STYLE: Marylou Whitney R.I.P.

Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson




Style and grace, she had it...Marylou Whitney !

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 *****

 

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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!

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STYLE: Pauline and The Pink Door

 The Baroness Pauline de Rothschild

So, my very kind friend, Ted Glasgow, the super talented interior designer- sent this image to me recently.  It reminded me of how I've always been inspired in my imagination by this icon of style, Pauline de Rothschild . 

Ted works with The Pink Door in Greensboro, NC and is a decorator who is aware of past designers such as Otto Zenke, and later, The Zenkes.

Check out this amazing video of The Pink Door here !  I first discovered this chic emporium years ago while visiting my parents in Winston-Salem.

Our friend, the writer Mitch Owens, is working on a book about the Baroness, and just told me that the new very high style book on Thomas Britt that he's working on is now in the captions on images stage, so you know I just cannot wait for that one to come out!

I imagine that the Baroness would approve of Tom's new book.  I forgot to mention in my previous post, on Carleton Varney, that he'd made a point of reminding the HSN viewers of the importance of fantasy in our lives and in our homes, while selling very beautiful sheets and bedding.  I couldn't agree more!  "Mr. Color" promotes the use of bold palettes and has an international point of view.  He also has a new book out,  "Decorating On The Waterfront" Click here to view/order.  Enjoy!  DF *****

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The Michael Taylor Flower

Hydrangea, also known as Hortensia (Fr)

Did you know that Michael Taylor, the iconic San Francisco designer, loved hydrangeas?  Did you know that in French they are called Hortensia? 

I still recall seeing some dried (French) hydrangea arranged massively in the reception room of the late Robert Metzger's design office, when I worked there after having left Tice Alexander.  They looked great, even though they were dried.  They added a nice softness to the somewhat heavily Biedermeier look of that space. 

Michael would get these Chinese wood baskets and put the big hydrangeas, which he always called "hydraneas" in them, for a maximum floral impact, which was great for the magazine stylists and editors.   All in a days work!  Enjoy!  DF *****

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Babe Paley Smoking

Barbara "Babe" Paley

If one picture is worth a thousand words...what an inspiring image this is-!  Cheers!  DF *****