Young and Elegant

In last week's post on desks, I showed a photo of the c. 1960s Paris apartment of American James H. Douglas, the nephew of Jim Thompson. (Yes, the Jim Thompson of Thai silk fame.) The apartment, decorated with the aid of Georges Geffroy, is quite elegant and sophisticated, fitting for a cosmopolitan young man who was a world traveller. And as one might expect to see in the home of Jim Thompson's nephew, Thai silk abounds.

The photos, taken from the book The Best in European Decoration, are unfortunately mostly in black and white. The bright side, though, is that the photo captions are so descriptive that the lack of color is not a handicap. I'm including the book's captions, below, to help you get a better sense of how beautiful this apartment must have been.





The sitting room-library is seen above and in the photo at top. The luminosity of the golden yellow Thai silk curtains and armchair is set off by browns and greys of the walls, carpet, screen and sofa. To the left, the original plaster of Caffieri's bust of the writer Jean de Rotrou, signed and dated 1781. The bookshelves are lined in green taffeta edged with a short fringe.



The sitting room-library has walls hung with cognac-colored material and golden yellow Thai silk curtains. Thai silk also covers the sofa in tones of warm grey and ochre. The Spanish-style screen is of dark brown, stamped velvet. Next to the screen is a Louis XVI desk, and a small Louis XVI armchair painted white and upholstered in brown suede. Above them, a charming portrait by Greuze of a young girl. The octagonal table in the foreground is a George IV English wine cooler. Elephant grey carpeting.



The entrance hall doubles as a dining room. Ingenious use of space creates the impression of a large apartment, but there are actually only three rooms and the entrance. The raw silk curtains are beige on one side and an extraordinary orange changing to yellow on the other. Six Louis XVI chairs are painted white and have black velvet tufted seats. The black lacquered table on steel legs can be folded up and rolled away. Against the wall, Louis XVI wall brackets. In the background one can see the library.



The living room carries on the sober elegance and refinement of colour of the rest of the apartment. Beige walls, 18th century Tibetan rug of faded blue with a white design, sofa and armchair is natural-coloured heavy Thai silk. Small pillows in velvet printed like leopard fur. The curtains are in changing shades of olive green Thai silk. White Louis XV chair to the left covered in deep blue velvet. The magnificent Louis XVI vertical bookcases, lined with rust brown taffeta, and a desk that can be glimpsed on the right, are by the great 18th c. cabinetmaker Jacob.




Detail of the bedroom. This room's character comes from the delicate, cool tones of the silks. Walls and the front bed curtains are in silvery grey; window curtains and the back bed curtains are in a deeper silvery blue. The checkered silk of the bed combines both colours.




The quiet harmonies of grey and blue silks create a restful atmosphere. Over the Louis XV stone mantelpiece painted like marble is a portrait of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles 1, by Henry Stone, a pupil of Van Dyck. In the foreground, an English 18th century desk and a Louis XV chair upholstered in black leather. On the desk, a pair of 18th century English crystal candlesticks and a 19th century silver box found in Siam.

All photos and text from The Best in European Decoration.

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Dinner

Last week, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House hosted their annual Spring benefit at Cipriani 42nd Street, NYC. This year's theme was "Spring Fever", and as you can see, the designer tables certainly captured the beauty and frivolity of the season.

This year's Honorary Design Chairmen were Bunny Williams and John Rosselli, both of whom have devoted much time over the years to the organization. The event's design committee included Christopher Spitzmiller, David Duncan, and Michael McGraw. By the way, I have to mention that Christopher will be receiving the 2012 Elizabeth Rohatyn Award for Community Service for his volunteer work with Lenox Hill. I am very proud of him.

Below are photos of a few of the designer tables. (I did not have the opportunity to attend, but a kind person sent these photos to me.) Other designers whose tables are not seen here include Michael Devine and Thomas Burak, Steven Stolman for Scalamandre, Ashley Whittaker Designs, and many more.



Ten Swans a Singing by Christopher Spitzmiller. (Another view of his table is at the top of the post.)




Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah by Elizabeth Pyne of McMillen Inc.

Set Sail for Spring by David Duncan Antiques.




A fanciful table by Leta Austin Foster.



This table decoration by Etos.




Bright Lights, Big City by Lindsey Coral Harper.




Patrik Lonn Design and L'Olivier created this table with a cloth that looks like it pussy willows on it.



Roric Tobin for Geoffrey Bradfield Inc.



Nick Olsen is always so creative!



A Ryan Korban designed table.



Schiaparelli by Harry Heissmann.



Midnight Garden by Mr. Call Designs.



Harbor Island by Alessandra Branca.

All photos courtesy of Roberto Ricci and Marco Ricca for Lenox Hill Neighborhood House.

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.

Is Green Acres Really The Place To Be?

I'm a city girl through and through, but from time to time, I do think about how nice it might be to have a small place in the country. Fresh air. Bucolic setting. A slower pace of life.

With this romantic notion in my head, I was intrigued by an old House & Garden article which featured the Irish country home of a Mr. and Mrs. Francis Guth. The Guths spent half of the year in Spain (how exotic) and half of the year at Ilecash, their County Cork Georgian house. Mr. Guth was (is?) a great gourmand whose specialty was Spanish food. (A gourmet for a husband sounds awfully nice.) And a quick glance at the photos showed me that they liked to picnic by the river. Sounds quaint. But then I started to read the text, and my idea that country living was relaxing was turned on its head!

Mr. Guth fished for salmon in the river that ran behind the house. Mr. Guth smoked his own salmon. The Guths took a belvedere that was attached to the house and converted it to a greenhouse where they grew cucumbers and tomatoes. If there was leftover salmon, Mrs. Guth canoed down the river to hand deliver it to her neighbors- and sometimes with a basket of mushrooms picked by the Guth daughter! And what about the Spanish buffet feast that was photographed for the article, a meal that was comprised of 19 tapas dishes? It only took Mr. Guth four hours to make.

Whew! Maybe country living isn't quite as relaxing as I once thought.



A picnic that included Mr. Guth's smoked salmon and Spanish style omelettes.


A view of Ilecash. The green house is to the left of the house.




The Guths' rather extensive vegetable garden.





Mr. Guth with his catch.



The catch that is ready to be smoked.



And a riparian picnic with what else? Mr. Guth's smoked salmon.




A "conversation food" buffet with Mr. Guth's tapas. The porcelain that you see on the table and in the hutch was made by Mrs. Guth.




A Sherry party in the kitchen.



All photos from House & Garden, February 1971.

Desks in the Digital Age

While looking through an old issue of House Beautiful, I found a photo, seen above, which shows a desk vignette designed by the late Albert Hadley. As I was studying the photo, it dawned on me how different this desk setting would look if a computer was part of the mix. Somehow, I just don't think it would be quite as attractive. Computers, whether they be a desktop or laptop, are one of those necessary evils in life. While I love the benefits of them, I also rue the fact that computers have complicated our lives- and our decor.

I use a pretty painted writing table as my desk. How nice it would look with a julep cup of pencils or a vase of flowers. Alas, that's not to be because once I placed a lamp and my laptop on the desk, there wasn't any room for anything else. Most home offices today resemble corporate offices with file cabinets and Aeron chairs (which, by the way, are the world's most comfortable desk chair.) But if you have a formal house or even a small home where your home office is in your living room, how are you supposed to incorporate your computer without it sticking out like a sore thumb?

I still haven't completely figured it out, although a laptop does seem to be the most discreet solution. Regardless, take a look at the desks below and think about the way they would look with a computer plopped down on them. In a way, it makes me wish just a little bit that computers weren't so absolutely necessary.




The writing room at Ditchley Park, the home of Nancy Lancaster.






Two different desks in a home on the Esplanade des Invalides, Paris.




A room, and desk, decorated by Irvine and Fleming.




The Paris bedroom of American James H. Douglas, the nephew of fabric legend Jim Thompson.





In the home of Princess Chavchavadze


Photo at top from House Beautiful, September 1971; photo #2 from Nancy Lancaster: English Country House Style; #3 and #4 from The Finest Houses Of Paris; photo #5 from HOUSE & GARDEN'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO INTERIOR DECORATION - SEVENTH EDITION; #6 from The Best in European Decoration; #7 from Les Reussites De La Decoration Francaise: 1950-1960.