Monthly Archives: October 2014

Au Revoir, Oscar

Posted October 22, 2014. Filed in Denning & Fourcade, Oscar de la Renta

As with so many, my heart sank upon hearing the news that Oscar de la Renta, the doyen of American fashion, passed away at the age of 82. With verve, wit, candor, style and grace the impeccable gentleman from Santo Domingo made a splash on American soil with his glamorous fashions that become the envy […]

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What Goes Around, Comes Around

Posted October 20, 2014. Filed in John Dickinson, McMillen Inc.

  Are you an interior design junkie like me? Then chances are you did a double take when your eyes fell on this room designed by Ann Pyne, of the venerable American design firm McMillen, Inc., featured in the November issue of Elle Decor.  My first reaction was “This is daring … creative … whimsical […]

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Le Galerie des Cerfs

Posted October 15, 2014. Filed in Chateaux, French Country Houses, Hunt Country Style

The Galerie des Cerfs (Trophy Gallery) at Château de Fontainebleau was conceived by Henry IV in c1600 as a paean to hunting, consisting of a promenade of semicircular arches forming an arcade. Its plaster walls were painted by Louis Poisson with murals depicting bird’s eye views of royal estates, set into grey wood paneling in the […]

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Hunt Country Simplicity

Posted October 13, 2014. Filed in Anglo-American Style, Antony Childs, Hunt Country Style, Understated Luxury

The hunt season is in full swing. In the states Virginia is the center of this long-standing tradition, which begins as early as September – a tradition carried over by our forefathers from Great Britain, where it originated in the 16th-century. You can read about its history and traditions in my post Hunt Country Style. […]

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Favorite Vintage Ads Friday: Perry Ellis for Martex, 1984

Posted October 10, 2014. Filed in Favorite Vintage Ads

Today’s Favorite Vintage Ad features a line of bedding designed by the late clothing designer Perry Ellis for Martex in 1984. His inspiration for this line was Africa, for which he created three distinct patterns based on animals found in the bush: the tiger, zebra and jaguar.  The first pattern features “Night Tiger” on a […]

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Throwback Thursday: Geoffrey Bennison

Posted October 9, 2014. Filed in Classic Contemporary, Geoffrey Bennison

Sometimes I start things without giving them due attention. My Throwback Thursday series might just be one such example. Posting “vintage” – and I use the word loosely – interiors is hardly breaking my mold. I post about classic and timeless interiors from the past – traditional or modern, and everything in between – more […]

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Sir John Richardson’s Palladian-Style Villa in Connecticut

Posted October 8, 2014. Filed in English Country House Style, English Style Eclecticism, John Richardson, The Collectors

Two Dutch landscapes attributed to Van Styr light up the dark green flocked walls of the oval living room. A Directoire billiards-table lamp hangs over the table and a pair of large 18th-century English brass urns stand in front of the Regency gilt sofa. Not long after Sir John Richardson, the inveterate collector and foremost […]

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John Richardson: New York, 1985

Posted October 7, 2014. Filed in English Style Eclecticism, John Richardson, The Collectors

John Richardson sitting on the fireplace club fender in the living room of his New York brownstone apartment as photographed by Derry Moore in 1986. Much has been written lately about Sir John Richardson, the nonagenarian British art historian and foremost Picasso biographer. The New York Times blog, T Magazine, recently interviewed him at his Connecticut […]

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Throwback Thursday: Anthony Hail

Posted October 2, 2014. Filed in Anthony Hail, Classic Elegance, Understated Luxury

  In today’s Throwback Thursday post we visit, or revisit as your own personal experience may indicate, the one time Nob Hill home of Anthony Hail in San Francisco. It was featured in the May/June issue of Architectural Digest presented in interview format. In past posts I haven’t borrowed directly from a feature’s copy but […]

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Of Craft and Comfort

Posted October 1, 2014. Filed in Arts & Crafts/Mission Style, James Huniford

With the change of season into autumn I can’t help but feel the nesting instinct come over me. Cooler weather, the changing colors of the trees, and farmers markets introducing autumn’s bounty incites images of interiors bathed in golden light and a crackling fire on a brisk morning. When I opened the October issue of […]

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