Tour Decorator Richard Keith Langham's Party-Ready Guest Cottage - Hamptons Cottages & Gardens - August 1 2015 - Hamptons

Tour Decorator Richard Keith Langham's Party-Ready Guest Cottage - Hamptons Cottages & Gardens - August 1 2015 - Hamptons

via Hamptons Cottages and Gardens

The Barn Billy Loved

Thomas Britt, via VERANDA

Thomas Britt (Tom) built this beautiful barn of a house when he was only 26, after visiting some friends who had a similar place.  Later, the famous society decorator, Billy Baldwin, visited Tom, and said he wouldn't change a thing. 

Coincidentally, both Albert Hadley and Billy had similar Summer abodes at various times in their lives.  I'm excited to be getting to see this famous designer barn myself, this coming weekend...there's a fun u-tube of Tom showing his property also if you're interested.  Enjoy!  DF *****  

Original sketch, Dean Farris, The Barn at Britthampton (c) 2015

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NYC Adrenaline Boost!

New York, NY

Off to New York this week, for some adrenaline, seeing old friends, theater, dining, shopping, and end of Summer fun in the Hamptons!

Stay tuned for updates coming soon to a screen near you! DF *****

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Charmer on Flagler

via MLS

Last year, this cute house was listed for sale in West Palm Beach.  My designing friend, Louise Wilcox Cronan, had at that time moved to West Palm from Atlanta, and we were having fun looking at the available properties.  I had found this one and sent it to her, after she bought her adorable Spanish bungalow with guest house~which is really coming along in terms of renovations and decorating.  Louise is soooo talented!  I'll have to ask her if she would mind me posting a picture of her new living room, complete with pickled pecky cypress ceiling, and painted floors...

The only thing I'm curious about on this house shown above, is the width of the shutters- unless they fold back- perhaps they're merely decorative? Note the slight similarity to this house, and the one Tory Burch had shown recently, in Southampton, which I re-posted (see below)both have a New England charm, and classic good looks.  DF *****

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Imported Antique Flooring!

image via Paris Ceramics

I'm consulting with a client on stone flooring this afternoon, so thought I'd mention this material on today's post.  Here at the Miromar Design Center, we're fortunate to have a PARIS CERAMICS showroom...I also enjoy shopping for stone floors at Reuben Sorhegui here in Naples (see foyer below by Dean Farris Interior Design)  ~

(c) DFID Fleck Residence

Using antique materials is certainly desirable, if sometimes cost prohibitive, however I have a talent for finding new materials that convey the look of age.  I recently met a designer from Alabama, Luke Gontarek, who has clients that bought the house of A. Hays Town, the famous architect  known for his use of antique materials, not unlike our own Addison Mizner did once upon a time here in sunny Florida.   
Barry Darr Dixon, another designing friend, designed the lakefront home of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hendricks, and that house boasted an entire roof covered in antique tiles imported from Italy!  Fabulous!  DF *****

A. Hays Town via Wikipedia

Courtyard Charm, Naples

via Southwest Florida MLS



 

I've always had a thing for courtyards, especially when they are the entrance to a house.  This one just happens to be in North Naples, in a beautiful gated community called Mediterra.   The bougainvillea is making a huge statement here~ and it's fabulous to have a fountain as well.  I recently did some work on one of these villas, and one walked into a courtyard similar to the one shown above, and then into a long narrow foyer, which opened via French doors into ANOTHER courtyard!  The second courtyard was designed to be an outdoor living room, complete with fireplace.  Stay tuned for more on the charm of courtyards!  DF *****



Jungle Fever

I-phone photo by Dean

I-phone photo by Dean

I-phone photo by Dean

I had a ball with Billy this past week, over in Lauderdale ...we stayed in this jungle like setting between the ocean and the intracoastal (New River) which I'd written about here previously.  My fave thing to do while there, besides eating, is walking over the Las Olas bridge and down into Idlewild and the Las Olas area...a beautiful older neighborhood with many exquisite homes, yachts, and boutiques.  Stay tuned for more later!  DF *****

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I-phone photo by Dean

 

 



 

P.S. Should you find yourself in Miami's South beach, check out Casa Tua hotel and restaurant...

Heaven on the U.E.S.

via September Traditional Home

Kevin and Jay McLaughlin founded one of my favorite shops, now with 100 locations, called J.McLaughlin...the home of Kevin and his wife Barbara, is featured in the September issue of Traditional Home magazine, and what a warm and inviting townhouse it is.   
Working with their long time friend, architect Doug Larson, the house was re-modeled to suit the needs of their family.  The library, above, was done in a subtle glazed olive...

via September 2015 Traditional Home

I was excited to see the link to this story posted on the J. McLaughlin blog, and enjoy sharing it with you dear readers.  Lucky me, Naples has two McLaughlin shops, and a busy internet site as well.  They have also recently opened in Montecito, CA.  I just came back from some fun in the sun, on the east coast of Florida, and hope to share some shots with you from that trip soon!  So, stay tuned!  DF *****  

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The Pleasure Pavilion

Interior design, Joseph Braswell, via Architectural Digest archives

One
of my favorite designers of the recent past, Joe Braswell, created this Sans Soucci inspired pavilion for a Saint Louis, MO couple...I was a lad of 17 when I traveled with my parents from Charlotte NC to Atlanta, GA to meet the chairman of the Art Institute, Stan Topol.

Stan had  pictures of Joe and Billy Baldwin - framed and hanging on the chocolate brown walls of his midtown office.  Joe and Stan were good friends, and would share renderings and sketches of each others apartments... you can imagine how impressed I was, since I'd spent the prior ten years with my nose buried in the Baldwin books and worshipped him and New York designers such as Joe Braswell.  About two or three years later, I was in Joe's apartment, enjoying a very glamorous pre-theater party, and on my way to the UK for my first grand tour...the beginning of my innocent love affair with western Europe.

Thirty-five or so years later I worked on the Marco Island, FL residence of a New York couple who had hired Joe to design their Long Island home!  Amazing how these stories just keep going on and on- but I do love the bold palette and euro inspired design of this elegant party pavilion.  I think my friend Tom Britt would to, and he hails from Kansas City originally, not far from Saint Louis.  Enjoy!  DF *****

 

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Mad For Scaasi

Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi

Arnold Scaasi (changed from Isaacs) worked for Charles James...need I say more?

Arnold Isaacs (May 8, 1930 – August 3, 2015), known as Arnold Scaasi, was a Canadian fashion designer who has created gowns for First Ladies Mamie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush, in addition to such notable personalities as Joan Crawford, Ivana Trump, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Lauren Bacall, Diahann Carroll, Elizabeth Taylor, Catherine Deneuve, Brooke Astor, Arlene Francis, Mary Tyler Moore and The Baroness Wendy DeVere-Austin.

Isabella in Scaasi, décor by Valerian Rybar



Décor by Scaasi

While many of my readers who are much younger may not have heard of him, he was quite a success in his chosen field, and maintained a celebrity and socialite clientele for many years... This post is a tribute to a great designer, may he rest in peace! 

Sutton Place, New York

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Thomas Pheasant

Interior design by Thomas Pheasant (for Baker)

One of my fondest memories, from when I lived briefly in Washington, DC, was getting to know the now famous designer, Tom Pheasant.  When I knew Tom then, he was working in the Georgetown office of Victor Shargai Associates, and he had such style and flair, you couldn't bury it under a bushel, as they used to say. 

For a while, I lived in one of his old apartments in Adams-Morgan, after he had moved a few doors down to a townhouse with the late architect, Jeffrey Gilbert.  I recall having a wonderful casual lunch on the terrace one summer, something chic like shrimp salad sandwiches.  We attended a few parties there, and it was always such fun. 

In a very funny candid interview with Apartment Therapy, Tom let it be known that he worked his way up the hard way, starting with folding samples in the back room of a local DC showroom.  He's very down to earth and not at all grand or pretentious, even though he now has a home in Paris, and Washington.  He also shared a funny story about putting black dye in his Mother's washing machine, since he wanted to change the color of the spread on his childhood (aged 9) bed.  Precocious?  Charming!  Check out the serene images on his site here... he also has a book Simply Serene (Rizzoli) Enjoy!  DF *****

Southampton Dream Cottage

via Hernandez Greene Interior Design

So, yesterday, while checking in with the fabulous Tory Daily (Tory Burch Blog) I discovered this so charming and cute little grey cottage ~Tory featured it and the designers Hernandez Greene...I immediately fell in love with it!  It was love at first sight. 
In a few weeks I'll be in the Hamptons, so maybe I can find where this little charmer is and see it in person!  Do visit the Tory site to see more, or Hernandez Greene...the designers did an excellent job of making a small space feel larger, and very calm and beach-like, so suitable for the location.  Using a cool palette of soft blues and creams, with touches of straw on the floor and walls.  Just adorable.  Enjoy!  DF *****

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Inspiring: Bruce Gregga in California

Interior design by Bruce Gregga

One of the things I love about this image is the very Horst look of the photography...how suitable since Bruce Gregga was often associated with the fashion photographer Victor Skrebneski for many years. 
I read with interest on the Cote de Texas blog, that John Saladino had bought one of the houses in Montecito that Bruce Gregga had remodeled.  The mix of modern architecture, California gardens, and French antiques is intoxicating to me~ and check out those stunning topiary trees!  Pretty much love this whole vibe.  DF ***** 

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That Salon Look, DFID

Dean Farris Interior Design (c) 2015

This past weekend, I had some fun re-arranging my furnishings and editing out some things I had grown tired of, plus adding a few more.

I removed the bold teal and navy ikat rug, added a new Spitzmiller inspired lamp (Home Goods) and a couple of new pillows I liked...the other big change besides taking out the rug, was switching the salon set to the dining area, and placing the draped (dining) table at the opposite end of the room,...this really opened up the space.

I didn't fully realize how that ikat rug was dominating the room!  Stay tuned for more shots...DF *****

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