DESIGN BOOK: Jennifer Boles

I'm very excited to see the new Jennifer Boles book , "Inspired Design, The 100 Most Important Interior Designers of the Past 100 Years" due out in October- by Vendome Press.  Congratulations to Jennifer!

via Bettie Bearden Pardee, Newport, R.I.

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Room With A View, Provence

The view from Marine's Room

Of course, I was delighted to receive this picture today, from my associate, Marine Linard~who is visiting her parents in the south of France...

Dauphine, Charles Faudree for Stroheim and Romann

Yesterday, I had read on The Peak Of Chic, a very interesting piece about the historic toile, called Pommes de Pins, and then I discovered this similar pattern in our wings, called Dauphine, by the late Tulsa decorator, Charles Faudree. Serendipity! Available to the trade through MP Interiors, click here to see all the lines...DF*****

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The Devoted Classicist: In With The Old

The Devoted Classicist: In With The Old: Bookplates are just one of the topics covered in the book. Image from The Peak of Chic blog "Classic design never goes out of sty...

This book is great, and would make a beautiful gift for the upcoming holidays!  Thanks to John Tackett, of The Devoted Classicist, for the mention~ DF *****

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Decorator Scrapbook

The World of Interiors

Markham Roberts

Markham's grandparent's house in Naples

Jansen, at James Sansum, NY

Inspiring images...enjoy!  DF ***** Memorial Day!!!

Everything Old Is New Again

Dean Farris Interior Design

Just like my friend Jennifer Boles's new book, "In With The Old" my thoughts turn to the way fashion goes in circles...my old Parsons table, a gift from Albert Hadley, sits on top of Mario Buatta's new book- which is totally fabulous- I keep going back to it- especially since Patricia Altschul's Charleston house has appeared on BRAVO tv- (her son Whitney is the producer of the show called Southern Charm) and two of her homes in New York are featured in the Mario book.  The chair to the right in this shot belonged to Naples designer Holland Salley, who came to town in 1953, with his wife and two sons, to start his business.  He eventually bought the old Smith Furniture Company, and changed the name to Holland Salley, Inc.  When I first arrived here, in the mid nineties, Mr. Salley still had his Port Royal home, which he called "Salley's Alley".  Coincidentally, my friend and fellow designer, Kelli Smith, has now moved her design office into Holland's first location, on Fifth Avenue South.  The small tortoise bamboo table next to the chair, reminds me of another icon and inspiration, the late Angelo Donghia.  Angelo loved using the small bamboo chairs as accents in his east 70's townhouse...I do see all of this coming back into the whirl, since as we all know, what goes around, comes around.  Perhaps chintz will make a big comeback too- our friend, Pat Scharf, from Duralee, seems to think so, and Duralee recently acquired Bailey and Griffin, and have re-colored some of the old classics.  Enjoy!
DF *****  

A Very Interesting Glittery Salon

Credit pending (unknown)

I recently saw this image on the blog, Slim Paley, and found it most interesting.  A European sensibility is evident- and, also inspired by another blog, The Peak Of Chic, by Jennifer Boles (In With The Old) I'd like to dedicate this blog post to Mr. Glenn Midnet- one of my friends and mentors, with whom I spent the last two years working.  Happy Birthday Glenn!  I just hope you like this room as much as I do.  Cheers!  DF ***** 

Saving An Italian Baroque in Atlanta, 1923




Calhoun House, Hentz, Reid and Adler

My friend, Jennifer Boles, of The Peak of Chic, recently posted about the Calhoun House, in Atlanta- one of my all-time favorite houses - and I've owned a copy of the 1973 "Architecture of Neel Reid In Georgia" (University of Georgia Press) ever since I met Professor Carey Sutlive, while attending the old Massey Junior College, which later became the Art Institute, after moving from downtown to uptown, in Buckhead.  Carey Sutlive did the photography for this book- and he even signed my copy. 

According to this book, by Professor James Grady - Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, the house was originally sited on 18 acres, and was inspired by Villa Cuzzano, near Verona, Villa Gori in Sienna, and the Villa Spada in Rome.  Described in the book as "not large" at just under 10,000 square feet, it's shocking to me that the MLS on Trulia and Zillow have incorrect information posted- stating the date of construction as 1900 and using a generic description that seems to have come from a ranch house in Dunwoody...this property is a steal at 2.5 million, and could probably be purchased for less.  The 1973 book listed the then current owner as one Mr. Thornwell.  




This elevation is where the "front" entry is

You can see why I would find this property so interesting, and so desirable, and I am sure I've had more than a few dreams of myself living in it!  In the plan view, which I will show in a future post, one enters a vestibule, then the stair hall, with the drawing room to the left, off of which is a porch.  To the right is the dining room, and straight ahead is the library.  There is, oddly enough, a three car attached garage.  Upstairs, there are five bed chambers, one "maids room", and two sleeping porches- remember those?  The dining room features a baroque inspired mantel surmounted by a portrait of Michelangelo.  According to Mr. Grady, the furnishings, doors, and chandeliers were purchased in Italy by Neel Reid, and the terraced and parterred gardens designed by Phillip Shutze.  Check out the listing for this one at 3418 Pinestream Road, NW Atlanta.  From reading Jennifers' post it is apparent that this gorgeous trophy house has not been landmarked!  If this is true, then heaven forbid, it could become another victim of the demolition crews.  We all are praying that the old Calhoun-Thornwell house will be saved.  

DF*****   



Alexa Hampton in Naples!

I'm most excited to hear that dear Alexa Hampton will be here on March 17th, as part of the ongoing distinguished speaker series at our Miromar Design Center. I briefly met her father, the famous Mark, when I lived in NYC and he lectured at our school (FIT) - as a guest of the eminence grise, Stanley Barrows, the former illustrious interior design chair of Parsons, who went on to chair the ID department at my own FIT. I'm sure that Alexa simply exudes charm, and would love to hear her speak, as well as have her sign a copy of her new book. It's very exciting to have New York designers coming into town to speak, it adds a lot of sparkle and zest.

I was so pleased to get a nice message from another top New York designer today, on his lifestyle blog, Thanks Brad! Also, Jennifer Boles of the Peak of Chic in Atlanta, has added me to her blog list, and Leta Austin Foster of Decorating With Sheets in Palm Beach has done so as well, which makes me very proud and feeling included in the blogging loop of the decorating world. It is quite fun and interesting to participate in this aspect of our profession. Enjoy! DF *****