Fragrance For The Home

Fragrant rooms are like a kiss, and you feel special as if someone had prepared the very air just for you. I especially like Agraria, Nest, Votivo, Diptyque, Creed, and the classic Rigaud, which Diana Vreeland always had burning away. Yesterday, I visited a new home fashion boutique here in Naples, called SAINT-TROPEZ HOME, and fell in love with the chic of it, and did make a very small purchase of one small bunch of dried lavender. The divine fragrance reminded me of being in the office of the late Mrs. Henry Parish II, where I discovered an elegant small bowl of potpourri nestled in a beautiful linen cloth. I found this fabulous image of "Sister" on one of my favorite blogs, The Devoted Classicist. ENJOY! DF *****

Saint-Tropez Home, 1300 Third Street So. Naples, Florida 34102 Tel. 239.234.4458

I Remember: H. Parkin Saunders

Parkin Saunders and I met through my old dear friend, Louise Wilcox Cronan, many years ago. Just like the movie with Bette Davis, "All About Eve" - I got PS a job with the fabulous George Clarkson, the society decorator from Saint Louis, and then you know what happened if you saw the movie. Parkin went on to become a Michael Greer like decorator, (he always preferred decorator over designer) and had a truly A list clientele, with billions of disposable dollars...he lived on Fifth Avenue, and was driven about Manhattan in a Mercedes 500. He even had a place in Southampton for a while. After learning the ropes from George, he and his partner the late Chris Walsh went on to create a WASP masterpiece, the guest cottage at the Hamptons showhouse, all done in the old now discontinued Zinnia chintz by Brunschwig. Perhaps those zinnias were really dahlias? Anyway, it was a sensation, and it landed him Anne Ford, Garrick Stephenson, Amanda Burden, Teddy Forstmann, and David Koch...as clients...I got to soak it all up, and always considered dear PS a good friend, although he was sometimes difficult and not always so easy to be with. But he was a fun person, and he enjoyed being social in a place where that is not an avocation, it's a full time 24/7 job. I just today learned that dear Parkin died this Summer. Parkin, you were a good friend, and you are missed. May you rest in peace dear fellow. I am happy that I was able to contribute to your success. Honis soi qui mal y pens. DF *****

Just for Fun: Phyllis Diller

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Phyllis Diller. She makes me laugh, and her act is fun with a kind of baroque sensibility, not unlike Liberace's, and you can see them performing together on this u-tube, here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mRK5A45Qrc As well, I do remember watching her TV show called The Pruitts of Southampton, (based on the 1954 novel "House Party", by Patrick Dennis, the creator of Auntie Mame) when I was a child, and my mother would admonish me to not sit too close to the screen... What a riot...the plot was based on the idea that the Pruitts had lost their fortune to the IRS, and had to live in reduced circumstances, see it on u-tube. ENJOY! DF *****

Passion: Louis XV Open Arm Chairs

I suppose I am obsessed by them as they represent fantasy, quality, history, design, fashion, and incredible beauty... yes, you can have copies, and there are very good ones, such as the ones from F.P. Victoria, NEW YORK, but in my heart of hearts, I long for the best, most authentic, signed originals from France... and everything else that goes along with having such things sitting in rooms of one's home, such as good housekeeping, good food, wines, beautiful clothes, travel, just la dolce vita in general, or la vie en rose. These are sitting in Stuart Peckner's shop , N.P. TRENT - in West Palm Beach - and I truly love them! DF ******

German Rococo Style

My friend Helen Fioratti has this pair of circa 1740 trumeaux listed on first dibs. I saw them and thought they were sensational, and a relative bargain at $178,000.00 as they are the sort of blue chip items that either hold their value or go up. Plus, they would be such a pleasure to live with.

I would hang them in the foyer of Astor Courts, in Rhinebeck, NY, which is also on the market, and a house I would love to own some day, designed by Stanford White and completed in 1906.

Truly magnificent! DF *****

Highway to Heaven

We had to have this sofa, the Panama, by Kreiss, in Portofino Cream, HOISTED up nineteen floors to the roof, then dropped back down to the 16th floor today. I just need to add some beautiful fat down filled pillows....this reminded me of when I worked with the late Parkin Saunders on the late Theodore Forstmann Fifth Avenue penthouse, and was responsible for having an eight million dollar painting by Georges Bracque HOISTED up and brought in through the opening where a window had been removed expressly to admit the paintings' passage, and THEN, I had to supervise having an antiqued mirrored wall in the library DRILLED so that this magnificent museum quality work of art could be hung there...all of which was done in under two hours! It was FABULOUS! DF *****

Book: Maurice Fatio, Palm Beach Architect

I was in the Ralph Lauren boutique the other day, and spied this relatively new book, by Fort Lauderdale designer/historian Kim Mockler. Actually, the book JUMPED OFF THE SHELF AND CAME FLYING AT ME!!! I had posted earlier about my obsession with this famous society architect of the past, and his daughter Alexandra Fatio Taylor sent me a lovely thank you note, postmarked from Geneva, Switzerland. GET THIS BOOK! Amazon has seven new copies as of this posting. (It) has some juicy tidbits, including information on one of my favorite of all the Estate Section houses he did, called CASA ELEDA. Strangely, Eleda is derived from the lady of the house, her name was Adele! (Adele spelled backwards). Pop singer Adele took the cake last night at the Grammy Awards!

Anyway, one Casa Eleda owner was so greedy that he had his wife murdered, to prevent her from getting any of his filthy dirty money...the house is currently on the market. The book is very useful and full of amazing photography and history of old P.B., one of my favorite places to visit here in Florida. Enjoy! DF *****

Penthouse Party Manhattan

I once attended a lovely party, at the Park Avenue penthouse of designers Stephen Sills and Ford Huniford. I loved the mellow ambience, and the elegance of the marble lobby contrasted with the elevator opening onto THE ROOF, which was a garden very elegantly paved in pea gravel, leading to the double sash door entry and entry foyer... Stephen Sills is one of the most talented designers in the world, and I think of him often. His talent is quite cerebral, and I would urge you to visit his beautiful site, where you can see his stunning Bedford, New York country house, shown here. ENJOY! DF *****

Designer Profile: Haynes Roberts

I recently discovered, via the web, the firm of HAYNES ROBERTS, a New York City based design team, consisting of Timothy Haynes, a Harvard trained architect, and Kevin Roberts, a designer who has worked in Geneva, Switzerland. I was very taken with this dining room, which is shown on their website as well. I love the mood of the room, and the photography is by one of the better known camera-istes, adding a certain gravitas to the image. The sophisticated mix of furnishings, the controlled palette, the art, I love the whole as well as the parts. I admire also the contrast between the dark covers on the painted frames of the chairs, foiling the ethereal washed blue walls. Congrats to HR on a job well done! DF *****

Decorator Scrapbook XVI

Digital photograph by Dean Farris

Random (visual) musings... ENJOY! DF *****

Room of the Week, Gloria Vanderbilt

Room of the Week is BACK! I had been waiting for something like a catalyst to inspire a DFS post, and while reading one of my favorite new designer blogs, belonging to MARK SIKES, I got a nice lift from his recent BILL BLASS post, featuring this astonishing FRANCESCO SCAVULLO portrait of the ever fabulous, always young, GLORIA VANDERBILT. While I have never had the privilege of being in the same room or even seeing GV, I did know the late Ron Grimaldi, who helped GV with some of her decorating. I was told that she once paid something like $16,000.00 for one antique textile pillow. I also have never managed to meet her son, Anderson, who is always on television. However, my old friend Marcy has a sister who married into the Cecil family, who still own the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC. Marcy was recently featured in HOUSE, on New York Social Diary. She is a fab lady and we attended classes together back in the good old eighties, under the tutelage of luminaries such as the late STANLEY BARROWS, who was the chairman of our interior design department at FIT. Also, BILL BLASS was our speaker at our graduation ceremony, and oh my what an inspiring speech he gave. May he rest in peace. The classical opulence displayed in this room, where GV stands, dressed by BLASS, is so beautiful and so classic, it will always be in style. I hope it will inspire you as it did me! DF *****

189 River Rd., Rhinebeck, NY 12572 | HomeFinder.com | ID: 3122214

189 River Rd., Rhinebeck, NY 12572 HomeFinder.com ID: 3122214

This gorgeous 1906 estate is still on the market. Astor Courts, or The Casino, part of the old famous Astor Estate known as Ferncliff, at Rhinebeck, did not make its minimum at auction, so Houlihan Lawrence now has it listed for 8.5 million. What a steal! It's already had systems upgrades from the current owners, and could be used for a corporate meeting center or possibly a boutique hotel. I would want it for my "country house" as a retreat from the city, and as it sits on 50 acres, it could be just the ticket. Indoor pool AND tennis! Wow! Those Astors really knew how to live! Oh, and Chelsea Clinton was married here!

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Did you know that Stanford White designed it, and that Sam White restored it (great grandson)! What more credentials do you need? This is THE ONE! DF ******