Rose Cumming, The Finest Rooms, By America's Great Decorators 
Judith Liegeios, JLD Designs, Naples and New York
Louis Bromante, An Aesthete's Lament on AD
Tom Britt (after he re-covered) NYSD
Family Room by Dean Farris, DFID
Summer Porch by Dean Farris, DFID
I feel as if I must have known Miss Rose in a previous life. The first time I ever paid a visit to New York, (1975) I just happened to wander onto lower Park Avenue, and discovered her mysterious and eccentric shop. It was closed, but I was able to stand outside and peer into it. I was mesmerized by it. There was a dusty chandelier, that looked a bit in need of repair, and there were bolts of fabric stuck everywhere! It was a romantic, fabulous place.
Years later I had a similar experience, when while visiting Los Angeles, I just stumbled across the last studio of Tony Duquette- also closed. I again stood at the gate, and peered in, marveling at the magical environment that had been created in the hills of Hollywood.
I recall meeting the elderly sister of Miss Rose Cumming, her name was Eileen Cecil, and she would sit in the showroom, where Ron and Marcy were working, and she was so elegant, and so very stately. She wore a huge black straw hat, with a dull black suit, and her eyes were a bit clouded with cataracts. She screamed Old New York! She never said a word. Perhaps a bit of dementia? Anyway, I first discovered the iconic Rose Cumming fabric, called Banana Leaves, back in 1975 or 6, when I was in Atlanta, and was shopping with my mother in the Ainsworth-Noah showroom. We used it in our family room, in the taupe colorway, for some large pillows, and Dottie still has them. I think it was Marcy who told me that the fabric was created by Miss Rose herself, when she was in Palm Beach, and spontaneously took a palm leaf, dipped it in some paint, and pressed it onto some plain cotton duck fabric! Genius!
Here I show some images from my portfolio, and also from other designer friends, such as Judith Liegeios, Tom Britt, and Louis Bromante. Mr. Bromante used the metallic gold colorway- which I also had used in my small flat in NYC for some nice pillows. Tom Britt had the gold all over everything in his bleached drawing room, when I worked for him one Summer, here he freshened up the room with a Brunschwig texture. But I love the way he referenced the old banana leaves fabric, and his love of Thailand with these large palm arrangements. Judith made some curtains for a guest room here in Naples. I also had the black and camel wallpaper version in my design studio bath in North Carolina. It was so striking.
Enjoy this post, and check out the new book coming out on Miss Rose and her amazing talents, as featured on the favored blogs listed below, in my designer blog section...ENJOY! DF *****
