Apprentice With The Stars

Todays post is a trip down memory lane. What a wild and bumpy ride I had while living in New York in the 1980's through the mid nineties ! While earning a BFA from FIT in interior design, under the former Parsons faculty, I worked for the small residential firm of Marshall-Schule Associates (see Architectural Digest). I also worked briefly for Tom Britt, which was a real eye opener, (love Tom). Upon graduation, my first full time position was assisting Barbara Deichman with model rooms at Bloomingdale's on Third Avenue, where one of my assignments was to help Mario Buatta install his model room - I have never had more fun, or worked so hard and fast ! Mario is still a friend, and I speak with him often by phone. One year later, I accepted a design assistant position with George Clarkson, Inc. (see Architectural Digest) where I was exposed to english antiques, Park Avenue, and clients like C.Z. Guest and Robert Fomon (E.F. Hutton). I summered in Southampton, and lived on East 66th between Fifth and Madison. I brought in Parkin Saunders (with Georges' permission) to help me out while Helen the secretary took a vacation. Later, I would work for Parkin as a shopper ! After this stint with the late Mr. Clarkson, I freelanced for a while, and even had an "agent" finding clients for me. I was hired by my pal Raul Morillas to work with him at Macy's store design, and also at Robert A.M. Stern Architects. I took a three year detour, moved back to North Carolina, and opened my own shop - Dean Farris Interior Design. One day I saw my old friend from FIT, Tice Alexander, listed in the House Beautiful "Top 100 designers" so I called to congratulate him, and ended up closing my shop, moving back to New York, and working with him ! (Tice had worked at Parish-Hadley, and I was thrilled to drop everything to gain this experience). After Tice died (New York Times Aug 27, 1993) at the tender age of 35, I was thrown off course, and worked for a time at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Later, I had the luck to be hired by the late Robert Metzger (see Architectural Digest). I also worked with Carl D'Aquino, Maurice Bernstein, and Garrick Stephenson (see Architectural Digest). My final design job in New York was as a shopper for Parkin Saunders... the one I had helped at the beginning of my career to get a foothold in the business. As they say, "what goes around, comes around". DF *****

Corporate Office Deluxe

This is my office project I designed for Regal Electric/Safe-Tech, in South Fort Myers, Florida. I had totally raw space to work with, and enjoyed the design process working with the associates of my client, whom I also designed a personal residence for in Bonita Springs. I greatly enjoyed the collaboration, and look forward to our next project. DF *****

Maison Auclair Revisited

Here again I wanted to share my wonderful decorating source for unique and creative objects for the home. Stay tuned for an upcoming post featuring the new obelisks from the Venetian Collection - to be featured in "Gulfshore Life". I recently spent a whole day in this shop rearranging the furnishings and art objects. William and I have a great time there, sharing lunch when he works in the shop on Saturdays from 12 to 5. One of the customers he often sees is Donna Summer, our favorite disco goddess ! He has also sold to Deborah Gore Dean, among other top decorators. http://www.mashellart.com/ 465 Fifth Avenue South (239) 263-4121 Naples, Florida DF *****

Darien in Naples II

I was enjoying looking at these shots from the install at the condo in Naples I had finished last summer. It was such a pleasure to work with these wonderful young clients, and they gave me huge creative freedom to make something very nice for them when they visit Florida. We completely remodeled the unit, including all new kitchen and bathrooms, new flooring, all new painting throughout, and mostly all new furnishings. I greatly enjoyed the many trips I made to the condo, and William was a big help, and found some great things from our source Maison Auclair http://www.mashellart.com/ Here, in the girls room, we went green, and incorporated some existing vintage furniture that came with the unit. These random shots tell a story of an adventure in decorating and design, and the contractor, Robert Lenahan, helped to speed things along. As soon as this year long project was completed, William and I took off for New Orleans, for our continuing design education. It was a nice treat after such a long and arduous year. DF

Beachfront remodel

Here are some images of the condo I remodeled with Antony Felice at the Horizon House in Naples, a vintage 1970's tower, the first to be built by Raymond Lutgert. We had a lot of fun here, and the client understood the design process, and was referred to me by Albert's office. I designed the built-ins, kitchen, bathrooms, and all other spaces along with input from the client, and the contractor. We managed to retain the vintage cabana on the beach feeling while updating all systems, fittings and finishes. Living Room sofa silk by Ralph Lauren. Chairs by Jacques Garcia for Baker. Credenza by Hickory Chair. Dining Room wallpaper by Chuck Fisher for Brunschwig & Fils. Chairs by Milling Road. Shell mirror client's own. DF *****

Tiffany & Company

For over thirty years, I have recommended Tiffany & Company for the finest in silver, fine china, and glass ware of the highest caliber. When I was living in New York, I had the privilege of assisting with the design of a "Tiffany Table Setting" with the designer George Clarkson. I adore the bamboo sterling flatware pattern by Van Day Truex, and revere Tiffany for their elegant refusal to use anything less than sterling sliver for the designs they are renowned for. The mark of Tiffany represents the finest available product on the market today. DF *****
http://www.tiffany.com/ 5th Avenue and 57th Street, New York, NY 10022 (212) 755-8000

Palm Beach Shops II

Here are a few more things I saw in West Palm Beach that I found attractive. The bleached Louis XV style table is a particular favorite, since when I was spending time with Albert (Hadley) he had a lot of bleached wood furniture in the cottage, which Mark Sciarillo had done for him. These chairs are very interesting as well, I thought to share these images with you. DF *****

Open and Tut Case: San Franciscos de Young Museum reveals the boy king

Open and Tut Case: San Franciscos de Young Museum reveals the boy king

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Palm Beach Shops

Elephants Foot

N.P. Trent

I had a nice surprise yesterday when I got an email from top interior designer Grant K. Gibson of San Francisco, who also has a designblog http://www.grantkgibson.com/ - Grant has gotten some huge publicity due to his blog, and is on his way to Palm Beach for a design project. I thought I'd let him in on some of my (once) secret sources on South Dixie highway and surrounds. I also suggested the Design Center of the Americas http://www.dcota.com/ as well as the design district in Miami. I look forward to meeting Grant, and especially enjoyed his post featuring a trip to Paris, where he was able to gain access to the famous "above the shop" apartment kept by Coco Chanel ! Truly iconic ! DF *****

House Beautiful 1935

Here is another issue of "House Beautiful" from 1935. I was looking at the ad for the Camel cigarettes, and noticed that the company who makes them, R. J. Reynolds, was listed in very fine print, of Winston-Salem, N.C., my home town. In the 1980's Kohlberg Kravis executed the largest LBO in history, acquiring RJR/Nabisco for 25 billion dollars ! Needless to say, after that there were some very happy campers in Winston-Salem. (The cigarettes were named AFTER the towns, not the other way around). I grew up in deep middle class comfort, and living in the Piedmont, with its lush trees and rolling hills, often fantasized that I was really in Los Angeles. Compare this 1935 cover with the 2009 "Naples Illustrated" cover... am proud to say I have an ad of my own in this very issue, for Dean Farris Interior Design. As my friend James Andrew would say, "The better it gets, the better it gets !" DF *****

Cayman Islands

Frenchie, my 2007 Porsche Cayman coupe, got jealous when she found out that I had posted about her without showing you her pictures. Here she is, in all of her Speed Yellow clear coated glory ! Of course she has her very own garage. I gave up the pleasure of a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK 350 (black with ivory leathers) for this little baby, and don't regret it for a minute. Frenchie has a 5 speed manual transmission with a flat six mid-engine. I love her ! The exhaust note is sublime, although I do covet a 12 cylinder Bentley Continental convertible in beluga...

My dealer here in Naples is having a launch party for the new 2010 Panamera (4 door sedan) on November 4th, which I look forward to attending. Driving a Porsche in Naples on a beautiful sunny day is about as good as it gets ! I even got William to drive the Cayenne today, and he actually said he liked it...Surprise ! DF ***** (daily driver)

Naples Luxury Imports

My 2007 Porsche Cayman ("Frenchie") had to go in for her first 20,000 mile service today. (See earlier Porsche posts) - and I was given the VIP royal treatment as usual by Andrew and Harley, Philippe and John . She needed a new pair of rear tires ($800) and scheduled service ($725), but should be good to go for a while now.

Porsche of Naples is one of only two "premier" dealers in the state, and they really do go the extra mile with customer satisfaction, service, and overall friendliness. Still waiting for the Panameras to show up ! My loaner today was a sweet Cayenne SUV in metallic navy blue with a terra cotta leather interior. (see picture here). While dropping off Frenchie I took some Aston-Martin shots... Naples Luxury Imports also carries Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Range Rover, Jaguar, and Maserati, as well as Bugatti. It's always a very pleasant experience to be there, and I enjoy sharing it with you. http://www.naplesluxuryimports.com/ Happy Columbus Day ! DF*****

postscript: Michael Taylor drove a 1979 black Porsche 928 and a 1976 sable RR Corniche two-door hardtop.