SISTER PARISH: Wilbur Pippin

Dean at home inspired by Wilbur's portrait of Mrs. Parish

I've always loved this book from the 60s called The Finest Rooms by America's great decorators introduction by Russell Lyne, edited by Katherine Tweed- which has this beautiful portrait of the society decorator, Mrs. Henry Parish, II - known as Sister -

Today Billy and I had some fun and he took this snap of me in a similar pose- I love this quote from the book by Sister;

"My work has often been referred to as having the Undecorated Look.  If my undecorated look has meant rooms that are personal, comfortable, friendly, and gay, I feel I have accomplished a great deal. Rooms should be timeless. They should have as much imagination and warmth as possible. Each persons life differs from every other, just as people's needs are all different. If I can create for them a "living" room, I feel a true success has been achieved."  DF

TRUE BLUE: Louise W. Cronan

Louise Cronan Interior Decoration, photo Nick Sargent

My super talented friend Louise Cronan over in Palm Beach just finished up with her kips Bay decorator show house there- it was a smashing success and I'm so happy for her that she was able to do this and contribute to a very worthwhile cause-

Taste and style run in her family -her sister is a decorator in Boston - and her mother, the late Susan Wilcox, was a prominent Atlanta decorator who did the childhood home of  Miles Redd - And here's a quote from House Beautiful regarding  this topic:

I have been trying to revamp my childhood home since, well, childhood. My mother is one of the sweetest people on earth, but in 1987, when it came time to redo our house in Atlanta, she wasn't taking advice from her 14-year-old son, no matter how artfully I had arranged my personal quarters. Instead, she turned to Susan Wilcox, a notable Atlanta decorator who completely understood her requests for symmetry, unfussiness, and happy chintzes.  DF

EVENING: Manhattan Cocktail

Dean Farris Interior Design

After the workweek I enjoy having a cocktail on Friday evening -and often  it's a Manhattan -one of my favorites, and I took this shot while sitting on the Chesterfield and enjoying this nice libation-

The peaceful atmosphere that I was desiring is very enjoyable since I made the decision to not have a television in this room it was a great idea and I just enjoy the room for its beauty and calm feeling-

After cocktails, I can prepare dinner and enjoy having it in the small but serviceable dining area- which doubles as a library table and sometimes a desk- ( shown below). BON appetit!  DF

MARCH: Morning Meditation

Dean Farris Interior Design

March has quickly come and we have so much to look forward to this month -birthdays -especially lots of birthdays -going back to longer days and a continuation of the winter season activities which are too numerous to mention-

This cozy sitting area is right off of my bedroom so when I get up in the morning I come out and see this with the beautiful sun coming in from the east. As you may know my previous apartment was very dark and I did not get any morning sun at all so this is truly a luxury for me!

The pair of Meissen style bird candleholders were a gift from one of my favorite clients -a very nice lady from Indiana whom I have done five homes for over the years -she is a marvelous woman and a true inspiration to me.  I recently completed a re-decoration of her powder room in Naples and here's a little glimpse of it- the decorative painting was done by Audrey Jake.  Custom orchid floral by Sweetgrass Designs, Naples.  DF

UPDATED CLASSIC: Mark Sikes

via China Seas

Bravo to Designer Mark Sikes for his feature in the March issue of Veranda-  Mark takes the classics and updates them for today's lifestyle- this California designer is brilliant and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future- !  DF

INSPIRED BY: Chanel

Dean Farris Interior Design

I've always loved the decorative quality of Chinese or coromandel type screens-when I was in New York the first time as a very young man I was taken to the home of the designer Angelo Donghia- . In his upstairs drawing room he had the coromandel screen that had belonged to Coco Chanel. It was stunning.

Michael Taylor in San Francisco also was famous for using coromandel screens and the one that he used in the home of his client Candy Hamm was amazing and they even chopped out the floor in order to accommodate the screen -it was a beautiful, beautiful room all done in shades of white against the dark background of the screen.

Coco Chanel also always had beautiful coromandel screens and her apartment above the rue Cambon shop had one that was amazing as well - a room lined in screens for the walls -very chic.

Mine is small and very simple -not expensive -but I enjoy the iridescence of the inlaid abalone also known as mother of pearl and interestingly enough it was a perfect size to cover the small pass-through into the kitchen!  DF

LUMINOUS: Linen White

Dean Farris Interior Design

As I mentioned before, this linen white color is great to live with -especially when you have an east facing exposure like I do -the finish is reminiscent of an ostrich egg with a slight pebbled look, and a semi Matte satin finish-

 This color reminds me of when my parish hadley mentor -the late Tice Alexander -had an amazing Beaux-Arts apartment on the upper West side with a double height living room which the painting firm of Weidl finished in a faux parchment- it was magnificent - with blackamoors from Philip Farley, neutral upholstery, and a stunning large, painted Italian chandelier that Billy Baldwin had found and which Albert Hadley later obtained from Billy -and then subsequently loaned to Tice for this apartment!

Charles de Bestegui once had a similar place in Paris and that was a partial inspiration for this gorgeous Manhattan creation-  DF

THEATER: Waitress

Dean Farris Interior Design

It's always fun to have a night out with dinner and a show -just William and I -so last night we went to Vergina on 5th Ave., South, for a fabulous early dinner, then we stopped at Kilwin's for some ice cream (Traverse City Cherry) -which is very good - and then we went to Artis Naples for the performance of "WAITRESS" - where we did manage to have good orchestra seats!  Lead Christine Dwyer as Jenna, and handsome Steven Good as the doctor were excellent, and we caught the last performance of the Naples stop- of course at the last minute I always want show tickets - and of course Tony Bennett, Kristen Chenoweth, and David Foster were all sold out and we had already seen Michael Feinstein so I decided to get these tickets which I was lucky to get!!!

Earlier in the day I had gone for my usual bike ride down to Port Royal and then I walked along the beach all the way to Keewaydin Island -when I got down to the end I saw the beautiful abalone shells washed up on the beach and they reminded me of this inlaid screen that I have in my apartment which I really am enjoying- (see first image).
While at the restaurant we met a cute couple from Indiana and then we had a very charismatic waiter from Rome Italy and there was also one from Palermo so all in all we had a lovely evening- DF

SUNDAY: At Home

Dean Farris Interior Design

I slept in this morning and when I got up I found this beautiful morning sun  illuminating my small but elegant living room and dining area -I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this apartment with the sunshine coming in from the east -Billy and I have tickets to see the Broadway show "Waitress" tonight so looking forward to that ! enjoy the day- DF

CHANEL: R.I.P. Karl

Karl Lagerfeld via Internet 

My good friend Steve told me Karl Lagerfeld died. I was saddened to hear this as I've always been inspired by the house of Chanel and the legend behind it. I actually met one of Chanel's models a few years ago, a designer called Jackie Rogers -who is a fabulous woman. I also bought these earrings for a good friend for her Christmas gift last year- And one day while cruising through Saks I took this selfie of myself in the Chanel boutique -!

There's something very iconic when your boyfriend buys you a Chanel bag -it certainly stands for something and I found it fascinating the way Lagerfeld brought the Chanel brand into the 21st-century with his love of all that is current- You can read more about this in the Wall Street Journal and Vogue -enjoy- DF.
Rest in peace dear Karl- honi  Soi qui Mal y pens

TRAD: 19th Century Mahogany

DFID (c) 2019

I always enjoy painted furniture in my interior design projects however sometimes a sobering touch of mahogany also known as "Brown wood" -which is  out of fashion -can give the room a much-needed feeling of gravitas.
Loving my linen white walls also known as Greenwich white with my brackets from Suzanne Kasler-!
Have a great weekend wherever you are!  DF

L'Art de Vivre

Lapis box, Hutton Wilkinson , available through
Hickory Chair Interior Design Showroom, Miromar Design Center