Designer Secrets OBSESSIONS & CONFESSIONS FROM THE WORLD’S BEST DECORATORS
Why Manners Still Matter MARKHAM ROBERTS MAKES THE CASE
MAY–JUNE 2021
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CONTENTS May + June 2021
90 The Quiet Genius of a Midcentury Masterpiece
Architect Ken Pursley rescues a stunning 1950s Saul Edelbaum home in Charlotte.
O N TH E COV E R : An oil painting by London artist Daisy Cook and floral armchair upholstery (Clarence House) echo the verdant scenery outside this Gramercy Park apartment in New York. Design, Cece Barfield Thompson
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96 Salon Spectacular Decades of art and other magpie collections joyfully mingle in designer Todd Romano’s Texas home. 104 Keys to the Park Designer Cece Barfield Thompson ushers the lush Gramercy Park green into her comfortable family dwelling.
Cover photograph by Thomas Loof Cover styling by Dayle Wood
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PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIE WILLIAMS; STYLING BY DAKOTA WILLIMON.
82 Bold Moves Designer Ceara Donnelley’s Charleston manse sings with riotous color and a daring mix of old and new.
Canopy Collection: Wallpaper, Print and Woven Fabrics
www.thibautdesign.com
Central Park wallpaper. Brentwood Chair with Skirt upholstered in Central Park with Prisma in grass for contrast welt and Pleated Tape in kelly along skirt bottom.
Contents
M AY + JUNE 2021
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THE V LIST This season, our editors are obsessing over colorful everything: ceramics-inspired fabrics, geovibrant rugs, and more! Shop our top selections here.
IN GOOD TASTE DECORATING
25 The grand return of the welldressed window 30 Designer Charlotte Moss unlocks the magic of a country bedroom. 32 Markham Roberts reminds us why manners matter. 40 ENTERTAINING Parties are waiting in the wings. Three theatrical vignettes to inspire your next soiree 46 CONVERSATION Veranda Contributor Joy Moyler digs deep with Quintel Gwinn on how design can save the world.
56 WANDERLUST Architect Tom Kligerman’s love affair with India through his own words, images, and paintings
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62 COLLECTING Celebrating summer’s bounty with ornamental vegetables 68 PRESERVATION The history—and future—of the Wilfandel Club, L.A.’s oldest Black women’s club
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73 DESIGNER CONFIDENTIAL The country’s top designers share watercooler secrets, from mistakes to must-have pieces
IN EVERY IS SUE Sign up for a free weekly newsletter from our editors with designer spaces and fresh ideas for indoors and out, plus our favorite new products. Visit signup.veranda.com.
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Curtain Call Editor’s Letter Grand Entrance The Sourcebook Limited Edition
OUTDOOR TABLE, BRIE WILLIAMS; FLOWER ARRANGEMENT, THOMAS LOOF, STYLING BY DAYLE WOOD; ILLUSTRATION BY TUG RICE.
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50 JEWELRY Creatures of air, land, and sea inspire whimsical pieces.
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Editor-in-Chief
VP, Group Publishing Director/Chief Revenue Officer
STEELE THOMAS MARCOU X
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ADVERTISING PRODUC TION Operations Director DAVID BRICKEY I N T E R N AT I O N A L
← C U RTA I N CA LL Aviary fabric, to the trade; madeaux.com. • Positano linen border, to the trade; samuelandsons.com. • Beaucaire pelmet, from $1,500; ateliervime.com.
Canada Germany Italy U.K. France
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ANGELA JET T OKENICA 212-649-3228 MICHAEL NEU WIRTH Burda Community Network GmbH 49-89-9250-3629 ROBERT SCHOENMAKER Hearst Advertising Worldwide Italy 39-02-6269-4441 CHLOE DONOVAN Hearst Advertising Worldwide U.K. 44-77-1254-5188 MARIE ARMANDE DE SPARRE 33-1-42-84-33-80
PHOTOGRAPH BY LAUREY W. GLENN; STYLING BY SARA CLARK.
Design Director VICTOR MAZE
ƬƞƫƞƧƚƚƧƝƥƢƥƲ ƜƨƦ
Editor’s Letter
vegetables (pg. 62) ❷; the artist-architect
Photographed at Hundley Hilton Interiors in Birmingham, AL
DESIGNER COREY DAMEN JENKINS ❶
posed this rhetorical question during an interview for our “Designer Confidential” feature (pg. 73) in which more than a dozen top designers divulge their deepest professional secrets—think design fantasies, biggest mistakes, and the occupational hazards that drain their wallets (and fill their shelves). The most important question we asked: What do you wish your clients knew? Jenkins’s answer might as well be a tagline for this issue, our firstever “designer issue.” After more than a year of adapting to new realities, routines, worries, and worldviews, why not live as beautifully as we can, while we can? The wisdom, humor, and reflection shared by designers featured in this issue deliver inspiration for living more beautifully in every sense. There’s the beloved author and philanthropist who knows the secret to creating an unforgettable room; the host extraordinaire with an infectious passion for decorating with
Editors’
BOOKSHELF ◆ ◆ ◆
FOUR TITLES ON OUR READING LIST THIS SEASON
for whom far-flung immersion fuels his work and feeds his soul (pg. 56) ❸; the entrepreneur with a stirring vision for how design can save the world (pg. 46); and her mentor and Veranda contributor, known as much for her generous spirit as her dazzling design ❹. And then there’s the incomparable magic and life-altering imprint of a long-term client relationship, movingly captured by Markham Roberts on pg. 32. Such a partnership, one in which a designer facilitates the realization of his client’s dream, may well serve as a road map to living as beautifully as we can. Take La Rêverie ❺, the former Palm Beach home of Matrix cofounder Sydell Miller, who collaborated with Peter Marino on its breathtaking design. “Working with Mr. Marino was deeply satisfying for Mrs. Miller,” says Jonathan Rendell, deputy chairman and head of sales curation for Christie’s, which is bringing to auction Miller’s spectacular collection via sales in May and June. “It’s only fitting that her lifelong pursuit of beauty… led Mrs. Miller to avant-garde art and design, and to share her connoisseurship, complemented by her collaboration with Mr. Marino, at her home.” There’s no doubt our dreams for our homes have shifted, evolved, even crystallized over the past year. Here’s to hoping you can bring yours to life with the help of an extraordinary collaborator.
1 Jenkins in the dining room of a historic Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, home his firm designed
2 Endless summer bounty in a fresh crop of produce textiles: Le Marche fabric; pierrefrey .com. Twigs Haymarket wallpaper; johnrosselli.com.
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An architect’s vision: Delhi’s Jama Masjid, one of India’s largest mosques, photographed by Tom Kligerman
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Shop Joy Moyler’s Design on a Dime vignette benefiting Housing Works and featuring Serena & Lily’s Southampton Dining Table May 20–22; housingworks.org.
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Steele Thomas Marcoux ED ITO R- I N - CH I EF EMAIL: steele@veranda.com INSTAGRAM: @steelemarcoux
On June 10, Christie’s will auction Miller’s La Rêverie furniture collection, including this 19th-century ebony library table and a pair of Louis XVI side cabinets.
FROM LEFT: Stamps & Stamps: Style & Sensibility by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Rizzoli, 2021) • Island Whimsy: Designing a Paradise By the Sea by Celerie Kemble (Rizzoli, 2021) • Design Remix: A New Spin on Traditional Rooms by Corey Damen Jenkins (Rizzoli, 2021) • Beata Heuman: Every Room Should Sing by Beata Heuman (Rizzoli, 2021)
Join the VERANDA BOOK CLUB! Read along with us as we select a book each month and chat with the author. Find out more at veranda.com.
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STEELE THOMAS MARCOUX, DAVID HILLEGAS, HAIR AND MAKEUP BY CELINE RUSSELL; COREY DAMEN JENKINS, SCOTT STEWART PHOTO; FABRIC AND WALLPAPER, PAMELA COOK; LA RÊVERIE, SARGENT PHOTOGRAPHY.
“We’re here for such a short period of time. Why not live as beautifully as we can, while we can?”
The Other Elizabeth • 17 East Main Street, Boyce, Va Elizabeth Locke Jewels • 968 Madison Avenue, New York City • 212-744-7878 Store Locations: 540 - 837-3088 or www.elizabethlocke.com/where-to-buy
M AY + J UNE 2021
THE
EDITOR OB SES SIONS FOR NOW & FORE V ER
LIST
A World of
COLOR
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THIS JUST IN: A M AD, M AGNIFICENT RUSH TO OPTIMISTIC SHADES FROM EVERY ERA . AND IT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING.
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1. GP & J Baker Imari fabric; leejofa.com. 2. Medium wide-mouth dragon vase, $90; enchantedhome.com. 3. Raku wallpaper; osborneandlittle.com. 4. Imogen fabric; leahoconnelltextiles.com. 5. Indigo Urns fabric; $168 per meter; thetoileman.com. 6. Gaston y Daniela Adelaida fabric; kravet.com. BACKGROUND: Sunset Silk wallpaper; phillipjeffries.com. TABLE SKIRT: Large VOC fabric; $200 per meter; botanicatrading.com. All to the trade unless noted otherwise.
PHOTOGR APH BY
Laurey W. Glenn •
PRODUCED BY
Rachael Burrow, Sara Clark, AND Dayle Wood
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The V List
A WORLD OF COLOR
↘ Les Poteries is based on a 1950s gouache pattern depicting a collection of enameled clay jars, pitchers, and plates.
Continued from previous page
BOMBSHELL PORCELAINS
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...by the yard, panel, and fine print. A cheeky new crop of trompe l’oeil fabric and wallpaper animates centuries of ceramics, from Chinese Art Deco vases to Imari plates. Formal garniture and robust vase bouquets arranged on “shelves” make for fanciful, modern exhibits—and a china collection for the ages.
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6 1. Dufour Char Ming wallpaper; john rosselli.com. 2. Catteau fabric; jim thompsonfabrics.com. 3. Ming Vase fabric; fschumacher.com. 4. The Vase wallpaper; clarencehouse.com. 5. Cathay fabric; madeaux.com. 6. Pandan Print fabric; leejofa.com. 7. Dufour Imari wallpaper; johnrosselli .com. 8. Les Poteries wallpaper; pierre frey.com. BACKGROUND: Drag wallpaper; $205 per roll; farrow-ball.com. All to the trade unless noted otherwise.
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↑ David Hicks developed this iconic wallpaper motif, now back in a striking array of colors, in the mid 1970s.
→ True-to-life Chinese blueand-white jars in Lee Jofa’s new Pandan fabric
Like an existential antidote, the exuberant freehand ideals of London’s famed creative troupe return in a crush of swirls and sunbursts, half-moons and riotous hues. Bobbin furniture sheds old-school Victoriana with hand-hewn details and vivid color.
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Painted portraiture and pattern at Charleston, the group’s country meeting place in East Sussex, England 1. Bloomsbury table lamp, $613 for base; maxrollitt.com. 2. Alfred Newall Bobbin side table, $1,417; thenewcraftsmen.com. 3. Tulip chair, $2,895; ciscohome.net. 4. Star wallpaper, to the trade; borderlinefabrics.com. 5. Drusus Tabor Hollandaise pillow, $450; studiofour.com. 6. Molly Mahon Luna fabric, to the trade; fschumacher.com. 7. Scallop dinner plate ($312 for six) and Sunbeam dessert plates ($271 for six); wicklewood.com.
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PORCELAINS, WALLPAPER, AND FABRIC, LAUREY W. GLENN; DOOR DETAIL, AXEL HESSLENBERG; MANTEL, PENELOPE FEWSTER
Bloomsbury, Reborn
C U STO M S H A D E S , B L I N DS & D R A P E RY H A N D C R A F T E D I N T H E U S A S I N C E 1 9 4 6 . N AT I O N W I D E M E A S U R E & I N S TA L L S E R V I C E S . A L L P R O D U C T S S H I P I N 1 0 DAY S O R L E S S . S H O W R O O M S N AT I O N W I D E
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The V List
A WORLD OF COLOR
High-Drama Headboards Colors are stronger and designs bolder, says English designer Kit Kemp of the recent shift toward tall, lyrical forms and richly detailed fabrics. Here, six ways to command the room
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“The bed is the biggest focal point in a room, so a high headboard will always be in balance and scale,” says Kemp, illustrating this tenet to great success here, in one of her newly redesigned guest rooms at the Dorset Square Hotel in London.
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1. Murat, from $2,872; ensemblierlondon.com. 2. F3-50MD, to the trade; leeindustries.com. 3. Orissa, from $2,590; johnrobshaw.com. 4. Taj, $1,850; oomphhome.com. 5. Lancaster, from $1,096; thetrove.co.uk. 6. Buchanan, from $1,598; serenaandlily.com.
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Galop d’Hermès watch, $9,000; hermes.com.
Reine de Naples watch, $37,400; breguet.com.
STRIKE UP THE BANDS
for Pierre Frey Float rug, to the trade; pierrefrey.com.
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Call it Bauhaus Nouveau: Boston artist Liz Roache’s Nepalese-made rugs reveal the raw beauty of hand-cut forms. In her Optimism collection for Maison Pierre Frey, silk geometrics on wool are assembled in colors culled from the Museum of Modern Art, where she once taught, and give exuberant voice to the abstract. Roache conceives each of her designs with colored paper cutouts. Liz Roache
From sky blue to poppy pink, a rainbow of tony leather straps in the latest timepieces syncs with summer’s dressed-down, everyday elegance.
Classima watch, $990; baumeet-mercier.com.
JOYFUL GEOMETRIC S
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Pasha de Cartier watch, $16,600; cartier.com.
Limelight Gala watch, price upon request; piaget.com.
WATCHES BY ALLIE HOLLOWAY, STYLING BY MEGUMI EMOTO; BEDROOM, SIMON BROWN; LIZ ROACHE PORTRAIT COURTESY OF PIERRE FREY.
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The V List
A WORLD OF COLOR
THE GREAT LINEN DEBATE The chicest matchup since Chanel and Schiaparelli: mad color versus light-as-air linen. Here, two star event planners weigh in on the perfect table dressing.
Layers of Color & Pattern
Classic White
AFTER A YEAR AT HOME,
NOTHING IS MORE
I think people are craving a lot more color. They are more open to the vividness of the world and paying attention to the hues and imagery that make them happy. And a happy host is the single best way to transform a table and transport guests. Sure, sometimes I wonder if I have too much going on, but it always delights me.
beautiful than crisp white 100 percent linen and candlelight. I love doing pretty piping or roping at the bottom of a tablecloth for texture or a fine embroidery for delicate color. Adding old silver and garden-cut flowers is a look so classic, it never falls out of style. It sets a room aglow.
—LULU POWERS, Los Angeles, CA
—TARA GUERARD, Charleston, SC
COLOR: Hanover placemat ($110 for two) and Marguerite dinner napkin ($125 for two); elizabethlake.com. • Alain Saint-Joanis Montana Rosewood flatware, $580 for five-piece setting; marymahoney.com. • Tatiana fabric (as tablecloth), to the trade; kathrynireland.com. • WHITE: Belgian linen round placemat ($194) and Monogrammed dinner napkin ($302); sharynblondlinens.com. • Couzon Lyrique flatware, $80 for five-piece setting; table-matters.com. • Tipton tablecloth, from $167; sferra.com.
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Tantalizing Tilework Designers are turning up the heat on hand-painted tile traditions (think Ravenna, Italy’s mosaics, the Riviera’s sun-washed blues) and applying the mystical geometrics to everything from textiles to tableware. 1. Portofino collection, from $105; haviland .fr. 2. Emerald cushion earrings with diamonds, price upon request; Goshwara, 212-937-9727 x125. 3. Sporty Swing dress, $495; ladoublej.com. 4. Patio wallpaper, to the trade; pierrefrey.com. 5. Matyo Kis fabric, $90 per yard; juliabrendel.com. 6. Cathy Waterman Green Sapphire Cuatro Estrellas yellow gold earrings, $5,330; ylang23.com. 7. Explorador Glorioso wallpaper, from $505; en.dorianguo.com.
TABLESETTINGS AND MATYO KIS FABRIC, LAUREY W. GLENN.
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DIGITAL MURAL WALLCOVERING PHILLIPJEFFRIES.COM/MIRAGE
The V List
A WORLD OF COLOR
Lavender Romance As intoxicating as a summer jaunt to the French countryside, the power pastel flourishes in new ceramics and textiles with fresh hits of green.
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COSMIC FIREWORKS
Saturne clip brooch and Planétarium high jewelry timepiece, prices upon request; vancleefarpels.com.
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Van Cleef & Arpels’s new Sous Les Étoiles collection twines astronomy and art in 150 pieces that shimmer like a celestial atlas. Some are figurative (majestic Saturn rendered in hammered gold and diamonds) and others poetic (gemstone spheres marking true planetary time in miniature orbits on the opulent Planétarium watch). All are heavenly.
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1. Forget-Me-Not Vine fabric, to the trade; chelseatextiles.com. 2. Wine rinser, $120; reedsmythe.com. 3. Porte Diner, $320; lefanion.com. 4. Quinn cocktail napkin, $45; leontinelinens.com. 5 and 11. Lacquer candles ($48/pair) and Alsace Lorraine Garden plate ($304/ set); thearkelements .com. 6. Luna candleholders, $130 for a pair; elizabethlake .com. 7. Blarney box, $60; neimanmarcus .com. 8. Ribbon, to the trade; rileysheehey .com. 9. Hungarica tablecloth, from $90; juliabrendel.com. 10. Van Gogh’s Carnation earrings, $22,086; lamaison couture.com. 12. Parquet trim, to the trade; scalamandre .com. 13. Chantilly Stripe fabric, to the trade; quadrillefabrics .com. 14. Dried lavender, $28; bloomist.com.
MAIN IMAGE BY LAUREY W. GLENN, STYLING BY SARA CLARK; LAVENDER FIELD, GETTY IMAGES.
ABOVE: At 12th-century Sénanque Abbey in Provence, radiant summer-blooming lavender fields are tended by resident Cistercian monks.
G OO D D ES IG N IS FO R EVE R
In Good Taste Collecting • Decorating • Entertaining • Jewelry • Preservation • Wanderlust
SWAG, Gather, BILLOW, Flounce ❖
FROM PLEATED TAILS TO TENT FL APS, L AVISH CURTAINS WITH COUTURE TRIMMINGS M AKE A RED-CARPET RETURN—WITH ALL THE POMP OF THEIR PREDECESSORS.
SCOTT FRANCES/OTTO.
Mario Buatta framed the windows of a Manhattan duplex in a rainbow trio of silks (Kravet and Brunschwig & Fils) draped in grand swags.
PRODUCED BY
Dayle Wood •
WRIT TEN BY
Zoë Gowen
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DECOR ATING
Buatta’s jaunty, pennant valance and striped curtains in Palm Beach. LEFT AND INSET: John Fowler’s famed double-scalloped and pinkededged curtains for Evangeline Bruce
N G L I S H D E C O R AT I N G
visionary John Fowler’s earliest memories are of arriving at glamorous parties swaddled comfortably in a rug inside his carriage. Later, as an unhappy teenager at boarding school, he would escape to watch Reverend Conrad Noel, vicar of Thaxted, replace the parish church’s dark and dusty furnishings with vibrant tapestries, flags, and carpeting in shades of red and seafoam. The process enthralled him, a spark, perhaps, to ignite his legacy of bestowing gutsy grandeur on old English homes for clients from Queen Elizabeth and Laurence Olivier to the Duchess of Devonshire. But Fowler had a particular—and now famous—gift for dress curtains. Wildly fanciful, he swathed windows in elaborate swoops and tails and monumental pelmets. (At one point, his orders alone reportedly kept passementerie firm B.A.
Clarke Ltd. in business.) He spent hours studying the Victoria & Albert costume collection and would collect Victorianand Regency-era curtains that he and his assistant, Shearo, would then pick apart and rework to learn the sewing techniques behind cutting, ruffles, and pinking. A
combination of details emerged in his ensuing creations: a balance of scale and volume, pinked and frilled edges, ruched borders, oversize scallop valances, and couture braids, trims, and tassels. Even in the face of World War II’s heavily rationed materials, Fowler’s imagination soared. Parachute silks streamed from serpentine pelmets; dusters morphed into trimmings. But it was later, at London apartment building the Albany, that his most well-documented creations arose: At the French-inspired residence of Evangeline and David Bruce, his flamboyant and frothy swag-and-tail oyster silk confection with double scalloped and pinked edges presided over an apricot living room. A few floors away, in Baroness
PELMETS on Parade And a strut of wild valances. Here, seven crowning achievements in contemporary curtain majesty 26
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DRAPERESQUE SWIRLS
PAT T E R N E D P E N N A N T S
APPLE GREEN APPLIQUÉ
In Connecticut, Miles Redd channels the illustrious 20thcentury designer with gimp tracing theatrical pelmet curves.
Chiqui Woolworth playfully dangles painted wooden tassels from a tapered, double-tiered valance for a couture flag banner.
A simple, striking embellishment: a vivid coiled border on quiet creamcolored valances in a Washington, D.C., townhouse by Alessandra Branca.
JOHN FOWLER COURTESY OF COLEFAX AND FOWLER (2); MARIO BUATTA, SCOTT FRANCES/OTTO; MILES REDD, DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN; CHIQUI WOOLWORTH, ANNIE SCHLECHTE; ALESSANDRA BRANCA, THOMAS LOOF.
In Good Taste
D I A P H A N O U S S H E E RS
T H E RI G H T RO D S A N D FI N I A L S ↓
For those who believe a good curtain should never close: Sheers filter sunlight and provide privacy with on-point embroidery or appliqué.
curtains secure and chic.
Emily and Verdura fabrics, to the trade;
THE FULL REGALIA ••• Workhorse hardware and trimmings behind the most
Plum-colored silk swags and tails with cornflowerblue tape and navy lining in Alex Papachristidis’s Manhattan home
From
ALEX PAPACHRISTIDIS, TRIA GIOVAN; KATIE RIDDER, THOMAS LOOF; JIM HOWARD, MAX KIM-BEE; MEG BRAFF, ANNIE SCHLECHTER; MILES REDD, THOMAS LOOF.
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Pauline de Rothschild’s sitting room, he replicated window treatments from 18th-century hostess Madame Geoffrin’s saloon: unlined silk taffeta curtains with pinked sheared edges affixed with ebullient bows puddling more than a yard onto the floor. “Those curtains are insane—just magical,” enthuses designer Alex Papachristidis, who credits his good friend, the late Mario Buatta, for reframing the flounce for 1980s-era interiors. “Both men showed me that there’s a fine line between fussy and elegant,” says the designer. “Curtains should never be vulgar; they should never overpower a space. Rather, a room is like a puzzle. Strong curtains need a strong room.” For today’s interiors, he favors solid theater-pull or curtains-with-valance combinations with contrasting trims. “And there’s something modern and glamorous about satin,” says Papachristidis, who is also lightening up on his linings and letting the puddles flow more deeply onto the floor. Once installed, he adds, theater curtains will be hard to draw. “That’s what shades are for,” he says. ✦
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Floral
N E X T- L E V E L L I N I N G S ↓ Small complementary prints, like these taken from old Italian books, finish the view from the outside. Bonus: Linings add weight for more beautiful draping. Blighty fabrics, to the trade; chelseatextiles.com.
↑ S O F T RO M A N S H A D E S Custom designs like this gently swooping shade by Michelle Nussbaumer add a fine layer to a curtain scheme and easily lift and lower without disturbing the panels. Tulip roman shades, price upon request; theshadestore.com.
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E X AG G E R AT E D C U R L I C U E
U P DAT E D O R I G A M I
E M P I R I C A L PAG O DA
C I RC U S S WAG
Oversize swirls match the strength of saturated florals on a Katie Ridder–designed pelmet, a dreamy look for a summerhouse bedroom.
Even in a hushed neutral print, this angular valance style strikes a lighthearted, harlequin note, says its designer, Jim Howard.
In Meg Braff’s Locust Valley, New York, dining room, a templeinspired pelmet recalls the layered rooflines of Far East architecture.
A fanciful tent-shaped pelmet disguises a low window and draws the eye skyward in a Miles Redd– designed New Jersey home.
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In Good Taste
DECOR ATING
• The Fancier, the Better • Four top decorators offer a glimpse at how coveted, over-the-top curtain styles play out in today’s interiors. (Hint: This is no place for minimalism.)
NATASHA BAR ADAR AN
R AYM AN BOOZER
“The simple tent-flap design recalls Napoleon’s tent from the Empire period, but trimming it in vitamin C–orange and tying it back with a deep coral gimp can really revitalize and make modern that ultra-traditional style.”
“I love the saturated colors and large-scale patterns in this fabric and trim, created by a small group of Black Artist + Designers Guild members, for Italian strung curtains [where the drapery is pulled from the back with cords without the use of tiebacks]. It re-creates the energy of an over-the-top Venetian palazzo.”
Giamba fabric, to the trade; natashabaradaran.com. • Olivia fabric, to the trade; natashabaradaran.com. • Soho fabric, to the trade; quadrille fabrics.com. • Picot braid, to the trade; georgespencer.com.
SHELLEY JOHNSTONE
“A room without window treatments is like a house without landscaping: naked! This Fowler-inspired swags-and-tails treatment uses the teal satin as both a contrasting lining and upholstery for the crown molding edged with Deco braided trim.”
“More dramatic than a pelmet, a lambrequin continues down the sides of the window. This embroidered and elongated padded cornice houses matching curtains interlined and lined with a ticking stripe, creating a beautiful weight with natural pleats.”
VERANDA
FABRICS & TRIMS, PAMELA COOK.
ERIC ROSS
Aviary fabric, to the trade; madeaux.com. • Manuel Canovas Saverne fabric, to the trade; cowtan.com. • Hudson sheer fabric, to the trade; carleton vltd.com. • Kensington tassel fringe, to the trade; samuelandsons.com.
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Pembra Coast fabric, to the trade; sharris.com. • Mountain Resort bullion fringe, to the trade; fabricut.com. • Patu border, to the trade; sharris.com.
Penny Morrison Rama fabric and Ian Mankin Ticking fabric, to the trade; claremontfurnishing.com. • Botanico border, to the trade; samuelandsons.com.
ILLUSTR ATIONS BY
Dorian Guo
Escape to a place where Perennials’ latest stain, fade and mildew-resistant fabrics & rugs make luxury living worry-free. perennialsfabrics.com/villadelsol
In Good Taste
DECOR ATING
Architect Ernesto Buch designed the barrel-vaulted bedroom for the late fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and his wife, Annette.
Is Atmosphere Everything?
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I have often mused, would be the perfect bedroom: bed in the center, fireplace, a garden vista, and luxuriously deep upholstery to settle into with a good book. I have not created that ballroom as of yet, but I believe I have found the closest thing to it as my model of bedsit perfection in the Connecticut bedroom of Annette de la Renta. It lives in my file of “rooms to lust after,” “rooms to inspire”...Whatever moniker you may choose to label your file of favorites, this is one of mine. Its beauty is in its blend of perfect proportion, classical architectural details, and furnishings reminiscent of an English country house (I call it characteristically undecorated). Solid velvets on book-laden benches and French bergères, with easy linen gracing
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a slipcovered Chesterfield sofa, are like a fine supporting cast for a decadently trimmed embroidered and upholstered Georgian bed. It’s a gloriously welcoming room, lived-in and well-loved. I find such harmony in how the marble chimney, gilt mirror, and William Kent carved console command attention but are tempered by a sisal rug and antique textiles draped over sofas and chairs. And plant-filled blanc de chine jardinieres add feminine notes that create perfect pitch.
Candle globes and fresh flowers throughout add a romantic note and satisfy Nancy Lancaster’s definition of atmosphere (once the fire is lit, that is). Atmosphere—that element that defies definition—is the perfect outcome and the ultimate goal of all decoration. ✦
“Perfect proportion, classical details, and furnishings reminiscent of an English country house...It’s a gloriously welcoming room, lived-in and well-loved.”
PRODUCED BY
Sara Clark •
WRIT TEN BY
Charlotte Moss
INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANCOIS HALARD; PORTRAIT COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE MOSS.
Veranda columnist Charlotte Moss unlocks the enduring genius of Annette de la Renta’s Connecticut country bedroom.
POWER HITS OF GOLD
C O O L C H A R AC T E RS
G R A N D E S DA M E S T E X T I L E S
A Chippendale plume mirror adds gilt and gusto to a room rich in textures and natural woods. Chippendale plume mirror,
Personal expressions like this famille verte duck are critical elements to any room, helping distinguish one space from the next. Antique; etsy.com for similar.
Richly embroidered fabrics with solid velvets and linens give the room an undecorated, happened-over-time feeling. Jocasta velvet;
DUCK AND FABRICS, LAUREY W. GLENN; CHINESE LACQUERED TABLE, JOE WARD.
$1,625; scullyandscully.com.
cowtan.com. Tree of Life; chelseatextiles.com.
A N E N D - O F - B E D I DY L L
I N T R I G U I N G O B J E C T S O F ST U DY
C A N D E L I G H T, A LWAYS C A N D L E L I G H T
Anchoring the foot of the bed with an armless settee provides a place to put on shoes, for the family canine to perch, or more books!
A collection of antique garden engravings speaks to the passionate pursuits of the owner. 18th-century French garden plans
Every room should have candlesticks or candle globes. The light is flattering and ambient glow romantic. Regency Storm
Patti settee, $4,575; centuryfurniture.com.
print, $540; perigold.com.
lantern, to the trade; vaughandesigns.com.
E SS E N T I A L E B O N Y
A G O O D M A K E R ’S M A R K
W O O D L A N D FR AG R A N C E
All spaces benefit from a touch of black, and this chinoiserie pedestal table has just the right gravitas. Chinese lacquered table,
A needlepoint chair reads “made by hand,” which is another important ingredient in this decorating medley. Needlepoint chair,
Aromas stay with you long after you leave. In place of a roaring hearth, try a candle with notes of juniper and sage. Empire
$1,275; theantiqueandartisangallery.com.
$1,250; parcmonceauatl.com.
candle, $110; trudon.com.
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In Good Taste
DECOR ATING
How Thank-You Notes Markham Roberts on the real reason he landed the Ford sisters’ New York City apartments
W
I had a sort of a priori sense that, were I to let my bed go unmade before coming down to breakfast or, say, leave something around for someone else to pick up, there would be hell to pay. Firm handshakes, proper table manners, and conversing
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H E N I WA S A B OY,
with adults were habits ingrained in my sister and me from a young age. I never tested it, nor did I rebel against the seemingly gargantuan task of the dreaded thank-you notes after Christmases or birthdays. It just wasn’t worth the trouble. And though it seemed at the time to be hideously cruel to have to live under such
horrible oppression, today I gratefully appreciate my parents’ efforts to turn me into a polite young man. Manners go a long way in this world, something I try to impart on my nieces and godchildren. I was slow to the game of knowing what I wanted to do in life. I knew I had to be in New York and moved here after WRIT TEN BY
Markham Roberts
PHOTOGRAPH BY NELSON HANCOCK.
In Anne Ford’s library, a Baltic portrait of a young boy from her collection is layered atop upholstered paisley walls (Jane Shelton for Zimmer + Rohde).
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DECOR ATING
coming east from Indiana to go to boarding school and then Brown University. Much to my father’s dismay, and thanks to his patience and generosity, I took my time getting a real job, waiting to see what struck my fancy. I thought I might see what the auction world was like, so I took a part-time job at Sotheby’s in-client services, perfecting my skills at offering catalogs and directions to the galleries. One day, I met Mark Hampton, who asked me to help him find something. And when I introduced myself, he looked at me and said, “This is the strangest thing. I just got a letter about you from Lisa Sutphin.” Mrs. Sutphin, as I had always known her, was a lovely friend of my grandmother’s, whom Mark had done work for over the years. She apparently knew I should be a decorator and had written to Mark, unbeknownst to me, that he should meet me. I’ve no doubt that had I been an unengaged or impolite child, she never 34
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ABOVE AND TOP LEFT: A japanned Queen Anne chest-on-chest commands a corner of Anne’s living room, where Roberts designed the seating to easily pivot for conversation. TOP RIGHT AND BOTTOM LEFT: The dining room’s dual seating areas: a George III table with pedimented bookcases and, in the corner, a tufted wool banquette (fabric, Brunschwig & Fils)
would have taken the time or interest to try to do something nice for me. Mark hired me the following week, and I immediately knew I had found what I loved to do. Years later, when I left his office to go out on my own, a similar act effectively launched my career. The mother of a close friend of mine from college (a great Swedish beauty named Marianne Ittleson) suggested to her friend Charlotte Ford that she meet with me. She was thinking of redoing her living room.
Marianne had taken an interest in me when her daughter Stephanie brought me to stay at their house in Southampton one fall weekend away from Brown and on later weekends in the city. She’d have me help her push things around and incorporate new finds. She was always on the hunt for beautiful things. I vividly remember her asking me one day where she should hang a lovely Canaletto she had gotten. I suggested over the backgammon table in their pine-paneled library, and she handed me a hammer and left the room.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NELSON HANCOCK.
In Good Taste
FA B R I C S, T R I M M I N G S A N D WA L LCOV E R I N G S
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DECOR ATING
ABOVE: In Charlotte Ford’s entrance hall, a Georgian Baroque carved and gilded console. TOP RIGHT: A regency ebonizedand-gilded mirror with candle arms shines against teal silk walls in her living room, which appeared in Roberts’s book, Decorating: the Way I See It (Vendome Press, 2014).
Her trust in me made me feel valued, and I now recognize (at the age that she was then) that encouraging young people can make all the difference in their confidence and self-esteem—things everyone needs to go forward in life. Not yet 30 years old and without any independent decorating experience, I got the call and went to meet Charlotte at her very grand Candela-designed triplex penthouse overlooking the river. Unlike what you might think a famous American heiress would be, Charlotte is warm and generous, funny and incredibly nurturing. We left that meeting having made plans to gut and redo half the apartment. The other half we continued to work on over the years, leaving only one room untouched. Charlotte is the world’s best hugger, and I This was my first project, also the first could sit and laugh with Anne for hours. project I ever published. I am sure it set My first year away at school (I was 14 and my career on course and gave my sails a had not grown yet; the word pip-squeak big blow. Almost 20 years comes to mind), my parlater, I got my hands on ents came to visit for the Charlotte’s sister Anne’s weekend, and it was the “Today I gratefully apartment. She, too, is first time I had seen them appreciate my parents’ funny and smart and since they had dropped has great taste, and I efforts to turn me into me off in September. It love the feeling of going was a Friday night, and a polite young man.” to both sisters’ homes. we were watching a late Sure there’s the pride of seeing your fall hockey game. My mother came up work, but it’s much more a sense of how into the bleachers and gave me a giant these two women make me feel—it’s not hug, and the smell of her perfume and the just welcoming. They make me feel loved. warmth and softness of her fur coat made 36
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Trellis-patterned linen carpet (Stark) and silk curtains in Charlotte’s bedroom
me cry. That feeling is hard to describe, but Marianne, Charlotte, and Anne have all given me that in one way or another. It makes you feel special and lifts you when you need it. The sisters and I go have lunch every once in a while at the Four Seasons, now the Grill, and I sit between them and smile to myself and thank my mom for having started me on the righteous path of the thank-you note. How incredibly kind of each of them to have gone out of their way to help me. Had I been a self-absorbed, sullen young adult, no grown-up would have ever bothered to get to know me, let alone recommend me to anyone for anything. ✦
PHOTOGRAPHS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) FERNANDO BENGOECHEA (2); MARCO RICCA.
In Good Taste
bevolo.com • (504) 522-9485 • 521 Conti • 318 Royal • French Quarter • New Orleans
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In Good Taste
ENTERTAINING
Swinging from the Chandeliers When a new era of party bravado descends, will we replace standard soirees with high theater and epic occasions? As the Champagne chills, three imaginative ways to champion the cause
MODERN POLK A
COSTUME SHADES
Nobilis’s new ivory satin Prelude fabric with blackflocked polka dots recalls the gaiety and graphics of vintage cocktail dresses and ball gowns.
Masks worn at Truman Capote’s original Black and White Ball inspire inventive candlestick lampshades with pleated paper, hand-painted details, and black pompon trim.
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9 O P A R T R E V I VA L Sieger’s Ca’ d’Oro porcelain dinnerware ushers the high-movement, monochromatic style of the 1960s.
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A Carnivalesque BLACK & WHITE BASH ••• The enigmatic masquerade ball goes extravagantly au courant—with all the flourish of its 1960s muse.
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1. Prelude fabric, to the trade; nobilis.fr. 2. Ross Alexander hand-painted lampshades, price upon request; harbingerla.com. 3. Nason Moretti High Society water glass, $98; tableartonline.com. 4. Marquis Treviso candlestick, $100; waterford.com. 5. Nason Moretti Twist glass, $125; tableartonline.com. 6. Catene Nero dinner plate, teacup, and saucer, from $176 for two; ginori1735.com. 7. Harcourt Eve flute, $390 for two; baccarat.com. 8. Davina coupe, $185; williamyeowardcrystal.com. 9. Mary Eurek Versa cocktail forks, $48 for four; brombergs.com. 10. Basile side plate, $45; diptyqueparis.com. 11. Sieger Ca d’Oro pasta, dinner, and service plates, from $210; tableartonline.com. 12. Alain Saint-Joanis Gatsby flatware, $1,000 per set; marymahoney.com. 13. Scalloped table linens, $110 for two; gatopard.com. 14. Tinné earrings, $9,800; thisisstateproperty .com. 15. Vintage silver flask, $248; housesandparties.com. 16. Black-and-white paperweight, $168; diptyqueparis.com. 17. Eye vase, $550; baccarat.com. 18. Sieger Ca d’Oro saucer and bread plate, from $108; tableartonline.com. 19. Antique diamond flower ring, $14,500; brionyraymond.com. 20. Alain Saint-Joanis Cable flatware, $890 per set; marymahoney.com. 21. Sieger Ca d’Oro espresso cup and bowl, from $164; tableartonline.com. 22. Albi bottle coaster, $320; christofle.com.
PHOTOGR APHY BY
Laurey W. Glenn •
PRODUCED BY
Rachael Burrow, Sara Clark, AND Dayle Wood
FOR DETAILS ON THE LIMITED WARRANTY, SEE SUNBRELLA.COM/WARRANTY. SUNBRELLA® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF GLEN RAVEN, INC.
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In Good Taste
ENTERTAINING
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Modern versions of the traditional Uzbek textile, like this handwoven silkand-cotton fabric, set a resplendent scene in shades of reds, plums, and pinks.
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14 SHIMMER AND GOLD Flickering candlelight from glass candelabras are magical against native metals, from brass to tinned copper.
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An Ottoman-Inspired
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TENTED DINNER •••
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Early Turks created tented cities sheathed in opulent fabrics. Centuries later, a canopied feast becomes an intimate cross-continental journey.
18 1 and 4. Persia fabric, $170 per yard; anichini.com. 2. Malika Pink Flower Ikat fabric, to the trade; shop-tamam.com. 3. Villandry fringe, to the trade; houles.com. 5. Moroccan teapot, $65; importsfrommarrakesh.com. 6. Matthew Williamson for Les Ottomans plate, $54; les-ottomans.com. 7. Panache goblet, $119; mariedaage.com. 8. Cerulean goblet, $350; vetrovero.com. 9. Ricardi tieback, to the trade; passementerie-verrier.com. 10. Adras Ikat fabric, to the trade; berminghamfabrics.com. 11. Brass candlestick, $79; sheherazadehome.com. 12. Persia napkin, $45; anichini.com. 13. Voyage en Ikat presentation ($630) and dessert ($290) plates; hermes.com. 14. Magnificent III tourmaline ring, $54,000; majadubrul.com. 15. Fish Tepsi tray, $165; shop-tamam.com. 16. Bespoke illustration, price upon request; shophaydenpaints.etsy .com. 17. Jardin d’Eden flatware, $648 for five-piece set; christofle.com. 18. Agra dessert plate, price upon request; pintoparis.com. 19. Medium Deco Leaves bowl, $195; l-objet.com. 20. Cali x Kunzite earrings, $54,000; majadubrul.com. 21. Gabrielle candelabra, $525; williamyeowardcrystal.com. 22. Pamela Huizenga Aquaprase-anddiamond earrings, $16,000; 772-871-0033. 23. Infinity fabric, to the trade; jimthompsonfabrics.com. 24. Round pleated pillow, $325; slightlyeast.com.
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Quality gets noticed.
See the Love
Wall — Soft Sky 807, AURA®, Eggshell Trim — Chantilly Lace OC-65, ADVANCE®, Semi-Gloss Color accuracy is ensured only when tinted in quality Benjamin Moore® paints. Color representations may differ slightly from actual paint. ©2021 Benjamin Moore & Co. Advance, Aura, Benjamin Moore, and the triangle “M” symbol are registered trademarks licensed to Benjamin Moore & Co. 3/21
In Good Taste
ENTERTAINING
WILD BIOMORPHISM Marred beauty was prized by the movement’s devotees. Here, a molten gilt bronze handle juxtaposes a perfect parchment box.
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A Mind-Bending SURREALIST SOIREE ••• Alt-reality pioneer Salvador Dalí harnessed the power of a high-flying dreamscape—boundless, brave, and irresistible as an evening affair.
SPIRITED ANIMALS Surrealist artists were drawn to idiosyncratic avian imagery, revived here in these contemporary brass bird-leg candlesticks.
1. Philippe Starck for Baccarat Harcourt Our Fire candlestick, $1,220; baccarat.com. 2. Serengeti fabric, to the trade; jimthompsonfabrics.com. 3. Cristalleria Collevilca Mida glasses, $280 for three; artemest.com. 4. Brass birdcage, $1,250; chairish.com. 5. Haas Twisted Horn serving set, $250; l-objet.com. 6. Luxe Touch Polar fur, to the trade; fabricut.com. 7. Triangle plate, $130; milyaparis.com. 8. Souvenir playing cards deck, $12; johnderian.com. 9. Vietri Rufolo service plate, $49; brombergs.com. 10. Astier de Villatte Pam fruit stand, $265; suefisherking.com. 11. Athena Crumble bracelet, price upon request; anakhouri.com. 12. Tingis Bird Foot candlesticks, $400; creelandgow.com. 13. Robbe & Berking Viva five-piece place setting, from $583; tableartonline.com. 14. De Vera Contemporary pavé diamond crescent pendant, $3,250; 212-625-0838. 15. Brian Gluckstein for Lenox Audrey dinnerware, from $32; lenox.com. 16. Los Encajeros Triangu linen napkin, $39; modaoperandi.com. 17. L’Objet Deco Twist napkin rings, $125 for four; brombergs.com. 18. Split ring, $120; mishodesigns.com. 19. Bespoke typography design, price upon request; nancysharoncollinsstationer.com. 20. Limited-edition three-row pearl necklace, $1,715; mastoloni.com. 21. Aldus Melt parchment box, $4,800; maisongerard.com.
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In Good Taste
CONVERSATION
Charlotte-based designer Quintel Gwinn grew up in Georgia and is a first-generation college graduate. Today, her full-service firm oversees projects from conception through construction.
Designing Her Own Destiny Interior designer Quintel Gwinn reconnects with friend and mentor Joy Moyler on entrepreneurship, the power of urban planning, and why the future of design depends on community engagement. JOY MOYLER: What is your superpower? QUINTEL GWINN: Connecting—bringing people
together. I’m a “social architect,” always thinking about who would benefit from meeting someone new and doing my best to make that happen. JM: A “social architect,” I like that a lot! Let me see
your nails; I know you love a good manicure. Is it important to you that your nails match your lipstick, like they do today? QG: I smile a lot and talk with my hands even more, so
I like them to make that color connection. JM: Is color something that prompted your interest in
design? What led you on your design path? QG: I love color, I love art. I remember drawing at a
very early age. I took every art class I could take all through school because I was always drawn to color.
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JM: Tell me about your mission statement. What is
the hallmark of what you do with your firm? nial. Modern meaning new ways to refresh tradition, a new perspective on culture. I find that I’m minimal in my approach because I really love color, and a lot of my clients come to me for that. Then millennial because I have a very vibrant, simple, forwardlooking approach to our industry.
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JM: What made you strike out on your own? QG: Honestly, it came out of the 2008–2009 reces-
sion. I was working for a small architectural firm and was very close to my boss. I got to see the business of design up close early on—including its crash with the
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JOY MOYLER is a New York–based
designer with a degree in architecture and a passion for fashion. She is also the host of High Tea with Joy on Instagram Live @joymoylerinteriors.
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PRODUCED BY
1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama (Crown, 2020), a recent influential read for Gwinn. 2. OPI’s Dressed to the Nines nail polish is Gwinn’s go-to color. 3. The Clutch Cowork pop-up space for women entrepreneurs in Columbia, SC, designed by Gwinn. 4. Gwinn collects journals and buys Moleskine Classic notebooks as gifts.
Rachael Burrow •
WRIT TEN BY
Joy Moyler
PORTRAIT OF JOY MOYLER, DAVID A. LAND; PORTRAIT OF QUINTEL GWINN, JONATHAN COOPER; (1, 2 AND 4), LAUREY W. GLENN; (3), JOSHUA GALLOWAY.
QG: We have a tagline: Modern, Minimal, and Millen-
™
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In Good Taste
CONVERSATION
economy. When you’re down, the only thing to do is come up. I relocated to Charlotte and started a career in retail for a few years, and I thought if I could do projects on the side, I could build my own business.
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JM: Did you wake up one morning and think, “Today
I’m going to start a business”?
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QG: I felt like I had a window of opportunity, so I said,
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“Why not try this out?” I got a few clients, luckily in the high-end new-construction market. That was a really great starting point for me. I knew site work, how to communicate with contractors, and read plans. I spent most of my time at the architecture firm looking over drawings, red lines, details. JM: Why is design and urban planning powerful? QG: I
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JM: What do you hope future communities look like? QG: I hope they are diverse in terms of racial makeup,
economic makeup, ability, and access. Live-workplay sanctuaries that are much more inclusive. JM: Why is community engagement important for
designers? QG: We have a lot of say in how people live via our
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design decisions. Community engagement is a way for us, as practitioners, to think about how to work in design with people and not just for them. Some people cannot see themselves, their culture, and their way of living in our work—it’s the identity spacial crisis in design. I am very sensitive to that and look for ways to address appropriation and embed social nuances into the design equation. JM: What are you working on now? QG:
5. Picnic on the Grounds by Toyin Ojih Odutola, which Gwinn saw at the SCAD Museum of Art and is one of her favorite works; jackshainman.com. 6. On her list of dream dinner dates: Eryka Badu (shown: Baduizm, Kedar Records, 1997), Michelle Obama, and Moyler, of course. 7. Pickled oysters with fried fish skins and serrano peppers at Savannah, Georgia’s the Grey, Gwinn’s top pick for a fancy dinner date in her favorite getaway city. 8. Gwinn at work in her Charlotte spatial design and interiors studio. 9. The symbolism found in the shapes and colors of Zulu beadwork resonates deeply in Gwinn. 10. The South African Ndebele house-painting tradition featured in Black is King, Beyoncé’s 2020 film and visual album, inspired Gwinn’s design for her daughter’s bedroom.
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Adaptive reuse projects that are culturally based. One project is the Tuck Opportunity Hub, a nonprofit organization for Black and Brown youth and community development programs for single mothers to get back on their feet. Transforming this small mini-campus church building into a multifaceted community center is a joy. JM: As the mom of three children, what’s the single
most important lesson you want them to learn? QG: To treat everyone with respect. Anyone from
someone laying tile to sweeping the floors on any of my projects. That’s the first conversation we have. That respect is mandatory and nonnegotiable. ✦
(1), © TOYIN OJIH ODUTOLA COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK.; (2), LAUREY W. GLENN; (3), CHIA CHONG; (4), BRITTANIE DACUS; (5), ICSWART/ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES; (6), WALTER BIBIKOW/DIGITAL VSION/GETTY IMAGES.
“Design can save the world....We have a lot of say in how people live via our design decisions.”
like to say that design can save the world. Understanding community-based work is important. Public housing, neighborhood centers, schools: Those are the projects I was working on at my first job, and they stayed with me. I saw how design decisions—like whether there is a grocery store around the corner—are made that directly impact our lives. Being in the South, you can’t run from the divide of who has and who doesn’t. With urban planning, you see the mapping of those relationships.
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In Good Taste
JEWELRY
PERFECT SPECIMENS
Answering a sparkling, centuries-old call of the wild, top jewelry houses turn scales, feathers, and hides into magnificent mosaics and glistening reliefs—and even a crocodile’s bite into a tantalizing proposal.
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➤ BUTTERFLY MADNESS From 19th-century all-diamond brooches to the kaleidoscopic pivot by Belperron, Tiffany & Co., and others decades later, the winged jewels are as transformative as their radiant muses. 1. Carved rubellite butterfly brooch by Fabio Salini, price upon request; fabiosalini.it. 2. Colors of Nature brooch by Tiffany & Co., price upon request; tiffany.com. 3. Metalmark butterfly by Crevoshay, $41,428; crevoshay.com.
➤ MARSHY CRANES The serene, leggy birds appear in 19-karat gold as graceful symbols of fortune and happiness. 4. Black Jade link bracelet with Crane clasp by Elizabeth Locke, $6,875; neimanmarcus.com.
➤ PRIZED SWANS Among its admirers were Henry V, presumed owner of the 14th-century Dunstable Swan Jewel livery badge, and Italian designer Fulco di Verdura, whose fascination endures today at his jewelry house.
5. Swan brooch by Verdura, $54,000; verdura.com.
➤ HAPPY HUMMINGBIRDS
alone was a gift to Art Deco jewelers, who, in their shift to the natural world, leapt at the possibilities in such feathered pageantry.
When shown sipping “nectar” (as in these chromatic Anabela Chan earrings), their shimmering forms are reminders to savor life’s simple pleasures.
Royalty, power, fertility,
6. Rainbow Hummingbird earrings by Anabela Chan, $1,613; anabela chan.com.
and an élan that reverberates across eras and oceans: The royal insect has bestowed
➤ STRUTTING PEACOCKS The
7. Peacock ring by Lydia Courteille, price upon request; lydiacourteille.com.
➤ QUEEN BEES
nobility as far back as ancient Egypt. 8. Bee Mine earrings by Of Rare Origin, $650; ofrareorigin.com.
➤ DRAGONFLIES Deemed Japan’s “victory insect” for its tenacity, dragonfly jewels were en vogue after trade with the West reopened in the mid 19th century. 9. Black Label Masterpiece dragonfly brooch by Cindy Chao, price upon request; cindychao.com.
birds’ showy plumage
Laurey W. Glenn PRODUCED BY Rachael Burrow WRIT TEN BY Ellen McGauley
PHOTOGR APHY BY
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In Good Taste
JEWELRY
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➤ LEGENDARY LARGE CATS The Jeanne
➤ THE KINGLY RAM (AND ITS MASTER)
Toussaint–inspired panther for Cartier first appeared in 1914 on a diamond timepiece. The creature was again summoned in 1948, this time by the Duchess of Windsor, whose ideas for a brooch elevated the jewelry house’s emblem-to-be to three-dimensional glory.
Respected for its command over its environs, the majestic mountain dweller arrives today in a coral, diamond, and cabochon creation by David Webb, whose own reign over the wild is just as masterful. His 1957 dragon bracelet famously went to Elizabeth Taylor, sparking a rare menagerie of animals of his creation, from zebras and monkeys to frogs and elephants.
1. Fuzzy the Leopard Cat ring by Boucheron, $103,928; 01144-20-3936-9090. 2. Sous Le Signe du Lion brooch by Chanel, price upon request; 800-550-0005. 3. Sur Naturel High Jewelry ring by Cartier, price upon request; 1-800-CARTIER.
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4. Ram bracelet by David Webb, price upon request; davidwebb.com.
➤ PRECIOUS RHINOS Designer Julie Parker’s collection for Assael depicts some of the world’s most endangered animal species, including this yellow gold, pearl-set beast. 5. Gold Rhino necklace by Julie Parker for Assael, price upon request; assael.com.
➤ SHIMMERING SERPENTS When Prince Albert gifted an emerald snake ring to his bride-tobe, Queen Victoria, he set off a serpent mania that never abated. In the 1940s, Bvlgari introduced an entire serpentine collection that included the house’s famed coiled wristwatch, among other pieces.
6. Serpenti bracelet by Bvlgari, $60,000; bvlgari.com.
➤ ELEPHANTS, EVOLVED The animals have traditionally appeared in jewelry with regal Indian embellishments but have become more free-form and fanciful in contemporary jewels, as in Lotus Arts de Vivre’s black-horn hoops and Lydia Courteille’s dangling moonstones. 7. Lotus Arts de Vivre Elephant earrings by Lotus Arts de Vivre, $3,550; Stanley Korshak, 214-871-3600. 8. Elephant Moonstone earrings by Lydia Courteille, price upon request; lydia courteille.com.
∆ A dazzling look at 120 landmark animal jewels from the mid 1800s to the present. Beautiful Creatures: Jewelry Inspired by the Animal Kingdom by Marion Fasel (Rizzoli Electa, 2020).
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In Good Taste
JEWELRY
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➤ GLAMOROUS GATORS AND CROCS Four decades after Mexican actress María Félix made coveted pets of the shimmering reptiles with her Cartier necklace commission, Bibi van der Velden doubles down on their fierce glamour with a yellow gold pair, each snapping tightly to a Tahitian pistachio pearl. The alligator’s body even swings and curves as if gliding through water. 1. Alligator Pearl-Biting earrings by Bibi van der Velden, $23,483; bibivandervelden.com.
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➤ CROUCHING FROGS The Aztecs saw the amphibians as symbols of fertility, casting gold likenesses out of wax molds (presumably to be worn by women of childbearing age). Today’s evolutions are more festive affairs— whimsical, ruby-eyed, and proudly bearing gifts. 2. Frog cocktail ring by Jacob & Co., $16,400; jacobandco.com.
➤ S LY J E L LY F I S H Daria de Koning’s contemporary earrings
celebrate the creatures’ unique translucence, replacing the moonstoneand-diamond-studded body of Jean Schlumberger’s 1960s Tiffany & Co. brooch (inspired by friend Bunny Mellon’s brush with a jellyfish in Antigua) with gorgeous glassy rubellites.
seahorse charms or other likenesses for safety. 4. Double Seahorse pin by Sorab and Roshi, $24,400; sorabandroshi.com.
➤ TROPHY FISH
➤ PROTECTIVE SEAHORSES Seamen
Twentieth-century anglers would commission jeweled sportfish as mementos of notable catches. One can only imagine the speckled Argentinian beauty that inspired Nicholas Varney’s sapphire, agate, and yellow gold souvenirs.
have historically found mystical strength in these creatures of the depths and were often given
5. Brooktrout earclips by Nicholas Varney Jewels, $106,500; 561-766-1287. 6. Flying Fish earrings
3. Jellyfish earrings by Daria de Koning, $48,000; dariadekoning.com.
by Sevan Bicakci, $30,000; 011-90-532262-7842. 7. Koi Fish earrings by Seaman Schepps, $9,960; seamanschepps.com. 8. Earrings with Fish from Karry Gallery, price upon request; 011-33-6-03-01-69-78.
➤ ENIGMATIC OCTOPUSES Designer Sara Beltran’s tidal pull brings her to the dark, beautiful depths with leggy creatures carved in ebony wood. 9. Carved Ebony Octopus necklace by Sara Beltran, $15,000; dezsosara.com.
CALLIGRAPHY: Grace Davis Hall; gracecalligraphy.com.
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In Good Taste
WANDERLUST
The Jal Mahal, meaning “Water Palace,” rises from Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur. LEFT: The author’s painting of one of the palace’s four iconic domes
An Architect’s
PASSAGE to INDIA Tom Kligerman envisioned a sabbatical month of travel and painting in this rich and complex country. He could not have imagined what he would lose—and gain.
CAN NEVER IMAGINE RETIRING.
But knowing that retired people get to travel the world, I needed a compromise to give me the breadth and gift of that kind of travel. A few years ago, I invented my own sabbatical: an annual, month-long journey of learning and reflection. Last year, I wanted to go someplace that was different on every level. I’d been told that if you go to India for less than two weeks, you find it hard to love. If you stay longer, you don’t want to leave. I wanted to test the aphorism, so I laid plans to join a three-week trip there with Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation (that, in fact, I’d helped coordinate), adding 10 days in Bombay to explore and study watercolor painting with a tutor. 56
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It was a plan as well conceived as Sir Edwin Lutyens’s New Delhi, but no one anticipated the rise of Covid-19. Halfway through my journey, with borders tightening, I was forced to come home. What’s remarkable to see now is that despite having missed out on so much, I came home with so much.
The Surprising Magic of the Moghuls It might seem predictable, but it was utterly right to begin at a site so well known: in Agra at the Taj Mahal. The emperor Shah Jahān’s 17th-century marble mausoleum for his deceased wife was my introduction to the high culture of the Moghul Dynasty, which expanded
into India from Central Asia in the early 1500s and dominated a vast region for three centuries. It was amazing to witness something with such mystique in person—like the first time you see the Eiffel Tower. You always see the photos of the Taj sitting there, but you don’t understand the experience of getting to it: You pass through a red sandstone gate into a formal courtyard divided by paths into quarters (a Moghul aesthetic), and then you pass through another gate, and all of a sudden you’re looking across this expansive garden—this sweep of green—and there it is in front of you. It was late in the day and although the sun was out, there was a mist in the air, and the whole thing glowed. Kites (the bird kind), which had been wheeling high overhead, began descending as the sun went down, suddenly circling the dome. They were hunting! As it got darker, they were no more than six feet above the ground, circling the gardens. I’ve never seen so many birds of prey. It was startling, beautiful, magical. En route southwest toward Jaipur, we witnessed the magic created from red sandstone at Fatehpur Sikri, the emperor Akbar’s massive, 16th-century palace complex. The Moghuls worked with such intricacy and nuance on red sandstone, amazing detail and polish, so smooth to the touch it’s intoxicating. My
PHOTOGR APHY AND PAINTINGS BY
Tom Kligerman
In Good Taste
WANDERLUST
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LIGHT, PATTERN, POETRY ❶ Delhi’s Jama Masjid, one of India’s largest mosques ❷ The domed ceiling of Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi ❸ Red sandstone columns at Fatehpur Sikri ❹ Inside the Rama Yantra at Jantar Mantar (an observatory for astrological measurements), Delhi ❺ A nod to spring, the green Lehariya Gate is one of four representing the seasons at the City Palace of Jaipur. ❻ A painted pavilion on the roof of the Jal Mahal in Jaipur
eye traveled again and again up to the silhouettes of the chhatri (the domes) crowning pavilions and used along the rooflines. City after city hummed in color and beckoned. In Jaipur, it was all pink stone and stucco with beautiful Moghul tracery patterns—flat abstract arches, panels. And the silks! I usually buy the four-dollar grabs on the street corner when traveling and trot them out at stocking-stuffer time. But in Jaipur, I was buying fabric seven feet long, seven feet wide. The same fervor overtook me several days later in Jodhpur, called the Blue City for its walls that practically glow in cornflower. After a heady day of touring fortresses and palaces, we visited a rug merchant who manages a consortium of 58
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weavers from his thatch-roofed home. Everybody bought a rug. I bought two.
the Viceroy’s House, now the Presidential House), the Secretariat Buildings. Linking them was the potent three-mile axis of the Rajpath. The Grace of New Delhi Stopping for tea at the Metropolitan Our next stop was my pilgrimage within Hotel (where Lutyens lived while working a journey. New Delhi was here) put the starstruck where Sir Edwin Lutyens among us over the brink. conceived of and con- “The Moghuls worked We were allowed to step into structed British India’s his suite, and I felt the same with such intricacy modern capital beginning way I did when I ran into and nuance on red in 1912. Everywhere, it Ringo Starr on Rodeo Drive. sandstone, amazing seemed, was evidence of I gushed like a teenager. detail and polish.” the 20th-century, albeit But the pandemic was colonial, monumentalism rising, and buildings we’d at the hands of Lutyens and his partner, planned to tour were suddenly closed. Sir Herbert Baker: the triumphal arch of Indian states announced plans to quaranthe India Gate, the George V monument tine foreigners. We had 48 hours to leave. canopy, Rashtrapati Bhavan (once called I got the last seat on a flight to Newark.
KIDA by Stephen Burks
www.dedon.us
In Good Taste
WANDERLUST
Late afternoon sun illuminates the ivory marble details of Agra’s Taj Mahal, one of the most illustrious examples of Moghul architecture.
The Enduring Imprint of
SIR EDW IN LUTYENS — “I am a Lutyens fanatic,” confesses Tom Kligerman about the famed British architect, whose more than 800 commissions include country houses, war memorials, bridges, and public buildings—and of course, his most ambitious: the design and construction of a new Indian capital city, New Delhi. For Kligerman, the astonishment of Lutyens’s work here (begun in 1912 and involving 19 journeys) lies first in its grandeur. “It’s a city built to impress,” he says. But the Brits are good at that. More stunning is the architect’s embrace of traditional materials and motifs. Here you find red and gold sandstone instead of marble and classic
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columns with ornate Moghul carvings at their caps. “These are buildings with a foot in both continents. It’s amazing,” he says. To see the master’s hand at work in the English countryside, join Kligerman for an upcoming tour of Devon with Lutyens Trust America, which he helped found. lutyenstrustamerica.com
Lutyens’s India Gate war memorial is framed by a tall canopy (at right, and in the author’s painting below) built by the architect in 1936.
PORTRAIT, EDWARD GOOCH COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES.
And so here I rest, still quarantined in In my practice, it’s so easy to stick a manner of speaking, with my hundreds a molding on, add a niche, put on a of photos, my post-journey watercolors border. After India, I want to simplify I make from sketches and memory, and even more. Let light and shadow define my changed heart. the outside of the house. Get rid of the India, I learned, is chaotic, dusty, gewgaws and make buildings as sculpcrowded, and cacophonous. Yet there’s tural as the astronomical structures of something in the culture that encourages Delhi. Honor the Moghul and Lutyens’s focus in the most extreme way, to create embrace of form and order. beautiful things of all sorts, We were lucky to be in at every scale. I’d seen gems the country during Holi, no larger than one-thirtythe Hindu spring festival “We stepped into second of an inch inlaid that signifies the victory Lutyens’s suite, and I into rich, complex patterns of good over evil. One felt the same as I did in tableware. Those motifs morning we visited a temwhen I ran into emerged larger in textiles, ple to join in. The space Ringo Starr on block prints, carved into was strewn with flower Rodeo Drive.” sandstones and marbles. garlands over the arches. It’s hard to imagine now, They played out on the largest scale in palaces, courtyards, gardens, but we were cheek to jowl inside: people in the very lines of the cities themselves. swirling, chanting, singing, praying, I loved this intricacy, but that didn’t lying prostrate on the ground. There make me want to create that kind of detail were plates of things on fire, bags of colmyself literally, but rather absorb its lesors to throw. It was so joyous. This too, or son: that spending time on something perhaps most of all, was India. It should makes it beautiful, whether intricate or not be hard to guess whether I fell in love simple. It’s this karmic thing that happens. or not. —AS TOLD TO TRACEY MINKIN ✦
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COLLECTING
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You Say Tomato… …designer Michael Devine says setting the table with produce—real or replica— signals summer is just around the bend. Here, a taste of the healthy obsession that has delighted designers for decades.
IN -ST
Eric G A L K F L O R oujou A bout of Pa L S ↓ ique r is potte a vas La Tuile à L r e in g oup c y aspa r loaks e en an ragus dw , secu twine res th hite , and em adds daffo anem with dils, a ones, nd M uscar i.
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3 ↑ CAPO DI MONTE TRIBUTE Using his garden’s veggies, designer and author Michael Devine crafts vegetable topiary trees in the spirit of the classic Italian ceramics.
PHOTOGR APHY BY
Pamela Cook PRODUCED BY
Dayle Wood WRIT TEN BY
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Michael Devine
PRODUCE DISPLAY, RHS/GEORGI MABEE; VEGETABLE TREES, MICHAEL D. DEVINE; BUNNY MELLON CABBAGE CHEESE TRAY COURTESY SOTHEBY’S; ARRANGEMENT COURTESY OF LA TUILE À LOUP.
In Good Taste
In Good Taste
COLLECTING
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I K E S O M A N Y O F T H E T H I N GS I H O L D D E A R ,
I first discovered the artistic potential of the humble vegetable while I studied in Paris. It was during my Renaissance art course at École du Louvre that I became acquainted with the fantastical works of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. His portraits of the seasons were remarkable in their renderings of vegetables and incredibly expressive—the hands of autumn made from turnips, with their astounding life and elegance, rival any of the great masters. I had also begun to explore the wonders of the topiary. The French, I was quickly learning, have a knack with secateurs, no doubt an inheritance from the great Baroque garden designer André Le Nôtre. In his magical Parc de Sceaux, for instance, the vertical geometric forms add both lightness and a third dimension to the exacting linear designs of the garden. As I started working with vegetable topiaries myself, particularly as table centerpieces, I found the range and depth of color fascinating: the ombre spectrum of greens in Brussels sprouts; the Milan turnip’s blushing shades of purple; the clear, pure red of the humble radish (to say nothing of the rainbow parades that came with heirloom carrots and eggplants). It was like opening a Pandora’s box of options to the clever and experimental. Building
E TA ↑ A N TA FF H T ower R E T T BE gplant t skirt ture eg
minia gown red ball Devine’s ish, laye v la iers. a t s le le g purp n resemb li b m u t with its
WER STA R P O
rcelain 0; oges po im L ate. $30 re u tta’s est a A miniat u B o ri Ma rk.com. box from nsnewyo eerdma
2
1
UNCH → B Y T H E B asparagus
3
L’A R T D E S L E G U M E S ↘
PURPLE DISPLAY, MICHAEL D. DEVINE; CATHY GRAHAM, QUENTIN BACON.
Floral visionary Cathy Graham’s herbarium-style table design turns radishe s, okra, gherkins, and other tiny growers into a threedimensional textile pattern .
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←
IDS E Y E L work S A t ODS ealis eppe P E A P he surr ius
s, t er G d mnu ce paint structe u t r n n o Ve a t c s s s enai ldo, who lity almo les. of R i bo etab m nob i Arc s of and veg t i a r port f fruits o rely enti
7
← B U N N Y M E L L O N ’S OTHER GARDEN The legendary horticulturalist collected rare botanical and vegetable porcelain in earnest, including many pieces by celebrated makers like Chelsea and Meissen.
5
6
BUNNY MELON’S OTHER GARDEN, CABBAGE TUREEN, AND RADISHES COURTESY SOTHEBY’S; ARRANGEMENT COURTESY OF LA TUILE À LOUP.
8 ↑ RAR E
FIED R A pair ADISH of Mell ES l’oeil S on’s tr ompe trasbo u r the pr g plat ized Pa es from ul Han (1750– nong e 1754) ra sold f $10,00 0 at au or more tha n ction in 20 14.
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ps a bun oujou wra G n , e le e b u Q ta sa, and ncheon io lu b r a e c S m , s t hu . For a sum e leaves t of lisian ngemen f cabbag a o rr a rs e d y le la d ce with Anne’s la
OUS CRUCIFER
4
these into amusing squat cones and double-tiered towers was like developing characters, each bringing their own surprises and peccadillos to dinner guests. Their trompe l’oeil likenesses have been around for centuries—further proof that Arcimboldo was onto something. In studying the interiors of Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler, I spotted little ceramic displays of garden produce on side tables and mantels and, of course, dinner tables. Valentino, Bunny Mellon, and Brooke Astor, too, coveted these as decoration, and today, contemporary makers like Le Cabinet de Porcelaine, Vladimir Kanevsky, and Dodie Thayer are keeping the art alive for a new generation of garden disciples. For me, they represent one more way to welcome the garden inside. In the depths of a bleak winter, there is something very cheering about a dinner table loaded with vibrant replicas of peas, lettuce, and asparagus. A sure sign that summer is around the bend or, in spirit, already here. ✦ 1. Penkridge porcelain asparagus, $535; johnderian.com. 2. Limoges vegetable dinner plate, $356; aubainmarie.fr. 3. Tomato tureen, $138; bordallopinheiro.com. 4 and 6. La Galine vegetable knife rests, $19 each; theedition94.com. 5. Cabbage tureen, $10,500; vladimircollection.com. 7. Asperges tablecloth, $375; reedsmythe .com. 8. Marbleized paper portfolio, $110; parvumopus.com.
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Hector Finch, the Premier UK Lighting Resource, Celebrates
A QUARTER CENTURY
OF LIGHTI NG CR EATI V ITY Before he launched his eponymous line, Hector Finch was the respected authority on antique fixtures. At the age of 18, Hector Finch was already buying, restoring, and selling antique lighting fittings alongside his antiques-dealer father. By the time he opened a showroom in London in the early 1990s, Hector had a reputation for a deep knowledge of early electric European lighting. Designers and restorers of period properties relied on him for pieces of authentic provenance. Next, Hector began to produce his own designs. He created new fixtures for modern lifestyles, with clean lines incorporating cues from the past. Also known for exceptional colors, the range soon developed a strong following in the design world in Europe as well as the US. Twenty-five years later, the company celebrates its position as a leading UK lighting authority, known for its timeless designs and exceptional materials.
PRESENTED BY HECTOR FINCH
ght
SETTI NG THE STA N DA R D A N D M A K I NG A STATEMENT Fall rale
Well-made and well-designed. Hector and Emma source materials made nearby in the UK, as well as the highest quality components from small shops on the Continent—hand-blown
Mini Tiber Wall Light
glass from Italy, alabaster from Spain, and sheet metalwork from Southern Europe. With every collection, Hector Finch encourages the design world to value artisans mastering a craft passed down for generations. These lovingly made products and fresh designs are available to the trade in showrooms across the US.
ILLU MI NATI NG THE FUTU R E A family business leading the global lighting industry. With the launch of Hector Finch’s signature line, his wife Emma came on board and focused on marketing and development. Today, the couple personally oversees design, production, sales, and customer service together. A sincere regard for materials, processes, and quality is ingrained in their business model—along with supporting local artisans in Britain and Europe—to ultimately make beautiful products that will have long and useful lives.
Hector & Emma Finch
Learn more at hectorfinch.com
Starback with Katharine Pooley
In Good Taste
✦
PRESERVATION
PRESERVING OUR FUTURE This story is the second in our series produced with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
✦
Los Angeles’s Original
HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY
M
ID -T WENTIETH CENTURY
Los Angeles often conjures visions of glamorous Hollywood parties, but the spaces in which those events were held were not open to everyone. In the early 1940s, it was nearly impossible for Black Angelenos to find a welcoming event space for any sort of celebration. “Back then, Black people weren’t welcome in restaurants or hotels. Even if you found a venue that would allow you to come, you weren’t treated well,” says Gayle Beavers, president of the Wilfandel Club and granddaughter of cofounder Della Williams. “The Wilfandel stood as a representation of the original hospitality house. Our doors were always open.” Founded in 1945 by two pioneering women, Fannie Williams and Della (no relation), the Wilfandel Club began as an organization of Black women seeking to
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promote “civic betterment, philanthropic endeavors, and general culture.” The duo combined their names to title the club [wil-fan-del] and, after two years of fundraising, purchased a 1912 Mediterranean Revival house in the West Adams District, then home to Black celebrities like actresses Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters. After a year of clubhouse renovations led by renowned architect Paul Williams (Della’s husband), the club held its first meeting on November 21, 1948. In the decades that followed, the Wilfandel became a second home to its members and their families. They gathered there for everything from lavish weddings and parties to intimate jazz concerts and civil rights forums and imparted to a younger generation the value of caring for a home and the importance of tradition. “The Wilfandel was a foundational
TOP: The Wilfandel Club members in the foyer, left to right: Liza Scruggs, Gayle Beavers, Anne Luke, and Carole Kaiser. ABOVE: A picture of Kaiser, a club member at large, at the club on her wedding day
place for me. I played in the gardens every spring, polished silver, whatever needed to be done,” says Beavers. Nearly 75 years after its founding, the Wilfandel is once again raising money to restore its building—not just to honor the club’s past but to ensure its future. As the oldest Black women’s club in Los Angeles whose members own their clubhouse, remaining a culturally relevant WRIT TEN BY
Shayla Martin
GROUP PORTRAIT, JOE SCHMELZER; WEDDING COURTESY WILFANDEL CLUB.
The Wilfandel Club first opened its doors as a stylish, dignified gathering place for Black Angeleno women. Today, members are cementing its legacy as an open-door epicenter of empowerment.
Product designs by Bill Cain, Bradshaw Orrell, Lisa Kahn, Jamie Merida and Claire Bell.
A FA S H I O N F O R W A R D H O U S E G R O U N D E D I N C L A S S I C D E S I G N
$ $ $ " & " җ " & "
PRESERVATION
CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEFT: Founders Della Williams (left) and Fannie Williams led the process of purchasing the clubhouse in 1948. Stained glass windows usher light into the upstairs landing. The Mediterranean Revival house was built in 1912. The vanity table in the ballet slipper–pink Bride’s Room; on it, Kaiser’s framed wedding photo (see page 68).
epicenter of empowerment for Black L.A. and beyond (a challenge faced by many African American historic sites) is fundamental to the Wilfandel’s survival. “The struggle for Black sites is not just financial sustainability but reimagining their uses today in a manner that still aligns with their original missions,” says Brent Leggs, executive director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), which awarded the Wilfandel Club a $75,000 capital grant to help restore the property in 2018. The Wilfandel story—that of “fifty Black women with a shared vision pooling resources and purchasing a property to create a space for themselves in the midst of Jim Crow—is a story of power, resilience, and civil rights. Most importantly, it’s a story of self-determination in the face of racism. And there’s wisdom and power in that,” says Leggs. 70
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The value of a place where Black women in L.A. can confront the challenges facing their communities and create a vision for overcoming them is just as strong today as it was then. Yet, racial bias in the assigning of historic preservation designations persists, which prohibits access to preservation funding. Only 2 percent of 95,000 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) entries focus on the experiences of African Americans. While a NRHP designation is mostly honorary and does not in and of itself provide funding, the inequity in historic designations “mirrors our national values and what we as a nation define as worthy of preservation,” Leggs explains. One criterion for designation by the NRHP includes “architectural significance,” which often disqualifies many Black historic sites. “Architecturally, the buildings often don’t reflect the magnitude of the moments in history that took
place there,” says Gail Kennard, president of Kennard Design Group and member of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission (her parents married at the Wilfandel). Many Black sites that have received historic designations honor entertainers celebrated for integrating their fields. Recognition of Black community empowerment sites, like Wilfandel, requires that gatekeepers of historic preservation funds rid themselves of the white gaze: the idea that Black history and culture is only deemed significant based on consumption by white society. “Beyond architectural significance, the Wilfandel is important. Although it wasn’t acknowledged by the white community… these women did an amazing thing under difficult circumstances,” says Kennard. “It’s an example of the resilience of African American women in the face of racial discrimination. The Wilfandel needs to be preserved so the full story of African American heritage, as a significant part of this city’s development, can be told.” As the site where more than seven decades of Black Angelenos’ celebrations took place, the Wilfandel plans to remain a pillar of the community for decades. “The Wilfandel has played an integral role in providing memories for people who otherwise would have gone without,” says Beavers. “You never know how important a moment is until it becomes a memory.” ✦ HOW YOU C A N HELP — Support and learn more about the Wilfandel Club at wilfandelclub.com. Support the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at savingplaces.org.
PORTRAIT COURTESY WILFANDEL CLUB; INTERIORS AND EXTERIOR, JOE SCHMELZER.
In Good Taste
| D EN A LI , I VORY/ I N DI G O | AS ST YLE D BY N ATA L IE ZIR BE L, ASID
N AT U R A L M AT E R I A L S – N O C H E M I C A L WA S H E S – H A N D D R AW N D E S I G N S
Tru e A rt Underfo o t, Craf ted To La st A L i feti m e
NEWMOONRUGS.COM | 1.800.863.0442
DESIGNER CONFIDENTIAL
In Good Taste
Obsessions, Blunders, & Tell-All Truths from the Country’s Top Designers You might want to freshen your drink for this. More than a dozen decorators spill trade secrets as colorful as the rooms they create.
The Saturday night shop talk we wish our clients knew
in the kitchen, you could end up with a really unfortunate meal.” —YOUNG HUH
Yes, you need the art. We see success as a well-used room. “No matter how beautifully it might be decorated, if a room isn’t comfortable, it’s not really successful. And comfort is more than just the way a chair feels when you sit down. It’s also a state of mind, the assurance that you can really be yourself in a space and do as you please.” —TIMOTHY CORRIGAN
Why are you paying me? “If clients knew that having Pinterest doesn’t mean
PRODUCED BY
they should try to outdesign me, it would just save us so much time.” —DAVID NETTO
A design project should always be moving forward. “It’s hard to dissuade clients from wanting things fast. Sometimes they don’t want to wait six months, but then take four months to settle on something, and at that point you’re left to choose the item that isn’t as good. First-bloom ideas tend to be more original,
the Editors of Veranda •
more passionate. When you stop to second-guess each decision, you just end up driving in circles, and everyone ends up puking out the window.” —CELERIE KEMBLE
Opinion soup sours quickly. “A client’s main job is to truly express who they are and what they like. Their homes are ultimately a reflection of their personalities, so resist the urge to solicit opinions from everyone you know. If there are too many cooks
ILLUSTR ATIONS BY
Tug Rice
“Finish! Put in that beautiful last layer. Go the extra mile, and don’t stop short of the finish line. With each addition, the spaces in your home take on their true shape.” —BETH WEBB
The hotline is down. “I was talking with a fellow designer one day, and he was in total decorating fatigue, telling me about a client who wanted his cell phone number—back in the day, when they weren’t as ubiquitous. He asked why, and the client said, ‘In
case there’s a design emergency.’ He replied, ‘There has never been a design emergency.’ ” —CELERIE KEMBLE
Good projects are never small. “Do you know how much work, effort, and coordination goes into making a single pillow? Holy mackerel, it takes a village to make a pillow.” —MADELINE STUART
Late-night ideas will keep. “I’ve had to gently explain that, though their 11 p.m. ideas are fantastic, it’s best to put them in an email or speak with us the following day.” —BRIGETTE ROMANEK
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In Good Taste
DESIGNER CONFIDENTIAL
Trust me, you’re gonna love this color. No, really. It isn’t that some shades are foolproof, says Mary McDonald. “If it were that easy, nothing would stand out. What works is dependent upon the tonalities of the space, the light, the objects inside.” And keen powers of persuasion don’t hurt.
← Sunshine, Benjamin Moore “Over the years, I have returned again and again to this particularly vibrant shade of yellow. Aptly named, it’s the color of the clearest brilliant sunny day, and it’s always a delight!” —JAMIE DRAKE ← Brinjal, Farrow & Ball “In our tiny house in Sag Harbor, I created a cocoon vibe by painting the TV room’s trim, walls, and ceiling a deep aubergine.” —KATIE LEEDE
Bali, Benjamin Moore ↓
“I once had a client who was nervous to veer away from neutral or white walls, but the family room needed some zing—like ‘full color on paneling, ceiling, and trim’ zing. I promised her that if she didn’t like it, I would pick up a brush and paint it white myself. In the end, it was a double win for me: She loved it, and I got out of doing manual labor.” —ANDREW HOWARD
Interior design, Andrew Howard
If I could team up with anyone...“I would ask Henri Samuel and Van Day Truex to rise from the dead and help me decorate Horace Trumbauer’s perfect Clarendon Court in Newport, Rhode Island. I find their differing styles equally appealing. And since we’re fantasizing, I pick Dolly Parton as the client.” —MARKHAM ROBERTS 74
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IS IT REALLY A RISK IF I KNOW I’M RIGHT? “RISK IS PART OF BEING A GOOD
decorator, and if you’re a really good decorator, you’re not afraid of it,” says David Netto. “The risks I fear are shipping delays, somebody backing their car over a plaster chandelier stored in the garage, a vase I thought was so clever up high falling on a child, clients getting divorced in the middle of a project...but not creative risk.” Celerie Kemble agrees. “It isn’t the concept itself that keeps me up at night. Risk comes in when, for instance, I just assume a craftsman can do what I am thinking when, in truth, it may not be doable. But I am ready to roll with the punches when I screw something up, because the more risks you take, the better the design. I would rather get 80 percent right and have a project come out fabulous and exciting than 100 percent right and have everything smell like the inside of a tennis ball can. A home will be more distinctive with risk, and your choices will last longer.”
ANDREW HOWARD INTERIOR BY ERIC PIASECKI, STYLING BY FRANCES BAILEY.
← Oval Room Blue, Farrow & Ball “We did an entire paneled trim in a living and dining room in this color. The clients were really nervous, but the rooms turned out to be their favorite spaces.” —JOE LUCAS
WHAT I WISH I COULD UNSEE (BUT CAN’T)
Yes, we copy ideas. But the trick is knowing how to copy. “We are all borrowing from each other, and any designer who says otherwise is a total gasbag! Of course I study how Stephen Sills and Jacques Grange design upholstery or how Bunny Williams lays out a living room, but would I use the same wallpaper, light fixture, and sofa in the same room as that of one of my design idols? No. That’s laziness.” —NICK OLSEN
From meh to the forever damned, design ideas that have had their day “Depressing greige will give way to colors that brighten your mood.” —TIMOTHY CORRIGAN
I won’t even think of doing a project without…
CEDRIC HARTMAN L AMPS “His exquisite task floor lamps are my go-to for their quality and precision. The 91 CO model is my favorite.” —JAMIE DRAKE
S I L K M O SS FRI N G E A N D CAMBRIDGE TRIM
AT E L I E R D E T RO U P E O S TA B L E S
“There has to be a pillow with this fringe and a Samuel & Sons Cambridge trim too.” —YOUNG HUH
“There’s something decadent about them. Think Halston’s house.”
cedrichartman.com
samuelandsons.com
atelierdetroupe.com
“Horizontally hung mirrors should never happen.” —JOE LUCAS
“I like a sprinkle of postmodernism here and there, but I could live without what I call ‘Pinterest Regency’: all soft curves, dusty colors, white oak furniture, and enough houseplants to fill the nursery section at Lowe’s.” —NICK OLSEN
“Shiny gold fixtures. They can come off a bit Russian oligarch. Choose unlacquered brass instead.” —KATIE LEEDE
“Ball pillows.” —DAVID NETTO
“Rose gold is totally fine for cell phones, but these light fixtures and knobs I’m seeing in kitchens? I just cannot.” —COREY DAMEN JENKINS
“Tiny, postagestamp rugs.” —NICK OLSEN
“Accent walls.” —JAMIE DRAKE
—DAVID NETTO
“Please no more disposable design. Build things to last for generations.”
“Every dining room in hell has a glasstop table and flourescent lighting.” —BARRY DIXON
—BETH WEBB
FRINGE, TRIM, WALLPAPER, AND FABRICS, LAUREY W. GLENN.
TWIGS PHEASANT WA L L PA P E R
A LOUIS XVI SIDE CHAIR
S E AG R A SS RU G S
“This never dates. It looks like the endpapers of old Florentine books.”
“I love the neoclassical structure. It feels clean and fresh paired with more fanciful pieces.”
“If anyone needs tips on how to get red wine out of a sisal, please contact me. I am an expert.”
—NICK OLSEN
—MARY MCDONALD
—ANDREW HOWARD
johnrosselli.com
chairish.com
starkcarpet.com
A C H E S T E R F I E L D S O FA
K A L L I S TA’S F O R T O W N FA U C E T
“This is something that both my female and male clients can easily agree on.” —COREY DAMEN JENKINS
“Perfect for large pots and pan clearance. And if God is in the details, this one has Him in spades.”
centuryfurniture.com
—BETH WEBB kallista.com
L I N E N V E LV E T “I don’t believe I’m capable of doing a project without this. Simply unthinkable.” —MADELINE STUART
clarencehouse.com
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In Good Taste
DESIGNER CONFIDENTIAL
What can I say, I was young, it was early in my career…Did I mention how young I was? Most mistakes, our pros admit, can be traced to mismeasuring. “A custom sofa that won’t fit through a client’s doorway only happens once to a reasonably intelligent designer,” notes Barry Dixon. “Measure, measure, measure.” Still, that doesn’t explain everything...
THE ILL-ADVISED TREND
THE EPIC COLOR FAIL
“Okay, okay. I confess that I temporarily got caught up in the old-world, Tuscan, Venetian-plastered-walls look of the early 2010s. Replete with the autumn colors and, yes, doilies. Cringe away. It seemed so right at the time, and so very wrong looking back now.”
“I once tried—despite skeptically being warned by the client—to lacquer a room a pretty bright citrine color, which unfortunately looked like a toxic glowing urine sample from the doctor’s office when finished. I had to call the client, tell him he was absolutely right, then lacquer over it in white. You have to admit when you’re wrong and cut your losses.”
—COREY DAMEN JENKINS
THE SMALLNESS OF
“Before I went out on my own, my boss bid on a pair of vintage parchment tables for a client’s bedroom. We were unsuccessful at auction, so I was told to have them reproduced with a big artist who did amazing parchment work. I copied the dimensions right out of the auction catalog and ordered away. When they arrived at the office, my boss called me to the loading dock and said, ‘Um, what are these?’ I stood staring at a pair of parchment miniature telephone tables— about 16 inches high and 12 inches wide. I think they cost about $16,000 to make. My heart sank. I’ve made sure to VINTAGE
Have You Heard?
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—MARKHAM ROBERTS
ABOUT YOUR DOG...
pay attention to dimensions ever since.” —JOE LUCAS THE CLASSIC OVERTRIM
“It was so exciting when I finally had a client with enough budget to put fringe on things. It felt so grown-up to achieve some tassels. I realize now that I didn’t
Just in from de Gournay: five new hand-painted wallpapers developed with longtime devotee Michael S. Smith. Expect next-level botanical studies hand-painted on Indian tea paper. degournay.com
even like it that much. It was like wearing your mother’s shoes: You knew they were good, and there was merit there. A lot of my clients were young men, so they’d end up with a modern sofa, and somehow it would have an elaborate rope trim on it.” —CELERIE KEMBLE
“The biggest fight I have ever had with a client was when one of my delivery guys left a door open and his dog got out. It was many years ago, and the dog took quite a few hours to get back in the house with about four people trying to catch him. Memo to all interior design students: Please shut the door at a client’s house. And if you feel the urge to sing ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ in front of said client a decade later, don’t do it, because he will still not find it funny at all.” —ANDREW HOWARD
← Hide rugs reach novel shades of chic in Timothy Corrigan and Kyle Bunting’s spring line, borrowing motifs from Corrigan’s Loire Valley château: Boulle cabinets to geo-1920s Moderne. kylebunting.com
Shop’s open! Bon vivant duo Frank de Biasi and Gene Meyer recently launched an online boutique for wares of their own design made by craftspeople in their home base of Morocco. habibiburton.com
Want to see me cry? Just take away my decorative painter. SURE, DESIGNERS RELY ON ARTISANS
from all corners of the trade, but many admit a particular devotion to those who deftly wield a paintbrush, particularly muralists. “It wasn’t until we found the right resources that we started to become open to doing such things like murals,” says Timothy Corrigan, “which look horrible if not done by true artists.” Mary McDonald agrees. “Murals can be so, so cheesy, like a Jungle Book Disney ride. Good ones are complicated and nuanced, so if you don’t have confidence in this area or the right artist, I recommend staying away from it. Order hand-painted papers so you know what you will get in advance.” Adds Jamie Drake: “In less skilled hands, a beautiful concept can turn into a sloppy mess. The greatest decorative painters apply the finish with finesse, where the hand of the artisan is apparent, but with subtlety.”
COLLECTING —IT’S AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD. From ancient animal sculpture to wild earthenware, the vintage and antique treasures designers shamelessly amass at home J A PA N E S E B RO N Z E O B J E C T S
WICKER ANIMALS
“Think vases or an Edo period turtle. For me, it’s about the shape, the patina, and the charm. Some are not expensive, just expressive.”
“I started to find vintage wicker animals to put at [my hotel project] Mayflower, the ones made so tightly and finely, weird little foxes and squirrels and coyotes. I ended up not giving them any of the animals I bought. I paid the charges personally and kept them all.” —CELERIE KEMBLE
TIMOTHY CORRIGAN INTERIOR, MARK LUSCOMBE-WHYTE.
—MADELINE STUART
OLD GLOBAL TEXTILES “The more moth-eaten, the better. The patterns and age of each piece tell a mysterious story of the land, culture, and person who made it, toiling somewhere long ago.” —KATIE LEEDE
ODD FOLK ART “For my house in upstate New York, I am collecting oddball folk art, like a giant wooden pencil and a tramp art stegosaurus.” —NICK OLSEN
PA L I SS Y M A J O L I C A C E R A M I C S “I am a sucker for the grotesquely fascinating pieces by Bernard Palissy. Snakes eating lizards eating frogs eating bugs. The more macabre, the better!” —BARRY DIXON
CHINESE C A L L I G R A P H Y B RU S H E S “From horsehair brushes with blue-and-white porcelain handles to those made of stone and bones. As an artist who enjoys painting and drawing portraits, they just speak to me.” —COREY DAMEN JENKINS
A L L T H I N G S PA R T Y “Vintage barware, sterling and silver-plate servingware, china, crystal, and linens. I cannot wait for cocktails and dinner parties to return!” —BETH WEBB
A R T BY M E H D I G H A DYA N L O O
“I love the bright ones, rare and impossible to find.”
“I’ve been building a collection of contemporary art. It’s playful, full of vibrancy, and yet has a political point of view.”
—MARY MCDONALD
—JAMIE DRAKE
P I N K W E D G W O O D T E AC U P S
← Ken Fulk looks to fine milliner traditions to inspire his spring lighting line with Urban Electric Co., alive with classic forms, couture details, and Fulk’s famed chimerical vision. urbanelectric.com
Here, five painters our designers can’t live without: ❶ Atelier de Ricou, Paris; atelier dericou.com. ❷ The Alpha Workshops, New York City; alphaworkshops.org. ❸ MJ Atelier, Los Angeles and San Francisco; mjatelier .com. ❹ Atelier Premiere, New York City; atelier-premiere.com. ❺ Warnock Studios, Alexandria, Virginia; warnockstudios.com.
Alexa Hampton will hit the pool scene with Woodard this fall. Her first foray into outdoor furniture brings bamboo-inspired details, fabulous fretwork, and elegant updated wicker. woodard-furniture.com
Scenes of the Right and Left Banks in a Paris hall. Mural, Pascal Amblard. Design, Timothy Corrigan
← Suzanne Tucker’s new hardware with Nanz pays homage to the architecture of the West Coast. Think knurl patterns, astragal edges, and hand-hammered surfaces. nanz.com
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In Good Taste
DESIGNER CONFIDENTIAL
Webb’s must for a successful dinner party: thorough preparation. “If the hostess is relaxed, everyone will feel at ease.”
“FINISH! Put in that beautiful last layer. Go the extra mile, and don’t stop short of the finish line.” ••• AT L A N TA I N T E R I O R D E S I G N E R B E T H W E B B ’ S
“Seasonal, local ingredients make your meals infinitely more delicious and give the food a great storyline,” says Webb.
your farmers’ 1 Safeguard market haul.
Standard refrigeration’s “dry cold” can kill the flavor and longevity of even the most thoughtfully sourced produce. A better option, says Gower, is the evaporator system that comes with each SKS refrigerator. “These keep humidity in the mid 30s, which is perfect for prolonging the life of garden-fresh vegetables, fruits, and cheeses.” Another smart solution: inverter linear compressors that keep cold temperatures constant and save energy. 36” French-door refrigerator,
from $9,799; signaturekitchensuite.com.
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Cook like a pro—without missing cocktail hour. “Our ranges can be
configured with built-in sous vide capabilities, in addition to induction and gas, allowing you to set a steak to medium rare and leave it until you’re ready to seat guests. You’ll serve a 135-degree cut of meat even if you’re pouring drinks on the terrace as it finishes cooking,” notes Gower. He recommends finishing it on the two-zone induction cooking surface that heats up instantly, “so you have that beautiful sear in a couple minutes without affecting the temperature of the meat.” 36” dual fuel pro range, from $10,999; signaturekitchensuite.com.
Crisp and cool is Webb’s rule of thumb for late-spring wines. “Choose a lovely rosé, Chablis, or Champagne. The lighter, the better.”
3 Embrace your inner sommelier.
A fine vintage is only as good as its steward, a truism that led Gower and his team to incorporate Wine Cave TechnologyTM, which mimics the environment of historic wine caves. In the new undercounter wine refrigerator, dark, opaque glass keeps light out; touch-display lighting illuminates the wine without opening the door; and dual evaporator systems keep humidity at around 40 percent, “which helps ensure the corks don’t dry out,” says Gower. Plus, the Signature Sommelier App powered by Wine Ring works like an in-house connoisseur to manage inventory, rate wines, and offer recommendations, whether you’re playing host or guest. 24” undercounter wine refrigerator, from $3,199; signaturekitchensuite.com.
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) EMILY FOLLOWILL; BETH WEBB (2); INSET IMAGES COURTESY OF SIGNATURE KITCHEN SUITE.
words are as true of perfecting a well-designed room as they are of perfecting a memorable meal. For both, a detail-oriented elevation of the core ingredients— not simply their combination as laid out in a recipe—yields a truly spectacular finished product. Here, Webb and Rod Gower, director of business development at Signature Kitchen Suite, serve up virtuoso advice for acing your entertaining endgame.
From furniture and lighting to wallcoverings and fabrics, ADAC’s 60+ showrooms offer high-end home furnishings that are not only well crafted, they come with a unique point of view that is sure to inspire.
JOIN US IN 2021 DISCOVER ADAC September 21–23
Southeast Designers and Architect of the Year Awards Gala Co-sponsored by VERANDA
September 23
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351 Peachtree Hills Ave, Atlanta Monday – Friday | Open to the Trade & Public
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Ceara Donnelley canopied her custom oak tester bed in a golden Madeleine Soleil silk brocade (Métaphores).
ROOMS OF THEIR OWN No clients, no compromises: Step inside the ultra-personal sanctuaries of four top designers, from Ceara Donnelley’s electrifying Charleston, South Carolina, manse to Todd Romano’s art-filled Georgian Revival redo in San Antonio, each a glass-up toast to the allure of idiosyncratic style.
PHOTOGR APH BY
Brie Williams •
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Dakota Willimon
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BOLD MOVES A pivot in priorities and a distinctly Southern shift: Interior designer CEARA DONNELLEY
returns to her family’s beloved Low Country, lighting up an 18thcentury grande dame with a cascade of modern color.
The dining room’s robin’s egg strié treatment was inspired by the painted rooms of historic Drayton Hall. Frances Elkins loop chairs (Downtown) with ultrasuede upholstery (Kravet). Walnut and bronze table, Jean de Merry
INTERIOR DESIGN BY CEAR A DONNELLEY ARCHITECTURE BY GLENN KEYES L ANDSCAPE DESIGN BY GLEN GARDNER PHOTOGR APHY BY BRIE WILLIA MS PRODUCED BY R ACHAEL BURROW ST YLING BY DAKOTA WILLIMON A S TOLD TO STEPHANIE HUNT
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Moving to Charleston, South Carolina, nine years ago was a leap for a native New Yorker like me. It wasn’t totally foreign territory; I’d been seduced by the Low Country as a young girl. This landscape of marsh, pluff mud, and palmettos is where I spent childhood Thanksgivings with my grandparents. Avid duck hunters, they built a retreat in the 1960s in the ACE Basin, a magical expanse of pristine estuaries and old rice fields just 30 miles south of Charleston. It’s a sacred spot where
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FLORAL STYLING BY GREGORY BLAKE SAMS.
In the entry, painted tumblingblock flooring by decorative artist Stephanie Poe. French 1930s console, Fuller + Roberts Co.
“It’s a dreamy canvas for playing with lively colors and pairing antiques with family heirlooms and more modern pieces. Creating this tension excites me.”
our family still gathers, but to a girl who grew up in a Manhattan brownstone, it felt like entering another realm, wild and tropical, with alligators everywhere. My grandparents and parents were dedicated conservationists, and their love of the land, of birds and wildlife, is my proud inheritance. I’m also a city girl who planned on a high-powered legal career, but I’ve learned that life zigs and zags, and your soul can have a different plan than your ego once did. For me those zigzags included starting my own family during my third year of law school, in the wake of my father’s death. My priorities shifted, and I left law first for motherhood and then to pursue an enduring passion for design—another inheritance, perhaps mostly from my philosopher father, who collected
antiquities, indigenous art, and duck decoys with which he’d create tableaus throughout our homes. In a further zag, my then-husband and I moved with our two young children to Charleston on something of a lark. As a history major and lover of old buildings, I was quickly taken by the city’s beauty and architecture and fell hard for this circa-1740 house. I loved that the home’s historic fabric was largely intact—including an original facade that survived the 1861 fire that destroyed much of Charleston—and the fact that the interiors hadn’t been updated since the 1970s, giving me great raw material for making my own imprint. With original cypress paneling in the main rooms, a traditional Charleston piazza, lots of natural light and a deep lot, it’s a dreamy canvas for
ABOVE: In the library, a custom mohair sectional (Dmitriy & Co.) wraps a R&Y Augousti table. Paneling color, Pelt by Farrow & Ball OPPOSITE TOP: The gate and shutters of Donnelley’s 18thcentury single house are painted Charleston Green, a near-black vernacular hue.
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Art Deco–inspired wallpaper (Iksel) headlines a warm, earthen palette in a poolside sitting room off the kitchen.
playing with lively colors and mixing antiques with family heirlooms and more modern pieces. Creating this tension excites me. Plus the location is ideal: between the city’s famed Rainbow Row and High Battery and, most importantly, across the street from a dog park and playground. I love that we’re Grand Central for neighborhood kids—there’s always someone sleeping over. Working with a Charleston dream team (architect Glenn Keyes, landscape architect Glen Gardner, and contractor Richard Marks, a historic preservation specialist), we restored aspects of the house that had been lost over time, including replacing an attic staircase that had been removed, allowing for two additional bedrooms, and transforming the old kitchen house from a closed-off, cement-floor utility space into a modern kitchen that’s now basically where we live. Half of the side porch had been lopped off, so we put it back and partially enclosed it, creating a breakfast room that opens wide to the garden and a master 86
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LEFT: Printed linen tieback cushions (Jasper) cloak the breakfast room seating in flourishing vines. Tole lantern, Vaughan Designs OPPOSITE: In the bar, a genius cocktail of glossy peacock-blue cabinetry (E25-95, Fine Paints of Europe) and unlacquered brass. Sink fixtures, Rocky Mountain Hardware
“This house has been my laboratory, my studio, and, after two years of creative dabbling, has become what home truly means to me: a place that cocoons, welcomes, comforts, and delights.”
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In the designer’s bedroom, a 1960s French Bagues-style ship chandelier hangs over a skirted Soane settee. Bed linens, D. Porthault
Donnelley on the upper piazza with Henney, the family’s German shorthaired pointer. Rattan seating, Cain Modern. Check fabric, Janus et Cie
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sitting room. A trip to historic Drayton Hall inspired the dining room’s robin’s egg strié, a chameleon hue that is a whispery contrast to the chartreuse hyphen between the dining room and moody, high-gloss butler’s pantry. I love the unexpected, whether a supercharged color or an interesting shape, like the stair-stepped Colefax and Fowler plant stands I was lucky to snag at the Mario Buatta auction last year. This project, I’ve come to realize, has been a weaving together of the disparate threads of my identity. My analytical lawyer brain meticulously thought through every detail of the renovation, but ultimately the design was driven by a deeply felt idea of home and a spirit of playful experimentation. I knew instantly where the Christmas tree would go, but it took a bit longer to figure out how to safely deploy a silk brocade that was love at first sight (atop my tester bed, beyond reach of cats and kids). A family thread runs through it all. My bedroom is an homage to my grandmother’s signature yellow; the carved owl that perched on a hall table growing up now guards my foyer. This house has been my laboratory, my studio, and, after many years of tinkering, has become what home truly means to me: a place that cocoons, welcomes, comforts, and delights. It is a place of joy and refuge for me and my two kids; two dogs; three cats; “Woolly,” the (faux) Lalanne lamb; and treasured family memories. ✦
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❶ A Paul McCobb daybed covered in Clarence House’s Tibet linen in the upstairs sitting room. Tassel fringe drapery trim, Samuel & Sons. ❷ Salterini loungers and a scalloped umbrella (Fringed) bring shades of Slim Aarons glam. ❸ A platinum lustre Christopher Spitzmiller lamp atop japanned library steps from Mario Buatta’s estate. ❹ Poolside drinks are served from a glazed-tile bar behind folding louvered doors (Mizzle by Farrow & Ball). ❺ Donnelley’s brass-rimmed vanity is crafted of creamy vanilla onyx (Artistic Tile). ❻ William Halsey’s Blue Inscriptions (1983) finds kinship in the watery hues of a midcentury Italian goatskin credenza. ❼ In the living room, a Louis XIV– style bureau plat and 1920s gilt palm chandelier. ❽ Vintage Leinfelder garden seating convenes beneath a fragrant canopy of pittosporum.
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INTERIOR DESIGN BY KEN PURSLEY AND BRONW YN FORD ARCHITECTUR AL RENOVATION BY KEN PURSLEY PHOTOGR APHY BY WILLIA M ABR ANOWICZ ST YLING BY ANITA SARSIDI WRITTEN BY KEN PURSLEY
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THE QUIET GENIUS OF A
MIDCENTURY MASTERPIECE NORTH CAROLINA ARCHITECT KEN PURSLEY UNLOCKS THE WIT AND WISDOM HIDDEN IN HIS 1950s SAUL EDELBAUM HOME.
LIVING ROOM A Calacatta marble partition separates the seating area from an open kitchen, shielding countertop clutter while inviting conversation between cook and guest. The custom sofa was a wedding gift from fellow architect Bobby McAlpine.
HEN MY WIFE, SAR AH, AND I
ENTRANCE Among Ken Pursley’s updates to the modern home is a custom tambour front door (painted Pigeon by Farrow & Ball, half strength). At his side, rescue pup, Jojo
FOYER Original white oak dowels create a defining edge to the entry without blocking the light or view.
DEN A Crab Orchard stone and copper hearth warms a sitting room, where an analog media cabinet is revived with fresh paint (Hardwick White, Farrow & Ball) and a new turntable (Crosley) and vintage stereo system (H.H. Scott).
PORTRAIT, BRIE WILLIAMS.
outgrew our Colonial-inspired home, I had only two requirements of our next dwelling. The first was rooted in pragmatism: more bathrooms. Four family members using one bathroom was making for a challenging start to the day. The second request was more aspirational: I wanted a house I could learn from. In our previous home, most of the design interest came through me in the form of clever paint schemes, reworked surfaces, and cobbled-together decoration. The room and window arrangements were thoughtful but fairly vanilla. As an architect, I found the conversations with the home hosting me to be mostly one-sided. The host was polite but didn’t contribute much to the discussion. The flat-roofed, midcentury gem here in Charlotte, North Carolina, that we landed in needed a little polish, but underneath the grit, it had a rich personality. Because of its lessthan-pristine condition, it was placed on the State Preservation Office’s list of endangered properties. Had we not purchased it during the economic downturn, the house would have likely fallen victim to a developer building as many McMansions as would fit uncomfortably on its oversize lot. The home was custom designed by Saul Edelbaum out of New York City for Herman and Anita Blumenthal. They were leading philanthropists in Charlotte’s arts community, and this home was an outgrowth of their passion for unique objects. Built in 1952, in a town not noted for its forward-thinking design aesthetic, this International Style dwelling must have seemed otherworldly. The Blumenthals lived in the home until their passing, and other than a Miami Vice–inspired face-lift in the late 1990s, it was in fairly original condition. Yet one had to look past the pink swirls and fogged-up windows to see the true spatial beauty that existed in the design. Time was not kind to the “skin” of the house, but the “bones” remained strong.
DINING ROOM An intimate dining area doubles as a library and is anchored by a tongue-andgroove oak table crafted entirely from remnant flooring panels. The ladder was made from an 18th-century roof truss.
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KITCHEN A thin, plated-steel prep counter extends off the sink to face the den; cleanup is reserved for a large working pantry (inset) behind a glass-andvinyl pivot door.
Unlike its more traditional Colonial and Georgian-style neighbors, from the street, its self-evasive facade didn’t smile kindly to the viewer. If my mother’s mantra of “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” was reflected in this house, I would say it was choosing not to say much. It wasn’t being rude to those outside its walls, but it wasn’t particularly friendly either. This relationship to the street is one of the interesting things about modernism, especially when compared to more traditionally inspired designs. At its best it is mysterious and coy. At its worst it can be argumentative and blustery. Often modern architecture, or at least its creators, takes a contrarian view of the world. In making a statement against the norm, the message is broadcast so boldly it offends those 94
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within its realm. In a civic setting, one is forced to listen, whether or not one agrees with what is being said. For these reasons, the more poetic prose in modern architecture is often missed. Fortunately, the house we chose was of the soft-spoken variety. The genius of the house, as with all thoughtful modernism, lies on the inside. It dispels the traditional notion of the facade being an accurate indicator of architectural competence. It’s not how a building looks from the outside but rather how it feels on the inside that merits its worth. The heart of this home is the living space. Floorto-ceiling glass allows a seamless connection to the outdoors and offers a gracious portal through which each season can be enjoyed. To imbue it with additional energy, I pulled the cooking function into this social realm. I call this the “Japanese Steakhouse” plan. The cook and guests are able to easily interact, but the cleaning tasks happen “backstage” in the large working pantry through a glass-and-vinyl-clad pivot door. This allows the hosts and guests to maintain full visual and audible connection and marries the functional and social realms that are essential to the success of the space. After living here for almost a decade, I can say my hope of being in a home that would teach and challenge me has been fulfilled. The dialogue between old and new has been rich and thought-provoking. Like any healthy relationship, we have made each other better. This home’s wisdom is part of my dialect now, and I eagerly await the stories yet to come. ✦
BACK DOOR A serene Alabama pond scene by photographer Mark Dauber hangs beside sliding doors leading to the rear terrace. Contemporary credenza, CB2
PATIO Thoughtful roof overhangs shade indoors and out from harsh sunlight. The concrete-and-wood table is custom (Mudwerk and Franz Architectural Woodwork).
This home will be featured in Pursley Dixon’s forthcoming book Finding Home (Rizzoli, fall 2021).
LOUNGE The dark bronze plaster walls are designed to “fall into shadow,” says Pursley, allowing the original amber-shellacked oak cabinetry to shine. Chandelier, Apparatus
EXTERIOR, BRIE WILLIAMS.
The heart of this home is the living space. The floor-to-ceiling glass allows a seamless connection to the outdoors and a gracious portal through which each season can be enjoyed.
PRIMARY BEDROOM A collection of lucite-framed prayer scripts (Lucky Fish Gallery) hangs over the bed. Custom bedding, Perennials with Rogers & Goffigon trim
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Salon Spectacular
Designer Todd Romano opens up to noted fashion columnist Guy Trebay about his return to San Antonio, scoring the (house) love of his life, and his epic pursuit of the art uncommon.
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INTERIOR DESIGN BY TODD ALEX ANDER ROM ANO ARCHITECTUR AL RENOVATION BY WILLIA M L ANCARTE , CURTIS & WINDHA M PHOTOGR APHY BY DOUGL AS FRIEDM AN • ST YLING BY ANITA SARSIDI • WRITTEN BY GUY TREBAY
H A U T E M E TA L A subtle fret pattern floats across a vintage silver-leaf paper (Gracie), giving it a mercurial sense of movement.
A Chinese Chippendalestyle mirror (KRB) and a Louis XVI mahogany-and-marble commode in the dining room. OPPOSITE: Todd Romano with English Lab, George
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IT TURNS OUT YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN. That is precisely what New York decorator Todd Romano did in 2016, returning to his birthplace of San Antonio after three rollicking and successful decades in Manhattan. Not only did Romano boomerang back to his hometown—and to the Monte Vista neighborhood he’d known since boyhood—but he settled down in a singular house he’d had his eye on for roughly a quarter of a century. “My parents lived a few blocks away, and I’ve always loved this neighborhood,” he says. The house, a modest two-story Georgian Revival structure on a low rise set back from the street, was designed in 1936 by Atlee B. and Robert M. Ayres, a father-and-son architecture firm best known for their municipal structures throughout south-central Texas and for the Spanish Revival behemoths they designed for the San Antonio elite. The two also produced plans for more A curvy canebacked Louis XVI fauteuil with an 18thcentury ormolu bureau plat. Silk taffeta drapery fabric, Clarence House ABOVE:
A pair of Chinese baluster vases fitted as lamps bookends a custom button-tufted sofa. Central artwork, C-Ring 1, Todd & Fitch
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The 1930s Georgian Revival, painted Oxford White with Tricorn Black shutters (SherwinWilliams). Copper lantern, Bevolo TOP RIGHT:
OPPOSITE, BOTTOM:
In Romano’s bath, a rose-festooned wallpaper (de Gournay) is trimmed in purple grosgrain ribbon (Samuel & Sons).
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P R I M A RY W I N A virtuoso’s guide to owning the color wheel: Taxicab yellow, pure red, and cobalt are a mighty foundation for soft pastels and nuanced naturals.
FINE BEDFELLOWS Peruvian and Spanish Colonial mirrors shimmer atop red wool felt walls (Claremont). A Louis XV–style step stool in gauffrage velvet (Lee Jofa) serves as decadent doggie steps.
Layered atop a mélange of printed percale bed linens (D. Porthault) is a 19th-century floral Texas quilt.
modest Georgian Revival structures to house the local professional class. Romano’s is one. Let him explain: “The house was built for a doctor and his wife, people from an old Texas family, and, at 3,100 square feet, it’s probably the smallest house they ever did.” Visiting town one weekend a quarter century ago, he detoured through Monte Vista on his way to a cocktail party and abruptly hit the brakes. “I just screeched to a stop” at the sight of the house, he says. When a real estate agent and friend later informed him that the house’s longtime owner had recently died, he called on the widow to see if she wanted to sell. Several jolly cocktails later, it became clear that she did not. And so decades elapsed before Romano found himself established again in Texas and midway through renovating another structure when, out of the blue, in came a call saying his dream house had suddenly come on the market. “I had a ton of money tied up in this Georgian wreck I was fixing, but I came to see it anyway,” he explains. “I was here for 10 minutes and told the agent, ‘Just get it.’ ” Yet why this old house? “I love funny small houses, the scale, the cozy spaces, these 10 oddly tidy little rooms. Even though this is a modest house, it has proportion and style. And when I think about this place, I truly think of it as coming VERANDA
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ROMANO’ S MAGPIE COLLECTIONS SOON FOUND THEIR WAY TO TEX AS, WHERE THEY SET TLED INTO HIS NEW DWELLING IN SURPRISINGLY EASY, IF OFF-KILTER , JUXTAPOSITIONS .
T E X T U R E S T U DY Romano plays up contrasting materials in the library with glazed lacquer walls, ultrasuede seating, and fur and sisal rugs.
LEFT: A 1930s cast-iron star lantern hangs over a French bronze-and-eglomise glass coffee table. Sconces, Hinson, with Illumé NYC shades
ABOVE: English and Dutch dog portraiture mingles with allegorical and scenic paintings from across Europe.
home—geographically, physically—in terms of lifestyle. It’s a deep emotional thing for me because, for all that I’d done in New York, I realized at a certain point that my life there wasn’t making me happy. I wanted some connection to nature, dirt, and plants and a garden. I’m a country boy, I’ve always said it, though a fancy one. And I love sky.” For the hoard of assorted objects Romano had amassed through the years, there was also a southward migration. Called in from storage in three separate states, Romano’s magpie collections soon found their way to Texas, where they settled into his new dwelling in surprisingly easy, if off-kilter, juxtapositions. The result, Romano says, is somewhat like having all the people you’ve ever been intimately involved with walk into the same room at once. “Anybody who knows me would recognize right away that I decorated with things from my other houses: my Warhol silk-screen print of Liz Taylor; my dining room chairs from Sutton Place; a reupholstered sectional sofa from the Los Angeles apartment; doodads from my various shops. The house became a kind of Todd magnet, attracting this big mix-up from all over the country and the world.” In a sense, Romano continues, he was also returning consciously to a style of decorating that he grew up with and was forged through his admiration for that generation of storied professionals (Mario Buatta and David Easton among them) who directly preceded him. VERANDA
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FAR LEFT: A collection of Portuguese and Italian cabbageware on display in the breakfast room BELOW: A McGuire rattan-and-leather table is paired with Louis XVI painted chairs. Carved 18thcentury case clock, ReVue Antiques
Custom Talavera tiles are arranged in a graphic chevron pattern with glossy ebony cabinetry (Black, Fine Paints of Europe).
COLORFUL DINNER GUESTS On exhibit in the dining room: Roy Lichtenstein, George N. Morris, Josef Albers, and Robert Goodnough
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OPPOSITE: Graphic pomegranate-print fabric (Bob Collins & Sons) graces Napoleon III lounge chairs and a chaise-style sofa. The Chinese red drinks table is from Romano’s furniture line.
M A RQ U E E M O M E N T Glass walls and a chic awning-stripe ceiling give the sunroom the liberating air of a country lawn party.
“I FREELY ADMIT THAT THE COLORS ARE KIND OF IN SANE, BUT IT’S MEANT TO BE PROVO CATIVE AND NONSERIOUS AND FUN .” “In that regard, the house is traditional,” he explains. “At the same time, I used color intentionally and intensely—lacquered walls of checker-cab yellow or salmon pink; this odd, very Parisian strié carpet going up the stairs; and all these wackadoodle combinations like natural burlap or tomato-red wool felt—precisely because I didn’t want the place to look like my grandmother’s house.” If he dared himself to push taste to its limits, that is because, says Romano, “I very much wanted a place that would make my pictures and objects pop. I freely admit that the colors are kind of insane, but it’s meant to be provocative and nonserious and fun.”
Friends from childhood routinely come around for games of Onze or canasta, Champagne pick-me-ups on the terrace, and ensuing, well-lubricated laughter. Romano’s English Labrador retriever, George, is given run of the house. “I couldn’t care less about the furniture,” Romano says. “Look, the last thing I’d ever want is for any place of mine to feel stuffy,” he adds. “There are some nice things here, yes, and I do get a kick out of having these painted wood Louis XV side chairs from Jackie Onassis’s apartment. But at the end of the day, it’s all just a frame for your life. I honestly get as much excitement out of a plastic snake that I bought for five bucks.” ✦ VERANDA
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KEYS PARK to the
Cece Barfield Thompson pays tribute to Gramercy’s famed neighborhood green in her family’s classic downtown apartment, alive in verdant color and nature-inspired art.
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An oil painting by London artist Daisy Cook hangs over a nine-foot Schneller sofa upholstered in stain-resistant fabric (Perennials). The coffee table is crafted from a 19th-century Chinese screen.
In the living room, a George III secretary and Tom Sachs’s futuristic Shop chair ABOVE: An olive drinks table (KRB), a leafy dahlia handblock linen (Clarence House), and green ranunculus
INTERIOR DESIGN BY CECE BARFIELD THOMPSON ARCHITECTURE BY DAVID HOTTENROTH • PHOTOGR APHY BY THOM AS LOOF PRODUCED BY DAYLE WOOD • A S TOLD TO CELIA BARBOUR VERANDA
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LEFT: In the entry, a monochromatic vista inspired by the Virginia countryside (wallpaper, Susan Harter) pulls an English Regency-style bench into its pastoral panorama. Persian Malayer rug, Galerie Shabab BELOW: The table is set with hand-painted Limoges porcelain dinner plates and embroidered linens from CeCe Barfield Home. BOTTOM: The designer in her living room
and our dog will definitely be draped over one of the armchairs. A living room is usually the biggest and best-looking (not to mention most expensive!) room in any house, and to me that means you should use it most. Listen, I love beautiful things, but function really does come first, especially here in New York City, where every square foot is at a premium. If my husband, daughters, and I can’t be nourished by the beauty of a room, what’s the point? I had dreamed of living in Gramercy Park ever since I moved from Texas to New York for college. When we found this apartment, we felt so lucky, not just for its location but for its layout, too, which is formal, with a separate entry hall, gallery, kitchen, living room, and dining room. It reminded me of the classic apartments I’d worked on when I started out as a designer at Bunny Williams’s firm. People associate formal layouts with fancy living, but to me separate rooms work so well for a busy, modern family. For starters, I can close the kitchen door when we entertain and forget the dishes until tomorrow. I also love that each room has a distinct character for a different purpose and time of day. There’s space for us to each get away and do our work, as well as space to be together. I tend to lean on color in setting the rooms apart. For instance, the chocolate brown in the study doesn’t need sunlight to look great and makes the space work as an evening room, a TV room, and an intimate retreat (and it also doubles as a guest room, thanks to a lightweight, movable coffee table). In the dining room, which also gets less natural light, a grid of hand-screened color-block prints brings radiance, like a wall of psychedelic windows. Still, I look at color all day long, so I wanted a creamy white bedroom as my refuge. 106
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PLACE SETTING, LESLEY UNRUH.
If you visit my living room on a Saturday evening, you’ll be as likely to find Legos on the floor as Champagne glasses on the table,
“I love setting a captivating table; it’s like a decorating project in microcosm, with pretty layers and playful details.”
A gracious, all-over ticking stripe (Pindler) on walls, windows, seating, and a table is animated by a series of glossy color-block lithographs by William Turnbull. Samarkind rug, Doris Leslie Blau
“People associate formal layouts with fancy living, but to me separate rooms work so well for a busy, modern family.”
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The designer’s bed is skirted in a printed floral linen (Lisa Fine Textiles) and draped with sheer panels (Clarence House). Bedsheets, Julia B. Wall sconces, Visual Comfort. INSET: Audubon prints flank an 18th-century Italian mirror.
OPPOSITE, TOP LEFT: Sunlight illuminates stained checkerboard flooring (Floe Painting) through original steel casement windows. OPPOSITE, TOP RIGHT: Climbing florals (wallpaper, Farrow & Ball), painterly hearts (bedding, D. Porthault), and troupes of roses (chair, Raoul Textiles) in the designer’s daughters’ bedroom. OPPOSITE, BOTTOM LEFT: CeCe Barfield Home silver cocktail tray atop a Louis XVI–style chest. OPPOSITE, BOTTOM RIGHT: Robert Kime’s Indian Pear fabric brings graphic botanicals to a glossy chocolate den. Sofa fringe, Samuel & Sons
I love history, but I dislike pastiche, so one thing I aim for in all of my projects is to make classic elements feel inviting, fresh, and new. The entryhall walls recall 19th-century pastoral murals brought up-to-date with a black-and-white palette and brightened by bursts of sunshine yellow from the artwork and upholstery. The white walls, tonal carpet, and punchy green curtains in the living room give the 19th-century American paintings and Louis XVI chairs a light, modern presence. And I try to give pieces space to breathe. Throughout the apartment, I’ve streamlined the layouts and created open space wherever possible. (Similarly, I find that placing a whimsical object against an austere background—like the fringe on the library sofa or the ornate mirrors in the bedrooms—allows the eye to wander and be intrigued without feeling overwhelmed.) I have a china closet—a true luxury in a small apartment—that makes it easy to keep entertaining supplies on hand but out of sight. I love setting a captivating table; it’s like a decorating project in microcosm, with pretty layers and playful details. I always include little touches to put people at ease, like place cards, dishes of nuts (for fidgety guests), and open bottles of wine so no one has to ask. Café chairs and sofa-ticking upholstery give the room an easygoing, garden air. Everything here has a happy association: made by or sourced from someone I admire. And in nearly every room are details that bring the park’s lush character indoors, from floral, bird, and tree motifs to shades of green and blue, all reminders that Gramercy Park has given us so much more than inspiration and great views. It’s truly a neighborhood. We have friends across the way who host musicales where a Met tenor might be warming up, and the park itself is like a backyard for all the surrounding buildings. Connection, it seems, is everywhere. Indoors and out, I feel like I’m surrounded by friends. ✦ VERANDA
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The Sourcebook BOLD MOVES Interior design: Ceara Donnelley Ltd. Co.; cearadonnel ley.com. Architectural design: Glenn Keyes Architects; glennkeyesarchitects.com. Landscape design: Glen R. Gardner; gardnerla.com. Contractor: Richard Marks Restorations; richardmarksrestorations.com. Floral design: Gregory Blake Sams; gregoryblakesams.com.
Pages 82–83 Table: Jean de Merry; jeandemerry.com. Chairs: Downtown; downtown20.net. Chair fabric: Kravet; kravet .com. Chandelier: Baker Furniture; bakerfurniture.com. Base rug: Studio Shamshiri for Christopher Farr; christopherfarr .com. Paneling paint: Arsenic and Pale Powder by Farrow & Ball; farrow-ball.com. Sconces: Soane Britain; soane.co.uk. Antique tulipieres: Wynsum Antiques; wynsum.shop. Candelabras: Georg Jensen; georgjensen.com. Page 84 (bottom) Painted flooring and Venetian plaster: Stephanie Poe; poeartisticdesign.com. Console: Fuller + Roberts Co.; fullerroberts.com. Checkered bench: 8 Holland Street; 8hollandstreet.com. Portrait: Vincent J. Musi; vincentjmusi .com. Sconce: David Duncan Studio; davidduncanltd.com. Ceiling lighting: Derive; derive-vienna.com. Vase: Kelly Wearstler; kellywearstler.com. Wall paint: James White by Farrow & Ball. Dragon sculpture: Wynsum Antiques. Page 85 Paneling paint: Pelt by Farrow & Ball. Drapery fabric: Schumacher; fschumacher.com. Drapery trim: Samuel & Sons; samuelandsons.com. Sofa: Dmitriy & Co.; dmitriy co.com. Sofa fabric: Suzanne Rheinstein for Lee Jofa; kravet.com. Armchair: Luther Quintana Upholstery; lqupholstery.com. Armchair fabric: Pierre Frey; pierrefrey .com. Armchair fringe: Samuel & Sons. Window shade fabric: Madeline Weinrib; madelineweinrib.com. Coffee table: R&Y Augousti; augousti.com. Ottoman: Artemisia, Inc.; artemisia inc.com. Ottoman fabric: Scalamandré; scalamandre.com. Floor lamp: Jonathan Adler; jonathanadler.com. Drinks table: Suzanne Rheinstein for the Lacquer Company; thelacquer company.com. Page 86 (top) Wallpaper: Iksel; iksel.com. Sofa: Dmitriy & Co. Sofa fabric: Schumacher. Coffee table: Battersea Antiques; decorativefair.com. Swivel chairs: Sutter Antiques; sutterantiques.com. Swivel chair fabric: Métaphores; metaphores.com. Chandelier: Guéridon; gueridon.com. Artwork: KRB; krbnyc.com. Sconce: Circa Lighting; circalighting.com. Doors: Dynamic Windows; dynamicwindows.com. Door hardware: The Nanz Company; nanz.com. Sconces: Jan Showers; janshowers.com. (Bottom) Ceiling lighting: Vaughan Designs; vaughandesigns .com. Dining chairs: Thonet; thonet.com. Cushion fabric: Jasper Furniture & Fabrics; michaelsmithinc.com. Ceiling paint: Linen White by Benjamin Moore; benjaminmoore.com. Goblets: KRB. Page 87 Wall paint: Eccentric Lime by Benjamin Moore. Bar cabinetry paint: Hollandiac Brilliant by Fine Paints of Europe; finepaintsofeurope.com. Cabinetry hardware: The Nanz Company. Sink fixtures: Rocky Mountain Hardware; rockymountainhardware.com. Page 87 (top) Bed: Luther Quintana Upholstery. Bed canopy fabric: Métaphores. Bed linens: D. Porthault; dporthaultparis.com. Headboard fabric: Pierre Frey. Chandelier: Guinevere Antiques; guinevere.co.uk. Settee: Soane Britain. Coffee table: Todd Alexander Romano; toddalexanderromano.com. Rug: Joseph Carini Carpet; josephcarinicarpets.com. Chair and pillow fabric: Décors Barbares; decorsbarbares.com. Wall Lights: Ochre; ochre.us. Drapery fabric: Rogers & Goffigon; rogersandgoffigon.com. Drapery trim: Samuel & Sons. Window shades: Hartmann & Forbes; hartmannforbes.com. Wall paint: Slipper Satin by Farrow & Ball. Page 88 (bottom) Sofa and chairs: Cain Modern; cainmoderne.com. Cushion fabric: Janus et Cie; janusetcie.com. Cocktail tables: March SF; marchsf.com. Side tables: Elizabeth Stuart Designs; elizabethstuart.com. Page 89 (top) Rug: Jonathan Adler. Ceiling lighting: Liz O’Brien; lizobrien.com. Desk: Madeline Weinrib. Magazine table: Orange Furniture; orangefurniture .com. Bed fabric: Clarence House; clarencehouse.com. Drapery fabric: Soane Britain. Drapery trim: Samuel & Sons. (Top middle) Umbrella: Business & Pleasure Co.; businessandpleasureco.com. Lounger fabric: Suzanne Rheinstein for Lee Jofa. (Top right) Arched table: Sotheby’s; sothebys.com. Table lamp: Christopher Spitzmiller, Inc.; christopherspitzmiller.com. Lampshade: Shandells; shandells .com. Wall sconce: Jonathan Browning Studios; jonathan browninginc.com. (Center left) Patio furniture: Charleston Gardenworks; charlestongardenworks.com. (Center right) Cabinetry and wall paint: Mizzle by Farrow & Ball. Cabinetry hardware: Rocky Mountain Hardware. Countertop tile: Waterworks; waterworks.com. Daybeds and
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Janus et Cie. Daybed fabric: Suzanne Rheinstein for Lee Jofa. Patio chairs: Charleston Gardenworks. Garden stool: Authentic Provence; authentic provence.com. (Bottom left) Desk: Sutter Antiques. Rug: Doris Leslie Blau (dorisleslieblau.com) through Kondylis Design. (Bottom middle) Credenza: John Salibello Antiques; johnsalibello.com. Chair: Capris Furniture; caprisfurniture .com. (Bottom right) Vanity countertop: Artistic Tile; artistictile.com. Sink fixtures: Kallista; kallista.com. Sconce: Jean de Merry. Stool fabric: Madeline Weinrib. Floor and wall tile: Ann Sacks; annsacks.com. Wall paint: Dimity by Farrow & Ball. Towel: D. Porthault.
coffee table:
THE QUIET GENIUS OF A MIDCENTURY MASTERPIECE Interior design: Ken Pursley and Bronwyn Ford; pursleydixonford.com. Architectural design: Saul Edelbaum and Ken Pursley; pursleydixonford.com.
Pages 90–91 Armchair fabric: Modern Fabrics; modernfabrics.com. Chair on right: Switch Modern; switchmodern .com. Area rug: Stark; starkcarpet.com. Banquette: McAlpine; mcalpinehouse.com. Banquette fabric: Lewis & Sheron; lsfabrics.com. Tall floor lamp: West Elm; westelm.com. Reading lamp: Visual Comfort; visualcomfort.com. Artwork: Provenance Antiques; provenanceantiquesatlanta.com. Artwork frame: Art Aspects; artaspects.biz. Fireplace rods: Hubbard Iron, Inc.; hubbardiron.com. Glass collection: Circa Interiors; circainteriors.com. Kitchen screen: Harkey Stone and Tile; harkeytileandstone.com. Page 92 (bottom left) Ceiling paint: Hardwick White by Farrow & Ball; farrow-ball .com. Sofa upholstery: Morgan Chair; morganchair.com. Sofa fabric: Modern Fabrics. Coffee table: Interiors Market; interiorsmarket.com. Drinks table: South of Market; southofmarket.biz. Armchair: Sheffield Antiques; sheffield antiques.net. Area rug: RedRock Custom Carpets, Inc.; redrockcarpet.com. Lamps: Sonneman Lighting; sonneman awayoflight.com. Page 92 (top right) Wall paint: SherwinWilliams; sherwin-williams.com. (Middle right) Paneling paint: Hardwick White by Farrow & Ball. Brick paint: Muskoka Trail by Benjamin Moore. Ceiling light: The Urban Electric Company; urbanelectric.com. Rug: Brimfield Flea Market; brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com. (Bottom right) Cabinetry paint: Hardwick White by Farrow & Ball. Record player: Crosley Radio; crosleyhome.com. Hardware: Ikea; ikea .com. Page 93 Metal chair fabric: Modern Fabrics. Armless chair: Morgan Chair. Armless chair fabric: Modern Fabrics. Cabinet: Nicole Maleine Antiques, Inc.; 334-834-8530. Area rug: Stark. Page 94 (top) Cabinetry and pivot doors: Franz Architectural Woodwork; franzarchitecturalwoodwork.com. Countertop: Mudwerks; mudwerk.com. Artwork: Sleepy Hollow Antiques; sleepyhollowantiques.net. Sink fixtures: Dornbracht; dornbracht.com. Butcher block: d+p Design Build, LLC; dpluspdesignbuild.com. Sink counter: Hubbard Iron, Inc. Lighting: Bobo Intruiging Objects; bobointriguing objects.com. Barrel chair: Restoration Hardware; rh.com. Stool: Windwood Antiques, Blowing Rock; 828-295-9260. (Inset) Wall paint: Manor House Gray by Farrow & Ball. Cabinetry paint: Plummett by Farrow & Ball. Cabinetry: Franz Architectural Woodwork. Cabinetry hardware: Ikea. Rug: Slate Interiors; shopslateinteriors.com. Glass lighting and chairs: Bobo Intruiging Objects. Oven: Miele; mieleusa .com. Refrigerator: Sub-Zero; subzero-wolf.com. Drapery fabric: Restoration Hardware. Page 95 (top left) Console: CB2; cb2.com. Lamp: Moxie Mercantile; moxiemercantile .com. Artwork: Mark Dauber; daubergallery.com. Hide rug: Brimfield Flea Market. (Top right) Wallhanging: Lucky Fish Gallery; luckyfishgallery.com. Wallhanging frame: Franz Architectural Woodwork. Coffee table: Bobo Intruiging Objects. Sofa and sofa fabric: Ikea. Carpet: Carpet Warehouse; carpetwhse.com. Rug: RedRock Custom Carpets, Inc. Chandelier: Apparatus; apparatusstudio.com. (Bottom left) Oval platter: Haand; haand.us. White serving bowl: Fable; fablehome.co. White pasta bowls: Fable; fablehome.co. (Bottom right) Bedding fabric: Perennials Fabrics; perennialsfabrics.com. Bedding trim: Rogers & Goffigon; rogersandgoffigon.com. Bedding fabrication: Classic Creations; 704-597-9374. Large pillow fabric: Modern Fabrics. Small pillows: Brimfield Flea Market. Reading lights: Rejuvenation; rejuvenation.com. Artwork: Lucky Fish Gallery. Rug: Carpet Warehouse. Coffee table: Bennett Street Gallery; bennettstgallery.com. Sofa fabric: Modern Fabrics. Ceiling light: CB2. Geometric lamp: Noguchi; noguchi.org. Wood wall hanging: Brimfield Flea Market. Drapery fabric:
Rodolph Fabrics; rodolph.com. Wall paint: Hardwick White by Farrow & Ball.
SALON SPECTACULAR Interior design: Todd Alexander Romano, LLC; toddalexanderromano.com. Architectural design: William Lancarte of Curtis & Windham; curtis andwindham.com. Wallpaper throughout: JM Shea, LLC, and Jimmy T. Davis; jmshea.com and jamestdavis.com. Page 96 Ceiling light: Paris Flea Market; paris-flea-market.com. Stair runner carpet: Patterson Flynn & Martin; pattersonflynnmartin.com. Antlered statuary: Doyle Auctions; doyle.com. Stool and table lamp: Stair Galleries; stairgalleries.com. Gilded console: Sotheby’s; sothebys.com. Lamp shade: Illumé; illumenyc.com. Page 97 Wallpaper: Gracie; graciestudio.com. Drapery fabric: Clarence House; clarencehouse.com. Commode: Sotheby’s; sothebys.com. Candlesticks: Christie’s; christies.com. White mirror: KRB; krbnyc.com. Artwork: Bonhams; bonhams.com. Page 98 (top left) Lacquered screen: Doyle Auction. Desk and woven chair: Christie’s. Table lamp: George N. Antiques; georgenantiques.com. Chair in window: Edelman Leather; edelmanleather.com. Chinese stand: Paris Flea Market. Page 98 (top right) Exterior paint: Oxford White by Sherwin-Williams; sherwin-williams.com. Trim paint: Tricorn Black by Sherwin-Williams. Lantern: Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights; bevolo.com. Page 98 (bottom) Artwork: Galerie Philippe Guegan; philippeguegan.com. Portrait: Swann Auction Galleries; swanngalleries.com. Sofa: Jaydan Interiors; jaydaninteriors.com. Sofa fabric: Brunschwig & Fils; kravet.com. Coffee table: Christie’s. Table fabric: Schumacher; fschumacher.com. Lampshades: Marvin Alexander; marvinalexanderinc.com. Armchairs and ottoman: George N. Antiques. Animal print fabric: Brunschwig & Fils. Area rug: Patterson Flynn & Martin. Chandelier: The Antique and Artisan Gallery; theantiqueand artisangallery.com. Cabinet: Carole Borraz; 011-33-1-44-27-0081. Blue pottery: Gracie. Page 99 (top) Bed: Jaydan Interiors. Stool: John Rosselli & Associates; johnrosselli.com. Stool fabric: Lee Jofa; kravet.com. Tufted armchairs and ottoman: Jaydan Interiors. Armchair and ottoman fabric: Pierre Frey; pierrefrey.com. Chair: Victoria & Son; victoriaandson.com. Carpet: Patterson Flynn & Martin. Sconces: Vidal’s Antiques Corp.; 212-838-9179. Black table: Christie’s. Central artwork: Doyle Auction. Mirror: Carlos de la Puente Antiques; delapuenteantiques.com. Page 99 (bottom) Wallpaper: De Gournay; degournay.com. Ceiling treatment: Gracie. Purple trim: Samuel & Sons; samuelandsons.com. Vanity: Urban Archaeology; urbanarchaeology.com. Fixtures: Lefroy Brooks; lefroybrooks.com. Mirror: Kraft Hardware, Inc.; 212-838-2214. Vanity light: Circa Lighting; circalighting.com. Caned armchairs: George N. Antiques. Towel shelf: Vaughan Designs; vaughandesigns.com. Page 100 Ceiling paint: Super White by Benjamin Moore; benjaminmoore.com. Trim paint: White Dove by Benjamin Moore. Sofa: Design Quest Custom; designquestcustom.com. Sofa fabric: Schumacher. Rug: Patterson Flynn & Martin. Stool: Victoria & Son. Drinks table: Guéridon; gueridon.com. Sconce shade: Illumé. Animal fabric: Brunschwig & Fils. White armchair: Victoria & Son. Armchair fabric: Schumacher. Console table: Jaydan Interiors. Abstract artwork: Christie’s. Collage artwork: Louise Erhard; louiseerhard.com. Page 101 (top right) Ceiling light: Galerie Philippe Guegan. Large painting: Doyle Auction. Dog painting: Julia Boston Antiques; juliaboston .com. Page 101 (top left) Wallpaper: Quadrille; quadrille fabrics.com. Page 102 (top right) Cabinetry paint: Black Gloss by Fine Paints of Europe; finepaintsofeurope.com. Cabinetry hardware: Alexander Marchant; alexandermarch ant.com. Lighting: Paris Flea Market. Island: The Antique and Artisan Gallery. Backsplash tile: Reeso Tiles, Inc.; reesotiles .com. Range: Bertazzoni; bertazzoni.com. Page 102 (bottom) Chandelier: The Antique and Artisan Gallery. Table: Re Vue Antiques; 561-832-2438. Dining chairs: Paris Flea Market. Rug: Patterson Flynn & Martin. Blue chair: Sotheby’s. Clock: William Gardner Antiques; wgardnerltd.com. Plant stand and serigraph: Doyle Auction. Artwork on central window and right wall: Stair Galleries. Page 103 Ceiling treatment: Vigini Paint and Design; viginipaintanddesign.com. Armchair: Paris Flea Market. Daybed fabric: Bob Collins & Sons, Inc.; bobcollinsandsons.com. Floor lamps and ottoman: Todd Alexander Romano for Schumacher. Drinks table: Todd Alexander Romano. Caned armchiars: Stair Galleries. Artwork and statue: Doyle Auction.
KEYS TO THE PARK Interior design: CeCe Barfield, Inc.; cecebarfieldinc.com. Architectural design: Hottenroth + Joseph Architects; hjnyc.com. Contractor: N-Marseni Contracting; 855-713-1088.
Page 104 Plasterwork: Art Groove NYC; artgroovenyc.com. Carpet: Manhattan Carpet & Floor; 212-685-3626. Artwork: Daisy Cook; daisycook.com. Sofa: A. Schneller Sons, Inc.; 212-695-9440. Sofa fabric: Perennials; perennialsfabrics.com. Coffee table: Christie’s; christies.com. Armchairs: A. Schneller Sons, Inc. Armchair fabric: Clarence House; clarencehouse.com. Stool: Loft Antiques; loftantiquesmpls.com. Bust: Dalton Bain; daltonbain.com. Pedestal: Howe London; howelondon.com. End table: Robert Massello; 347-216-6665. Table lamp: Mrs. Howard; mrshoward.com. End table: KRB; krbnyc.com. Drapery fabric: B&J Fabrics; bandjfabrics.com. Page 105 (bottom right) Desk chair: Tom Sachs Furniture; tomsachsfurniture.com. Page 106 (top) Wallpaper: Susan Harter Muralpapers; susanharter.com. Bench fabric: Claremont; claremontfurnishing.com. Rug: Galerie Shabab; galerieshabab.com. Sconce: The Urban Electric Company; urbanelectric .com. Artwork: BK Antiques; bkantiques.com. Medallion pillow fabric: Penny Morrison; pennymorrison.com. Yellow pillow fabric: Slightly East; slightlyeast.com. Green pillow fabric: KRB. (Middle right) Placemats and dinner napkins: CeCe Barfield Home. Flatware: Land of Belle; landofbelle.com. Candlesticks: Cece Barfield Home X Loulou La Dune; loulouladune.com. Porcelain lemons: Vladimir Kanevsky; thevladimircollection.com. Page 107 Wall, sofa, chair cushion, and drapery fabric: Pindler; pindler.com. Sofa: A. Schneller Sons, Inc. Ceiling light: Vaughan; vaughandesigns.com. Lithograph: William Turnbull; williamturnbullart.com. Chairs: Sika Design; sikadesignusa.com. Rug: Doris Leslie Blau; dorisleslieblau.com. End table: KRB. Plant stand: John Rosselli Antiques; johnrosselliantiques.com. Page 108 (top left) Flooring: Floe Painting; floepainting.com. Cabinetry paint: Benjamin Moore; benjaminmoore.com. Cabinetry hardware: House of Antique Hardware; houseofantiquehardware.com. Range: Wolf; subzero-wolf.com. Sink: Shaws of Darwen; houseofrohl.com. Faucet: Newport Brass; newportbrass.com. Clay pots: Foliage Garden; foliagegarden.com. (Bottom right) Wall paint: Fine Paints of Europe; finepaintsofeurope.com. Drapery fabric: Robert Kime; robertkime.com. Sofa: Fine Arts Furniture; fineartsfurn.com. Sofa fabric: Perennials. Sofa trim: Samuel & Sons; samuelandsons.com. Table lamp: Christopher Spitzmiller, Inc.; christopherspitzmiller.com. End table: John Rosselli & Associates; johnrosselli.com. Cocktail table: Bielecky Brothers, Inc.; bieleckybrothers.com. Curved armchair: Christie’s. Chair: KRB. Chair fabric: Robert Kime. Pillow fabric: Andrew Spindler Antiques & Design; spindlerantiques.com. Ceiling light: Vaughan. (Bottom left) Chest: Parc Monceau; parcmonceauatl.com. Silver tray: CeCe Barfield Home. Mirror: Jeffrey Bilhuber for the Lacquer Company; thelacquercompany.com. (Top right) Headboards and bedskirt fabric: Claremont. Bed linens: D. Porthault; dporthaultparis.com. Valance trim: Samuel & Sons. Chair: KRB. Chair fabric: John Roselli & Associates. Bedside table: Chelsea Textiles; chelseatextiles.com. Sconces: Ann-Morris; annmorrislighting.com. Portraits: Hilary Cooper; hilarycooper.com. Wall paint: Ringwold by Farrow & Ball; farrow-ball.com. Page 109 (top) Bed: The Beautiful Bed Co.; beautiful bedco.com. Headboard and bedskirt fabric: Lisa Fine Textiles; lisafinetextiles.com. Bed linens: Julia B.; juliab.com. Wall hanging: Clarence House. Sconces: Visual Comfort; visualcomfort.com. Area rug: Manhattan Carpet & Floor; lowermanhattan.abbeycarpet .com. Reading chair: 145 Antiques; 145antiques.com. Reading chair fabric: Lisa Fine Textiles. Small stool: Chairish; chairish.com. Floor lamp: Vaughan. Ceiling light: Soane Britain; soane.co.uk. Drapery fabric: Holland & Sherry; hollandandsherry.com. Grass cloth: Studio Four NYC; studiofournyc.com. Bird artwork: John Rosselli Antiques.
LIMITED EDITION Page 112 Fabric: Bennison; bennisonfabrics.com.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Bob Christian Cachepot Sweepstakes May/June 2021. Sponsored by Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Beginning April 22, 2021 at 12:01 AM (ET) through June 16, 2021 at 11:59 PM (ET), go to sweepstakes.veranda.com on a computer or wireless device and complete the entry form pursuant to the on-screen instructions. Important Notice: You may be charged for visiting the mobile website in accordance with the terms of your service agreement with your carrier. Six (6) Winners will receive one (1) Bob Christian Cachepot. ARV per set: $580. Total ARV: $3,480. Odds of winning will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received. Open to the legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who have reached the age of majority in their state or territory of residence at time of entry. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. Sweepstakes subject to complete official rules available at sweepstakes.veranda.com. VERANDA Volume 35, Number 3 (ISSN 1040-8150) is published bimonthly by HEARST, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer; William R. Hearst III, Chairman; Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Executive Vice Chairman. VERANDA PUBLICATIONS, INC.: Debi Chirichella, President, Hearst Magazines Group and Treasurer; Catherine A. Bostron, Secretary. ©2021 by VERANDA PUBLICATIONS, INC. Cover and contents of VERANDA are fully protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced in any manner without written permission. All rights reserved in all countries. VERANDA is a registered trademark of VERANDA PUBLICATIONS, INC. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States, $28 per year, 6 issues; elsewhere $52 per year surface mail. (Canada BN NBR 10231 0943 RT.) Single issues, U.S. $7. Subscription services: VERANDA will, upon receipt of a complete subscription order, undertake fulfillment of that order so as to provide the first copy for delivery by the Postal Service or alternate carrier within 6 to 9 weeks. For customer service, changes of address, and subscription orders, log on to SERVICE.VERANDA.COM or write to Customer Service Department, VERANDA, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593. From time to time, we make our subscriber list available to companies who sell goods and services by mail that we believe would interest our readers. If you would rather not receive such offers via postal mail, please send your current mailing label or exact copy to Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593. You can also visit PREFERENCES.HEARSTMAGS .COM to manage your preferences and opt out of receiving marketing offers by e-mail. ©2021 VERANDA PUBLICATIONS, INC. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia, and additional offices. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40012499. Send returns (Canada) to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, Ontario, N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address notification (Form 3579) to VERANDA, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Printed in USA.
VERANDA
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Limited Edition
W I N T H I S C AC H E P O T ! We’re giving away six of these Bob Christian hand-painted planters. Visit sweepstakes .veranda.com (see page 111 for details), and enter for a chance to win. Retail value: $580 each. Also available at modaoperandi.com.
PURSUIT OF PARADISE
M
PORTRAIT, ATTIC FIRE PHOTOGRAPHY.
Savannah painter Bob Christian summons the pastoral sweep of Renaissance masters for cachepots created exclusively for Veranda. brings a near-mystic authority to the life bucolic. The Savannah, Georgia–based artist (who trained under John Rosselli) paints his deeply layered, freehand landscapes on walls ranging from intimate dining rooms to soaring hotel lobbies—and mostly from memory, without a sketch in sight. Now in six hand-painted cachepots created exclusively for Veranda, Christian’s vistas arrive with slender obelisks and statuesque pagodas at water’s edge, even classical “moldings” along the rims, each vessel like a mini portal to his verdant idylls. bobchristiandecorativeart.com
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ASTER MURALIST BOB CHRISTIAN
PRODUCED BY
Sara Clark •
PHOTOGR APH BY
Laurey W. Glenn •
WRIT TEN BY
Tracey Minkin
From the first toast to the final bite, savor every moment with Sub-Zero refrigeration, Wolf cooking, and Cove dishwashing. Complete your kitchen with thoughtfully designed, innovative appliances, crafted to last for decades of delicious, memorable meals.