Ten Years and Counting

You know when you look at a design magazine from ten years ago and you see a home and think "Oh my, so dated" or "That's unfortunate". You might even say to yourself "Thank goodness that trend bit the dust. R.I.P." Well, ten years ago Albert Hadley's apartment was featured in Elle Decor, and nothing- seriously, nothing- looks dated.

We all have those watershed moments in our lives. Well, this article was mine. Seeing Mr. Hadley's apartment was one of the catalysts that led me down the road to where I am today. Sounds melodramatic? Perhaps. But seeing perfection can kind of get you verklempt.









(All photos from Elle Decor, Feb/Mar 2000; Fernando Bengoechea photographer)

Spotlight on Art

If you live here in Atlanta, I urge you to visit the Spotlight on Art Artists Market. It begins today and runs through February 20. Held at the Trinity School, the market will feature more than 7500 works of art by more than 350 Southern artists. What a great opportunity to add to your collection. Hope to see you there!

For more information, click here.

(The work above is by artist Dawne Raulet and will available at the sale.)

Vexing Valances

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Barbara d'Arcy and her model rooms at Bloomingdale's were huge. Big time influential. And her 1973 book Bloomingdale's Book of Home Decorating was not just well-received back then, but it's still lauded today as a design book classic.

Looking through my copy of it over the weekend (what better way to spend a snowy day than curled up on the sofa reading a vintage design book?), I noticed the shapely valances and lambrequins that d'Arcy employed often in her schemes. Sometimes they were used over windows, while at other times it was a bed that got the crowning touch. Now I do love simple curtains, but sometimes it would be nice to see some oomph on one's windows. There are some windows that look a tad sad- dare I say deflated- with a wardrobe of only plain panels. But if you were to add one of these valances with an interesting edge, well, it's a whole new window, isn't it.

(All images from Bloomingdale's Book of Home Decorating by Barbara d'Arcy.)

Come Join The Party!

I cordially invite all Peak of Chic readers to join me for a party I'm hosting at the Tory Burch store (Phipps Plaza, Atlanta) on Wednesday, March 3 from 6 to 8 o'clock. It will be a fun evening of socializing, shopping, and sipping libations. I'd love to see those of you who I already know and look forward to making new acquaintances too. I believe that some of my fellow Atlanta bloggers will be joining me. Hope to see you there!

If you do plan to attend (and I hope you will!), kindly RSVP to the email address listed on the invitation. Guests will receive a 20% discount on full-priced merchandise.

Everything Old is New Again

Remember this David Netto room that many of us have blogged about? The beauty of it, at least to me, is that it's so unexpected. There's that very traditional scenic wallpaper in a bedroom no less, and yet any stuffiness is tempered by that sleek chrome bed and the room's rather spare color scheme (except for the pop of orange on the bed of course). This room came to mind when I was visiting Waterhouse Wallhangings website.

Of course their paper is traditional; that's because the prints are reproductions of 18th and 19th century wallpaper that was found in early American homes. The patterns themselves are really quite beautiful. But imagine using "Bargello" in a small room and hanging contemporary art on it or placing a slick black Parsons table against it. Or how about taking "Parkman House" and using it on the ceiling- that could be kind of sexy. (Something which I'm sure those Puritans did not have in mind!) In the words of Eric Clapton, "It's in the way that you use it."


Bargello


Parkman House


Devil Paper


Jolicoeur Star II


Isis


Celestial Swag


Dorothy Waterhouse, the namesake of the company, used to visit those wonderful old New England homes in search of document prints. Can you think of anything more fun and interesting than that? I can't. Am I alone?

The Brighter Side of Donghia

While doing research over the weekend, I came across two 1968 photos of Angelo Donghia's work that caught my eye. Are you surprised that Donghia decorated these rooms? If the answer is yes, then you're not alone. For years, I only associated Donghia with his work from the mid- 1970s and 80s- rooms that were contemporary, at times sleek, frequently neutral in color, and that really embraced the spirit of the 1970s. But if you go back and look at his work from the 1960s, he captured the zeitgeist of that era too. When I started collecting vintage 1960s magazines a few years ago, I found that the rooms that captured my attention tended to be those by Donghia.

Take, for example, the room at top. House Beautiful declared that in this room, "The Thirties return with a Sixties flourish." There's that loop chair again, although that's not what I noticed first, nor was it that graphic black and white rug (so 1960s). Instead, it was that gray silk slipper chair. How beautiful is that? Normally, I'm not a bun feet kind of gal, but these silk covered ones are kind of weird and kind of fetching at the same time. And I love the shape of the sofa and those punctuations of chartreuse.


And then there's this shot of Donghia's own foyer. Try to look past that unfortunate clipped hedged green carpet, because the story here is Donghia's use of color. You've got that pretty blue and white floral paper in the foreground and the soft blue and red portière. And look in the background- I've never thought mixing lavender and bright red. You know what? It actually works.

(Both images from House Beautiful, October 1968)

A Loopy Coincidence

Life is full of coincidences. Last week I learned that David Serrano and Robert Willson of Downtown had introduced a powder-coated steel version of the iconic "loop" chair (see above) made famous by Frances Elkins. Serrano and Willson were inspired to create an outdoor version of the chair after a designer told them that he recalled seeing a metal version of it in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Well, I thought it was an interesting tidbit of design news, and in fact I mentioned it on Facebook a few day ago.

So here's where the coincidence part comes: this weekend I was watching the 1944 film Laura, and lo and behold, there was a metal version of the loop chair:


Here they are on the character Waldo Lydecker's patio. You'll have to click on the photo to zoom in on it, but there are the loop chairs sitting pretty underneath that really fabulous umbrella.



If you look really closely, you'll see that the set designers Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox also used a loop bench on Lydecker's balcony.



And Waldo Lydecker wasn't the only character in the film with metal loop chairs. Ann Treadwell, the title character Laura's wealthy aunt, had them as well.

Now, I didn't have time this weekend to watch Guess Who's Coming to Dinner so I can't comment on that movie's chairs. The metal backs of the Laura version seem to be flat (almost pressed looking), and the loops appear to be beefier than those of the Downtown chair. And if you look at the last photo, there was also a loop table. How great- a loop chair, loop bench, and loop table. Perhaps Serrano and Willson should consider expanding their line.

(And in another slight coincidence, the famous David Raksin theme song of Laura (titled Laura, of course) was the music that my sister, Laura, walked down the aisle to when she got married.)

My Favorite Blue Room

I believe that most of us have blue on the brain. House Beautiful's current issue is dedicated to the color, which also makes an appearance on the cover of March's Elle Decor. That's certainly fine by me because I adore blue. I've got a blue living room, blue dining room, blue eyes, even blue champagne coupes. One of my very favorite blue rooms is one with which many of you are familiar: the London drawing room of the late Fleur Cowles.

Located at Albany, the room, originally a ballroom, dates back to 1780 when it was designed by the architect Sir William Chambers. From what I've read, the ceiling has ornate plasterwork which I imagine must be exquisite. For me though, it's all about that glorious shade of blue- descriptions range from sky blue to Wedgwood blue- which really intensifies the other colors in the room. The artwork, the potted geranium, even the mahogany library steps seem to perk up when placed against that blue. Really, it's no wonder that Cowles deemed her room "the most beautiful in London."

I don't know when this room was decorated (I can only assume it was many years ago), but to me this room is utterly timeless. It's comfortable, and yet it's also rather grand. Why don't we live and decorate this way anymore? It's such a shame, really, because this is the type of design that has staying power.

A few more tidbits. According to a 2003 New York Times article, Cowles and her husband often served dinner to their guests in this room. Dishes included deviled chicken and ice cream with caramel sauce. You see, the food was nothing fancy and yet people clamored to be invited to her home. We need to remember this next time we get stressed out about what to serve our guests.

And what I also learned while doing a little Fleur Cowles research this week is that she also designed china for Denby called Jardin de Fleurs. On a plate like this, I bet deviled chicken looked divine.

Lee Bailey's City Food

So now on to the late Lee Bailey. I'm not old enough to remember Bailey during his heyday in the 1970s and 80s. (It's been a while since I could honestly say I wasn't old enough for something!) It seems to me, though, that Bailey was unique in that the food, the practical side of cooking and hosting, and the look of the table all got equal billing- no easy feat, but one that Bailey seems to have pulled off with aplomb. It's like there was Bailey the cook, Bailey the instructor and hand-holder to nervous hosts and hostesses, and Bailey the aesthete. In fact, china, flatware, and crystal were so important to Bailey that he used to have a legendary shop that specialized in cooking and table accessories.

I have two favorite Lee Bailey cookbooks- Lee Bailey's City Food: Recipes for Good Food and Easy Living and Lee Bailey's Good Parties. The images here are from City Food. Perhaps a few of these images might seem a bit dated, but if you pull back and look at the atmosphere and mood, I think you might be inspired to host a dinner or throw a good party. At the very least, you might get a few ideas about setting your own stylish table or sideboard.

(If you have any suggestions for similar cookbooks from the 1980s, by all means do tell.)





A cozy setting, and I love that burlwood table.






OK, I'm going to throw this out there...I love a black kitchen, without the purple neon of course. Black kitchens are sexy.






(All images from Lee Bailey's City Food: Recipes for Good Food and Easy Living, Joshua Greene photographer.)

The 1980s and its Glorious Food

There are those people who cook from cookbooks and those who just read them. I fall somewhere in between. Lately, I've been obsessing over cookbooks from the 1980s and truth be told, I haven't read them nor cooked from them- yet. What I've taken delight in are the photos.

I think that those wonderful Tiffany books got me started on this kick a few years ago- Tiffany Taste, The New Tiffany Table Settings (a book that must be prized by others as one listing on Amazon has it selling for $99,999*), and The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook. Then I moved on to Glorious Food upon the recommendation of Chris Spitzmiller who, by the way, is captivated by the cover photo (see above). More recently I've devoured Lee Bailey's City Food and Lee Bailey's Good Parties.

So why the fascination with these cookbooks? I think it's because their authors placed as much emphasis on the tables, the background, and the atmosphere as they did the food. The photos are so darn styled...and they look marvelous. When I look at these photos, they make me want to host a dinner or drinks party with the same look and feel. I do think that it's a relief that today we don't have to serve four courses to our guests, nor do our dishes have to be complicated. (I mean, aren't we all eternally grateful to Ina Garten that she made hosting a dinner party so easy?) I also believe, though, that we need to see more photos that go beyond a basic table setting or a closeup shot of the food- photos that get the creative juices flowing and that inspire us to want to entertain at home again.

Today I'll show some photos from Glorious Food, and tomorrow is reserved for Lee Bailey. And if you don't cook, not to worry. The decorating in these photos is really pretty good.


*I do realize that the $99,999 listing is a typo...or perhaps a joke. At least, I hope it is.















(All images from Glorious Food by Christopher Idone)