Fortuny Interiors

Even as a child, I was familiar with Fortuny. It was something about which I heard adults, including my parents, the family decorator, and others, discuss when the topic of houses and decorating came up. Fortuny was spoken of with great admiration, not to mention a Southern accented, drawn out second syllable. For-tooooh-nee.

Now as an adult, I too have an admiration for this venerable fabric firm, especially now that brothers Mickey and Maury Riad are heading the firm. It's nice to see the duo freshening things up a bit, something that seems to be winning them fans amongst a new generation of designers. And what about their new line of tableware and accessories that was created in conjunction with L'Objet? Fabulous!

I just got a peek at the new book Fortuny Interiors by Brian Coleman and photographer Erik Kvalsik. Although I have not yet read the book, it looks like a beautiful tome based on the photographs. The featured interiors run the gamut from centuries old Venetian palazzi to more contemporary dwellings, something which shows Fortuny's range.

Take a look below for a little taste of the book. I think that no matter how you pronounce Fortuny, you just might find some inspiration in this book.

If you live in Atlanta, L'Objet pour Fortuny can be found at Owen Lawrence.
























Photographs by Erik Kvalsvik from Fortuny Interiors by Brian Coleman. Reprint permission by Gibbs Smith Publisher

Rose Cumming Design Inspiration

Start clearing out space on your bookshelves. It's time for the new fall book releases! First up is Jeffrey Simpson's Rose Cumming, due to be released by Rizzoli on September 4.

For someone who was once a prominent figure in American design, Rose Cumming has become something of an enigma. I think that most of us know her as the purple-haired decorator who had a remarkable if at times strange sense of color and who slept in a bedroom with silver lamé curtains. But oh, there is so much more to Cumming than that. Thankfully we now have Simpson's book to help flesh out who Rose Cumming really was.

Some of the mystery that surrounds Cumming may have to do with the fact that few of her interiors were ever published. In fact, rarely do I come across her work in my old design magazines. Fortunately, this book remedies that problem. There are many black and white and color photos depicting Cumming's work, and I think it's interesting to see how her style evolved over the decades. You can see a few photos below, although there are many other treasures in the book. Additionally, Cumming's fabric designs figure prominently in this book, something that is fitting considering that Cumming may best be remembered for her iconic chintzes like Delphinium Stripe, Sabu, and Royal Swag.

While photos are obviously an important component of a designer monograph, I think that what makes this book such a gem is the text. Simpson has written a compelling, fascinating, and downright entertaining biography of Rose Cumming. Even if you tend to not read text in design books, I think you'll make an exception here. Cumming's story is like that of no other, but I think it was a story that only could have developed in the first part of the 20th century. Characters like Rose Cumming are unfortunately a rarity today, but thank goodness we have Simpson's book to remind us that magical things can happen if we chart our own courses, no matter how unusual they might be.



A Cumming designed interior replete with satin and a bear skin rug. (Photograph by G.W. Harting, Dessin Fournir Collections.)



One of Cumming's client files includes fabric swatches. (Photograph by Jayson K.T. Schwaller, Dessin Fournir Collections.)




Draped curtains in a Cumming designed room. (Dessin Fournir Collections)





One of Cumming's most famous prints, "Delphinium Stripe". (Photograph by Jayson K.T. Schwaller, Dessin Fournir Collections.)



The stairway in Cumming's own home featured a Chinese inspired mural. (Photograph by Harold Haliday Costain, Dessin Fournir Collections.)


All images copyright of Rose Cumming by Jeffrey Simpson, Rizzoli, 2012.

A C. Wonder Giveaway

Rarely do I host contests on my blog, but this opportunity seemed too good to pass up. As those of you who live in my hometown are probably aware, C. Wonder will be opening their newest store at Lenox Square, Atlanta. The store's grand opening will take place this Saturday and Sunday, August 25 and 26.

In honor of the Atlanta grand opening, one lucky reader will have the opportunity to win five of my favorite C. Wonder items, all of which can be seen below. All you have to do is to click here, and you'll be taken to the C. Wonder site where you can enter the contest. The winner will be announced this Thursday. Please note that the winner will need to visit their closest C. Wonder store to pick up the prizes.

As part of the opening weekend festivities, I will be at the Lenox Square C. Wonder on Sunday, August 26 from 2 to 4 pm where I will be on hand to give personal design consultations, decor advice, and shopping recommendations. Please come see me!


Wicker Picnic basket


Black and white zebra tray




Leopard print calf hair stuf cuff




Tortoise glass bowl (the one on the left)



Small resin cane tray

After Versailles

Have you noticed that Versailles is often credited as being the inspiration for many a McMansion? Case in point, the 90,000 square foot monster home, meant to emulate the French royal palace, which had a starring role in the recent documentary "The Queen of Versailles". Words escape me.

I did manage to find photos of one home that was actually a tasteful rendition of Versailles, although it wasn't meant to mimic the palace itself. Rather, it evoked the style and spirit of the smaller courtier-owned homes that were located in the shadow of Versailles. This American version, seen here in photos from House Beautiful July 1935, was located in Rumson, New Jersey and was decorated by the venerable firm McMillen. Considering who decorated it, it's no real surprise that the home's interiors were restrained yet elegant and Neoclassical in feel. My favorite room of the house, though, is that snappy entryway. Thank goodness the homeowners had the good sense not to recreate the Hall of Mirrors in their house. But even if they wanted to, I'm sure that McMillen would not have allowed it!




The home's entrance hall

The drawing room whose color scheme was based on the gray-green and deep violet-red Aubusson rug.




Another view of the drawing room.





The Library with another Aubusson rug, this one in brown, yellow, and red.




The dining room.

Estee Lauder and the Youth Dew Room

Whenever I come across the photo above, I always stop to stare. It's such a stylish room, one in which the individual pieces are supremely chic. But, taken as a whole, these pieces become chic-ly supreme. The vignette shows the now-classic mix of refined antiques placed alongside contemporary pieces. My only complaint is that the photo is in black and white. I would love to see the color of the fabrics used, although perhaps the fabrics were no-color colors.

What's interesting is that this photo appeared in an Estée Lauder Youth-Dew Home Fragrance ad from 1966. Do you think this vignette was shot in Lauder's own Manhattan home or simply created on set? Estée Lauder had great taste, so I would like to think that this was her living room. Even if it's not, though, the fact that Lauder and her associates selected this photo for a home fragrance ad just goes to show their style and savvy. And I truly think that if this photo appeared in, say, an ad for Aerin Lauder's new line, it would look just as chic today as it did 46 years ago!

Breaking Down the Room:



The most striking piece of furniture in the photo is the eight panel Coromandel screen. The one above is 19th c. Chinese and is available through Antique & Art Exchange.


There were two Louis XV style cane chairs used in the ad. (One of them got cropped out of my scanned photo.) For a similar style chair, Parc Monceau has this 19th c. version available for sale.



Also made of cane was the room's settee. I suspect the cushions were made of silk, with the leopard throw pillows perhaps being made of velvet? I found a similar settee, above, that is Regency style. It's not quite as delicate as the version in the Lauder ad, but you get the drift.




The zebra rug in the photo appears to be real. The version above, now sold but once available through Dragonette, could be used in lieu of the real thing.



A crystal chandelier hung to one side of the vignette, something which makes me wonder if this vignette was staged. This French Empire chandelier, above, is positively dripping in crystal.




I realize that the cocktail table in the photo is much larger than this small Bagues folding table, but I'm including the Bagues version simply because I think it's so attractive.



It's hard to see in the scan, but a porcelain shell dish, presumably an ashtray, was placed at each corner of the cocktail table. Wedgwood's classic Nautilus pattern, above, looks similar to those in the photo.

Colefax & Fowler and Geoffrey Bennison

Part of my book collection is devoted to old home and garden magazine anthologies like those published by House & Garden and Architectural Digest. If you're interested in old interiors, these books really give you a good sense of what was happening in interior design in, say, the 1960s or the early 1980s. My only complaint about some of these books is that quite often there will be a photo of an interior that really piques your interest, but you're denied seeing the rest of the room or home because only one paltry photo was included in the book. You're left wanting more, and yet there is no more to get, at least not in that particular book anyway.

As I have mentioned before, the 1967 edition of House & Garden Guide to Interior Decoration (the British edition), is one of these old books that has inspired me lately. Edited by Robert Harling, the book's compilation of photos includes wild-looking London flats, elegant French chateaux, and swank American apartments. It also includes a smattering of photos of prominent showrooms and shops. I managed to find two photos of showroom vignettes done by Colefax & Fowler as well as two black and white photos of the late Geoffrey Bennison's Pimlico Road shop. I know that many of you are fans of both, so I figured I would show you what I could find. I wish it were more than four photos, but you know how uncooperative those old books can be sometimes.

Image at top: What was referred to as a "show setting" by Michael Raymond of Colefax & Fowler. The term makes me think this was not installed in the Brook Street showroom. Very swinging, don't you think? I do like the faux tortoise walls. It looks to me like Raymond used carpet to upholster the backs of the sofas. It might have even been used on the right-hand wall, too.



The caption that accompanied this photo clearly states this vignette was located in Colefax & Fowler's Brook Street showroom. Call me crazy, but I like that patchwork table cloth.




Geoffrey Bennison's Pimlico Road showroom. An 18th century English portrait hung above a Louis XV walnut desk.



Another view of Bennison's shop, which really must have been quite exciting to visit.

All photos from House & Garden Guide to Interior Decoration, 1967, edited by Robert Harling. The book can be hard to find, so searching around the internet is advised.

Loulou de la Falaise's Work Chic

I've always admired the style of the late Loulou de la Falaise, muse and friend to Yves Saint Laurent. Certainly she was not a beauty, but that's beside the point. She had a bohemian flair that was tempered by classic French chic. Like so many fashionable women, she wore a lot of black. Accessories like bold jewelry were an important component to her outfits, something that gave her simple yet tailored clothes added panache.

The photos of de la Falaise seen here were taken from David Teboul's Yves Saint Laurent 5, avenue Marceau, 75116 Paris , France, about which I wrote on Wednesday. Taken over a few months, they show Saint Laurent, de la Falaise, and the rest of the team hard at work on the designer's final Spring 2002 collection. De la Falaise's clothes look like those we might wear for work and could even be described as "dressy casual", a term that I'm not crazy about though it is an apt description. She seemed to favor black pants, silk blouses, and black sweaters, suggesting that her closet was full of separates rather than suits and dresses. But you know, I think it was ultimately her je ne sais quoi that helped to elevate her work wardrobe into something far chicer than mine!