a lighter look by painting the room's original c. 1720 paneling in tones of blue. "Charlotte" chintz was used throughout the room.
The dining room in "The Cottage" at Badminton. Parr decorated it for the Somersets before David Somerset became Duke of Beaufort, at which time the family moved into the grander Badminton House. The Duke and Duchess of Beaufort were long-time clients of Parr.
A Parr decorated drawing room at Albany, London.
A more exotic Parr scheme in the Turkish Room at a Mayfair flat. The chairs were Colefax copies of an 18th c. century chair bought by Parr at Sotheby's 25 years earlier.
The first four photos of Parr's Eaton Square flat are from Living in Vogue
