BOOK: Mario Buatta, Anatomy of a Decorator

So excited that our wonderful friend, Emily Evans Eerdmans, along with first rate publisher, Rizzoli, is coming out with this new (the second one) book about our dear Mario... expect to see it in late September, as per Emily. The legacy and legend of fabulous Mario lives on forever! He was a genius, and a wonderful, talented gentleman. With a foreword by the divine Patricia Altschul, and charming book design by the Pandiscio Green agency - you won't be disappointed, I can assure you! DF

DESIGNERS OWN HOME: Salon Style

For many years, I had wanted to have a small jewel box of a room - for showcasing some of my favorite objects, furnishings, and works of art... so finally, after changing addresses around forty times...this is what I came up with ! Small yes, at only about 9 x 12' with two windows and two doors- it would be considered small even for a walk in closet ! But sometimes, its not about the size, more about the STYLE ! Dear Sister Parish converted a small closet in one of her Fifth Avenue apartments into a tiny but oh so charming guest room for a beloved grandchild. Sheila LaBrecque of New York and Boca Grande, Florida - referred to an out building on her Gasparilla Island property as a "snooze box" ! I craved a kind of revival 18th century opulence, inspired by places such as the Hotel Lambert in Paris, the Musee de Camondo and the apartment of Madame Coco Chanel on Rue Cambon, also in Paris. My bed is a fabulous Jansen model from 1960's Italian manufacture, topped with stunning jewel tone cushions in silks and velvets, on Sferra linens and blanket. The blanket, in ivory, comes off somewhat like a super trendy boucle' or sherpa. The cow wallpaper print, by famous artist Andy Warhol, is one of my favorite things in this space. And I adore the simple painted floor, which has since this picture was taken been mostly covered with a flat weave rug in rosy tones... Enjoy! DF

Anniversary: DFID Dean Farris Interior Design 40th !

Some highlights: Working on the Fifth Avenue (NY) penthouse of Teddy Forstmann at 2 East 70th Street. Assisting Decorator George Clarkson with the completion of "Bella Vista" the Fairfield, CT estate of David and Shirley Johnston. Decorating for Mrs. Martha Hanes Womble, at her country house "Windy Hill" , Roaring Gap, North Carolina. Complete renovation and decoration for the Gant Residence, Number 6, Saint Michael's Alley, Charleston, SC. Furthering my formal education at The American Museum in Britain, Claverton Manor, Bath, Avon, United Kingdom. Assisting with the design of numerous palaces in Saudi Arabia with designer Carol Lascaris, Abu Dhabi. Spending time with the late eminence grise, Albert Hadley, in his Old Naples, Florida cottage. Decoration for "Westhaven" the old naples cottage of Tom Roberts and David McChesney, Naples, Florida. Designing my own New York pied a terre, at 11 East 66th Street, Manhattan. Work for the Breen Residence, River Oaks, Houston, Texas with Parish-Hadley decorator, Tice Alexander. Complete decoration for Dr. and Mrs. Shapiro, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.

DFID: Wilton Carpet

Dean Farris Interior Design, Naples, Florida (c) 2020

I was browsing some picture files and came across this image of my Naples living room from about a year ago- for an i-phone shot it's not bad- the held back curtains were inspired by our last trip to Paris, and there are so many things I like about this besides the curtains- the warmth from the large Wilton style rug by Stanton for example- there's a thin stripe of that spa blue from the carpet also in the curtain fabric- while this rug is now in my bedroom I've  thought of putting it back in the living room- so stay tuned for more upcoming posts* !  DF
(porcelain bust by Theodore and Alexander)

*Current and upcoming projects:

 A 1950's cottage in Naples

 A pool house in North Naples

 A new wing with solarium gazebo in South Carolina

FRENCH: Cedric Dupont

Cedric Dupont, West Palm Beach, FL

I always get a burst of inspiration from visiting the Dixie Highway gallery of Cedric Dupont...this image gives one some idea of his amazing inventory.  DF

* * * * *

STYLE: Bettie Bearden Pardee

via Bettie Bearden Pardee, Newport

I loved this image from the residence of Bettie Bearden Pardee, in Newport- inspiring for the Fall-Holiday season!
DF

* * * * *

NAPLES: The Season, with DFID

 

 

Dean Farris

and

COTTON HOUSE, Interiors

invite you to

THE THIRD FLOOR

this winter...

 

for everything from a pair of custom toss pillows in delicious designer fabric with beautifully finished details to-

 

one beautiful room, or the whole house!

 

Also offering limited office design services!

 

(239) 248-0707

 

* * * * *

 

 



STYLE: Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor

What could be more soothing and beautiful than this timeless and dramatic bedroom by the late Michael Taylor ? This chamber could just as easily be the work of the late William Hodgins also...so, I consulted with dear Stephen Salny, author of the book, "Michael Taylor Interior Design", and he confirmed that this room was designed by Mr. Taylor, for his client Eileen Michael.  Thanks Stephen!

Notice the big, heavy travertine cocktail table in foreground...the Giacometti slipper chairs, the gilt "frog" chair- and the Dodie Thayer cabbage tureen... the quilting on the bed hangings seems especially luxurious in this setting, speaking eloquently to the raised knot carpet in oyster...a place for sweet dreams...DF

* * * * *



BEFORE/AFTER : DFID

Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

My Naples Living Room - before with carpet, and after with travertine floor- ! DF

Dean Farris Interior Design 2019

NAPLES CHARM: Before and After

DFID (c) 2019

DFID (c) 2019

SEPTEMBER ISSUE: Decorator Scrapbook

Bellport

Naples Botanical Gardens 2008

Ned Marshall, NOLA

Sister Parish, NYC

Food for thought...visual inspiration- past and present! DF

* * * * *

DINING: The French/Decorator Scrapbook 2018

The French, Naples

DFID

DFID

Fabec-Young and Co, Naples

DFID

Main Street, Old Salem, NC

Walnut Cove, NC

DFID

DFID

DFID

Windward Way, Naples, FL

Looking forward to dinner tonite, with William (Billy) at fabulous and fun The French !  Bon Appetit !

* * * * *

COOL: Blues for Summer 2018

Dean Farris Interior Design

Chateau de Villette

Dean Farris Interior Design

Chateau de Villette

Chateau de Villette

Enjoy these "cool" images...via my portfolio and Habitually Chic!

* * * * *

PROGRESS: Blue and White on Bellflower

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design, 2018

Making fabulous progress on this Naples project- one of my favorite clients and favorite houses- a refresh- in the family quarters, from greens and yellows to blues, whites against a butter yellow background...

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design, 2018

* * * * *

PASSION and FIRE: Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor, personal residence, via Architectural Digest

Keeping the fires of passion burning- when I think of what this means, I often turn my thoughts to the late decorator, San Francisco's Michael Taylor …. his Sea Cliff house had a rustic, masculine, elegance not often seen. 

 

While MT is most often associated with the very glamorous, chic, "California Look" - a modernist pastiche of wicker, stone, and white Glant textures... he was also very much of a classicist and loved the world of fine art and antiques...here, you can see also how he would almost always incorporate the use of natural plants and trees into his décor- and he was a fore runner of the taste for the high and the low, mixing inexpensive wicker pieces from Cost Plus with the finest French furniture with wild abandon!

 

Always "hands on" he once used cardboard packing boxes in a Manhattan apartment to create a mock-up of his furniture plan- in three dimensions-!  Needless to say, he landed the job.  Like all good decorators, many of his best clients became great friends- and when I connected with Pat Montandon, a former MT client, she shared with me the time they rode into Napa in a convertible while eating fried chicken!

 

Rose Tarlow, another dear friend of his, wrote a fabulous background and intro to the book on MT by my friend Stephen Salny- a very revealing portrait of a man who knew what he wanted and usually got it. When she showed him a house she had fallen in love with and bought, he told her to tear it down, and she did!  Read more about this here !

 

DF *****

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

VINTAGE LUXE: Revisiting The Pink Door!

The Pink Door, Inc. Greensboro, North Carolina

I'm excited to get to travel back to the Carolinas next month, and to make another visit to a favorite haunt, The Pink Door, in Greensboro. 

While enjoying the south Florida heat, I'll be planning my trip to North Carolina- always a treat, since my family is there.  Read more about The Pink Door here and enjoy! 

The proprietor, Glenn Blair Lavinder, has a flair for using vintage pieces amidst architectural backgrounds.  Brilliant!  Follow along on Instagram !  I love the glamour of this shop and design studio!

* * * * *

DECORATION: Using Lilac as a Neutral

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

Sometimes, we become obsessed with a color, or the idea of a color...and for the last few years I've been thinking about lilac, and the beauty of it as a color for decoration, and to be used in a "neutral" way.  After all, it was none other than the late Albert Livingston Hadley, who was quoted as saying that "lavender was the beige of the nineties" - (see my 2016 post on this topic here ) - something that's stuck in my brain and I can't stop thinking about- perhaps as it is so similar to what Diana Vreeland had famously said about "pink being the navy blue of India".  The Salonniere also posted about this lavender-lilac topic!  And, check out what Alex Papachristidis has to say on this topic (video) here !

Very suitably - this small parsons table had belonged to Albert- and he gave it to me before he almost threw it in the trash-!  When I got it, it was in a gold lacquer- and I could see that underneath it had once been a deep rich Parish-Hadley shade of peacock blue.  I had left it in my garage for awhile, thinking nothing of it- and then one day I slapped some black paint on it with a brush- very brushy- and lived with that for a number of years.  Below, you can see where I had piled it up with books and magazines- since I had grown tired of the bad job I had done of painting it myself- and it was very functional for drinks and even a "tv" dinner!  If you've been following me on this blog, you know by now that I am constantly rearranging my furniture and objects.  It never ends! 

Albert Hadley via Judith Gura (my table shown)

I sometimes think of this room as the transformation of a small, dark, box, into a fin de siècle salon of Proustian memories and nostalgia...or perhaps just a modern "man cave" !

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

Once I achieved the color selection, which took less than two minutes, (Benjamin Moore) since I already knew what I wanted- I got the bright idea to use the lilac color for a sort of improvised table, where I topped a baroque style table with an unfinished plywood door- so that I'd have a long dreamt of display area for my collection of mostly "junque" porcelains- with a few antique pieces mixed in- which was very exciting and fun to do on a rainy day here in Naples.  But, before I even bought the paint, Billy and I had gone into a place called Z Galerie and found these fun ikat pillows- on sale!  So, as you can see, one thing led to another- the pillows are fabulous, but take up too much room on my small scale chesterfield, so I moved them into my bedroom, which led to totally re-arranging that space!  The small inlaid screen panels were a gift from old friends, Bing and Martin.

I also made a designer sketch of how I was envisioning the table with the porcelains...



(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

( Concurrently, I was always planning to use this fabulous, classic, "bali hai" printed linen and cotton, what Isaac Mizrahi calls a "Watteau"print - from China Seas on a pair of Louis XV style open armchairs- the color and pattern of which I was mad for-  and so is Danielle Rollins! -the blue colorway)

China Seas Bali Hai fabric

Here's a shot of the table set up with the porcelain on top- as you can see from this image, the two chairs are screaming for the new fabric- which could be done as slip covers- since I still like the suede as a reminder of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and her Rue Cambon suite above the shop- I also want to add some fuchsia and green orchids to the table-



(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

Another option would be to make two toss pillows out of the China Seas fabric- which could then be also used on the leather chesterfield- which still needs a pair of classic swing arm lamps- flanking- also, since I took this shot, I've added some very decorative shells to the mix- (thank you Judith) which add some nice Floribbean flair- much needed as there is a white ceiling fan hanging just above this arrangement!

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

  

Thanks again to dear Linda of "Calling It Home" for the gift of the vintage lamps- very Dixie Highway-!  Here, (below image) I experimented with a Mongiardino-John Fowler inspired idea of "slipcovering" the lamp shades- not sure I love it or not- but a very charming and cozy effect!

 

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design 2018

 

 

This whole post is all done in the spirit of good, old fashioned, all American decorating- a byline from the old days of House and Garden, my favorite childhood magazine- but, seriously, I could have had the whole room re-painted in a deep aubergine gloss, or the deep chocolate brown I had in my New York flat- so this was a way to spruce up for late Spring and early Summer without too much fuss and the expense- always a good thing.  Sister Parish would agree, I'm sure, with this very New England approach…

 

via Colefax and Fowler, London

 

Michael Whaley

 

Quadrille, Isfahan wallpaper

 

via Christopher Spitzmiller

 

Susan Zises Green, Inc.

 

via Traditional Home on The Glam Pad

 

 

(I was also thinking of old houses in Southampton I had seen, with unusual color schemes- and the very beautiful, recently married Countess Tessa Grafin von Walderdorff, a source of endless inspiration and ethereal, youthful beauty.)  DF

 

 

* * * * *