Appreciating John Fowler

One thing that I will never understand is why someone would move into a great old house and discard the good stuff. By that I mean a fabulous wallpaper, a good old linoleum floor, even antique or vintage bath fixtures. Perhaps some people think that old things have no value, or maybe it's an ego thing- the homeowner wants everything to bear his or her stamp. It's wasteful and in some ways disrespectful to the history of the house.

That's why I'm always pleased to read about homeowners who have no intention of stripping the life out of their homes. In the October issue of Tatler, there's a great article on Cornbury, the Oxfordshire, England estate of the Cayzer family (Robin, 3rd Baron Rotherwick, and Tania, Lady Rotherwick). The house has only been in the family since 1967, though it dates back to the 15th c. Another claim to fame? It's the last house decorated by John Fowler. And guess what? They've kept Fowler's handiwork. Still installed are his magnificent curtains, bed hangings, even upholstered dog "pavilions". (Anyone who would be crazy enough to get rid of a John Fowler curtain deserves to be taken out behind the woodshed. Just my opinion.) But rather than seeming stuffy or old, the house's interiors seem fresh, comfortable, and welcoming.

Lady Rotherwick says of Fowler's work: "It's so amazing you literally can't change anything. The most I've been able to do is put a bunch of flowers in a vase and decorate my own study." Amen. Obviously, the Cayzers and their young family seem quite happy in their home that was decorated decades ago. And why wouldn't they? I just hope that others will follow suit.


The Drawing Room


The Yellow Room's bathroom


The famous dog pavilion. Also, don't you love the armchair's fabric?


Harriette Cayzer's bedroom. She's 23, and you can tell that she appreciates her Fowler room.

Image at top: The family in the master bedroom. All images from Tatler, Oct 2009, James Merrell photographer.

2009 Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Christmas House

Last week I got a sneak peek of this year's Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles' Christmas House. If you live in Atlanta or plan on being here anytime between November 14 and December 6, you must visit it for yourself. Trust me- there isn't a bad room on the entire tour. (And you know how many showhouses are...there are always a few dogs or two. I hate to say that, but you know it's true.)

The house, located at 1795 West Wesley Road, was designed by William T. Baker in a style called "Connecticut Back Country". And fortunately, the house is big enough to accommodate the wealth of design talent here in Atlanta. In addition to the designers featured below, Barbara Howard, John Oetgen, Suzanne Kasler, Susan Ferrier, Jimmy Stanton, Mark Williams and Niki Papadopoulos, Mimi Williams, Design Galleria, Lush Life, and Boxwood Gardens are also participating. (That was a mouthful!)

If you need inspiration for your holiday tables, there will also be "Entertaining by Design" in which six of Atlanta's top shops will create tables for your perusal. There will also be lectures (including one by yours truly) and other special events. The best part? It all benefits the Alliance Children's Theatre.

I took a few detail shots to give you a taste of what's on the tour. For more information, please visit the website.


A study designed by Bob Brown of Robert Brown Interior Design


Study in the Guest House by Courtney and Randy Tilkinsi of Bungalow Classic


The floor in Kay Douglass and Dixie Peeples' Wine Cellar


Vignette in a bedroom by Barbara Heath of The Mercantile


Artist's Studio by Beth Webb of Beth Webb Interiors


A place setting of Hermès china and flatware, and St. Louis crystal in the dining room decorated by Sara Steinfeld.


A basket chair in the guest house living room by Jared Paul of Jared Paul Interiors.


Bedroom by Amy Morris of Amy D. Morris Interiors.


Bedroom by Jim Howard of James Michael Howard Inc. (Trust me, my photo doesn't do this room justice.)

And last but certainly not least...

The Hermès room designed in collaboration with Hermès and Beth Webb. This is the Hermès Christmas tree!

(Image of the house's exterior courtesy of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles)

Elaine Griffin and "Design Rules"

Elaine Griffin understands "The Rules", and fortunately for us, she's ready to share. When I say rules, I don't mean "The Rules" that women were told to follow a few years ago. Remember that book? Don't say yes to a date if the man asks two days in advance. Why pay for the milk when a man can get the cow for free. Etc. Etc. The rules that Elaine wants to talk about are Design Rules. Thank goodness!

I recently spent a weekend reading Elaine's new book, and I have to say that it is a very worthwhile guide to decorating. Elaine spells out in an easy to understand way how to place furniture in a room, how tall end tables and bedside tables should be, even how to transform the forgotten basement into a room in which people want to spend time. There are chapters on kitchens, dining rooms, window treatments, and such. And the great thing is that the book is never dry. I think what I found most helpful is that there were certain rules that I knew and that made sense to me, but I never knew why we did it that way. Elaine eliminates the mystery.

I attended a luncheon with Elaine last week, and her enthusiasm for design is infectious. She told us that she wanted the tone of her book to be like a best friend giving decorating advice to the reader. After meeting Elaine and reading the book, I think she accomplished this most successfully.

Sister Parish Design

Yesterday I stopped by Mrs. Howard to pick up a copy of the newly released Sister Parish Design: On Decorating and was lucky enough to meet the authors, Susan Bartlett Crater and Libby Cameron, as well as the illustrator of the book, Mita Corsini Bland. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Susan and Libby; Susan is Sister Parish's granddaughter, while Libby was a protégé of Mrs. Parish. The two joined forces a few years ago and founded Sister Parish Design, one of my favorite fabric and wallpaper lines (and I'm sure a favorite for many of you, too.) And Mita is recognized as a leading watercolorist and illustrator. All three are not only very talented, but immensely likable too.

I just started to read the book last night, and from what I've read thus far, I'm completely charmed. The text is engaging, and I am enjoying the interviews with prominent decorators as well (Miles Redd and Todd Romano, anyone?). And Bland's illustrations are simply perfection! I can already tell that this will be a favorite book in my library.

Crater and Cameron also brought a few samples of their line's new linen prints as well as a cotton print, "Bolero", which I'm absolutely taken with. Definitely check out the new prints on their website, or visit one of the showrooms which carries the line. Grizzel and Mann in Atlanta has a great selection of Sister Parish Design fabric and wallpaper. (I also want to note that the fabrics and wallpaper are hand screened in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and Westerly, Rhode Island, which only adds to their appeal.)


From bottom to top: "Desmond" linen; "Sunswick" linen; "Burmese" linen; "Dolly" linen.


"Bolero". I love the colors- brown, coral, shrimp, navy, and pale aqua.

(Images at top courtesy of Sister Parish Design; bottom two by me.)

Wallpaper On My Mind

If you're as taken with wallpaper as I then you must pick up Wallpaper: A History of Style and Trends by Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz. So very interesting, and you will want to paper your world with scenic prints galore. The photos are absolutely gorgeous, like this below:


Le Palais-Royal, c. 1808-11 (maker unknown). According to Thibaut-Pomerantz, this example is a precursor to scenic decors. The grisaille paper is mounted on an eight-leaf screen; the blue background is hand brushed. I knew I had seen a similar scenic paper before.


Here is a strikingly familiar scene in the 1953 House and Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration. Surprisingly, there is no mention of the screen- only the Bristol blue walls, the wall to wall carpet, and the damask fabric. Is it a reproduction? I'm assuming so.

And then I started to think about this paper:


An 18th c. inspired scenic paper designed by Georges Geffroy, installed in the bed-living room of designer Marcel Rochas.

So now I'm on the hunt for grisaille paper with a blue background. Any ideas where to look for reproductions?

(Image #2, Wallpaper: A History of Style and Trends by Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz, Flammarion 2008.)

Chic It Up!

I try to chic it up every day (not always successfully), but one event that most definitely manages to do that is Winterthur's Chic it Up! design conference. This year's event, to take place at Winterthur on Friday, November 13, will cover 1940s design- and as you know, this is my very favorite era.

Want an idea of what will be discussed? Well, Donald Albrecht will speak on Dorothy Draper and the Greenbrier, Pauline Metcalfe will enlighten us about Syrie Maugham, and J. Thomas Savage, Maggie Lidz, and Eugene Gaddis will talk about Thomas Waterman, H. Rodney Sharp, and Chick Austin respectively. And this is only a taste of what's on the agenda. What impresses me is the breadth of the conference as it focuses on interior design, architecture, decorative arts, and collecting.

You better believe that I'm going to be attending. In fact, I've been waiting for over a year for this event. If you're in the area, or if you want to make a weekend trip of it, then by all means make your reservation so that we can all chic it up.

(For more information, click here or call 800.448.3883)


An example of 1940's design: Winterthur's Gold & White bedroom as it appeared in 1947.


Henry Francis du Pont next to the famous Montmorenci staircase; photographed by Kertesz.


The garden at Gibraltar c. mid-1940s, another du Pont estate in Wilmington. Don't you love all of those gorgeous blues?




Historian Maggie Lidz will be lecturing on H. Rodney Sharp and his 1930s Moorish-Venetian-Spanish Florida home, The Hacienda, which is seen above. Quite a difference from his Georgian estate in Odessa, Delaware, also above, which is part of the lecture.

All images provided by Winterthur.

That Print Again

I'm being haunted by Braquenié fabric. A few weeks back I posted about one of my favorite Braquenié prints, "Le Rocher", that has been retired but that does make a banded appearance in their current "Bordure Cheverny" print. (Kim Huebner of Pierre Frey was kind enough to comment that "Le Rocher" has not been permanently discontinued, only sent for a rest in the archives. Frey owns Braquenié.) You can see "Le Rocher" at top and "Border Cheverny" beneath it.

So as I was reading The Givenchy Style over the weekend, I saw the photo below of the "Châmbre d'Hélène" in Givenchy's estate Le Jonchet. The glorious fabric draped, swagged, and upholstered all over the room is Braquenié's "Tree of Life". The tree has roots of what appears to be my beloved "Le Rocher".







I'm thinking that this was a sign that 1) "Le Rocher" will be reintroduced in the Braquenié line and that 2) it will eventually find a place in my home. There's no harm in being hopeful, is there?

(Givenchy photos from The Givenchy Style by Françoise Mohrt)

Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour

Need testament to the glamour of the good old days? Then by all means, pick up a copy of Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour by Louise Baring. Parkinson, one of 20th century's most innovative photographers, captured the sophistication that was fashion during the 1930s through the 1980s. What was unique about his work was that Parkinson was one of the first photographers to shoot models outside of the studio, often posing them on the street or in some incongruous setting. (Look at the cover, above, which features a model in a butcher shop.) Much of Parkinson's work was featured in Vogue (both British and American) and Harper's Bazaar, magazines at which Parkinson worked with the likes of Alexander Lieberman and Diana Vreeland. In fact, it was Parkinson to whom Vreeland remarked "How clever of you, Mr. Parkinson, also to know that pink is the navy blue of India."- this in response to Parkinson's photo of a model posing in a pink coat in Jaipur.

While the text is quite interesting, it's the glorious photographs that make this book a must-have for you glamour pusses and fashion hounds. And if you're a fan of the legendary model Carmen, then you're in luck; there are lots of photographs of her posing for Parkinson through the years.


Celia Hammond photographed for a Wetherall advertisement, Paris, 1962


Carmen Dell'Orefice on a crane in front of Old Bailey, London; Queen magazine cover, September 1960.


"Young Velvets, Young Prices" photographed for Vogue, 1949, from the roof of the Conde Nast Building.

(All images copyrighted Norman Parkinson Ltd., provided courtesy of the Norman Parkinson Archive, London. Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour, by Louise Baring, Rizzoli New York, 2009)

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.)