Philip Johnson's Curtain Call

I was recently discussing the late Philip Johnson with my friend, Keith. He was fortunate enough to have visited Johnson's Glass House when it first opened to public, while I hope to make the pilgrimage this year. The conversation reminded me of a May, 1934 House & Garden article which profiled the Manhattan duplex of Johnson. According to the article, the duplex (which, by the way, he shared with his sister) was comprised of the two upper floors of a townhouse located on East 49th Street.

When Johnson bought the apartment, the lower floor was divided into a two story studio living room, a reception hall, another small room, and a kitchen. The bedrooms were located on the upper floor. Johnson tore out the walls between each room on the lower floor (with the exception of the kitchen), effectively creating one large room. Where the walls once stood, though, Johnson installed curtains that helped to delineate the spaces. What's interesting is that Johnson chose different colored fabric for each set of curtains. Johnson typically left the curtains half drawn so as to give "a vista the entire length of the apartment." If he were to entertain large groups, the curtains were left wide open. In the photo above, you can see how the apartment's lower floor looked when all of the curtains were open.

Pale ecru linoleum was used throughout the apartment to create a sense of continuity. Johnson chose a dull white plaster finish for all of the walls and ceilings so as to give the appearance of lightness. The furniture included now classic pieces like the Barcelona daybed, chairs, and ottoman by Mies van der Rohe.

On a Philip Johnson related note, Birch Cooper of Birch Books has recently written a book profiling Johnson's library at the Glass House. The book includes photographs of 100 different volumes found in Johnson's library as well as a complete inventory of the titles located at the Glass House. All proceeds from the book will go towards conservation efforts of Johnson's library at the Glass House. For more information on Cooper's book, please click here.




The two-story living area that was at one end of the open space.



When drawn, blue serge curtains between the reception hall and the living area created privacy for dining.



The view from the study, looking towards the reception hall and then to the living area beyond. Curtains were also hung along the exterior walls to cover the floor to ceiling windows.


All photos from House & Garden, May 1934.

My Entertaining Resolution

When I entertain, it usually amounts to cocktails and at times heavy hors d'oeuvres. But this year, I resolve to host a small dinner party on a monthly basis. And I'll continue to have people over for drinks as well because that's fun and easy. Alrighty then, I better start gearing up for all of this planned entertaining. Perhaps I should consult the designer Richard Nelson for advice. If you'll recall the post that I wrote about him in 2010, I mentioned that at one time, Richard hosted suppers for twelve people on average of four or five nights a week! Needless to say, I'm not that ambitious.

I do have a list of recipes that I want to try and things that I want to buy to help make my entertaining easier and more fun too. We'll see if this list helps me to achieve my goal.




1. I hope to finish out my place settings of my flatware, Tiffany & Co.'s Hampton. If I don't do it now, they'll probably discontinue it and then I'll be out of luck.




2. I want to learn more about buying wine. I'm tired of being at the mercy of others while shopping for it.




3. I resolve to start keeping a menu book. If you're wondering why, just read this article by Christopher Petkanas in T Magazine. Maureen Footer and Christopher Spitzmiller are doing it. Perhaps I should too.




4. I want to have custom fill-in invitations made. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. And fill-in invitations are great for informal dinners and drinks parties. Perhaps I'll see what Pickett's Press can do for me.




5. I plan to make a second attempt at Bill Blass' Meatloaf. I hate to be blasphemous, but the last time I prepared it, I wasn't so crazy about it. Maybe the second time will be the charm.




6. I must expand my hors d'oeuvres repertoire in hopes of giving Steven Stolman a run for his money. First up, James Beard's Onion Sandwiches. I'll be sure to have Altoids available for my guests too.




7. And finally, I want to host a party that is so fun and raucous that one of my guests ends up with a lampshade on his or her head! I think that the best way to encourage that to happen would be to serve some Hunch Punch.

My Reading Resolution

I have quite a few New Year's resolutions, although to save myself potential embarrassment should I not achieve them, I'll just keep them to myself. However, there were two resolutions that were a bit less lofty than the rest: to carve more time out of my schedule to read, and to entertain more frequently than I did last year.

I read on a daily basis, and yet it seems that there's still not enough time to get through all of the books that I'd like to read. It would be nice to be able to take two or three days a week and devote them entirely to reading. But, who's got time for that? In the interest of keeping myself focused on the books in which I'm really interested, I've made a list of titles that I hope to read this year. Some of the books might seem a little low-brow, and that's fine by me. I'm perfectly aware that if you wallow with the pigs, you should expect to get dirty. But really, isn't it better than most of the reality shows on TV?

Tomorrow, I'll post my entertaining resolutions.



West End Front by Matthew Sweet. I first read about this book on Beverley Jackson's blog. Sweet's book examines life in London's grand hotels during World War II. Evidently, there was all kinds of intrigue and scandal involving socialites, swells, and ne'er do wells. My copy just arrived in the mail, and I can't wait to read all about it.



Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford. I enjoyed reading Mitford's The Sun King a few months ago, so I'm hoping that I'll feel the same about this book.





Constance Spry Cookery Book. An updated version of Spry and Hume's classic cookbook, first published in 1956.




Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols. I've never read any of his books, and I think this title- one of his most famous- is a good start.




Gilded Lily: Lily Safra: The Making of One of the World's Wealthiest Widows by Isabel Vincent. No, I don't plan to read this in hopes that someday I'll follow in Safra's footsteps. I'm just curious. Really.




Life in the French Country House and Life in the English Country House by Mark Girouard. I love books on general history, social history, and architectural history, and these two books combine all three.




Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Horror of horrors. Considering the fact that I'm a native Atlantan who has seen the movie close to thirty times, it's sacrilegious that I've never actually read the book. Shhh, don't tell.

Christmas with Tiffany's

Just in case you haven't planned your holiday table yet, a few photos to get the creative juices flowing.

Baking Christmas Cakes



The Glorious Tree



The Gingerbread People's Lunch



Red, White and Red



Christmas at Mellerstain



New York- December 25

All photos from A Tiffany Christmas by John Loring.

Home for the Holidays

My friend Ned Marshall recently opened his New Orleans house to the public as part of the Preservation Resource Center holiday home tour. According to Ned, between four and five thousand tour tickets were sold! It sounds to me like it was one successful tour of homes.

Knowing that visitors would expect his house to be done up for the holidays, Ned was a bit more lavish with the Christmas decorations than he usually is. A beautiful Christmas tree was trimmed in both white and colored lights, while garlands were strung between the living room columns. Ned's dining table was graciously set for a holiday dinner, while a drinks tray stood at the ready with preparations for holiday libations.

Since most of us were not able to attend the tour, we can take a virtual tour thanks to some beautiful photographs. I hope they bring you some holiday inspiration.

























All photos courtesy of Kerri McCaffety, photographer.