PAINTED FLOORS, Ultra Chic

Albert Hadley

Not often seen, the painted floors I dream of are the rara avis of high style decoration.  Think Bunny Mellon,  Sister Parish, and Carolyne Roehm...the room shown above is in Florida and was designed by the late Albert Hadley. 

Gloria Vanderbilt

Even something as simple as a plain (un-patterned) painted floor sends me over the moon!  Such as the Long Island salle a manger of tastemaker and style icon, Gloria Vanderbilt, shown above.

Gloria Vanderbilt

A variant on paint is the collaged fabric floor, varnished.  Todd Oldham the fashion designer, also had this done in his boutiques once upon a time.

John Fowler for Rachel "Bunny" Mellon

Former Mellon townhouse, New York



Mrs. Henry "Sister" Parish



T. Furlow Gatewood

TFG

Louise Wilcox Cronan, Cottage Living

Albert Hadley (House Beautiful)

Mario Buatta (Architectural Digest)

Mary McDonald

Miles Redd

Bunny Williams

Pauline de Rothschild (AD) 

PDR

Deeda Blair

Madcap Cottage

Mario Buatta (AD)

Howard Slatkin

Howard Slatkin

Alex Papachristidis

Alex Papachristidis



Albert Hadley and Britton Smith

Albert Hadley and Harry Heissmann

Jeffrey Bilhuber (Elle Décor)

Jeffrey Bilhuber

JB

JB

Jeffrey Bilhuber

Albert Hadley (House Beautiful)

Parish Hadley

Carolyne Roehm, Charleston

CR

CR

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Carolyne in Carolina

Carolyne Roehm, Charleston, SC

Beautiful and talented, Carolyne Roehm, has done it again! She has created a magnificent "Chinoiserie Room"~in her historic Charleston house, read all about it on her site!  Her taste is exquisite, and flawless...the touches of fuchsia are sublime in this Paris green room.The simple curtains show off the silk fabric, and lighten the mood, while the painted floor evokes Pauline de Rothschild at The Albany...a room for beauty's sake, and for nourishing the soul, and as the lady herself has said, the fulfillment of a long held dream.  Congrats Carolyne!  (it took two years to get the mirrors from England)  CR, the designers designer!DF *****  Here's a great interview with CR on NYSD click here ...

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Lacca Povera as Inspiration for Doors

Lacca Povera

Recently, I posted about my entry door, and a painted treatment for it.  An Andrew Martin wallpaper and the 18th century art of lacca povera (poor mans lacquer) inspired me to further embellish the door, with a chinoiserie motif~

18th century lacca povera 

The Venetians created this style, and it satisfied a desire in the rococo for opulence, without the extravagant expense.

Lacca Povera commode 

Prints were cut out, pasted on, and varnished over to get the look~see here for more on lacca povera from a 2012 piece by John Tackett on The Devoted Classicist ~

The door before

This door was a plain vanilla, before it was done in a trompe l'oeil molded look with faux marbre~

DFID 

I cut out plates from left over wall paper, shown above~

DFID

A quick snap shot gives an idea of the dramatic look of it~

DFID

I haven't yet varnished over the plates.  The varnish will give it a more finished look~ and then I would like to have a leopard rug made for the area to give it a very Madeleine Castaing mood~ stay tuned!  Enjoy!  DF *****

Richard Lowell Neas

Bunny Williams

Here I am 1993, shirt by RL

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DFID Lacca Povera Door

Couldn't resist adding this last shot of my "lacca" door ! I finally had a reason to buy Mod Podge from Michaels! DF

(notice the three more pieces I added ~)

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"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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