One Night in Bangkok

Actually, make that one night at ADAC, although it certainly felt like Bangkok.  Jim Thompson recently celebrated the grand opening of their fabulous new Atlanta showroom, which is their first in North America. And in keeping with the company's Thai roots, the folks of Jim Thompson made sure to give the party Thai flair.  There was Thai silk, Thai food, and even a Thai tuk-tuk, into which my friend Barry and I crammed our too-tall bodies.

I had hoped to take some photos of the showroom, but it was jam-packed with guests having a really good time.  So instead, I'll show you official images of Jim Thompson's new Spring collections.  The Temple of Dawn collection, which is named for a Bangkok landmark, includes some beautiful silks and breezy cottons and linens.  Their new outdoor collection, aptly named Singing in the Rain, is made up of acrylic fabrics that can withstand the rigors of outdoor living.

If you're planning a trip to ADAC anytime soon, please stop by the new Jim Thompson showroom.  The tuk-tuk may no longer be there, but beautiful fabrics await you.

Temple of Dawn collection:

Deva- linen, Lurex, viscose

Ampawan- linen, cotton, viscose

Benja- linen

Screen and curtains: Arun-linen

Chair: Pathum- silk, linen, viscose


Singing in the Rain Collection:

Deluge- acryliic

Stream- acrylic

Torrent- acrylic

Fabric photos courtesy of Jim Thompson Fabrics

An Introduction to Gérard Mille

In my cache of 1950s and 60s-era French design books, there is a designer whose work crops up again and again: Gérard Mille. In the mid-twentieth century, Mille was one of France's most prominent designers, something that I attribute not just to his high-profile clients but to his elegant and rarefied style as well. I guess that it's appropriate that two French phrases come to my mind when I see photos of a Mille-designed interior: recherché and comme il faut, the latter because Mille's style is what one might expect of a French sophisticate of the day.

Photographer-turned-antiquaire Roger Prigent was also impressed by Mille, having photographed Dior-clad models for French Vogue in Mille's Paris apartment.  As Prigent told the New York Observer in 2002, "It was a beautiful apartment.  I didn't even know that people could live that way."  But live that way Gérard did, alongside his brother, Hervé, who was the editor of Paris Match.  The Mille brothers often held court in their rue de Varennes apartment, entertaining friends like Coco Chanel and Louise de Vilmorin.

The photos that you see here, which were published in L'ŒIL magazine and later in The Best in European Decoration, show Mille's apartment circa early 1960s.  Whether this is the same apartment that made such an impression on Prigent, I'm not sure.  But the photos do convey Mille's preference for fine antiques (which included a Boulle desk and a Jacob console) and formal fabrics.  The title that accompanied these photos seems to sum up the home quite well: "Small appartment [sic], great taste". How's that for being concise?  Too bad only one of the photos is in color.

An aside: while researching Mille, I discovered a very chic, early-1930s smoking room that was credited to both Jean Dunand and Gérard Mille. The room, which was originally installed in the Paris apartment of Colette Aboucaya, was a collaboration between Dunand and Mille, who was Aboucaya's decorator. Could this be the same Gérard Mille whose apartment is seen here? I'm assuming so, but I'm still trying to confirm this. Regardless, I included a photo of the Dunand-Mille smoking room, which was called "Les Palmiers", at the end of this post because it is so incredibly fabulous. The room's walls and doors were lined in Dunand-designed lacquered-wood panels, which were embellished with Cubist-style palm tree motifs that gave the room its name. After Aboucaya's death in 1997, the room was dismantled and sold through Drouot.  The new owners then installed it at Château de Gourdon. In 2011, the room was auctioned off yet again, this time by Christie's, on whose website the smoking room photo appeared.

In case you're interested in buying a copy of the out-of-print The Best in European Decoration, there seem to be a few copies available on Amazon as well as well as Abebooks.

The Smoking Room:

Mille apartment photos from The Best in European Decoration; the smoking room photo from Christie's

In with the Old at the Philadelphia Antiques Show

I do hope that some of you will be able to join me on Sunday, April 27 at The Philadelphia Antiques Show.  I will be speaking about classic design and antiques starting at 11:30, with a book signing event to follow.  The show's organizers are determined to prevent me from feeling any homesickness for the South by serving Mint Juleps and Southern snacks at the event.  I'd say that antiques and Mint Juleps are a match made in heaven.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit The Philadelphia Antiques Show website. The show is considered to be one of the best in the nation, and I am honored to be a part of it.

Geoffrey Preston Sculpture and Design

About a month ago, I was searching for something on the internet- for what I can't remember- when I stumbled upon the website of architectural sculptor Geoffrey Preston.  Based in the U.K., Preston's specialty is decorative plasterwork and stucco.  Having previously founded two different conservation practices (it was Preston who restored much of the masterpiece plasterwork at Uppark House,) Preston now runs his own workshop, where he and his band of artists create new plaster and stucco masterpieces for some of England's leading architects and decorators.

Looking through Preston's online portfolio, I was understandably struck by the large examples of his work, such as intricate ceilings and massive wall panels.  But I was equally as taken with his smaller projects, which, despite the fact that they are scaled-down flourishes, make just as much of an impression as their large-scaled brethren do.  A stucco overmantle or a small wall panel doesn't require a large house, only a homeowner who thinks big.

So, for more big inspiration, please visit Preston's website.  His work is truly magnificent.

All photos courtesy of Geoffrey Preston

Think Chintz!

A big thank you to Southern Living and Lindsay Bierman for inviting me to write about chintz (are you listening, Mario Buatta?) for their April issue.  In Chintz- Back in Bloom!, you'll not only read about what makes this fabric so timeless and special, but you'll also learn how Barrie Benson, Lauren Liess, Ruthie Sommers, and Celerie Kemble have used chintz to stylish effect.

Visit your newsstand or the Southern Living website, where you can read the bonus Chintz in the South timeline.  You just might find a mention of Designing Women in it.

Revisiting Diana Cooper

I recently read Darling Monster: The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to Her Son John Julius Norwich 1939-1952.  (The book has not yet been released in the U.S., but you can do as I did and order it from the U.K.)  At 465 pages, the book might seem like it would be a bit of a slog, but it really isn't.  It's a brisk read that is delightful and entertaining.  In fact, I'm now anxious to read Diana Cooper's autobiography, although that will have to wait until I plow through the waist-high stack of books next to my bed.

Darling Monster prompted me to revisit the 2006 publication, Rooms, which featured Derry Moore's 1984 photos of Cooper's London flat.  I showed these photos on my blog many years ago, but it seems worthwhile to take another look as they capture the mementos- and attractive ones at that- of a life lived to the hilt.  Although I appreciated these photos when I first saw them a number of years ago, I now have a greater understanding of some of the photos' details thanks to Darling Monster.  For example, that seemingly incongruous yachting cap that Cooper is wearing in one of the photos?  It seems that this wasn't a one-time occurrence; she referred to wearing just such a cap in a number of her letters to her son.  And now I know that she wrote much of her correspondence from her bed, just as she seems to be doing in a different Moore photo.

While Diana Cooper's home might reflect her personality, it is her letters and written remembrances that truly capture it.  If Diana Cooper's home piques your interest, then by all means consider reading Darling Monster.

To purchase a copy of Darling Monster, visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

*The caption that accompanied this photo mentioned that Cooper's trompe l'oeil panels had been painted by Rex Whistler. As John Julius Norwich noted in Darling Monster, the panels were in fact painted by Martin Battersby for the Coopers' Chateau de Chantilly.  The panels were later moved to Cooper's London residence.

All photos from Rooms by Carl Skoggard, Derry Moore photographer.

West Coast Bound

I'm off today for a ten day trip to California, and I decided that this would be a good time to take a few weeks off from blogging to recharge my battery.  But before I sign off, I want to remind you that I will be signing books at Hollyhock in Los Angeles this Wednesday, March 19 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.  If you plan to attend (and I hope that you do!), please RSVP to the email address or phone number listed above.

Then, on Wednesday, March 26, Hudson Grace in San Francisco will be hosting a book signing event for me from 5 to 8pm.  The party will be just one of the retail-oriented events held as part of House Beautiful's Shop America night on Sacramento Street.  Many of the shops on Sacramento Street will be participating.  For more information, please see the invitation below.

And to those who plan to attend either event, I look forward to seeing you very soon.

Michael Devine and An Invitation to the Garden

After four months of a grueling travel schedule and a whirlwind (but fun!) book tour, my immune system is shot.  Last week, I became sick for the third time in three months, and to say that I was ready to cry over the situation is an understatement.  However, in an effort to be positive about the situation, I will say that the silver lining of being sick was that it gave me an opportunity to spend an afternoon reading my friend Michael Devine's fabulous new book, An Invitation to the Garden.  Simply put, the book was tonic for my soul.

Michael's book documents the entertaining that he and his partner, Thomas, do in their lovely Kinderhook, New York garden.  Michael is an avid gardener who has brought to life the most lovely and lush garden, which is a bounty of roses, lilacs, bachelor's buttons, tomatoes, green beans, and other vegetal delicacies.  But Michael doesn't treat his garden merely as a backdrop for entertaining.  An avid cook, too, Michael uses both the produce and the flowers that grow in his garden to create simple but elegant dishes that are inspired by his time spent living in France.

The book is comprised of chapters that are devoted to seasonal dinners and soirees, all of which are held in the garden or in the couple's charming tool shed cum bagatelle.  There is a Lilac Brunch, a Butterfly Luncheon, a Harvest Lunch, and an Elegant Christmas Eve Dinner, just to name a few.  Each chapter features a menu, photographs of the garden, the tablesetting, and the food served, and finally, recipes, which include Strawberries with Rose Water Syrup, Tomato Tartare with Parmesan Tuiles, Poulet Pot-au-Feu, Tomato Soup, and many more.

Among the many published tomes on entertaining, Michael's book is unique in that his style of entertaining is elegant yet completely doable, too.  You won't find any contrived or over the top dos in this book.  Much like Michael, his book is hospitable, one that those of us who love food, flowers, gardening, tablesettings, and, yes, entertaining will find most welcoming.

To purchase a copy of the book, please visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

All photos from An Invitation to the Garden by Michael Devine; Michael Devine and John Gruen photographers.