The Decorator

I think that for some (or maybe even many), there is a mystique to decorators. You might even say a certain glamour. Now, we all know that there are aspects to the job that are far from glamorous. And let's face it, it can be tough work. Still, if there wasn't a certain allure to the job and the persona of "the decorator", there wouldn't be photos like the one above, featured in the October issue of Town & Country. Aaron Spelling would never have shot a pilot back in the 1960s titled "The Decorator" with Bette Davis, nor would we have had our favorite 1980s TV sitcom about four Southern decorators with a proclivity for one liners, beauty pageants, and big shoulder pads. (That would be "Designing Women", by the way.)

Decorators oftentimes lead glamorous lives in the movies. Take, for example, "Goodbye Again" which just happened to be on TCM yesterday. In the 1961 movie (it was based on the Francoise Sagan novel), Ingrid Bergman plays a 40 year old Parisian decorator named Paula who is supremely stylish. She wears Christian Dior clothes and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, and she has a French maid named Gaby who draws her bath and gets Madame ready for nights out on the town. Never mind the fact that Paula is madly in love with her philandering boyfriend Roger, a cad who calls all of his other women "Maisie" so that he doesn't accidentally refer to them by the wrong name. OK, so Paula leads a rather sad life, but still, she lives in fabulous apartment and she has Gaby, so all is not lost. And, if I recall correctly, Paula has a great line in the movie, something like "The problem with being a decorator is that everyone thinks they know how to do your job"...or something along those lines. I'm sure many designers can relate.





Loyal Gaby putting away one of Paula's dresses. Note the dramatic headboard in the background, and the tiled kitchen to the right. A chic Paris apartment, non?



Paula at her dressing table.



And Paula out on the town.


My other favorite fictional decorator is Doris Day in "Pillow Talk". Once again, this designer wears really chic clothes, lives in a cool apartment, and has man trouble, only this time it's Rock Hudson rather than Yves Montand who is the culprit. Doris even has the maid who is the voice of reason, although Thelma Ritter, while funny in that wisecracking, New York kind of way, is not quite as chic as French Gaby. Doris works in a decorating shop surrounded by a sundry of antiques and bibelots- just like Paula- and she has men swooning for her. Could it be her profession that men find so captivating? Her sunny personality? Those clothes? And who can forget the hideous bachelor pad that Doris does up for Rock as punishment for his bad behavior? It's like a jungle-fied version of a Trader Vics.


Doris with her maid, played by Thelma Ritter.


Doris in front of her de rigueur dressing table.


Doris out on the town.


Doris and Rock making up in the notorious bachelor pad.


While researching this post, I came across a recent post about on-screen decorators on Apartment Therapy. See, someone else is intrigued by the decorator mystique as well.


(Image at top from Town & Country, October 2010; Marc Royce photographer)

The Many Faces of Elsie

A friend was kind enough to send me a copy of the Christie's auction catalogue that I've been coveting, Innovators of Twentieth Century Style. (Remember that part of the reason that I've been pining for it was because of the leopard print cover!) It's really a very interesting catalogue not only because of the featured lots (furniture and accessories designed by all of the greats: Elkins, Duquette, Draper, and Haines, to name a few), but also because of the Elsie de Wolfe related items that were up for auction. This de Wolfe memorabilia included not one, not two, but eight paintings of the woman! Now that's impressive. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong because I don't have eight, two, nor even one painting of myself! No one is clamoring to paint me. Nor do I have a coterie of photographers who are begging to photograph me either. Hmmm. Well, anyway, Elsie was pretty fabulous, so I suppose that it comes as no surprise that she was immortalized in a bevy of paintings, drawings, and photographs. I guess when you helped to define modern decorating, it just comes with the territory.

Image at top: "Miss Elsie de Wolfe", 1915, Albert Sterner. Pastel on paper.



"The Blue Bird, Lady Mendl with Baron d'Erlanger at the Circus", c. 1930s, Dietz Edzard. Oil on canvas.

"Lady Mendl", c. 1940s, Marcel Vertes. Oil on canvas.

"Lady Mendl, After All", c. 1941, Baroness Catherine d'Erlanger. Oil on canvasboard.

"Lady Mendl", after Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Oil on canvas.

"Portrait Lady Mendl Infirmiere Pendant La Guerre", c. 1918, Mariette Cotton. (In case you're wondering, this painting shows de Wolfe receiving the Legion of Honor for helping wounded French soldiers in World War I.)

"Portrait, Elsie de Wolfe", c. 1992, India Ingargiola. Oil on canvas. After a photograph by Horst P. Horst.

"Elsie de Wolfe en Jardin", 1989, Julian La Trobe. Oil on canvas.

Won't You Join Me?

Please join me for two different events this week that should help you spruce up your bedroom and learn the finer points of social networking.



On Wednesday, September 22, Gramercy Linen will be hosting a Peak of Chic "Between the Sheets" event from 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening. No, you won't see me in my sleeping attire, but I will be there to share my thoughts on how to create a chic bedroom- something that is not hard to do with all of the fabulous linens and accessories at Gramercy. A 15% discount will be offered on all purchases made during the evening, and there will also be a giveaway with custom monogramming. Oh, and because The Peak of Chic loves her vino, white wine will be served. I'd love to see you there!

Gramercy Linen, Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, 2351 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. (404) 846-9244




And who isn't tempted to blog, Facebook, or Tweet while lounging in bed? If that's you, then Tuesday's The Editor at Large's Power of New Media panel discussion at ADAC just might be your thing. The discussion will include useful tips on how best to use these various online platforms. Who knows? You just might become the next Ashton Kutcher of the Twitter world. The event will be held at 11am in the Presentation Room. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to info@adacatlanta.com

(Image at top from The Printery)

Weddings by Tara Guerard

So, I was reading Weddings by Tara Guerard this past weekend. (Mom, Dad, and Significant Other- you can pick yourselves up off of the floor now. I'm not trying to tell you anything. Really.) A Sewanee friend sent it to me for my birthday, and I finally had time to go through it with a fine-tooth comb this weekend. And you know what? This book isn't just for the brides. There are so many clever ideas that any of us could use for our own homes and for parties of the non-wedding kind. After reading Tara's latest book, I'm champing at the bit to throw a party. I might even serve these:



Mini 21 Club burgers. 21 Club burgers are the best, so I can only imagine that these Lilliputian versions are delicious and decadent. Tara even included the recipe for them.




And how about getting some skewers printed up with a Greek Key pattern for your next cocktail party? Could be kind of fun.




Speaking of having things printed, what about getting custom coasters made for casual entertaining? I like the bird and branch motif, especially for fall, and you could add your monogram underneath the image. A recipe on the flip-side would not be necessary if these are for everyday use.




I could easily see this comfy setting in one's home. Your guests might never leave.




Ballroom chairs are great, but sometimes they need a little something extra. (This is why I just ordered some fun cushions for mine from Philip Gorrivan's Tastemaker Tag Sale from One Kings Lane this weekend. I'm only mentioning this because I cannot wait for them to arrive!) Alternatively, you could monogram a linen slipcover for the back of your chairs like Tara did for this wedding.




Think about how pretty a vase would look filled with oranges, clementines, and kumquats during the holidays. I'd place a few on my sideboard, or one on a chest near my entryway.






And finally, what about doing kissing balls like these for the holidays? I'm thinking the red ones would look great against my powder blue walls.

So, are you ready to start entertaining?

(All images from Weddings by Tara Guerard by Tara Guerard, all photographs by Liz Banfield.)

Some Serious Curtains

See that photo above? A little grand, don't you think? And perhaps not the way we decorate today. But what amazes me is the skill and artistry that went into that bed's draperies. Those swags...stunning. The tassels and trim...terrific. Check out the printed lining of the bed curtain, the swags around the bottom of the bed, even the red table to the left that is upholstered in a red damask with a small tassel trim. Oh, and what about the bolsters on either end of the bed? All of the above took an amazing amount of skill and talent. Never mind the fact that you probably won't be decorating your bedroom with those swags and fringe trim. I understand that, and my home certainly doesn't have any of it either. But let's give credit where credit is due, and in this case it goes to Renzo Mongiardino. Only a deeply talented decorator could execute curtains like that, and I think most of us agree that Mongiardino was one of the best. In lesser hands, this room could have been ended up looking like Belle Watling's salon. Or perhaps that should be saloon.

What I find a little sad is that because the room above really isn't our aesthetic anymore, many designers never learn how to make Curtains- that's curtains with a capital "C". I'm not a designer, but I'm guilty of it as well. It's plain panels in my home. But just think of those wonderful creations by John Fowler. Now Fowler got curtains, but how many designers know how to design and fabricate curtains like his? I'm willing to bet not many.

This post certainly isn't an indictment of today's style of decorating nor today's designers. All I'm saying is that it's kind of a shame that curtain-making like what you see above is becoming a lost art. Perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to say no to the swag!


Blue taffeta and passementerie in the home of Princess Chavchavadze



At Waddesdon Manor, David Mlinaric used a Louis XVI engraving as inspiration for the silk taffeta draperies.




John Fowler was the genius behind these curtains in the drawing room at Cornbury Park. Look at the workmanship in the detail shot.



Keith Irvine...he knows curtains.

(Mongiardino photo from The Best in European Decoration; image #2 from Les Reussites De La Decoration Francaise 1950 1960: L'Interpretation Moderne Des Styles Traditionnels; #3 from Mlinaric on Decorating; Fowler photos from John Fowler: Prince of Decorators; Irvine photo from Keith Irvine: A Life in Decoration)

A Most Stylish Burgoo

I got my first taste of fall last week while in Napa. I can't tell you how nice it was to wear a lightweight sweater at night! Of course, the hot, muggy weather was waiting for me upon my return to Atlanta. But fall truly is around the corner, and while my "back to school" wardrobe adds to the excitement, it's thoughts of fall and winter food that give me great pleasure. I can't wait to make the season's first pot of Barefoot Contessa's Boeuf Bourguignon, not to mention my mother's beef tenderloin. There are hams to be baked, cheese grits to souffle, and butternut squash to roast.

If I could equate this comfort food to a particular room, it just might look something like this: the tiny but totally charming Manhattan apartment of Kentucky native Charles Patteson. There may not be many ingredients to this room, but it's a recipe on how to create the well-edited room.

*In case you're wondering what's up with the title, burgoo is a Kentucky dish that's similar to Brunswick stew. It's a melange of ingredients, much like this apartment. Although, I doubt in the early days of burgoo making they used the word "melange."










(Images from The Table by Diane von Furstenberg, Stewart O'Shields photographer.)

Alberto Pinto Table Settings

You know how I have lamented on more than one occasion that very few books on table settings come close to my much loved Tiffany books? Well, enough of the doom and gloom, because I have found a book that I believe rivals those by John Loring. (Sacrilege, I know.) If, like me, you are transported by images of beautiful tables, then buy, borrow, or even steal Alberto Pinto's new book, Alberto Pinto: Table Settings (Rizzoli). I kid you not- the photos of Pinto's table creations will positively enchant you.

My favorite Pinto table settings are those in his super stylish and somewhat opulent Paris home. This is where he uses his enviable collection of antique china, linen (including a tablecloth embroidered with the Bonaparte monogram), and crystal. His stash seems limitless, so it's no wonder that he has an amazing china closet filled to the brim with plates, tureens, and tea services. But, if you prefer a more casual approach to decorating your table, then you will probably be inspired by his tables in more laid-back settings like Morocco or various seaside locales.

I really think that you'll be as wowed as I was while reading the book. While you're mulling over your decision to buy it or waiting on your copy to arrive, here are a few images to whet your appetite.


Dinner is served in Pinto's sepia toned dining room.



A collection of rock-crystal pieces hold court with Baccarat stemware.



Teatime in Paris includes an 18th century faux-bois tea service and a porcelain macaw.



A more casual setting, this time overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.



Back to Paris and Pinto's porcelain collection including famille rose china and 17th c. Compagnie des Indes porcelain magots. The moss covered orchids were designed by Bruno Roy whose floral work is featured prominently in the book.

(Photo credits: Photo #1 by Giorgio Baroni; #2 by Jean Pierre Peersman; #3, #4, and #5 by Jacques Pepion. All images courtesy of Alberto Pinto: Table Settings by Alberto Pinto with text by Dane McDowell; Rizzoli, 2010.)