A Beaton Beatification

It was a Cecil Beaton kind of week. Not that that's a bad thing- far from it. It just seems as though everywhere I looked, there he was.

First, I bought a book that showed his London home from the early 1960s. It was not what I expected as I'm more familiar with Beaton's romantic, eccentric style of decor. (Or perhaps I should say "romantical"...a term coined by Paula Deen. Actually, every time I hear her say that, it drives me up the wall.) This particular version of Beaton's home has a French Billy Baldwin kind of feel to it. That is, if Billy Baldwin had been born and raised in France.

The two images at top were Beaton's living room in which the walls were covered in black velvet. Yes, black velvet- how great is that? What might be even more interesting is that the velvet is trimmed in gold and silver Spanish embroidery. Fortunately, you do not need to imagine what it looked like. Here is a detail shot:

The marquetry floor was saved from a Rothschild house that was demolished. The corner banquettes are vermilion with pillows made of obis. Both the floor lamp and the cocktail table were by Diego Giacometti. And notice too (in the photo at the very top) the painting of Beaton by Christian Bérard.




Vermilion made another appearance in Beaton's bedroom, though this time in the form of flocked walls. The bed is a rather simple affair of steel with brass pineapple finials, and according to the book's text it was covered in white draperies in the summertime. Both the bedside cabinets as well as the room's doors (not shown here) were white with gilt detail. I admit that I'm not too crazy about the carpet, but it was a different era and perhaps we would have found it attractive at that time.




Beaton's bathroom with sumptuous silk curtains and a gouache by Denis Hawkins. The mahogany bath fixtures were from Wilton House.



A grainy photo I know, but this landing sported animal print chairs and a jardinière filled with plants.

So after having studied these photos, I later attended an event at my friend Jared's showroom which fêted Cecil Beaton fabrics. More Beaton, but just in the flesh. Well, Beaton wasn't there in the flesh, but the textiles inspired by his sketches were. Here are a few that caught my eye:




(Beaton home photographs from The Best in European Decoration)

Timeless Shoes...Timeless Spaces

Am I the only person who has been bored with shoes over the last few years? There was a time when I had difficulty figuring out which shoes to buy because most of them were pretty, glamorous, feminine, and made one's legs look really good. But lately? Well, not so much so. The shoes seem so, well, aggressive and frankly not very attractive. I tried- really tried- to be open-minded this season and considered buying a pair of Louboutin pumps that had that military look going on. But when I saw them in person, I realized that should I wear them, I just might be mistaken for a pole dancer- from the ankles down, of course. That, or I could possibly end up in traction. Basically, the shoes were fraught with danger.

This is why I find my mid-thirties self buying shoes that are classic. Shoes that look stylish today and that will look equally as chic next year and beyond. I'm still wearing my black suede Manolo 4" pumps that I bought ten years ago...and I still get compliments on them. It's why I bought the Roger Vivier shoes at top in both black and gray suede. I've already worn them a great deal and will continue to do so until they fall apart.

So why am I on a shoe tangent? Well, I started to think about shoes- and classics- after seeing these photos of the Paris apartment of who else? Roger Vivier. The designer and Jacques Damase created a home that was a blend of antiques and modern art and furnishings- a combination which, by the way, is now classic. There was 13th c. sculpture, Louis XVI chairs from the Palace of Rambouillet, 20th c. artwork, and Georgian silver. Quite a mix, and one that could have veered into hodgepodge territory. Fortunately, it did not, but I suppose that's not a surprise. When one buys and collects pieces (and shoes) that are more timeless than of the moment, somehow they always have a way of working with what you already own.




The spacious entrance hall had an 18th c. stone figure on one side, while on the other was "Compressions", a work by the artist César. Those uplights, left visible on the floor, add a sense of drama to the space.



More of that dramatic lighting, this time in the sitting room. The mix here includes a 12th c. Chinese goddess, a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair, a Coromandel screen, and red leather Louis XV chairs.



A different view of the sitting room. The rustic looking tiled floor is an unexpected choice for a room filled with refined furniture.



The Regency paneling in the dining room was scraped of its paint. Collections of Georgian silver and Creil china filled the corner cabinets



A Louis XIV Boulle table holds a South Sea Island mask and rock crystal candlesticks.



Monsieur Vivier's bedroom was painted gray. One of the more unique pairings in the home has to be the black leather bed on which a white cotton Louis XIV Provençal coverlet was placed.

(Vivier apartment photos from The Best in European Decoration)

Being Coy

What does a legendary designer to the stars and royalty have in common with an Atlanta designer who has been on House Beautiful's list of top 100 designers in America? And what does one designer who cut her design teeth under the tutelage of the current White House decorator have in common with a designer who has been published in more than 100 national and international design publications?

Tune into blog.atlantahomesmag.com tomorrow at 8am to find out. How's that for a tease?

What Lies Behind Those Doors...

For me, one of the most stunning homes in James Archer Abbott's Jansen was the Paris apartment of Jansen president Pierre Delbee. It was a memorable home amongst many memorable homes. I think that what did it for me were those doors. Ahhh, those doors.... You see, they send me into a reverie every time I look at the photos. The ebony and ivory veneered numbers were decorated with depictions of follies, temples, even a trompe l'oeil grid-patterned floor. To have doors like these grace one's home must be pretty terrific. Good luck finding someone to duplicate them, though. What might be easier to replicate are the doors inside the home's library:



Upholstered in green suede and trimmed in gilt bronze. Now these are almost as beautiful as the other doors (although far more simple), and that centrally placed doorknob is the perfect punctuation point. While we're behind closed doors, let's look at the rest of the room:

Two things stand out to me- that greek key lampshade in the foreground which is actually made of cut silver, and the leopard print sofa at the far end of the room. The impressive antique armchairs in the library are all by Jacob. Pretty heady stuff, don't you think?



(Top photo from Jansen by James Archer Abbott; remaining photos from The Best in European Decoration)

Share the Fantasy

It seems that there are two schools of thought amongst magazine editors (and perhaps readers as well) about whether homeowners should be photographed in published interiors. There are those editors (and again, readers) who prefer that the focus of the article be strictly on the interiors. I suppose that if the homeowner is featured lounging on the sofa, for example, it might make it difficult for us to envision ourselves in that home. It's just like when you put your home on the market and the real estate agent tells you to rid all surfaces of family photographs; if you leave them out, you might lose a potential buyer.

On the other hand, there are those who want the interiors to have a face attached to them. Perhaps we are curious as to who lives there. Quite frankly, I see both sides of the coin and am fine either way. But what about staged photographs in which a model is shown, oh, I don't know, drinking cocktails or taking tea? You really don't see that too often anymore. In my trove of old magazines from the 30s and 40s, I found vignette shots in which actor and model types were shown doing various things that helped to emphasize what the photograph was all about. If the topic of the article was having drinks on the lanai, well then, people were shown drinking on the lanai. If the article was about a bridal shower, a so-called bride to be and her mother were photographed looking wistfully over a table set with china, silver, and other finery.

I have to say that I kind of like the idea of these types of photos. I totally understand why a magazine might avoid such shots; after all, one man's fantasy is another man's idea of hell. I would gloss right over a photo that showed someone tilling in a field, while my neighbor might stop and fantasize about owning land on which to till. But if the photo showed people in fancy dress? Well, I'd buy into the fantasy. And if someone was dolled up whilst sitting at a beautiful table? Yes, that photo would also set me off into a world of daydreaming. I guess we read into the photos what we want to.

If my home were photographed for a magazine, I would secretly wish that I could be photographed along with it while wearing a gorgeous outfit. I could be setting the table for a chic little dinner party (like that woman at the top of this post), or perhaps I could be sitting on my sofa drinking champagne along with my significant other, or even taking breakfast on my balcony (in my Fernando Sanchez robe, by the way- oh, and full makeup, of course.) Well, a girl can have her fantasies, can't she?



What? You don't dress like this while having "lunch in the country on a romantic June day"? (House & Garden, June 1948)



Please remind me never to be photographed doing housework. That is no fantasy of mine! (House & Garden, February 1948)



This woman was a bride...at least for the photo, she was. Life is good when you have that Queen Anne silver tea service, champagne coupes, and a hubby who looks so dapper. (House & Garden, October 1936)



The title of this article was "Roll Your Own"- and they were not advocating rolling your own funny cigarettes (come on, I know that is what you thought) but rather bar carts. Love those dresses. (House & Garden, July 1936)


Image at top from House & Garden, July, 1948

A Whole New Way to Serve Appetizers

While researching the sheer curtain post from yesterday, I found this photo of a richly decorated hors d'oeuvres room in the Park Avenue apartment of Richard E. Berlin (he was the longtime chairman of Hearst as well as the father of Brigid Berlin, part of Warhol's inner circle). This small space- actually, I'm assuming it was small- was located just off of the dining room and was intended as an area in which to serve cocktails. I've heard of these rooms referred to as "cocktail rooms", but the term "hors d'oeuvres room" is a first for me.

Decorated in the Venetian manner by the firm Thedlow, the room featured a pair of blackamoors (both holding champagne buckets, no less) standing guard over a crystal and mirror console. Good heavens is that console dripping in overwrought glamour or what? The beige-gray walls were painted with a black balustrade at the bottom, while a painted black canopy with gold fringe framed the top of the room. It's totally over the top in a fantastical way- and that's the beauty of it.

So, what to serve as hors d'oeuvres? Well, Sausage Balls ain't gonna cut it. It has to be something fancy but tasty too. After all, guests in the Berlin home weren't wearing denim and flip-flops to imbibe in the hors d'oeuvres room. After looking through some of my old cookbooks, I found these little tidbits that seemed to be the order of the day.

*Moulded Lobster Canapes (from For The Hostess A Handbook For Entertaining)

One-half tablespoonful of finely chopped onion and three tablespoonfuls of butter are sauteed together with one-third cupful of chopped mushroom caps for five minutes. Two tablespoonfuls of flour and two-thirds of a cupful of cream are added to this, and the mixture is cooked until it thickens. One cupful of chopped lobster meat is then added with two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and the yolks of two eggs beaten slightly. This mixture is seasoned with salt and Cayenne and piled on circular pieces of toast. Grated cheese and soft buttered bread-crumbs are sprinkled on top, and the canapes are browned in the oven.

*Czechoslovak Shells (from A Book of Hors d'Oeuvre by Lucy G. Allen)

Brush the inside of tiny shell molds with olive oil and set them in a pan of cracked ice. Place in the bottom of each a small amount of clear tomato aspic; when firm, lay in small bits of ripe olive, pimiento and green pepper, together with antipasto cut small. Set these with aspic and continue until the mold is full. Use only enough aspic to hold these pieces in place. The molds should be filled mostly with antipasto, with enough of the olive and pepper to give the required color and enough of the aspic to keep the shape. Turn these molds out, when firm, on round cuts of sauteed bread.

Sheers- Cheers or Jeers?

Go ahead and laugh if you must, but I've been obsessing over these curtains at top for a while now. Yes, the shape of them is a tad frilly (in fact, the 1929 book from which this photo came refers to them as "bouffant curtains"), but I do find the scalloped edge refreshingly sweet. What has really captured my attention, though, is the material. It appears to be a little stiff and crinkly and more importantly, it looks shiny- and we know how much I love shiny things. The caption to the photo mentions the fabric as being glazed tarletan.

So, just what is tarletan? A little research on the web yielded this information- it's an open-weave cotton fabric that was often used for stiffening garments. Now, let's take this definition with a grain of salt because internet research is not always accurate. Still, just by looking at the photo, I can tell that I like this fabric. It's glazed so it has a sheen to it- a plus in my book. It's sheer- and we don't see sheer fabric used for curtains as often as we used to. And finally, it's stiff. These were not the tepid, limp sheer curtains which I'm afraid have poisoned many of us against even considering sheer drapery for our windows. I think the point to my roundabout post is that sheer fabric needs to be crisp. What do you think?



That ruffled edging to these curtains is a bit prissy, but the organdy material is a clean, crisp addition to the various patterns in the room. I would definitely consider using an organdy for sheer curtains. (Designer Ross Stewart for W. and J. Sloane, 1936)




I'm not at all advocating these curtains as I find them too Petticoat Junction. This was a 1936 ad for Macy's which touted an amazing fabric that required very little pressing. It was "chifonese ninon" fabric.




There's actually a lot that I like about this 1936 Armstrong Linoleum ad, but let's start with the windows. I'm not so crazy about that swag held up by the red bows, but once again the fabric appears to be shiny and stiff. That really fantastic plaid linoleum floor was a "Fashion Thrift" pattern, while the walls were also covered in linoleum: Armstrong Linowall. By the way, doesn't that light fixture remind you of one now sold by Circa Lighting?




This room, once again decorated by Ross Stewart of Sloane's, features peach taffeta and natural colored silk gauze curtains. It almost sounds like a description of a ballgown.

(Image at top from House and Garden's Book of Color Schemes; other photos from various 1936 issues of House & Garden)

More Blue (and Leopard too)

My favorite combination as of late is a clear shade of blue mixed with leopard print. I blame it solely on this soon to be released book, The World of Madeleine Castaing, seen above. To be fair, though, I guess I should blame not only Emily but Ms. Castaing as well.

Perhaps this is why I can't seem to get a certain Parisian apartment out of my mind. This too was another discovery in my copy of Architectural Digest International Interiors (are you sick of me mentioning this book yet again??) This apartment was the home of antiquaire Jean Pierre Hagnauer and his wife. At one point in his career, Hagnauer had been a decorator, having trained under the legendary Georges Geoffroy. Hagnauer counted Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais as clients, but eventually the lure of being a full-time antiques dealer was too great and he left decorating behind for good.

The home, like most of the others in the book, is worldly and refined. But I think that what sticks with me is the color blue woven throughout the apartment. It's such a beautiful backdrop to the fine paintings and artwork, the rare specimens of furniture and bibelots, and some really great leopard print pillows. Before I finish this post, though, I thought I would include Hagnauer's decorating wisdom. Truly, these are words to live by:

*Above everything else, respect the thrust of the architecture. Do not decorate a vintage 1930s apartment in a Louis XV manner nor make a Pop statement in some Louis XIII chateau.

*Reject those trends of the moment that force interior designers to accept objects of poor quality under the guise that they are "amusing."

*Reject any literal and painstaking recreation of historical periods. In the long run such an approach can only be static and boring.

(Castaing cover image from The World of Madeleine Castaing by Emily Evans Eerdmans, to be published by Rizzoli. All other images from Architectural Digest International Interiors, Pascal Hinous photographer.)

Suzanne Tucker Home

Suzanne Tucker is on fire right now! First, there was her recently published book, Rooms to Remember: The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker. (The images above are all from the book.) Reading it is pure escapism. I want to crawl right into the book and settle into one of the featured homes. Even better, I want to live in one of these bedrooms; they're so luxurious that I would end up spending the entire day in one conducting business and taking my meals. Oh well, I can fantasize, can't I?

Suzanne has also launched Suzanne Tucker Home, a line that currently includes fabric, although tabletop, furniture, and lighting is planned for the near future. What struck me is how sophisticated these fabrics are. There are traditional silks, brocades, and damasks as well as cotton and linen, but rather than being boring, there is a richness and complexity to the fabrics that I find really appealing. These are refined fabrics, a nice shift from the cute and kicky fabrics that we've seen so much of lately. Of course, the fact that they're inspired by document prints and antique textiles makes me like them that much more. OK, so enough about why I like the line. Take a look at just a few of her fabrics.

(To see the entire fabric line, visit Suzanne Tucker Home. Fabric can be purchased through Holland & Sherry showrooms as well as Shears & Window in San Francisco and Thomas Lavin in Los Angeles.)




Top left: "Botanique" linen in Lapis; inspired by 18th c. Anglo-Indian prints. Top right: "Hatley" linen in Azure; adapted from an English document print c. 1830. Bottom: Cotton "Peacock Toile" in Cerulean; based on a 19th c. French toile.




Top left: "Sherri", a silk, cotton, and viscose brocade, in Turquoise; inspired by an 18th c. document. Top right: "Brighton Bizarre" in Golden; a truly stunning silk brocade. Bottom: Silk "Pagoda" in Coral; inspiration came from an 18th c. English watered silk.




Top row: Linen "Kiku" in Jade and Aubergine; according to the website, this was "reinterpreted from an 19th c. Japanese futon cover." Bottom: "Olivier" in Marigold; this print came from an 18th c. French Oberkampf Foulard.

(Room images from Rooms to Remember: The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker. Fabric photos by Jennifer Boles)