Some Suzanne Rheinstein Wisdom

One thing that I admire about Suzanne Rheinstein's elegant and classical style is that it works well in both town and country. Suzanne can decorate both a Park Avenue apartment as well as a Virginia horse farm with equal aplomb! I'm especially excited about her recently completed project that is featured in House Beautiful's May issue, the theme of which is "Designer Secrets".

Suzanne decorated this Upper East Side apartment for a young married couple that hails from the South. In fact, while reading the article, I realized that the wife used to be my across the hall neighbor in Atlanta many years ago. As you can see, the interiors are gracious and proper, and yet they're comfortable looking too. To me, the apartment looks like a big old Southern home housed within an Upper East Side apartment building.

I'm including a few images here, but be sure to check out the May issue to get the full effect. And as the issue's cover promises, there are plenty of Suzanne's designer secrets in the article as well. (In fact, some of her sage advice can be seen in the photo above.)

All photos from House Beautiful, May 2012, Francois Dischinger photographer. Photos used with express permission from the magazine.

William Yeoward's American Bar

I'm rather meek when it comes to mixing cocktails at home. A French 75 or a Gin Fizz is about as wild and crazy as it gets. However, my attitude towards mixology has completely changed thank to a very entertaining new book, William Yeoward's American Bar. (The title refers to the high-style bars of London and Paris during the 1920s and 30s, often referred to as "American bars" because of the cocktail craze that began on our shores.)

Yeoward's book is a compilation of cocktail recipes conjured up by the bartenders at five of Yeoward's favorite London watering holes: The Connaught Bar; Annabel's; Beaufort Bar at The Savoy; American Bar at The Savoy; and Berkeley Blue Bar. With names like Smoked Old-Fashioned, Fleurissimo, and Hanky Panky, these cocktails are no ordinary drinks. Rather, they are creatively crafted drinks made from all kinds of intriguing ingredients like Punt e Mes vermouth, celery bitters, or jasmine pearl tea.

Now, it's the exotic sounding ingredients that might give you pause. Initially, they did to me as well since I don't have things like celery bitters sitting on my bar. But the book's gorgeous photographs of cocktails in glamorous settings were enough to convince me to try my hand at some of these recipes. And Yeoward's writing is so upbeat and enthusiastic, you will want to make more than a few of these cocktails.

The bonus to this book is the last section in which Yeoward lists his favorite cocktails to serve to his guests, and these drinks you'll probably recognize: Margarita; Gin Sling; Whiskey Sour. These recipes are a nice addition because sometimes you just want to serve a drink that's easy to make. There are also some wonderful canape recipes as well as photographs of Yeoward's preferred party glasses. (As would be expected of a man whose crystal and glassware is coveted by so many of us, Yeoward has an enviable collection of drinkware.)

If you love cocktails and enjoy entertaining, or if you're simply a fan of William Yeoward, then I highly recommend that you consider this book for your collection. The book would make a great gift for friends or family, too.

Visit The Peak of Chic Entertains today to read the book's recipe for a Connaught Martini.




Fleurissimo




Annabel's Special




Costa Esmeralda




Princess Ida




Ramos Fizz


All photos from William Yeoward's American Bar by William Yeoward; Cico Books, 2012; Gavin Kingcome photographer.

A Cavalier Attitude

Funny things happen when you become a dog owner. First, you find yourself taking lots of photos of your dog. See the photo above? It's just one of many photos that I've taken in the last month alone. Seriously.

The other alarming thing that I've noticed about myself is that I now take a keen interest in any and all tchotchkes that have a Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel emblazoned on them. I have bought magnetic note pads, stationery, and even socks (yes, socks) with Cavaliers on them. If I'm not careful, I'm going to become one of those squirrely dog owners who wears Cavalier sweatshirts and drives around with a Cavalier license plate on the front of the car. Well, I can't let that happen, so from here on out, I'm going to focus on collecting Cavaliers like these:





These two 19th c. English paintings of Cavaliers both have provenances listed as "Parish Hadley". Available through William Secord Gallery. I love that the two dogs have feathers and slippers just like Alfie. Alfie's tail, however, is much longer than those above.



Such a sophisticated Cavalier, one who is "Admiring Audubon"; Pamela Hall was the artist. Unfortunately, Alfie doesn't seem like much of a reader. (Painting available through William Secord Gallery.)






A c. 1860 micromosaic brooch by Castellani. Auctioned at Christie's London in 2006.



A c. 1890 Tea Caddy made of lacquer and papier mache. Available from Hamshere Gallery.





A c. 1780 Snuff Box depicting a King Charles Spaniel. From Taylor B. Williams Enamels.



A pastel drawing of "Roulette" by Marjorie Cox, 1963. Sold at Christie's in 1999.

Sister Parish in Maine

I suppose, in a way, it's fitting to end the week with photos of Sister Parish's homes in Dark Harbor, Maine. Homes is plural because, as you'll recall, she owned both a winter house in town as well as a summer place that was down the road.

At first glance, it's a heady mix of floral chintzes, stripes, and patchwork. But take a good look at the rooms and you'll see evidence of Sister Parish's projects: decoupage, needlework, and floral arrangements that she attended to daily. They add such a homey touch to the interiors, don't you think? In fact, these photos make me want to take up decoupage. Well, almost.


The Summer House


Mrs. Parish's sitting room. The rug was Irish made. The interesting looking corner cabinet held sweaters.




No, not Yummy, but rather Desmond the Pekingese.

Mrs. Parish's needlework sat beneath a faience jug of sunflowers and green tobacco leaf.


The Winter Town House


The town house living room. The fabric on the sofa was an Albert Hadley design.



A town house arrangement of lettuces, chicory, nasturtiums, beedtops, and parsley was done by Parish's daughter, Apple Bartlett.



A guest bedroom at the town house. The headboards were upholstered in quilts from West Virginia, while the bed spreads, also quilts, were made in Kentucky.



Mrs. Parish decoupaged this old mirror.



Mrs. Parish's town house bedroom with its four different floral chintzes.



A hallway that led from the greenhouse to the living room.


All photos from House & Garden, March 1971, Horst photographer.

High Style Tile

A number of readers responded to last week's post on Delft and Portuguese tile by emailing me their sources for antique and new tile. I want to share these sources with you as I'm assuming that decent looking Delft tile is hard to find. I'll split the sources up into separate posts as they each make and sell such beautiful tile that it's difficult to narrow down the number of photos into one post.

First up is The Douglas Watson Studio in Oxfordshire, England. It was designer Christopher Leach who informed me of their work. In fact, Leach used their tile in a London town house project that was recently featured in British House & Garden. Above, you can see a photo of the tiled bathroom that Leach designed. (To see more photos of the project, click here.)

What is refreshing about the work of Douglas Watson Studio is that many of their tile designs are full of whimsy but are fortunately lacking cuteness. There is the traditional Delft style tile as well as the more exotic looking tile seen so often in Italy and Spain. What I am charmed by the most, though, are their series of tiles. Themes include the alphabet, birds, cooking, etc. Can you imagine how lovely a kitchen would look with one of these series featured prominently in the room?

I urge you take a look at the website. Every photo of their tile is more charming than the last!



One example of their Delft tile



Much of their Delft tile is available in blue and white as well as manganese or polychrome.




How gorgeous is this tiled Battle Scene panel?



Or this Balloon panel?



Catchpenny Series



Botanical Herb Series



Old English Alphabet



There are also tiles that are a bit more exotic in design.



An example of some recent work. This might appeal to the gardeners reading this.




I'm not sure to whom this coat of arms belongs, but it certainly looks stunning in tile.

All tile photos from the website of Douglas Watson Studio. The photo of the Christopher Leach designed bathroom is from British House & Garden, March 2012, Simon Brown photographer.

Old-Fashioned Easter Lilies

Every year as Easter rolls around, there are two things that I especially look forward to: Cadbury Cream Eggs and Easter lilies. There's not a lot that I can say about Cream Eggs other than they taste really good, so I'll just focus on Easter lilies here.

Easter lilies, white and trumpet shaped, aren't seen too often anymore. In fact, I'm only able to find them in Atlanta during this time of year. I suppose that they're a rather old-fashioned lily, one that has now been supplanted in popularity by the Oriental varieties that are so prevalent today. When I was trying to find interior photos which showed Easter lilies, I could only find images from the 1930s to the 1960s, a time when the Easter lily was popular in both its potted form as well as in cut stem arrangements.

By the way, if you're wondering why these lilies are a symbol of Easter, it's because they're a symbol of both resurrection and purity. And one more tidbit of info: Easter lilies are also called Bermuda lilies.



A vase of cut lilies in the New York apartment of designer James Pendleton.




A Pierre Brissaud illustration shows the drawing room of the Harrison Williams.




A potted Easter lily in the Rose Cumming designed home of Dr. and Mrs. Russell Cecil.




McMillen's old Houston showroom. An urn is a classic way in which to plant a lily.




Some rather tall Easter lilies flanking the fireplace in this McMillen designed drawing room.




The sunroom of Françoise and Oscar de la Renta. The mirrored urns holding the Easter lilies look very disco.



Photos #1 and #2 from House & Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration (1942); #3 from The Finest Rooms by America's Great Decorators; #4 and #5 from Sixty Years of Interior Design: The World of McMillen; #6 from HOUSE & GARDEN'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO INTERIOR DECORATION - SEVENTH EDITION.