GIVENCHY: decorative

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

FALL-ISH: Bettie Bearden Pardee, Newport

Inspiration from dear Bettie in Newport. Enjoy! DF

MISTY GATES: Little Compton

Loved this image from Bettie Bearden Pardee...(Sakonnet Gardens)

Garden: Palm Beach

Who wouldn't LOVE this gorgeous ocean front garden in sunny old Palm Beach, Florida? As I've recently gotten into gardening- and actually getting my manicured hands DIRTY...and am having the time of my life procuring and placing Saint Augustine grass, Alocascia, Gardenia, Clusia, Lantana, and Sweet Williams, Liriope, and boxwood topiary...plus a host of other natural delights...DF

GARDEN: Lantanas My Love....

Yes, I've always loved these flowers (a member of the Verbena family) ...Nothing beats lantana for nonstop color throughout the growing season. The cheerful flower clusters—in a rainbow of single and multi-hues—bloom nonstop from late spring through frost, and nearly year-round in warmer climates. Known for its carefree nature, lantana is grown as an annual in northern regions, and a broadleaf evergreen shrub or ground cover in frost-free climates. The flowers attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and insect pollinators. A member of the verbena family, it is native to tropical regions of the Americas and South Africa. Though there are 150 different species, those most widely available to home gardeners are Lantana camara and modern hybrids. Also known as Spanish flag, lantana thrives in hot, dry weather and is tolerant of salt and sandy soil, making it a popular choice for seaside landscapes. These same attributes are what allow it to become invasive in some areas

GARDEN: European Garden Designs on Instagram

One of my favorite instagram accounts is @europeangardendesigns ...

SPRING 2021 : Garden Dreams

This is my favorite outdoor furniture...design by John Hutton for Sutherland...

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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ICED TEA: Cornelia in Flower Magazine

Beautiful Cornelia Guest photographed by Michael Mundy for Flower Magazine

A favorite New York memory is meeting famous C. Z. Guest and her beautiful daughter, Cornelia...here she is in her Templeton garden- and check out her fabulous iced tea recipe! (via Flower Magazine)...DF

Templeton was famous for its iced tea. People constantly asked for the recipe, and the secret is fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Ingredients:

• 2 quarts boiling water
• 8 herbal lemon tea bags
• 1½ cups fresh-squeezed orange juice
• fresh mint

Directions:

1. Pour 2 quarts boiling water over tea bags.
2. Brew for 30 minutes and let cool. Remove tea bags.
3. Add orange juice and serve over ice with fresh mint.
4. Enjoy!

GARDENS: Penny Bianchi

Penny Bianchi in Montecito, CA

This article about the restoration of the house and garden belonging to designer Penny Bianchi in Montecito
after the second largest wildfire in California history damaged her gardens, garage and guest house- inspired me!  

I was intrigued by this image above, as it has so many elements I like in a house- a touch of age, decadence even, a bit of classical whimsy, a la her friends, the late Tony and Beegle Duquette... it's amazing, inspiring and even, yes, magical- that she (Penny) was able to overcome the devastation and destruction of her charming european inspired property... Kudos to the Bianchis !  DF

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Floral Inspirations, LILIES/PALM: Naples/Charleston

Dean Farris Interior Design 2019

I always love receiving fresh flowers, and to me, they're a great luxury ... it's also a lot of fun to source greenery from local gardens, such as the owners of this house in Charleston did, (32 Legare)... enjoy!  DF

32 Legare, Charleston, SC

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SUMMER ROSES: Bettie's Garden

Ah summer.... and the roses of Bettie Pardee's Newport garden- a true inspiration! Enjoy here 

Image via Bettie Bearden Pardee

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Charm of the CAROLINAS

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC 

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, I was forced to evacuate my south Florida condo, and head north - to the lovely Piedmont area of North Carolina....where I spent a fabulous ten days with my beautiful family, and visited some of my favorite haunts while there too.   Ms. Kay, of the uber charming Pink Door, introduced me to the proprietor, Mr. Glenn Blair Lavinder.  A native of Maryland, Glenn is simply  smothered in taste and style, and I really enjoyed chatting with him, and soaking up his aura of southern style and manners.  He had spent part of the summer overseeing a pop-up shop in Roaring Gap, where I once was most fortunate to assist the daughter of DeWitt Hanes with (her) bedroom in her ancestral home there- (picture Nantucket in the mountains)...no small feat, since DeWitt had used Sister Parish before I arrived on the scene!

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC

I was charmed by the arrangement of items on this green bar tray...known as "libations".

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC

Not to mention these exquisite taffeta curtains in ivory- reputedly purchased from a Palm Beach estate, and designed by Colefax and Fowler in London... (they are not for sale).  After I reluctantly left the Pink Door, I also paid a much overdue visit to fabulous, beyond chic, Caroline Faison antiques where, SURPRISE, Caroline was !  (she had not been there on my last visit, sadly) Can you say CHARM? Can you say BEAUTIFUL?  Her grandson, Ben, helped me with my purchase of two small Canton ware plates- on his i-pad thingy, since none of the old school Carolinian's would ever dream of using such a thing! LOL!

Reynolda Estate, Winston-Salem, NC

Back to lovely, old, Winston-Salem (have you seen "Light in the Piazza"?) - I always love to visit the house museum, Reynolda House and Gardens- the former country house of the Reynolds family.  They visited it often from their estate in Greenwich, CT., before donating it to Wake Forest University.

Reynolda Estate, Winston-Salem, NC

Above, the long view of the "front yard" acres- which were created by Thomas Warren Sears, and influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted.  Way off in this direction, is the distinguished subdivision, created by Katherine Reynolds, called Reynolda Park, where I was fortunate to create an English "County" style (think Country Life magazine) foyer at 1040 Arbor Road, for the Shakespeare Festival Decorator Show House many years ago, sponsored by Selwyn and Leigh Rose, the homeowners at that time.  I used a stunning Brunschwig chintz in bright pinks and greens on a white ground for the central skirted table.

Dean Farris Interior Design circa 1986

While in town, I also visited the Gazebo (Reynolda Village) -met Agnes Butler, proprietor of All Through The House (Reynolda Village)  - J.McLaughlin, (Reynolda Village), as well as, Darren Waggoner, proprietor of Idlewild Interiors, and Larry Laster, proprietor of Laster's Fine Art and Antiques, a wonderful establishment my family has patronized for many years- and where I purchased a lovely old Mintons plate, in old blue and crackled white.  This gave me great pleasure.  His son told me he was dead when I inquired as to his whereabouts. (not true)-. This is part of the charm of the Carolina's- a "deadpan" sense of humor!  Visit and enjoy!  The High Point "market" is coming up, and I urge you to visit these fine establishments while in the Piedmont "triad" region.  DF *****

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MOOD BOARD: April 04.12.17

Bowood House

Limoges tray, L'Objet

Capri

Thomas Britt (Veranda)

Young Huh (Kips Bay Showhouse)

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Vizcaya: A Return to Elegance

Vintage postcard, Vizcaya

One of my favorite and very special places to visit, in Miami, is Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, formerly known as Villa Vizcaya, and the winter home of James Deering.  Constructed between 1914 and 1922.  Click here for the site for VMG.  DF *****

Entrance to drive

View from the water

Garden

Garden steps

Garden folly

Garden

Hall

Loggia

Gazebo

Music Room

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BOOK: Michael D. Devine

via Miromar Design Center

PEA GRAVEL, MY LOVE...

Charleston, Carolyne Roehm (brick pavers)

Watermill, Tom Britt (pea gravel)

Atlanta, (asphalt)

No doubt, some of my favorite gardens and landscapes use pea gravel , which comes in all kinds of colors and stones... the thicker the application the more I like it!  Is it a bit of trouble?  Perhaps, but consider how much more aesthetic this Atlanta groundscape would be with a beige pea gravel drive...the gravel would blend so beautifully with the stucco on the house. 
My second choice would be a brick paver in a herringbone pattern, as the designer Carolyne Roehm used in her Charleston garden.  Love the sound of the crunch or the texture, of gravel or brick!  Enjoy!  DF *****

From the garden at Folie du Lac Martin, home of Robert Smith, Breau Bridge, LA

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Ourismans' Palm Beach home undergoes classic transformation

Ourismans' Palm Beach home undergoes classic transformation



via NYSD

This beautiful loggia was recently added on to a classic Palm Beach regency house, with interiors by Bill Eubanks, and landscape by Keith Williams-Mario Nievera Associates.  Great job!  Ballinger Award winner!  DF *****

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Society of the Four Arts, PB

These stunning gardens, at The Society of Four Arts, Palm Beach, were so soothing, and made a spectacular entrance to the building where Leta Austin Foster gave her talk on her new book, "Traditional Interiors" with Brian Coleman.  A very nice presentation indeed!  DF *****