Beaton by Bailey

I recently found my new favorite Roku channel: M2M, or Made to Measure, the video channel of IMG, which, among other services, produces fashion weeks around the world. The channel's programming focuses on fashion, of course, and includes such documentaries as Valentino: The Last Emperor, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, and Battle at Versailles. One of the featured documentaries, which I had never before seen, was Beaton by Bailey, the 1971 documentary on Cecil Beaton. Produced by famed fashion photographer David Bailey, the documentary is fascinating, but not for the reasons one might expect. Although I found Beaton's reflections and commentary interesting, I really did not discover anything new about the man.  Once you've read his diaries, you know Beaton and his personality well- sometimes, too well.

But what did interest me in this film were the glimpses into rooms whose photographed interiors we've studied for years.  There is a memorable scene in which Beaton is interviewed in his winter garden at Reddish House, his Wiltshire estate:

The winter garden at Reddish House

There is also a party scene in Beaton's black-velvet clad London drawing room:

Different views of Beaton's London drawing room

A few of the notable party guests included photographer Patrick Lichfield and artist David Hockney.  Once the party was over, Bailey interviewed Beaton's cook, who declared the party a success because the guests enjoyed the Chili con carne that was served to them.

What is also fun about the documentary are the scenes with Beaton's friends and colleagues.  They include friend and former schoolmate, Cyril Connolly, who joins Beaton for lunch at The Ritz, as well as Beaton's sisters, Nancy and Baba, who animatedly recall the old days.  We've seen so many glamorous photos of the sisters in their youth, so it's interesting to see them as mature women.

Nancy and Baba Beaton, photographed by their brother in 1925

But my favorite scene in the documentary has to be the interview with Diana Vreeland and Truman Capote, who were filmed in Vreeland's famous "Garden in Hell" living room.  It's worth watching this documentary for these scenes alone.

Diana Vreeland's Garden in Hell Living Room

Although Vreeland appeared to put a positive spin on Beaton's sometime-insufferable personality, Capote made no effort to do so.  His waspish comments include this quip about Beaton's penchant for making enemies:  "He gathers enemies the way others gather roses."  Now imagine that comment uttered in Capote's babyish drawl, and you'll understand why I found this scene, and the rest of the documentary, delectable.

If you'd like to watch it yourself (and I strongly urge you to do so), check out M2M on Roku and Apple TV.  You can also watch the documentary on the channel's website.

The Home that Red-Headed Woman Furnished

Over the years, I have come across this thirties-era photo on numerous occasions. It's hard not to pause and study it, because the photo captures that early-1930s glamour and sophistication, which never ceases to fascinate me. The photo caption, which I'll get to shortly, describes the room as the study of writer Katharine Brush:

I always wondered who Katharine Brush was, because her place of writing was so different from the bolt-holes and jumbled messes in which most authors write. But it wasn't until a month or so ago that I finally took the time to Google Katharine Brush. It turns out that not only was she an O. Henry Award winner (1929), but she also wrote the 1931 novel, Red-Headed Woman, which, a year later, was made into a rather tawdry Pre-Code picture starring Jean Harlow and Chester Morris.  (By the way, the film's screenplay was written by Anita Loos, who took over after F. Scott Fitzgerald's first draft proved unsuccessful.)  For the film's title role, Harlow might have traded her platinum-blonde tresses for red locks, but she remained consistent, playing, yet again, a rough-around-the-edges femme fatale, carrying on multiple affairs while stealing a married man away from his respectable wife.  Like I said, it is tawdry, but it sure is fun to watch.

But back to Brush's sweeping, circular study, which looks not unlike a Thirties film-set.  The room, and the rest of Brush's Manhattan apartment, was designed by the Austrian-American architect, Joseph Urban, who was one of the leading proponents of the American Art Deco style.  According to the photo's caption, the room was decorated with, "California redwood burl with German silver moldings and green leather wainscot welted in black. Chairs are black satin corded in green, the desk redwood burl with green leather top.  Carpet is green and black."  Whew.  That's a mouthful of high-style.  I can only imagine that, in person, this green and black chamber, a splashy testament to Brush's success, must have looked sensational.

I also found two additional photos of Brush's Urban-designed living room.  Like the study, this room is notable for Urban's use of a variety of materials.  The fireplace is white marble, while white leather was used to line all of the room's niches, including those positioned on other side of the fireplace.  The upholstered seating within these two niches was also covered in white leather, while the legs were made of glass.  Urban also chose to trim the niches and the floor with polished silver molding.  It's worth noting that the intriguing silver bust, which adorned one of the bookshelves, was made by Wiener Werkstätte artist, Josef Hoffmann, while the silver basket on the fireplace mantel, used here to hold flowers, was the work of fellow Viennese artist, Dagobert Peche.  Finally, I have to mention the pair of large, circular mirrors, which might look dated today but were really quite the thing at that time.

They say that sex sells, and that seems to be the case with Red-Headed Woman.  Thanks to the book's immense success, Katharine Brush ended up with an awfully chic home, one that wouldn't look out of place in a Jean Harlow picture.

The Southeastern Designer Showhouse and Gardens

You haven't heard from me in a while because life has been taking me away from blogging.  By life, I mean work, illness, and a flooded kitchen.  As they say, when it rains, it pours.  (Or, in the case of my kitchen, floods.)

Until I get back to regular blogging (which, I hope, will be later this week), I do want to encourage readers to attend the inaugural Southeastern Designer Showhouse & Gardens, which is sponsored by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles.  Located in Buckhead, the showhouse features rooms by some of the South's most talented designers.  I was able to attend the preview party week before last, and I can truthfully say that the house is one of the most cohesive-looking showhouses I've seen.  You can see a few of the rooms below, but there are so many more great rooms whose photos, unfortunately, didn't turn out so well thanks to my crummy iPhone camera.

The showhouse runs through May 15.  For more information, please visit the website.

 The chic great room was designed by Atlanta designer Barbara Westbrook.

 Dining room by Suzanne Kasler, who was honorary chair of the showhouse.

 Alison Womack Jowers and Cheryl Womack of Womack Jowers Interiors decorated the glamorous dressing room.

The study by Robert Brown Interior Design

An Early Thirties Set Piece

Of skincare maven Helena Rubinstein's homes, much has been documented.  I've seen photos of her avant-garde Paris apartment as well as her Manhattan abode.  But what about the homes of Rubinstein's great rival, Elizabeth Arden?  Other than images of her Irish castle, which was decorated by Tony Duquette, I've seen nary a photo to indicate how she lived back home in New York City.  That is, until last week, when I found these 1933 photos of her Manhattan apartment.  My heart skipped a beat, because most, if not all, of the early-Thirties design tropes are here: satin fabrics, robust brush fringe, mirror galore, a liberal use of stylized decorative motifs (in this case, plumage,) and a whimsically-appointed bijou bar.

The apartment's decor is credited to Nicolai Remisoff, a Russian artist who fled the Bolsheviks, alighting in Paris and later New York, where he worked as an illustrator for various Condé Nast publications and owned a chic nightclub, Club Petrushka.  Remisoff also achieved acclaim as a stage designer, whose theatrical background might explain the dramatic flair of Arden's home.  (According to some, Remisoff was also responsible for designing Elizabeth Arden Salons throughout the country.)  After interludes in Chicago and San Francisco, Remisoff finally settled in Southern California, dividing his time between houses in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, where he worked as an art director and production designer on a slew of Hollywood movies.  In fact, his swan song in the film industry was art directing that 1960 Rat Pack classic, Ocean's 11.

I suspect that if the apartment had been shown in color photographs, I might be a little less enthusiastic about it.  I'd rather not see how the solarium furniture's red, white, and blue brush fringe really looked.  On the other hand, how striking the living room's pink, gray, and chartreuse color scheme must have been when not inhibited by black and white photography.  But color or no color, the home still makes quite an impression, even eighty-plus years after it was published.  It's dramatic, flamboyant, glamorous, and, yes, even over the top- basically, everything I hope to see in an early-Thirties interior.

Image at top: Along the stairway, the French gray walls were adorned with painted feathers in shades of white, black, and gunmetal.  The steps were made of black marble and were softened by an ivory carpet runner.

The living room had gray walls, a pink ceiling, and a polished steel fireplace flanked by gray glass pilasters.  The curtains were made of pale pink satin, while the draw curtains were chartreuse taffeta.  The furniture was covered in chartreuse satin.

The dining room featured antique Chinese wallpaper in tones of beige, gray, and green.  The rug was clipped goatskin.  The folding screen seems to have a middle panel painted with yet another plume of feathers.

The solarium, which offered views of Central Park and midtown.  The walls were painted glass which was meant to "represent a sky-scape."  The furniture was upholstered with white plush and trimmed in red, white, and blue fringe.

The bar.  The walls were clad in verre-églomisé panels that depicted dashing French officers on horseback.  I assume Remisoff was responsible for painting them.

A rather flamboyant powder room, which had painted feathers on the wall.  In keeping with the theme, a chair with a Prince of Wales feather shield back and a set of crystal feather curtain tiebacks.  The walls were painted to emulate orange draperies.  The blue taffeta curtains were designed by Elsie Cobb Wilson.


All images from House & Garden, March 1933.

Spring Book Releases

© Matthew Quinn and Mali Azima

© Matthew Quinn and Joshua McHugh

© Matthew Quinn and Mali Azima

© Matthew Quinn and Mali Azima

© Matthew Quinn and Mali Azima

© Matthew Quinn and Emily Followill


I've been making my way through some of the new Spring book releases, which have kept me happily occupied for the past few weeks.

First up is Quintessential Kitchens by Matthew Quinn: Volume One by kitchen and bath designer extraordinaire, Matthew Quinn, owner of the esteemed kitchen and bath studio, Design Galleria. Quinn, a fellow Atlantan with a reputation for being one of this industry's nice guys, has designed kitchens and baths for a slew of high-profile designers and clients both here and abroad.  Whether a Design Galleria-designed kitchen is contemporary, traditional, high-style, slightly casual, large, or small, it is, above all, highly functional.  The mark of Quinn's work is that practicality is never sacrificed for style. 

Quintessential Kitchens profiles fifteen kitchens (some of which can be seen above) that  represent the diversity of Quinn's work.  Some have a cosmopolitan feel, while others are reminiscent of those great old kitchens of the 1920s and 1930s.  What they all have in common, though, is that they convey the "clean elegance and simple sophistication" (Quinn's words) to which the designer strives.  Shown in large, compelling photographs, the kitchens will have you seriously considering an upgrade to your kitchen.  And if you read Quinn's informative text, you'll also understand the considerable thought and consideration that goes into designing a well-planned kitchen, making this book a must-have title for interior designers especially.

To order a copy, please visit the Quintessential Kitchens website.

 

© Jean-François Jaussaud

© Jean-François Jaussaud

© Jean-François Jaussaud

© Jean-François Jaussaud

© Jean-François Jaussaud

Now on to Venice, or, technically, Inside Venice: A Private View of the City's Most Beautiful Interiors. This recently-published title, which had not been on my radar, was such a pleasant surprise.  Written by Toto Bergamo Rossi, Director of the Venetian Heritage Foundation, with photographs by Jean-François Jaussaud, Inside Venice takes the reader beyond the threshold of seventy-two Venetian architectural gems, including churches, public institutions, and, most significantly, private homes and palazzos that the public rarely sees.  On page after page, you'll find a wealth of centuries-old stucco, frescoes, mosaic floors, and shimmery glass and mirror, all of which reveal Venice's elegant past.  And while the churches and museums are, naturally, inspiring, I found the photographs of the private residences most intriguing.  No surprise, it was the palazzos appointed with Fortuny fabrics and antique rugs, paintings, furniture, and porcelain that got my heart racing.  But even Venice's most modern-minded homeowners seem highly-respectful of their historical surroundings, preserving the architectural integrity of their palazzos while sensitively furnishing them with contemporary furniture and art.

© Inside Venice: A Private View of the City’s Most Beautiful Interiors by Toto Bergamo Rossi, Rizzoli New York, 2016

 

Images: © 2016 by Lisa Romerein

By now, you've likely read the collective praise for Patina Farm, the second book written by the talented Brooke and Steve Giannetti (designer and architect, respectively.)  I concur with other reviewers because the book is a delight to read.  No mere room-by-room catalogue of a prettily-decorated house, Patina Farm is the story of a life envisioned- specifically, the desire for pastoral living in Ojai, California- which became a reality thanks to the Giannettis' hardwork and creativity.  The book takes the reader on the journey from the farm's conception to full fruition, which is, I must say, quite enviable.  I'd like to add that even if your aesthetic is different from that of the Giannettis, the book is nonetheless inspiring.  It will remind you of what can happen when you dream big.

Left photo: Nils Hermann © Cartier; right: ©Robert Doisneau/Rapho

Harald Gottschalk © Cartier

Nils Hermann © Cartier

Vincent de la Faille © Cartier

And last but certainly not least, Cartier Dazzling: High Jewelry and Precious Objects by François Chaille. Yes, the book is chock full of beautiful photographs of Cartier's sumptuous jewelry, of which I never tire.  But if social history is more of your thing, you'll want to join the jewelry connoisseurs in reading this book.  Alongside Cartier's signature jeweled panthers and tutti frutti confections are stories about Cartier's history and its rarefied clientele, which, last century, included maharajas and much of café society.  In fact, there is a brief chapter on the Cartier jewels that were worn by guests to Carlos de Beistegui's costume ball at his Palazzo Labia in Venice, not to mention mentions of Linda Porter, Daisy Fellowes, and Barbara Hutton.  This book will have you pining for Cartier jewelry as well as those bygone days of glamour.

(© CARTIER DAZZLING: HIGH JEWELRY AND PRECIOUS OBJECTS, Flammarion, 2016)

Potterton Pop-Up

If you're planning to attend High Point Market in a few weeks, you should make an effort to visit Potterton Book's pop-up shop at the Currey & Company showroom (IHFC M110.)  Design book collectors are likely familiar with Potterton Books, the U.K.-based purveyor of out-of-print books on design and the decorative arts.  Founder Clare Jameson will be on-hand selling a well-edited mix of books, including French 19th-century woven and printed cotton textile swatch albums with original samples as well as a monograph of 20th-century designer Andre Arbus.

The pop-up will be open from April 15-20.

A Bevy of Flowers

In honor of pollen season the arrival of Spring, I'm giving you flowers, courtesy of Ronaldo Maia.  Maia, who for decades has been one of New York's premier floral designers, fashioned these blossomy creations for his debut monograph, Decorating with Flowers, which was published almost forty years ago- hence the dated-looking graininess of the book's photography.  But no photographic deficiencies can diminish the charm of Maia's timeless arrangements, whose simplicity is offset by a richness in their surroundings: Chinese porcelain, simple ceramic containers, wicker baskets, and bottles of cognac.  For those of us who appreciate both flowers and the decorative arts, these still-life snapshots are a bounty for the eyes.