GIVENCHY: decorative

Exciting news... June 8th Christies will be selling off some goodies from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy

BOOK: Bryan Huffman

New book available for pre-order on Amazon...

Excited about my friend, Bryan Huffman's collaboration on this new book, check out his instagram @bryanhuffmaninteriors too... DF

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Ziff estate in Manalapan said to be priced at $195 million

Ziff estate in Manalapan said to be priced at $195 million

Provenance: Gerard Lambert, Gloria Guinness, The Windsor's, Truman Capote...33 bedrooms! 

Dolores Guinness, via AD

Gloria Guinness, via Curbed


 

"Just Kick It"

The former Mellon townhouse drawing room

You know, when I was living in New York, learning from the masters~ I often heard very interesting stories... we used DeAngelis almost exclusively for our upholstery and curtains, and one day someone, it might have been Kenneth (DeAngelis), told us that when Mrs. Mellon had him make a sofa for her, she would leave it there for almost a year, with instructions to "just kick it" every time someone walked by...you see, it was age and patina she was after, not NEW ! How ghastly! Whether this is true or not, I have no idea, but I don't doubt it for a minute.

Former Mellon townhouse, salle a manger

 As evidenced by this highly textured cross hatching on her walls, and the distressed paint on the floor~ very wisely retained by the most recent owner.  I just read that this house, built in 1965, has just gone to contract for a reported $41 million. Given the provenance, the size, and the location, it seems quite reasonable!  Enjoy!  DF *****

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Topiary Madness

Bunny Mellon

Loi Thai, Tone on Tone

Wow! Look at these amazing, exquisite topiaries!  Loi has a beautiful shop and also a blog, called Tone on Tone- these are some of his myrtle topiary standards. Beautiful! DF *****

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Mirror, Mirror...

Dean Farris Interior Design

DFID

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I had fallen in love with the beauty of antique, gilt framed mirrors, probably beginning when I was working in New York~ for some of the top interior designers of the 1980's and into the 1990's...there were many times when, perhaps at Kentshire Galleries, or H.M. Luther, I would find myself staring into a fabulously elegant and decorative mirror, wondering who that terribly good looking young man was staring back at me!  It was beyond glamorous, having just stepped out of a dark green Rolls, or a long black Mercedes limousine, to find myself shopping for things that often were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

18th century Chippendale

For example, the mirror shown above, might be delivered to a clients home on approval~ George Clarkson would have liked this one, and most likely had it installed above a mantel in a beautiful, huge, living room in a 1920's Tudor high on a hill in Bronxville.  These investment pieces can sometimes even be used as collateral at the bank...I remember a funny thing, the client saying that she had "tried to work with Mario Buatta, but found him intimidating"...it seemed like an odd thing to say given that we had pulled up to her house in a chauffeur driven Silver Shadow!  

18th century baroque (French)

What I admire and appreciate on an old mirror is de-silvering~ as seen in the above example. Hand carving, water gilding, and ancient looking glass is a very seductive combination.  Imagine this one played off of a highly lacquered wall finish, perhaps an aubergine...I'm forever suggesting antiqued mirrored glass to my clients as an architectural element.  These shapely frames look splendid above a marble or old limestone mantel. They also look very nice above console tables and sideboards.  I like to flank them with porcelain jars, as shown in my first image, at the top.  You can find these mirrors online, but I really do believe you need to see it in a shop or via your designer before making a purchase.  Think of it as a work of art, decorative art. To see some good examples, go here (Sotheby's online). Or, a Milanese palace here also on the Sotheby's site.

The former Mellon townhouse, East 70th Street, New York

Even someone as fabulous as the late Bunny Mellon ~ who had a huge art collection, used a mirror as a focal point in her elegant Manhattan townhouse. Notice the proportion of her mirror to the mantel beneath it.  The hand painted floors were one of her trademarks~ and they are something that I love as well.  Mirror, mirror, whose the fairest of them all? Mirrors add mystery and elegance, use them whenever you can.  They can help fill out walls for those of us who don't have an art collection, such as paintings and drawings.  Enjoy!  DF *****    

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Blue is for Bunny

Manhattan dining room of the late Bunny Mellon

 

 

I was just reading about Bunny Mellon, the late socialite-philanthropist, on the Mark Sikes design blog- and this beautiful blue glazed room caught my attention.  (attributed to John Fowler)  I once had my bedroom glazed in a very similar cross hatch, in a dark brown, and it was sensational.  I hope that this image will inspire you- as it has me!  Enjoy!  Cheers!  DF *****

Bergdorf Goodman, 111 Years of Fashion

Bergdorf Goodman!  I've enjoyed shopping there for years- and I have wonderful stories to share with you as BG celebrates its 111th year of business.  Founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf, it began as a small tailor shop in Union Square, and in 1928 opened on Fifth Avenue.  BG is now part of the Neiman Marcus Group, and the Mens Store opened in 1990, and what a beautiful place it is.  Powerful women of fashion, such as Dawn Mello, and Ellin Saltzman, have promoted the BG image, as well as the careers of world famous designers for many years, and I do recall being able to peek into Ms Mello's personal office, a minimal statement done in Dior grey, and her desk was entirely devoid of anything- well, maybe a telephone, but that's it!

Dawn Mello with Giorgio Armani

I once was on the jitney to east hampton and spied Ms. Saltzman jumping on, I should have said something to her, I think I did, maybe a "hello" LOL!  Anyway, I'm getting to my BG story, a real shocker, but not so unusual for New York.  But first, I do recall the buzz when Mrs John Grisham phoned in a $32,000 order for (16) Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica dinner plates...My friend Bob Page in Greensboro, owns a business called Replacements Limited, and he currently has these for around $999 each, get 'em while they last!  And it was always fun to bump into Frederic' Fekkai on the elevator...he arrived in 1989 - with a beautiful salon on the seventh floor.

I would sometimes wander downstairs, (we also would sneak upstairs, into the old top floor apartment where the Goodman family once lived) and admire the beautiful clothes of Bill Blass.  I always loved his sense of colour and feeling for fabrics. He had been the speaker at our graduation from FIT, and it was a very powerful, encouraging message he sent out to us.  We also had lots of other boutiques, at BG, including Howard Slatkin, foreshadowing Kelly Wearstler ( a fellow southerner btw) and Gregory, the subject of my story I'm getting to, worked there.  I recall always walking by the east 70th street house of Bunny Mellon, which was across from another Slatkin shop. It was always one of my favorite houses, painted in a light ivory stucco, with beautiful lacquered doors.  I read that it recently sold for around 15 million.

My co-worker, Gregory- he was always dressed to the nines, in beautiful double breasted suits, and he wore his hair slicked straight back.  He was a native New Yorker, and because he commuted between NYC and Florida, always deeply tanned.  He wore Charvet ties, and Cartier tortoise shell and gold glasses, which were round...like Phillip Johnson or Carrie Donovan.  He would shop in the store (BG) on his "day off" - so that we could all see him walking his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a beautiful puppy, whose name was - Cartier.  And, Gregory smoked. Cartier cigarettes.  Who knew?

So, anyway, I did find him an interesting character, and I remember he invited me over to his apartment for drinks.  When I got there, he seemed a bit surprised to see me- I don't think he thought I would actually show up. It was funny, because the manager of the BG seventh floor was there- and I saw that Gregory had a pretty nice apartment- on a high floor in a mediocre modern building near midtown.  He had a LOT of expensive looking accessories on every surface, including many silver framed photographs, showing him posed in front of his "Uncle Norman's" Rolls.  I called G's boyfriend his uncle, since he was always introduced as such, or even a grandfather, but he was really the partner, and I have a feeling he was financing  some of Gregory's lavish lifestyle.  Sadly, after I had re-located to Naples, I decided to call up dear Norman, over in Fort Lauderdale.  I must have looked him up in information.  It was so sad, and so shocking.  He told me that, after I had left, poor Gregory was caught shoplifting from BG, and the police were called, and he was escorted out by them- for all to see.  This saddened me.  Then, Norman tells me, (it gets worse)  dear Gregory got more and more into cocaine, and he checked into the Four Seasons (a penthouse suite) and hung himself from a chandelier with some knotted up Charvet ties.  This shocked me so badly, it took me weeks to get over it.  I had no idea.  Poor Cartier, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was taken away- I think one of the police officers took him.  A tale of old New York- one that is not so uncommon.  Sad, but true.  RIP dear Gregory.  I hope that you are now in the Palm Beach and Park Avenue of Heaven.  DF XXOO