Showing posts with label Cecil Beaton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cecil Beaton. Show all posts

Monday, April 20, 2015

A Designer's Life

great new book !
I just picked up a copy of this fascinating new book, by Nicky Haslam~it contains some of my favorite iconic images, including those related to Oliver Messel and John Fowler...plus Sir Cecil Beaton.  Nicky worked for Diana Vreeland, and currently there is a show of photographs in Palm Beach, by her grandson Nicholas, who has been a Tibetan monk for the last 30 years...I was struck by the similarity between Nicky's new flat in London, and the stunning piano nobile salon I had been exposed to, in Bath, when I was introduced to Lord Fry, and experienced the elegance of his Royal Crescent townhouse...and how fortunate is Nicky, to call the Hunting Lodge his country place?  This book is worth buying, for many reasons, but if only for the images that would be reason enough!  A fascinating look at one man's journey into the endless world of interiors...one man who has counted none other than Minn Hogg as a friend! (The World of Interiors)  Enjoy!  DF *****
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"for nearly fifty years my lifeblood has been houses, buildings, rooms, gardens; what and who they contain; where and why people go into them, and how and when they are used; whether they are uplifting, surprising, calming, newly built or a ruin, modern or classic, charming muddles or staggering statements of style or power, or whispered, exemplary refinement."  NH

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Fantasy in Decoration V


Cecil Beaton 1949

Hotel Hermitage, Monte Carlo

Maharani of Jaipur, Cecil Beaton



Winfield House

De Grisogono

Dean Farris Interior Design

Marisa Berenson

18th c Russian chandelier

Pilar and Juan Molyneux

Juan Pablo Molyneux

Meissen figure of a Marquis, 1757

Valentino chez Diana Vreeland 


Angelo Donghia, 1973
I can still vividly remember being in the room shown above, the upstairs drawing room of the Manhattan townhouse apartment of the late Angelo Donghia- it was the exact same feeling I had when I toured Versailles~ I almost actually fainted! Opposite the fireplace was a stunning, tall, black Coromandel screen, which was supposed to have come from the estate of Coco Chanel.  The Richard Giglio gouache paintings contrasted wildly- and this country boy had never seen satin upholstery nor glossy blue-green highly lacquered walls, which we were told required something like 22 coats! Those walls fairly dripped with lacquer glimmering like a huge jewel!   The Bagues' looking chandelier glittered against the silvery squares of tea paper on the ceiling...the three tall windows were bare, and in front of them was a table with a huge green philodendron plant!  It read like sculpture in the space.  For as long as I live, I'll always cherish my visit to this now sacred place~ a memory that comforts me with the fabulous vibe of the 1970's!  Disco fever!  Ball gowns at 54 !


Diana Vreeland
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So, enjoy the day!  And be inspired, have imagination, and give it all you've got baby! DF     

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Fantasy in Decoration

Maison Auclair
Kelly Wearstler
Howard Slatkin
Ken Fulk
Alberto Pinto

Badminton

Veranda
Carlos de Beistegui
Cecil Beaton
Parish Hadley

Royal Pavilion at Brighton



Liberace


Angelo Donghia
Pavlovsk Palace
Doris Duke
Sao Schlumberger
Howard Slatkin
Ca' Rezzonico, Venice
Venice
Tony and Susan Victoria
This is my current "mood board" - and while I'm certain that all of these images have been on Pinterest, etc. - that just proves my theory that we're all starving for beauty, glamour, and a mad dash of opulent, decadent, fantasy in decoration. Albert Hadley had an exhibition with this same name- I've always found the concept most inspiring.  Enjoy! Cheers!  DF *****

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Inspired by Michael Taylor

Modern baroque interior by Dean Farris Interior Design

Coco Chanel also loved simple elegance
I love the simplicity that the late Michael Taylor promoted, along with his love of antiques, creating a sort of "modern baroque" style. Here, I stripped down my "salon" and cleaned it of clutter and am enjoying the plain look. I did stop at Pottery Barn and look at natural fiber rugs - perhaps I'll add one in to this mix for more of the peasant look we love.

Contrast is perhaps my favorite word in the decorating vocabulary - I like it very much! As I swept the floors with an old broom, I thought of Madame Eugenia Errazuriz, and how she was known almost a hundred years ago for her love of clean, swept away rooms...one can read more about her in the Cecil Beaton book "The Glass of Fashion" . Enjoy! DF *****