And Speaking of Bedding...

I used to have a lot of luck winning contests and prizes. I've won money (not much, but a little), CDs, and books. I never won Publishers Clearing House, but Lord knows I tried awfully hard on that one when I was a child. I don't know how my luck is these days, but I'm testing it out with this contest that I just found out about: a $1500 shopping spree at Frette. You better believe that I entered. I just had to retire a set of sheets so I'm in the market for a new set. How luxurious would it be to win?? Very!

I've already spent my $1500, at least in my head I have. What do you think you'd get? (If you win, you better let me know! Click here to enter.)

It wouldn't pay for the whole thing, but I might apply it to this mink cushion. How decadent is that?




I'm also taken with this metal cushion that is woven with metallic thread.



Or this gorgeous silk and cotton swirl print quilt. So pretty.



Wait, I'm getting distracted. I need sheets! Maybe something like this hotel bed set with the black embroidery.



Or for something a little different, this Sfusato Border sheet. Not too much print, but just enough.

Behind the Velvet Walls

I still can't get Alberto Pinto: Table Settings out of my head. I've already told you how gorgeous the photos are and how enviable Pinto's collection of china, linens, and flatware is. But there is one image in particular that really caught my eye: that of Pinto's dining room. Is it because of the table? The Rose topiary? Yes, and yes. But what really makes this room so memorable to me are those green velvet covered walls. Pinto even covered the shell niches with the fabric! The way the light hits it, it almost looks radioactive.

One might argue that Pinto really gilded the lily with his use of velvet on walls and niches, and perhaps he did. There is a very fine line between fabulous and frightful when that much velvet is involved. And to some of us, copious amounts of green velvet bring to mind images of Scarlett O'Hara in her curtain dress...or Carol Burnett in her Bob Mackie curtain-rod version. But in this case, I think it's pretty terrific. Both the setting and the furnishings are right for this kind of luxury. Would it work in a late 1960s high rise in Buckhead? Probably not. But in an elegant Paris dwelling? Yes. In fact, here are some other examples of velvet clad rooms, all of which happen to be in France.



Both the walls and the crown molding were dressed in moss green velvet.



Dove gray velvet walls were made even more elegant with that embroidered valance.



The Paris living room of Raymond Guest as decorated by Emilio Terry. That bold rug gave an edge to an otherwise proper room.



Love the velvet walls, green velvet chair, and leopard print velvet sofa. Too much? Not in my book.



If velvet is too fancy for you, how about corduroy? Corduroy sofa, corduroy walls, and corduroy curtains. I suppose it's no surprise that this Paris apartment was owned by an American. Corduroy is, in a way, like the American version of velvet.

(Top image from Alberto Pinto: Table Settings by Alberto Pinto, Giorgio Baroni photographer; other images from The Finest Rooms in France)

Chinese...If You Please

I went to the Schumacher showroom at ADAC the other day with the express purpose of looking at the new print Nanjing in person. That's it above in a Schumacher vignette. Big. Bold. Blue. Oh, and it's, of course, Chinoiserie. What's not to love?



The linen fabric comes in Porcelain and Jade, both shown above, as well as Coral and Smoke. I'm usually not crazy about green, but this Jade is a little like a bottle green. Such great colors. And then a few days later, I found photos of this kitchen loaded with blue and white accents, including an exuberant Chinoiserie print fabric.



That blown-up print looks great on the rather plain Queen Anne chairs. It really perked things up. Obviously, it's not the same print as the Schumacher, but it has a similar look.



The same fabric was even used to line glass-front kitchen cabinets.

So think about how great a red kitchen would look with the Coral Nanjing lining fronts of cabinets or used for window shades. Or, what about Porcelain or Jade used somewhere- anywhere!- in a peacock colored room. There are so many possibilities. I just need to narrow it down to how and where I'll use it in my home.

(Images #1 and #2 from Schumacher; #3 and #4 from Southern Accents; the date? Ages ago.)

Mad About Maugham

I just finished reading Syrie Maugham, Pauline Metcalf's new book on one of the twentieth century's most innovative designers. It was high time that Syrie got a book of her own. Actually, Richard Fisher wrote a book on Syrie back in the late 1970s, but that one is both hard to find and quite expensive. I had to resort to photocopying the Fisher book at my neighborhood library. At least I own Metcalf's book.

Like so many of the Acanthus Press books that I've read, Syrie Maugham is very much a catalogue raisonne of the decorator's work through the decades. There were some Maugham rooms that I was familiar with, but many were new to me too. Of course, Maugham's famous Kings Road all-white drawing room is featured in the book (it's on the cover, too); after all, this was the room that got Maugham noticed by the press and the public on both sides of the Atlantic. But what many people don't realize is that Maugham also used color- vivid color- in much of her work, and this is a point that Metcalf drives home with such examples as the living room of Ina and William Wallace and even Maugham's later residence at Chesham Place. In addition to color, other Maugham hallmarks include tufted upholstery (Syrie never overlooked comfort), sleigh beds, mirrored screens, fringe, and fabulous window pelmets, all of which are seen throughout the book.

Another interesting point made by Metcalf is that at times, Maugham's work "overlapped" with that of Elsie de Wolfe, Frances Elkins (someone with whom Maugham occasionally collaborated), and even Dorothy Draper. Look at photos of all four designers' work and you'll see the influence that each one had on the other.

I know that there are those of us who are fascinated by the history of design and those who are only interested in photographs of gorgeous rooms. No matter which camp you're in, I think this book will be well received by both. After reading it, you'll realize that Syrie Maugham was not just a one trick pony. Although she'll be best remembered for that white room and pickled furniture, she did so much more than that. Thanks to Metcalf for showing us that.



The famous all-white party room at Maugham's Kings Road home c. 1932. Once this look ran its course, Maugham was smart enough to go in a different direction and decorate her home in a whole new way:



Vogue Regency in the Entrance Hall at Chesham Place, Maugham's address from 1937 to 1939. If I didn't know better, I might think that this space was decorated by Dorothy Draper.



Rose wallpaper struck a colorful note in the entrance hall at yet another Maugham home, this one at 24 Park Lane.



And one more example of rich color, this time in the living room of William Wallace and his wife, actress Ina Claire. This space dates to the early 1940s.



I find this Maugham decorated drawing room so charming, and I just had to include it because this home belonged to Lady Rose Leveson-Gower and her husband; she was the older sister to the late Queen Mum.



The Manhattan apartment of Grace and Harry Payne Bingham. If only I had traditional windows in my apartment, I would copy that pelmet in a heartbeat.


(All images courtesy of Syrie Maugham by Pauline C. Metcalf, Acanthus Press publishers.)

Urban Electric Company's Color Story

Here's a bright idea that should get you out of the house tomorrow night. Join Urban Electric Company and designer Amanda Nisbet for an evening of color and light at UECo.'s Atlanta showroom. Not only will you get to view custom colored lights that incorporate Amanda's fabulous fabrics, but you'll also get a sneak peek of Nisbet's first complete lighting line for Urban Electric, set to debut in Spring 2011. After looking at that photo above, don't you want to completely redo your lamps and shades? I know that I do.

*The event takes place Thursday, September 30 from 5-8pm at Urban Electric Company, 1170 Howell Mill Road. Please RSVP to katherine@urbanelectricco.com

Southern Comfort

I spent the weekend going through a trove of twenty and thirty year old Southern Accents, something which was akin to a trip down memory lane. You see, these were the homes- and the style of decorating-with which I grew up. Color, proper and sometimes fancy curtains, antiques, collections that were amassed over time, and beautifully set tables. In my mind, all of these things embodied Southern design from the 1980s. And while it might sound a tad formal (and it was), there was certainly nothing uptight about the decor. In these homes, one could just as easily spend a Saturday afternoon watching SEC football as seated at a formal Christmas Eve dinner. It was really about creating a beautiful environment for not only yourself, but more importantly for family and friends. Or at least, that's the way I remember things.

The Atlanta home featured here really captures a sophisticated side to Southern design. Photographed in 1982, the home was decorated by Jane Marsden, a designer and antiques dealer well-known to Atlantans. Of course, it helps when one starts with a Philip Shutze Regency style house noted for its restrained elegance and pleasing sense of symmetry. Still, the collaboration between the homeowner, Mrs. Bean, and Marsden imbued the house with additional style, substance, and some Southern charm too.



The elegant entryway with a George I mirror over a pine eagle table.





The living room with its lady-like draperies. Note the use of tassel trim and ball fringe throughout the room. Remember when we weren't afraid to use that trim? The Coromandel screen and the X-base, leopard covered bench strike a sophisticated note.




Most Southerners can't grasp the idea of not having a formal dining room in one's house. After all, your Royal Crown Derby "Old Imari" china needs a proper backdrop. As beautiful as the china is (it's a favorite on mine), it's the draperies that make me swoon. One more thing- see those floor to ceiling windows? They raise into the ceiling to allow guests to move between the room's interior and the outdoors during parties.




So nice to see a porcelain collection, this one with pieces decorated in the "Money Tree" pattern.





The library appears to be pink, although it was really a warm red. I'm not finding much in this room that screams 1982. In fact, if it's still installed this way, I bet it's held up pretty well. It's chic enough to host nighttime cocktails...and comfortable enough to relax and watch football.




The playroom. I'm assuming that's a playroom for adults. Again, a little tweaking here and there and you still have a room fitting for 2010. Imagine it without the wall to wall carpet and the acoustic tile ceiling, and you'll see what I mean.


(All images from Southern Accents, Fall 1982. Max Eckert, photographer.)

It's All Greek To Me

Yes, it's time for yet another post on Greek Keys. I'm sorry, but I can't help myself. I've never met a Greek Key that I didn't like. (And now that I think of it, I've never met a Greek person that I didn't like either.) The twist this time is that all of these examples show the motif used as part of the architecture, both interior and exterior. And to start it off is the image at top, a room at Pitzhanger Manor near London. It's a room after my own heart. Why limit the motif to the ceiling when you can repeat it on the floor as well?



I can't find any information on this house, so unfortunately I don't know who the architect was nor where this house was located. Not only do I fancy the Greek Key detail on the facade, I also like the house's symmetry.

The house of Mrs. Charles Harrington Chadwick in Palm Beach; Treanor & Fatio architects. The bonus to this exuberant use of Greek Keys was the single star that capped the door.



One of my very favorite architectural uses of the Greek Key: carved into a niche to allow for indirect lighting. In the dining room of the Richardson-Owens-Thomas house in Savannah; William Jay, architect; c. 1816-1819.




The drawing room ceiling at Port Eliot, Cornwall, England; Sir John Soane created this circular room in 1804.



Hefty Greek Keys crown the bookshelves in this McMillen designed room from the 1930s.



A St. Louis dress shop, c. 1930s, as decorated by McMillen.

Lucky for me that I get my Greek Key fix on a daily basis by driving by this Lewis Crook designed house everyday.

(Image #1 from Regency Style by Steve Parissien; image #4 from Landmark Homes of Georgia 1733-1983 by Van Jones Martin and William Mitchell, Jr.; image #5 from The Regency Country House: From the Archives of Country Life by John Martin Robinson; image #6 and #7 from Sixty Years of Interior Design: The World of McMillen by Erica Brown; last image from Crossleys.org)