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.

Don't Forget!

If you are in Atlanta this weekend, be sure to stop by the estate sale at the Pink Palace/the Pink Castle.  (The debate rages on as to its correct moniker.)  The sale is being conducted by Parc Monceau Antiques.  This is a rare opportunity to purchase effects from this old estate and to get a glimpse inside this landmark Atlanta home.

For more information, click here.

Valentino a Roma

A few weekends ago, two friends and I attended an estate sale at the now former home of design legend Dan Carithers. It was the second day of the sale, and, as would be expected, much of the sale's contents had been picked over. Fortunately, though, there were many books still for sale, and I ended up spending most of my time peering at and poring over the various titles. Lo and behold, a spine with "Decoration" printed on it in big, bold letters called my name. Turns out, the tome was the early 1970s Connaissance des Arts book, Decoration, Tradition et Renouveau, which I have only wanted forever. The only thing that had stopped me from buying it in the past was its hefty price tag. Lucky me, because this copy cost a mere $10. Score.

Later that day, I sat down to read through my new book and soon found these photos of Valentino's Rome apartment. Double score. I love everything about this apartment, including the brass fillet that outlined the walls, the rich colors, the antique Chinese porcelain mixed with shiny chrome and brass furnishings, and the fabulous tortoiseshell bathroom.  In fact, if you look at the blue room below (perhaps a study of some sort?), you will see a pair of Qing-dynasty ancestral portraits.  These portraits later appeared in Valentino's 1980s-era Rome apartment, which was decorated by Renzo Mongiardino in a grand, traditional style, and are now ensconced in his Chinoiserie winter garden at Chateau de Wideville.  It seems that while Valentino decorated his homes to reflect the mood of a particular decade- like high-gloss swagger for the 1970s and romance and grandeur for the 1980s- one thing has remained constant: his love of all things Chinese.

Have to Have It!

I didn't think it possible to get excited over a waste paper basket, but indeed it is.  I am absolutely smitten with these charming bins that are decorated with dioramas, which appear to made of paper reproductions of famous paintings, engravings, and maps.  Depictions include The Hermitage, Brighton Pavilion, and the Fountain of Latona.  All are available through Hollyhock Inc.

Leave it to Suzanne Rheinstein to find waste bins that are objects of beauty!

Study Abroad

Many of the great decorators have partially credited their success to their Parsons education. And some have specifically referred to their time spent abroad in Europe, where they were enrolled in the Parsons study abroad program, as an education from which they continued to benefit throughout their careers. It seems that their intensive studies, which included touring and learning about the great European houses and palaces, provided inspiration for years to come.

Such was the case with the late designer, Joseph Braswell, who studied at Parsons as a young man. According to the Jan/Feb 1975 issue of Architectural Digest, Braswell was engaged by his long-time St. Louis clients, the Yalems, to create a space for their inveterate entertaining. Braswell, with the assistance of architect William Bernoudy, conceived of the idea to create a separate pavilion that adjoined the clients' house, one which would be in keeping in the main house's architectural style. But when the designer began to flesh out his vision for this party pavilion, he thought thought back to his Parsons-era visit to Sanssouci, the Potsdam, Germany summer palace of Frederick the Great. Said Braswell, "I had seen it on a tour of Europe when I was a student at the Parsons School of Design. I never forgot it or any of its details. Certainly this was my inspiration for the Yalem pavilion."

Other than a reference to the Yalem pavilion's carved and gilded palm trees, the article does not mention other interior references to Sanssouci. However, I wonder if the Chinese House, a garden pavilion located in Sanssouci Park, provided the most direct source of inspiration. You can see that both structures are more or less similar in shape, and the Chinese House is surrounded by those glorious gilded palm tree columns, which also make appearances in the Yalem pavilion.

I think that Braswell did a marvelous job updating the notion of a pleasure pavilion. The pavilion's interior is certainly elegant and a little grand, much in keeping with the spirit of Sanssouci, and yet, it's got spunk, too, thanks to those lacquered red walls and that vivid yellow upholstery.  In fact, one could imagine a modern-day Frederick the Great, perhaps a bachelor host and bon vivant, holding court, so to speak, in such style and splendor.           

You can see Braswell's work on the Yalem pavilion, above. I can only imagine the fabulous parties that were hosted in those rooms.

Two images of the Chinese House at Sanssouci.



Braswell photos from Architectural Digest, Jan/Feb 1975, Norman McGrath photographer.  Chinese House photos from wikimedia.

Cocktails at Asprey

I spent the other afternoon perusing the Asprey website, and, as would be expected, I found all kinds of jewelry, trifles, and objects that I now can't live without. What especially caught my attention was their barware, most of which harks back to the Golden Age of Cocktails. Think swizzle sticks, smoky glass decanters, sublime champagne coolers, and sterling silver flasks. The most fanciful of their barware offerings, though, has to be the stylish cocktail shakers. Yes, these shakers might be investment pieces, but they are indeed shakers that you will have forever. You know, one of those items that your children will fight over someday.

Anyway, I found these shakers so inspiring that I went off in search of classic cocktails that are in the spirit (or might that be spirits?) of these classic shakers themselves.

A Port Cocktail Shaker calls for:


Port in a Storm
*a punch recipe

4 oz. port
1-2 dashes brandy
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Use an ordinary ruby port since it is a mixed drink. Stir will with ice and drink on the rocks or strained in a wine glass.

The Rocket Cocktail Shaker screams for :


The Rocket

1 oz. acquavit
1 oz. kummël

Pour from ice-cold bottles into cocktail glasses. Stir.

Quench your thirst with the Thirst Extinguisher Cocktail Shaker and :


Oriental Cooler

2 oz. gin or vodka
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Tonic water

Mix the gin or vodka, lime juice and Angostura in a tall glass. Top up with tonic water.

With The Cocktail Shaker, Black you can make:


Black Velvet

1/2 champagne
1/2 Guinness

Half fill a tall glass with cold Guinness. Fill the remainder with chilled champagne (carefully, so it will not fizz up and waste precious drops).

If the Tell Me How Cocktail Shaker can't help you, then just:


Leave It To Me

2 oz. gin
1 oz. maraschino
1 oz. lemon juice
1 dash grenadine
1 egg white

Shake all the ingredients hard for a frothy delight and serve in a large cocktail or wine glass.

The Cocktail Shaker, Red could have you seeing a:

Flying Red Horse

6 oz. orange juice
1 oz. vodka
2 dashes Grand Marnier
1 dash grenadine

Stir with ice and serve in a tumbler.



Cocktail recipes from the Vogue Book of Cocktails.  Illustrations from The Twenties in Vogue, The Thirties in Vogue, and Society in Vogue.

Showing Some Leg.... or Not

Have you ever noticed that some upholstered ottoman/coffee tables look like fabric-wrapped, steroid-enhanced hunks that have been plopped in the middle of a room? Perhaps that's one reason why I find this particular upholstered table, seen above, so attractive. Designed by Paolo Moschino, the table is a lightweight, slimmed down approach to the traditional upholstered ottoman table.  The void in the bottom two-thirds of the table is so refreshing and airy.  The shelf, on the other hand, helps to visually balance the top part of the table and provides a perch for books.  And that fabric is so crisp and snappy, perfect for this former fisherman's cottage in Cornwall, England.

The table immediately made me think of those great upholstered ottomans, chairs, and beds in which the legs were upholstered in fabric, too.  This kind of seamless upholstery seemed to reach its height of popularity in the late 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s and counted all kinds of devotees like Angelo Donghia, Billy Baldwin, and Stephen Mallory.  Sometimes the piece of furniture was covered in a solid fabric, while on other occasions, a zippy print was used.  What's interesting to note is that there are times when a slipper chair or ottoman, for example, can look squatty with its upholstered legs.  For this reason, it's probably best to consider this kind of upholstery on a case by case basis.

And hopefully you'll notice that I didn't include photos of fabric-covered bun feet.  That is something entirely different and not altogether very attractive.

Angelo Donghia's raffia-like upholstered dining chairs are so timeless looking, especially considering that this room was decorated in 1975. Actually, the entire room still looks great today.

A white cotton upholstered daybed, feet and all, in this Kips Bay Show House room decorated by Stephen Mallory sometime in the 1970s.

I love this zebra print covered chair and ottoman in the apartment of decorating doyenne, Betty Sherrill. The photo was taken in 1968.

The bedroom of Jay Crawford and Anthony Tortora was swathed in a geometric-print chintz. See how the bed's short feet were fabric-covered just as the bed's box spring was?

I have always admired the East Hampton home of Harry Hinson. Ignore the crease down the middle of the photo and try to get a good look at the small upholstered slipper chair. The fabric, I believe, is Hinson & Co.'s "Merlin", a long-time favorite of mine.

The Library of a Park Avenue duplex, which was decorated in the 1970s by Arthur Smith. The green fabric that was used on the chairs and sofa add a splash of color to the otherwise brown-toned room. Smith even trimmed the legs and bottom edge of the chairs in nailhead trim.

These waterfall-style stools were completely upholstered in quilted fabric, as was the nearby sofa. (David Whitcomb, designer.)

Would you have guessed that this 1970s-era room was located in an 1882 townhouse in Savannah, Georgia? This space was a dining-sitting-garden room, which explains the choice of white fabric for the upholstery. (Home of designer Pratt Williams Swanke and her architect husband.)

So, the Crayola colors and flamestitch rug scream 1960s. Still, think about what these chairs would look like if covered in updated fabrics and placed in updated spaces. (Braswell/Cook Associates.)


Top photo of Paolo Moschino interior from House & Garden, British edition, August 2013, Paul Massey photographer; photos #2-4 from New York Interior Design, 1935-1985, Volumes 1 and 2 by Judith Gura; #5, 7, 8 from Architectural Digest New York Interiors; #6 from Architectural Digest Country Homes; #9 from Decorating American Style by Jose Wilson and Arthur Leaman; #10 from The New York Times Book of Interior Design and Decoration.