A Bedtime Story

The June issue of British House & Garden is a good one, but what especially caught my attention was the article about the Wiltshire house of Diane and John Nutting.  Not only is the house bright and airy, but it is filled with beautiful porcelains, antique furniture, and chintzes, all of which are arranged in a tidy fashion.  But the real show-stopper of the house, to me anyway, has to be that beautiful bed, seen above.  I'm not sure which part of the bed I like the most: the carved, gilded tester, or the bed curtains made from a now-discontinued Colefax & Fowler chintz.  The bedroom's seating area, also above, is quite fetching, too.

If you think you've seen this bed before, you probably have. It, along with most of the other furnishings ensconced in the Nuttings' home, once stood proudly in the couple's former house, the regal, early 18th c. Chicheley Hall. I found photos of the Chicheley Hall bedroom in Chester Jones's Colefax and Fowler: The Best in English Interior Decoration. According to this book, the late Tom Parr of Colefax & Fowler was responsible for Chicheley's redecoration, including the fabric chosen for the bed (which, according to the book, is Colefax & Fowler's "Charlotte" chintz.)  You can see this book's photos of the Nuttings' former bedroom below, including the fireplace seating area which was more or less recreated in the new home. You'll also notice that the Colefax & Fowler carpet that was chosen for the Chicheley Hall bedroom was also selected for the Nuttings' current bedroom.

And funny enough, the bed also made an appearance in one of my favorite books, The English Dog at Home by Felicity Wigan. Mrs. Nutting was photographed on her lovely bed alongside Scotties Matthew and Mollie.  (Little dogs seem to have a nose for fine bed linen.  I know that Alfie does.) 

You can see photos of Chicheley Hall below.  And if you have not already done so, I do urge you to take a look at the June issue of H&G to see the Nuttings' current house in all its lovely splendor.

Photos at top: British House & Garden, June 2013; Simon Brown photographer.

Tom Parr in the Early Days

You might recall the blog post that I wrote last fall about the career of the late, great decorator Tom Parr. Parr, who served for decades as the Chairman of Colefax and Fowler and was responsible for much of the firm's success, was one of the last of the gentleman decorators. His work possessed an English sensibility, appearing refined, elegant, and yet comfortable too.

Because so many of you are Tom Parr fans (and I include myself in this category,) I thought you might be interested in these c. 1967 photos of Parr's Eaton Square, Belgravia flat. (The flat, by the way, appears to be the same as that featured in a 2009 blog post of mine. Click here to compare the two versions.) Taken from the book House & Garden Guide to Interior Decoration, the photos are striking in that they capture a home that is quite a contrast to much of the zany, wacky, and colorful interiors that were typical of the era. It's obvious that even as a young man, Parr was confident in his sense of style, not falling for the popular trends of the day. In fact, the book's text says, "Study the pictures for further evidence of Mr. Parr's triumphant defiance of all the decorative dicta that have been uttered by the pundits."

So, to Toby Worthington, who has provided me with so much Tom Parr information in the past, and all of the other Tom Parr devotees out there, this post is for you.







The three photos above (including the one at top) show Parr's drawing room.





Parr's bedroom. Note the jib door as well as the Charles X period needlework rug.



The dining room had red walls, red curtains, and a red tablecloth.

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 by Judy Brittain and Patrick Kinmonth. Image #5 from a 1994 World of Interiors brochure published in conjunction with Colefax & Fowler; Jan Baldwin photographer. Images 6-12 from The House and Garden Book of Classic Rooms . Photos of the Chicheley Hall bedroom and the dining room at "The Cottage" at Badminton are from Colefax & Fowler: The Best in English Interior Decoration. Albany drawing room plus Parr quote from World of Interiors, September 1984, James Mortimer photographer. Last two photos of Turkish Room from World of Interiors, August 1987. I would like to thank Toby Worthington for providing me with most of these images.

My London Flat

What? You didn't know that I have a flat in London? Well, actually I don't, but I'd love to own one someday. And I always say that if I do obtain a London home, I will most certainly decorate it in a very British manner. I know, some might say how boring or expected, while others might think "damn American trying to out British the British", but why not? So what would my dream flat look like? Well, probably something like this- the flat of Tom Parr in Eaton Square as featured in Living in Vogue.

Parr, seen above, is the former director of the venerable firm Colefax and Fowler. You might also recognize his name as he used to be the design partner of David Hicks. What I'm taken with is the home's warmth and coziness. As Parr said about his work "When you walk into a room, you should think 'What a lovely atmosphere' and not just notice individual objects." I couldn't agree with him more.



The image at top and above are the dining room/ guest room. Behind Parr you can see the sofa which doubles as a bed. The bookcases are faux bird's eye maple, and there are numerous Indian Raj paintings in the room. The dining table is a Colefax & Fowler design. Also, I think the lighting is close to perfect in this space.


The drawing room walls are covered in a handmade paper inspired by an old damask. The carpet (a pattern called "Rock Savage") is a replica of that in Cholmondeley Castle. Note too the marbled molding. And I think that mossy green velvet sofa with the bullion fringe is terrific. (Remember my post on bullion fringe? This is the way it should be used.)


Beyond the drawing room is the tomato red bedroom. The Colefax velvet sofa turns into a bed. This room is actually my least favorite of the three, and I can't decide if it's because of the ferns in the photo or if it's something about the velvet on the sofa. Or maybe it's the way that shade of green looks against that red. I guess it doesn't really matter because the other two rooms are knock-outs, or at least they are to me.

(All photographs from Living in Vogue by Judy Brittain and Patrick Kinmonth; photographer Snowdon.)