Throwback Thursday: Mario Buatta Kips Bay Showhouse Room

Posted July 17, 2014. Filed in Anglo-American Style, English Country House Style, Mario Buatta, Uncategorized

Mario Buatta-Kips Bay Showhouse-NY Times Book of Design

For this Thursday’s throwback room we revisit a cozy retreat decorated by Mario Buatta for the Kips Bay Showhouse sometime in the 1970’s. In a glance we recognize his trademarks – an abundance of floral chintz, painted furniture, slipper chairs and chinoiserie. But, what of the bows, you ask? They’re there, above, painted on to the backs of the white-painted Italian armchairs, and in the last photo, used to hang a Regency genre painting. Given his eye for color and talent for furniture layouts, proportion and scale, this quite dated room does not feel dated at all. The only item that, for me, screams of its era is the needlepoint rug, with its black ground and pattern of stylized white tulips and green leaves. Still, I appreciate its intent in creating a dramatic contrast against the pale floor and to balance the weight of the rather large English lacquered cabinet. And though, today, we tend not to fill our rooms with lacquered furniture I appreciate how they bring levity to the Spring fresh quality of the floral chintz used on the sofa and curtains, all set against verdant green striated and lacquered walls.

Mario Buatta-Kips Bay Showhouse-NY Times Book of Design

Mario Buatta-Kips Bay Showhouse-NY Times Book of Design

The New York Times Book of Interior Design and Decoration by Norman Skurka, © 1976. Photography by Peter Reed.

Permalink         Comments (0)        

The Wrightsman Rooms

Posted July 16, 2014. Filed in Henri Samuel, Maison Jansen, Vincent Fourcade

Wrightsman Rooms-Vincent Fourcade-HG May 84-Feliciano

“Palm Beach Fable”: that was the headline for an article written by Rosamond Bernier for the May, 1984, issue of House & Garden, featuring the famous but never-before-published rooms of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Wrightsman. In the same month of the following year the property would be sold and its contents put on the auction block with Sotheby Co.

Wrightsman Rooms -Palm Beach-HG May 84-Feliciano

The loggia, as decorated by Henri Samuel.

I remember receiving this issue in the mail and pouring over the remarkable rooms contained within time and time again (I had subscriptions to all of the shelter magazines beginning at the age of thirteen). In the years since I am somewhat surprised that it hasn’t re-appeared in the blog posts of fascinated “designaholics” such as myself. I found this issue in a box and decided it was time to share the full story, with all of its sumptuous photography, once more.

Henri Samuel had the entrance hall painted salmon. A Languedoc marble jardiniere from Versailles stands bewteen two Indian chairs in ivory-veneered fruitwood.

Henri Samuel had the entrance hall painted salmon. A Languedoc marble jardiniere from Versailles stands bewteen two Indian chairs in ivory-veneered fruitwood.

Built in the nineteen-twenties by Maurice Fatio the mansion enjoyed a heady and glamorous life prior to the Wrightsman’s stewardship. In the thirties the richest man in America, Harrison Williams, and his wife,  the great beauty Mona (who later become Countess von Bismarck), enlisted Syrie Maugham, at the height of her career, to bring her own brand of light and glamour to the eccentric spaces of this Mediterranean villa by the sea at 513 North County Road. The Harrison’s gave Maugham a retainer of $50,000 a year – big money at that time! Given the drawing room, the library, the terrace, and the pool Maugham extended her white treatment, covering everything in white, down to white fur rugs and white flowers everywhere.

A watercolor by Cecil Beaton of Mona and Harrison Williams in their Palm Beach sitting room.

A watercolor by Cecil Beaton of Mona and Harrison Williams in their Palm Beach sitting room.

In the reception room, where the Met's Head of a Girl by Vermeer once hung, the Wrightsman's placed a gilt-framed window for a Magritte-like view of the sea. The chairs are the last two of five ivory chairs that had already made their way to the Met.

In the reception room, where the Met’s Head of a Girl by Vermeer once hung, the Wrightsman’s placed a gilt-framed window for a Magritte-like view of the sea. The chairs are the last two of five ivory chairs that had already made their way to the Met.

THe Wrightsman Rooms-HG May 84-Feliciano

The Louis XV gilded-wood armchair is covered in a meticulous re-creation of a material designed for Mme. de Pompadour’s Château de Bellevue.

An invitation to the Williams’s was highly sought after, and on one special occasion a newly married couple by the name of Charles and Jayne Wrightsman were among the newly anointed. The Wrightsman’s had been wanting to find a house in Palm Beach but hadn’t found anything they liked. When Jayne Wrightsman laid her eyes upon the verdant green salon enveloped by yards of Chinese wallpaper, and floating furniture in all-white, she thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. “I suppose that house will never come on the market”, said Mrs. Wrightsman. “Everything is for sale in the end.” said her husband, Charles. In the end, the Wrightsman’s didn’t have to wait for long, as the Williams’s got into financial difficulty and decided to sell the house. It wasn’t without effort, as the house soon became tied up in an unforgiving legal knot, but eventually Jayne Wrigthsman’s dream of owning the Williams villa by the sea became reality in 1947.

The magnificent drawing room had been changed over often over the years, the only decorative constant the green Chinese wallpaper. In the rooms latest incarnation VIncent Fourcade introduced Brunschwig & Fils extroverted Menars Bordered Panel and the green pleated lampshades. A rare Louis XV tric-trac (backgammon) table by Jacques Dubois sets behind a sofa, and the Bessarabian carpet is 19th-century.

The magnificent drawing room had been changed over often over the years, the only decorative constant the green Chinese wallpaper. In the rooms latest incarnation Vincent Fourcade introduced Brunschwig & Fils extroverted Menars Bordered Panel and the green pleated lampshades. A rare Louis XV tric-trac (backgammon) table by Jacques Dubois sets behind a sofa, and the Bessarabian carpet is 19th-century. On the windows still hang Syrie Maugham’s curtains.

Sold to them “lock, stock and barrel” it wasn’t long before Jayne wanted to do something of her own with the interiors. With the end of World War II came an abundance of fine French furniture at great prices with the uncertainty of the Fourth Republic in France. The Wrightsman’s decided that they would require the expertise of an antiquarian, or someone such, to navigate the labyrinthine ins and outs of collecting fine French furniture and decorative arts. Initially they brought in Stéphane Boudin of Maison Jansen who installed fine boiseries, French antiques and porcelains, and parquets floors from the Palais Royal in Paris. He also installed all the curtains and recovered much of the existing furniture. In 1955 the Wrigthsman’s purchased an apartment in New York City and moved a vast amount of the best things from the Palm Beach home there, creating a never-ending spending spree filling up the house again.

Above, upper left: A black and gold lacquer cartonnier holds the shells Jayne especially loved. Upper right: One of a pair of chenets in the drawing room. Lower left: A Regence console table with one of four volumes of La Fontaine Fables illustrated by Oudry (now at the Morgan Library). The Pineapple candelabrum was made for Louis XVI. Lower right: A Louis XV chair at a desk of the same period is topped by a table fountain with Meissen swans. The Ming porcelain is set in French mounts.

Above, upper left: A black and gold lacquer cartonnier holds the shells Jayne especially loved. Upper right: One of a pair of chenets in the drawing room. Lower left: A Régence console table with one of four volumes of La Fontaine Fables illustrated by Oudry (now at the Morgan Library). The Pineapple candelabrum was made for Louis XVI. Lower right: A Louis XV chair at a desk of the same period is topped by a table fountain with Meissen swans. The Ming porcelain is set in French mounts.

The Louis XV stools, stamped Cresson, and the book table at one of the drawing room are a prime example of the upholsterer's art of cutting.

The Louis XV stools, stamped Cresson, and the book table at one of the drawing room are a prime example of the upholsterer’s art of cutting.

Through the late fifties and the sixties the Wrightsman’s expanded their collections tirelessly from their travels afar. In time they would donate much of their enviable art collection, along with valuable antiques, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, creating The Wrightsman Rooms – an enormous Rubens of Rubens himself; a Vemeer portrait of a young girl; the collection of Meissen birds that lined the walls of the library; the red japanned writing table that had belonged to Louis XV, that sat upon the Savonnerie carpet that had been made for the Grande Galerie of Versailles, which covered the floor of their main drawing room, and so much more. Stéphane Boudin continued to work for the Wrightsman’s for fifteen years, creating a painstaking replication of 18th-century French style. For many years the furniture in the main drawing room was covered in coral velvet with fringes exactly as it would have been in the 18th-century.

The table is Louis XV in black and gold vernis martin with figures in the Chinese taste. On top are Battersea white and green enamel candlesticks and an 18th-century tole vase filled with roses from the garden.

The table is Louis XV in black and gold vernis martin with figures in the Chinese taste. On top are Battersea white and green enamel candlesticks and an 18th-century tôle vase filled with roses from the garden.

When Boudin became too ill to continue they brought in Henri Samuel, who would later become a close friend. Samuel brought a lighter look to the house, asserting a more approachable style, bringing in simpler things, changing carpets, and painting the entrance hall salmon pink, as well as restyling the reception room. That’s when “I started buying all that crazy ivory furniture”, commented Jayne Wrightsman.

The enfilade, which runs parallel to the library, is floored with parquet from Richelieu's rooms in the Palais Royal, installed for the Wrightsman's by Stéphane Boudin, who initially decorated the entire house.

Wrightsman Rooms-Palm Beach-HG May 84- Felciano

A Louis XV fauteuil covered in linen sits at an English desk in the library.

A Louis XV fauteuil covered in linen sits at an English desk in the library.

In the dining room is very rare, late 17th-century Chinese screen. On the back wall is one of two pairs of fine Louis XV appliques.

In the dining room is very rare, late 17th-century Chinese screen. On the back wall is one of two pairs of fine Louis XV appliques.

The twelve Louis XV chairs in the dining room were recovered by Vincent Fourcade in a Scalamandré fabric copied from an 18th-century English document based on an Indian pattern. The boiserie is also Louis XV. The painting is by Oudry. The plates were painted by the late French femme de lettres Louise de Vilmorin, a friend of Jayne's.

The twelve Louis XV chairs in the dining room were recovered by Vincent Fourcade in a Scalamandré fabric copied from an 18th-century English document based on an Indian pattern. The boiserie is also Louis XV. The painting is by Oudry. The plates were painted by the late French femme de lettres Louise de Vilmorin, a friend of Jayne’s.

In Jayne's bedroom was an amusing tromp-l'oeil painted donkey-back Louis XV-style desk.

In Jayne’s bedroom was an amusing tromp-l’oeil painted donkey-back Louis XV-style desk.

Another house like this will likely never appear again. It’s size perhaps, but not its elevation of style and substance that a seemingly dying breed has left behind for us to merely dream about.

The Wrightsman's had some three-hundred palm trees planted and added a canopy for shade.

The Wrightsman’s had some three-hundred palm trees planted and added a canopy for shade.

The Wrightsman created a pool house and loggia where there once had been a tennis pavilion.

The Wrightsman created a pool house and loggia where there once had been a tennis pavilion.

This post is based on an article written by Rosamond Bernier for the May, 1984, issue of House & Garden. Photography by Feliciano.

 

.

 

 

Permalink         Comments (6)        

Château Pouy-sur-Vannes

Posted July 15, 2014. Filed in Chateaux, Juan Pablo Molyneux

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

Maximalist interior decorator Juan Pablo Molyneux recently transformed a château in Pouy-sur-Vannes, about two hours outside Paris, for himself as an intimate respite from his harried schedule in Paris, where he lives in a 17th-century hôtel particulier. The 40,000 square foot château may not be most anyone’s idea of intimate, but Molyneux succeeded in orchestrating a harmonious and comfortable environment that blends the patina of age one expects of a structure that dates back to the 12th-century with grand strokes of elegance, and a touch of glamour. In an article written by Joshua Levine for WJS he writes “Molyneux sees Pouy as a kind of summing up of everything he stands for: formalism without stiffness, ornamental richness without fussiness and a sense of harmony and comfort that allows you to think, if only for a moment, that you could plop yourself down in the main sitting room with its marbleized-velvet walls and call this place home.”

For the restoration of the dilapidated fortress Molyneux gathered a coterie of métiers — stone masons, carpenters, gilders, masters of wrought iron and masters of scagliola, a 17th-century Tuscan technique that uses paint and plaster to mimic marble and other kinds of stone – to return the dreary château to its former glory.

ca05b5498776bf93725dd8a0174aa441

In the main vestibule, a 17th-century Venetian painting from the Tintoretto school hangs behind an ‘Hercules’ table purchased from Galerie Steinitz in Paris.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

Molyneux stands in the library, which has walls covered in deep-red leather embossed with sky blue and gold medallions. The Régence armchair is from 1735.

f0b3af9c3c01025f2594c2248dc3e1f5

In the decidedly more contemporary style of the living room a sectional sofa is upholstered in lively silk tiger velvet from Bevilacqua in Venice. In the foreground is a black Giacometti table lamp.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

The scheme for the dining room is a delicious marriage of gray and lilac. The scagliola treatment of the walls was intended to appear decorative, not as a literal impression of marble. The chairs  are Louis XV by Georges Jacob.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

A Roman Minotaur statue dating from the first or second century A.D.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

A narwhal tusk stands sentry at the entrance to the library, from the first-floor gallery.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

The walls and ceilings in the tower tea room were hand-painted by Frédéric Monpoint with fantastical scenes illustrating balloons.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

A closer view of the hand-painted panels that adorn the walls of the tea room. On the mantel stands Chevaux (1970), by Diego Giacometti.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

A ‘Gaine’ bed in silk velvet was designed by Molyneux for a bedroom.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

An 18th- century French tapestry from Sotheby’s covers one wall in the second-floor gallery.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

A 17th-century portrait of Madame de Sévigné hangs in a guest suite with boiseries painted calming shades of green and pale blue hydrangea.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

An 18th-century French daybed upholstered in a vivid ultramarine velvet anchors the tower guest bedroom.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

Molyneux converted a series of outbuildings into artisan studios to encourage and sustain the traditions of les métiers. Behind the studios is a structure housing the indoor pool.

The Château of Pouy-sur-Vannes

The indoor pool structure was created from what had originally been the château’s orangerie.

For the full story visit WSJ Magazine. Photography by Simon Watson.

 

 

Permalink         Comments (0)        

BAROQUE FANTASIA IN PEBBLE BEACH

Posted July 14, 2014. Filed in Juan Pablo Molyneux, Neo-Baroque, Spanish-Colonial Revival

item1.rendition.slideshowVertical.juan-pablo-molyneux-pebble-beach-03-dining-room

In the latest issue of Architectural Digest Chilean-born interior designer Juan Pablo Molyneux conjured an exuberant confection of blue-and-white for the dining room of an old friend and client who purchased a 1920’s Spanish-Colonial-style villa sited on a dramatic bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in tony Pebble Beach, California.

This isn’t the first time we’ve witnessed the power decorator’s love of blue-and-and white. Very recently Molyneux updated a vestibule at his 17th-century hôtel particulier in Paris, referencing a small pavilion at Versailles named Le Trianon de Porcelaine (no longer in existence) and the blue-and-white tiled rooms of Menshikov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. For his client’s home in Pebble Beach Molyneux more appropriately looked to northern Californian for inspiration: San Francisco Bay with its views of the harbor, the rolling hills of the region, and the nearby Spanish Carmel Mission. The process, based on the installation of tile at his own Paris home, involves scanning images and enlarging them digitally before transferring them to unfired clay tiles.

The dreamscape that envelops the dining room in inky, watery blues is energized by a panoply of pattern – floors inlaid with varying shades of golden hued wood in a stylized flower motif overlaid with a brilliant indigo area rug with large medallions, which are repeated in the curtain fabric; curvaceous Louis-XV-style blue-and-white painted chairs surrounding a gleaming French Empire table; a pair of elaborate 18th-century Chinese cabinets topped with brilliant blue-and-white Chinese ginger jars; and the organic whiplash design of the Art Nouveau-inspired ceramic mantel crowned by a striking Baroque 17th-century French mirror.

The vestibule in Juan Pablo Molyneux's Paris hôtel particulier.

The scenes for the vestibule in Juan Pablo Molyneux’s Paris hôtel particulier are based on 18th-century engravings of three long-extinct chateaux.

Le Trianon de Porcelaine-Versailles

Molyneux referenced engravings of Le Trianon de Porcelaine in Versailles for the design of a vestibule in his Paris home.

The blue-and-white Dutch tiles line the walls of a reception room at Menshikov Palace in St. Petersburg.

Molyneux also looked to the blue-and-white Dutch tiled walls of a reception room at Menshikov Palace in St. Petersburg for inspiration.

To read more about the luxurious rooms Juan Pablo Molyneux created in Pebble Beach visit Architectural Digest. The dining room photo was taken by Roger Davies.

item2.rendition.slideshowVertical.juan-pablo-molyneux-pebble-beach-05-hall

Permalink         Comments (2)        

The American Dream

Posted July 3, 2014. Filed in American Style: Retreats

Surfboards lined up along the garage of a Newport, Rhode Island, estate, welcome the arrival of summer and the time to take it easy. Photo by Oberto Gili.

Surfboards lined up along the garage of a Newport, Rhode Island, estate, welcome the arrival of summer and the time to take it easy. Photo by Oberto Gili.

The American home is the American Dream, a reflection of our heritage – from our pioneer roots to the classic charm of our colonial past. As we became affluent we adopted an appreciation for leisure and “the good life”, building and designing vacation retreats to escape to for rest and relaxation. For many these vacation homes epitomize the American Dream – our belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that hard work pays off. Looking ahead to the most American of holidays I honor this American spirit, realized in the welcoming retreats we create for ourselves, family and friends. Wishing you all a very happy and safe Fourth of July!

A portrait of the Kennedy family a their compound in Hyannis Port. Seated from left are: Patricia Kennedy, Robert Kennedy , Rose Kennedy, John F Kennedy, Joseph P Kennedy Sr. with Edward Kennedy on his lap; standing from left are: Joseph P Kennedy Jr., Kathleen Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, and Jean Kennedy.

A portrait of the Kennedy family at their compound in Hyannis Port, 1935. Seated from left are: Patricia Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, John F Kennedy, Joseph P Kennedy Sr. with Edward Kennedy on his lap; standing from left are: Joseph P Kennedy Jr., Kathleen Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, and Jean Kennedy.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline being interviewed by LIFE Magazine, 1953. Photo by Hy Peskin.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline being interviewed by LIFE Magazine, 1953. Photo by Hy Peskin.

John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Edward Kennedy play football on the lawn, 1953. Photo by Ron Galella.

John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Edward Kennedy play football on the lawn, 1953. Photo by Ron Galella.

A shingle-style home on Martha's Vineyard by From Ferguson & Shamamian.

A shingle-style home on Martha’s Vineyard by From Ferguson & Shamamian.

Easy-going American traditional style in a shingle-style house in Newport, Rhode Island, designed by architect Ronald F. DiMauro. Photo by Oberto Gili.

Easy-going American traditional style in a shingle-style house in Newport, Rhode Island, designed by architect Ronald F. DiMauro. Photo by Oberto Gili.

Scott Currie's weekend house in Southampton. Photo by Roger Davies.

Scott Currie’s weekend house in Southampton. Photo by Roger Davies.

An outdoor room in the Hamptons designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber. Photo by Wlliam Abranowicz.

An outdoor room in the Hamptons designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber. Photo by William Abranowicz.

Chessy Rayner's summer house photographed by Karen Radkai.

Chessy Rayner’s summer house photographed by Karen Radkai.

Keith McNally's farmhouse in Martha's Vineyard. Photo by Simon Upton.

Keith McNally’s farmhouse in Martha’s Vineyard. Photo by Simon Upton.

Bruce Weber and Nan Bush’s Longwood camp in the Adirondacks.

Bruce Weber and Nan Bush’s Longwood camp on Spitfire Lake in the Adirondacks.

Kate Moss enjoys a quiet moment with friends at Camp Longwood's mountainside pool cabin, a favorite escape of both guests and hosts.

Kate Moss enjoys a quiet moment with friends at Camp Longwood’s mountainside pool cabin, a favorite escape of both guests and hosts.

The main cabin's living area at Camp Longwood. Photo by Bruce Weber.

The main cabin’s living area at Camp Longwood. Photo by Bruce Weber.

Dream, one of the golden retriever residents of Camp Longwood, pilots a Penn Yan boat. Photo by Bruce Weber.

Dream, one of the golden retriever residents of Camp Longwood, pilots a Penn Yan boat. Photo by Bruce Weber.

RL Ranch in Colorado. Photography by Björn Wallander.

RL Ranch in Colorado. Photography by Björn Wallander.

RL Ranch in Colorado. Photography by Björn Wallander.

RL Ranch in Colorado. Photography by Björn Wallander.

Architect Paul Gray's Nantucket beach house, circa 1979. Photo by Charles S. White.

Architect Paul Gray’s Nantucket beach house, circa 1979. Photo by Charles S. White.

Melvin Dwork's vacation home, 1987. Architectural Digest.

Melvin Dwork’s vacation home, 1987. Architectural Digest.

Kaaren Parker Gray's carriage house in New England. Photo by Jacques Dirand.

Kaaren Parker Gray’s carriage house in New England. Photo by Jacques Dirand.

Stephen Sills and James Huniford for Nan Swid in the Hamptons.

Stephen Sills and James Huniford for Nan Swid in the Southampton.

The Ralph Lauren's Montauk retreat. Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

The Ralph Lauren’s Montauk retreat. Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

Miles Redd's easy, breezy retreat on Fire Island. From The Big Book of Chic.

Miles Redd’s easy, breezy retreat on Fire Island. From The Big Book of Chic.

Meg Ryan's home on Martha's Vineyard designed by Marsha Russell. Photo by William Waldron.

Meg Ryan’s home on Martha’s Vineyard designed by Marsha Russell. Photo by William Waldron.

the Dutchess County home of Calvin Klein Home executive Amy Mellen. Photo by William Waldron.

The Dutchess County home of Calvin Klein Home executive Amy Mellen. Photo by William Waldron.

Darryl Carter's Virginia farmhouse. Photo by Simon Upton.

Darryl Carter’s Virginia farmhouse. Photo by Simon Upton.

James Huniford's weekend retreat. Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

James Huniford’s weekend retreat. Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

The Sag Harbor home of Steven Gambrel.

The Sag Harbor home of Steven Gambrel.

Ralph Pucci's Hampton's home, decorated by Vicente Wolf. Photo by William Waldron.

Ralph Pucci’s Hampton’s home, decorated by Vicente Wolf. Photo by William Waldron.

Ralph Pucci's deck overlooking the coast of the Hamptons. Photo by William Waldron.

Ralph Pucci’s deck overlooking the coast of the Hamptons. Photo by William Waldron.

A closed-in porch designed by Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts for a Hamptons beach house. Photo by Simon Upton.

A closed-in porch designed by Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts for a Hamptons beach house. Photo by Simon Upton.

 

Permalink         Comments (0)        

Villa Tre Ville – Then and Now

Posted June 26, 2014. Filed in Mediterranean Style, Orientalism, Renzo Mongiardino, Uncategorized, Villas

Hotel Villa Tre Ville-Wall Tile-Positano

The opening introduction on Villa Tre Ville’s website – the Amalfitani home of Franco Zeffirelli until 2009 – reads:

At Villa Tre Ville, there has always been an atmosphere of art and culture. The property was bought around the 1920s by Mikhail Semenov, the Russian writer, who was the first to gather around him that cultural ferment that has always characterized Positano. With Franco Zeffirelli, the property was often visited by dancers, musicians, painters, intellectuals and artists: Liz Taylor and her husbands, Leonard Bernstein, Laurence Olivier, Maria Callas, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Carla Fracci, to name just a few. Leonard Bernstein wrote the music for the film ‘Brother Sun, Sister Moon’ here, and it was also here that Zeffirelli conceived of his greatest theater works, as well as some of his most important screenplays.

Villa Tre Ville comprises three villas on a promontory overlooking the Terranean sea and the town of Positano. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

Villa Tre Ville comprises three villas on a promontory overlooking the Terranean sea and the town of Positano. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

In  2009 my partner and I returned to Positano for the second time, renting a villa – Villa Maura – with friends, located directly behind Zeffirelli’s Tre Ville (you can read about Villa Maura here). I knew in advance from the rental agency’s description of Villa Maura that Mr. Zeffirelli’s villa was just below it. Eager to explore we set out in search of signs of Mr. Zeffirelli only to discover he had sold it and moved out. We were told “a woman” purchased Tre Ville and Le Galli – the small island off the coast that Rudolf Nureyev once owned – for $50 million. It was to become the only luxury boutique hotel on the Amalfi coast of its kind. During our week-long stay  we watched over the renovation the aged villa from above.

A closer view of Tre Ville while under renovation in 2009. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

A closer view of Tre Ville while under renovation in 2009. Villa Maura sits directly above it, next to the salmon painted villa. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

The front gate intercom was still marked with labels identifying various zones at the time of Zeffirelli. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

Tre Ville’s  front gate intercom was still marked with labels identifying various zones at the time of Zeffirelli. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

Franco Zeffirelli discovered Tre Ville in the 1960’s and purchased it as a retreat from his hectic schedule, and eventually retired there. In his later years he found the vertiginous landscape of Positano, with its many steps and elevations, difficult to navigate and decided to sell, one can imagine, reluctantly. If only these wall could talk.

Franco Zeffirelli photographed in one of Villa Tre Ville's salons sometime in the 1980's.

Franco Zeffirelli photographed in one of Villa Tre Ville’s salons sometime in the 1980’s. Photograph by Slim Aarons.

A sitting area off the entrance hall appears much the same as it did in the above photograph.

The same sitting area off the entrance hall appears much the same today as it did then.

Salon-Franco Zeffirelly-Villa Tre Ville-Renzo Mongiardino-Roomscapes-Horst

Zeffirelli hired his friend Renzo Mongiardino, who collaborated on many of his theater and opera projects, to design the interiors of Tre Ville. The arched and tiled salon evokes Moroccan exoticism in an oasis of white, featuring banquettes covered with mirrored Indian fabric and 19th-century Libyan furniture.

Franco Zeffirelli-Villa Tre Ville-Positano

Franco Zeffirelli in the white salon, photographed in the 1980’s by Slim Aaron.

Another view of the white salon originally photographed by Horst for Vogue.

Another view of the white salon originally photographed by Horst for Vogue.

The decoration of the white salon remains virtually unchanged since photographed by Horst in the 1970's.

The decoration of the white salon remains virtually unchanged today since photographed by Horst in the 1970’s, utilizing the same mirrored Indian fabric on pillows, Libyanese mirror, cocktail table and antique glass chandeliers.

Franco Zeffirelli-Bedroom-Villa Tre Ville-Positano-Horst

Zeffirelli’s famous bedroom was tented by Mongiardino with a checkerboard pattern from the Far East and furnished with inlaid mother-of-pearl antiques from Libya.

A guest suites in one of the property's three villas.

A guest suite in one of the hotel’s three villas.

Franco Zeffirelli-Veranda-Villa Tre Ville-Mongiardino-Horst

The veranda at the time of Zeffirelli was shaded with a straw roof hung with fragrant vines and furnished with old-fashioned white painted wicker furniture with brightly printed Indian cotton cushions.

Veranda-Villa Tre Villa Hotel-Positano

The veranda today also features white painted wicker furniture with boldly striped cotton cushions.

A terrace shaded by a vine-covered pergola is decorated with local Italian tiles.

A terrace shaded by a vine-covered pergola is decorated with local Italian tiles.

Villa Tre Ville Hotel-Positano-ItalyThough we were saddened to learn of Zeffirelli’s departure from his beloved Villa Tre Ville its new stewards have preserved a piece of Hollywood history with great panache and reverence for its illustrious past. Perhaps one day you and I will experience la dolce vita at Villa Tre Ville for ourselves!

Photos by Horst P. Horst from Horst Interiors by Barbara Plumb, published in 1993; Roomscapes: The Decorative Architecture of Renzo Mongiardino published by Rizzoli in 1993; and Renzo Mongiardino: Renaissance Master of Style by Laure Verchère, published by Assouline in 2013. Additional photos of Villa Tre Ville are from the hotel’s website, here.

Permalink         Comments (0)        

A TALE OF TWO VILLAS

Posted June 18, 2014. Filed in Emilio Terry, Mediterranean Style, Romantic Classical Style, Tuscan Style, Villas
Positano-Amalfi Coast-Cristopher Worthland

A view of Positano from Villa Maura. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

The Amalfi Coast may very well be my favorite destination. The winding, vertiginous coastline – defined by calcareous-dolomitic rock formations – plunges into the Tyrranean Sea, creating a dramatic landscape  spotted with mountain-hugging towns and sun-kissed dwellings. The air, scented with lemon (an Amalfitani staple), Mediterranean scrub, local herbs, and the sea mix to produce an aphrodisiacal spell over your senses. La Costieri Amalfitana is a sensory delight in every sense of the word – an operatic virtuoso producing stunning natural beauty in an oasis of tranquility with a dose of glamour , luxury and a jet-set social scene.

Whenever my partner and I vacation in particularly scenic locales, such as the Amalfi Coast, we prefer to rent a private residence. Villa Maura is sited directly above Franco Zeffirelli’s previous long-time Positano home, Villa Tre Ville (now a molto chic boutique hotel), just off the Amalfi highway. Like all dwellings in Positano it is terraced down the mountainside. One enters through a gate at street level and climbs down one-hundred-and-fifty steps to the entrance door. Alternatively, there is a side road entrance with no parking to receive guests and deliveries – where grand entrances are made through a large, solid wood door that opens onto, not a foyer, but, an expansive furnished loggia and terrace, including one of only four private pools on the Amalfi Coast. With Poseidon’s Tyrranean sea set as the stage before you, and views of the town of Positano to the west, Villa Maura possesses all the elements of la dolce vita in pure Amalfitani style.

Villa Maura is sited directly about Franco Zefferelli's previous compound of three villas, Villa Treville. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

Villa Maura is directly above Franco Zeffirelli’s previous compound of three villas, Villa Tre Ville, sited on the promontory. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

My partner, Michael, welcomes guests to Villa Maura.

My partner, Michael, welcomes guests to Villa Maura. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

Villa Maura expresses the freshness and nonchalance of Amalftani style. Amalfi Coast interiors, while sometimes whimsical and eccentric, are rarely overwrought with the latest design trends. They are inspired by the colors found outside their windows – the yellow of their beloved lemon trees, the blue-greens of their sea, and the pinks and reds of their geraniums. For their love of al fresco style many of their interiors contain painted furniture to evoke a garden setting. Villa Maura’s interiors feel more sober than many of the colorful interiors along the Amalfi Coast, furnished with Italian country antiques and seating slip-covered in lemon yellow and sea green. There is a spare elegance inherent in what isn’t there, allowing the mind to wander and dream. It feels of the past, of another time, and therein lies its magical allure.

The narrow entrance is reached by one-hundred-and-fifty steps from the street above. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

The narrow entrance is reached by one-hundred-and-fifty steps from the street above. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

I am always fascinated by homes with history and the people who have lived in them – such as Franco Zeffirelli’s famous villa just below Villa Maura (which I cannot resist writing a forthcoming post about, if only for my own growing archives), Gore Vidal’s “Swallows Nest” set high up on the mountain in Ravello, and Rudolf Nureyev’s Isla Li Galli compound floating in the Tyrranean sea, in view from the terrace at Villa Maura. Little did I expect, however, that Villa Maura and its owners, Irish-born Maura Boylan Teissier, after whom the villa was named in 1980, and her late husband, Lucien Teissier, would contribute their own illustrious and quite glamorous history.

In one of the villa’s four bedrooms are walls of bookcases containing predominantly vintage international fashion magazines. With some sleuthing I came to the conclusion that Ms. Teissier had at one time in the latter 1950’s and 1960’s been a fashion model. Two striking portraits capturing her youthful beauty hang in the villa.

Two portraits of Maura Boylan-Teissier hang in two separate guest rooms at Villa Maura.

Two portraits of Maura Boylan-Teissier painted when she was in her twenties hang in two separate guest rooms at Villa Maura.

Ever more interesting, at least for me, was the discovery of a pile of Architectural Digest magazines, all of the same month and year: June 1981. Certainly, I thought, there must be something uniquely special and dear to Ms. Teissier in these pages to have saved a stack of the same issue. As I poured over the issue’s pages in search of signs of meaning I came upon an article titled Villa San Michele – A Charming Small Hotel in Tuscany. I immediately recognized this Renaissance-period monastery-cum-hotel in the hills of Fiesole overlooking Florence, with its dramatic facade attributed to Michelangelo, from my own near vintage issue waiting for me at home.  As I studied the pages I nearly fell out of my chair when I recognized that many of the furnishings and art were now living at Villa Maura.

Villa San Michele-Fiesole-Tuscany

Villa San Michele in Fiesole, Tuscany, was constructed in the 15th-century. The facade is attributed to Michelangelo. Photo from the hotel’s website.

The vaulted stairwell leads from the entry down one level to the living and dining rooms, the kitchen and service area, a library-bedroom and the terrace.

The vaulted stairwell leads from the entry down one level to the living and dining rooms, the kitchen and service areas, two bedrooms and the terrace. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

I immediately recognized many of the furnishing installed at Villa Maura from this photo: the bronze sculptures hanging on the wall of the library of Villa San Michele are now lining the entrance corridor of Villa Maura, shown above.

I immediately recognized many of the furnishing installed at Villa Maura from this photo of the library at Villa San Michele:  the bronze sculptures hanging on the wall at left are now lining the entrance corridor of Villa Maura, shown above.

The salon

The stairway from the entrance spills into the salon, which is furnished with the same sober Italian antiques that furnished Villa San Michele’s library. The sofa has a new sea green slipcover while the chairs and stool wear the same yellow cotton covers.

A view of the opposite side of the salon. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

A view of the opposite side of the salon features a beautiful antique fireplace mantel. The two Tuscan armchairs with yellow slip-covers and table between them, as well as the desk and Renaissance-period chair, are from the library of Villa San Michele. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

The same view of the salon toward toward an opening to the terrace. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

An alternate view of the grouping near the fireplace reveals a bronze sculpture that came from the library at Villa San Michele, visible on a table at the far end of the room, on the right, against a fresco by the Renaissance artist Nicodemo Ferrucci. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

The dining room.

The dining room features Italian country antiques awash in light and lemon yellow. One of the several chairs shown here is featured in a seating arrangement at the far end of the library of Villa San Michele, then wearing a bold striped fabric of red, black and white.

A view of the dining loggia looking towards the front side door (far right) and detached bedroom (gray-blue door). The chairs surrounding the table were taken from the dining loggia at Villa San Michele, below.

The chairs surrounding the table of the loggia at Villa Maura were taken from the dining loggia at Villa San Michele, below. The stone font, used as a planter set within the arch, also hails from Villa San Michele.

Dining Loggia-Villa San Michele-Fiesole-Tuscany-Lucien Teissier-AD June 1981-Robert Emmett Bright

A view of the dining loggia at Villa San Michele, c. late 1970’s. The Etruscan-style dining chairs now furnish the dining loggia of Villa Maura.

Here, in a courtyard bound by arcades, is where the font was placed prior to the Teissier's move to the Amalfi Coast. Custom Etruscan-style garden furniture was commissioned for the hotel.

Here, in a courtyard bound by arcades, is where the font was placed prior to the Teissier’s move to the Amalfi Coast. Custom Etruscan-style garden furniture was commissioned for the hotel.

A pair of the Etruscan-style chairs with ottomans now grace the upper level terrace of two of the bedrooms.

The Etruscan-style chairs with ottomans now grace opposite ends of the upper level terrace at Villa Maura.

The pool at Villa Maura is one of only four private pools in Positano.

The pool at Villa Maura is one of only four private pools in Positano.

Pool-Villa Maura-Positano-Amalfi Coast

Walking with the gods …

Pool Terrace-Villa Maura-Positano-Amalfi Coast

A view to behold and savor.

One of two upstairs master suites, each with access to the upper terrace.

One of two upstairs master suites, each with access to the upper terrace, is furnished with pieces from Villa San Michele.

The second master suite with furniture from Villa San Michele.

The second master suite with furniture from Villa San Michele. Photo by Cristopher Worthland.

A terrace runs the length of the upstairs bedrooms with stunning views of Positano and Capri beyond.

A terrace runs the length of the upstairs master suites with stunning views of Positano and Capri beyond. An Etruscan-style chaise longue from Villa San Michele is at the far end.

Bedroom-Villa Maura-Positano-Amalfi Coast

The downstairs bedroom where I found stacks of vintage fashion magazines and the Architectural Digest feature on Villa San Michele.

A guest room at Villa San Michele featured a pair four-poster beds based on a bed depicted in Carpaccio's The Dream of Saint Ursula. While many of the furnishings in this room made their way to Villa Maura the beds did not.

A guest room at Villa San Michele featured a pair canopied beds based on one depicted in Carpaccio’s The Dream of Saint Ursula. While many of the furnishings in this room made their way to Villa Maura the beds did not.

Villa San Michele as photographed by Robert Emmett Bright for AD in the 1980's.

Villa San Michele as photographed by Robert Emmett Bright for AD in the 1980’s.

Villa San Michele has a fascinating history of its own. It is situated on a rocky ledge of a wooded hillside amid gardens and lemon groves, with stunning views spanning over Florence and the Arno River. It dates back to the 15th-century when it was conceived as a monastery for an order of Franciscan monks. In 1600 it was renovated and enlarged by the Davanzati family, giving it the appearance it presents today. Over the years it was used by member’s of Napoleon’s troops as a maison de plaisance until 1808, followed by an order of Benedictine nuns until 1817. At that time it was sold to a citizen who divided the structure into apartments. In 1900 New Yorker Henry Cannon purchased it but, unfortunately, bastardized much of what was great about this villa with the turn-of-the-century’s taste for Victoriana. Next followed occupation by both German and Allied forces during WWII. Following the war a group of pacifists took refuge, breaking up furniture for use as firewood.

Then, in 1950, it was discovered by Parisian Lucien Teissier, who dreamed of converting it into a private residence for himself. His desire was to return Villa San Michele to its former glory, but the immense expense eventually convinced him to instead turn it into a hotel with private apartments for himself and his eventual second wife, Maura Boylan. M. Teissier called on no other than the great French architect and designer Emilio Terry to collaborate with him on the villa’s restoration and decoration. Sourcing historical documents the duo sought out collections of 17th-century antiques from local dealers and designed or adapted pieces they could not find – such as the bright yellow canopied beds in one guest room, and the Etruscan-style wrought-iron garden furniture used in the loggia that eventually moved to Villa Maura.

The Teissier’s welcomed guests to Villa San Michele until retiring to Villa Maura in the 1980’s. The tale of two villas is a romantic journey of a lifetime by two remarkable people who shared a love for Italian culture, art and architecture, and for creating homes that eventually would be shared and available for people like myself to experience and enjoy.

Cristopher Worthland-Villa Maura-Positano

Ringrazio e cordiali saluti, signora Boylan-Teissier.

Cristopher Worthland

Photos of Villa Maura are from various vacation rental sites, unless noted as photographed by CW. Photos of Villa San Michele taken by Robert Emmett Bright for Architectural Digest, June 1981.

 

Permalink         Comments (6)        

Favorite Vintage Ad Friday: McGuire Furniture

Posted June 13, 2014. Filed in Favorite Vintage Ads, McGuire

McGuire Print Ad-1977-McGuire San Francisco Home

Today’s “Favorite Vintage Ad Friday” features an advertisement by McGuire furniture printed in 1977. For many years McGuire advertised in House & Garden and Architectural Digest magazines on a monthly basis, setting the standard for high-quality, elegantly curated settings, and often photographed in the McGuire’s own residences and the homes of interior designers and their clients. This vignette was photographed in the living room of John and Elinor McGuire’s San Francisco home, featuring a grouping of McGuire rattan furniture mixed with the couple’s antiques, art and collections. It is this latter aspect, coupled with the use of private residences for backdrops, that imbued their advertisements with individuality, style and atmosphere. Their ads were and remain timeless expressions of great design.

Permalink         Comments (0)        

Throwback Thursday: François Catroux c. 1977

Posted June 12, 2014. Filed in Classic Contemporary, François Catroux

François Catroux-Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

Today’s post is the second installment of Throwback Thursday featuring one of interior designer François Catroux’s early commissions for a bachelor, who had just purchased a spacious apartment in a grand and old elegant building in one of Paris’s most fashionable sections. Catroux’s new client’s apartment was well-suited to his maxim that the best of rooms are spacious and contained within a classical envelope with good proportions. From there, his dictum further embraced a preference for neutral color schemes, which he believes expands space – punctuated by black accents and gleaming metal. Highly evocative of soft-modern 20th-century design, many of Catroux’s interiors from the 1970’s integrated metal, plastic, chrome, mirror and glass assembled to create a soft, luxurious elegance rather than a severe statement of hard-edged modernism.

For his client’s expansive living area Catroux divided it into three sections for living and entertaining, offering both grand and intimate scales. Slatted ebony floor-to-ceiling screens inlaid with nickel created two intimate seating areas at either end of the living area without interfering with the overall flow of space. Reminiscent of Japanese design, such elements would resurface in many of Catroux’s future projects. An all-over beige color scheme was accentuated by black and chrome, creating a highly dramatic and sophisticated aerie of its era. The central area of the living room also served as its entrance, featuring a lone Mies van der Rohe chaise covered in black leather, setting the tone for the entire apartment. Elsewhere throughout the apartment beige suede and black leather was used for seating areas complimented by small geometric rep patterns.The vertical lines of the screens were carried over to the windows’ wide bands of nickel framing them. The master bedroom features a tweed upholstered bed, suede ottomans, a fur throw and an additional screen separating the bedroom from its bathroom. The pair of black columns topped with urns is indicative of Catroux’s taste for classicism and the evolution of his style over the years, a blend of contemporary and classic elements which produced a classic contemporary style.

François Catroux -Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

François Catroux-Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

François Catroux-Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

François Catroux-Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

François Catroux-Paris Apt-1970's-Interior Views-R. Guillemot

François Catroux-1970's

Before François Catroux became an interior designer, quite by luck (a monied guest, fashion designer Mila Schon, loved his Paris apartment so much she hired him to decorate her recently purchased palazzo in Milan) he had the reputation of self-styled playboy, traveling the world and befriending artists and design luminaries such as Philip Johnson. This photo of Catroux was taken sometime in the 1970’s.

From Interior Views: Design At Its Best by Erica Brown, published 1980. Photography by R. Guillemot.

Permalink         Comments (0)        

Aziyadé

Posted June 11, 2014. Filed in Frédéric Méchiche, Orientalism, Provence

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

You’ve been blindfolded, escorted by private car to a waiting private plane, where you’ll board with your host for an unknown destination – a surprise gift from your highly imaginative and devilish confidant. In flight you’re allowed to remove the blindfold, take in the appointments of the luxurious cabin, sip champagne and press your host for details – or mere hints – as to where your journey will end, to no avail. Upon approach the blindfold is refitted over your eyes; following deplaning you are escorted to another waiting private car, which whisks you away to your final destination. When you have arrived the blindfold is removed once again, and before your eyes appears a stark white villa of Moorish design. “Where are we?”, you ask. “Tangier?”

Your host is Frédéric Méchiche, the French interior designer with a penchant for coolly classical and collected interiors, and he has delivered you to his Orientalist fantasy – not in Morocco, but in Provence, France. Welcome to Aziyadé!

Villa Aziyadé was conceived by a Swiss architect in 1894 as a small pleasure pavilion in the form of a marabout- a koubba – known for their distinctive domed roof designs in the manner of a shrine. Intended as a country retreat, not a sprawling villa, the architect designed a labyrinthine layout of distinctive rooms and soaring ceiling heights, a palace in miniature reminiscent of those from Pierre Loti’s The Thousand and One Nights. The very nature of its Orientalist design and meandering spaces – pavilions linked by corridors and terraces – elicits dreams of wandering. The linking of indoor and outdoor spaces is further unified by floors paved with diamond-pattern black-and-white tiles,  a graphic statement repeated in much of Méchiche’s œuvre.

Méchiche had been retreating to his minimalist abode in St. Tropez  for several years prior to acquiring Aziyadé, which I covered in Spare Simplicity in St. Tropez . Though he loved the easy, relaxed pace of his Mediterranean retreat he longed for a deeper connection with nature. When Aziyade came on the market it was love at first sight. His first task was to remove years of unsightly additions and return the villa to its former glory. It reminded him of the house his father built for his family in Algiers when he was a child, where Orientalist interpretations tend to the side of simplification and purity. With that vision Méchiche decided to combine Oriental pieces with Napoleon III furniture in the decoration of his villa, scouring the antiques shops and markets of Algiers, Samarkand, Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Istanbul, as well as London, Paris and the Côte d’Azur. Set against an envelope of crisp white, Méchiche’s interiors are bright, uplifting and serenely exotic.

Much of the allure of Aziyadé is owed to its lush gardens and grounds as to its interiors. Méchiche envisioned a North African garden, lushly planted and dotted with fountains, garden ornaments, small pavilions and shady retreats. Mediterranean species, such as medlar, pomegranate, cypress and jasmine mix with palm trees and roses – the whole an unexpected yet delightful oasis in the middle of Provence. The idyllic and exotic nature of Aziyadé makes it the perfect retreat for dreaming, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyade-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

IMG_0005 -Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyade-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyade-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI Sept2010-ean-François Jaussaud

Villa Aziyadep-Provence-Frédéric Méchiche-WoI-Sept 2010-Jean-François Jaussaud

This post was based on an article written by Robert Colonna D’Istria for The World of Interiors, September 2010. Photos by Jean-François Jaussaud.

Permalink         Comments (1)        

SPARE SIMPLICITY IN ST. TROPEZ

Posted June 10, 2014. Filed in Frédéric Méchiche, Minimalism, Moderne, Riviera Style

Frédéric Méchiche-Living Room-St Tropez-WoI June 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

Several years ago Frédéric Méchiche decided upon a 17th-century house in the Ponche district of St. Tropez as a retreat before its being published by The World of Interiors in 2005. His vision was not to reproduce, what he refers to as, the “Provençaleries” rife throughout the region – those quaint and cozy country French confections. Instead, his vision was to create an art space for living with an open plan bathed in light, while respecting and honoring the essential classic design elements shared by structures throughout the village. In doing so he knocked down walls and eliminated false alcoves, useless partitions, cupboards and false ceilings. The lounge and dining areas are now open to one another, offering a seamless flow for living and entertaining. To show off his eclectic collection of modern art he white-washed the walls, doors and Regency fireplace and covered the terra cotta floors with grey resin, playing up their geometry in a fresh, modern way. Méchiche designed the black linen cubic modular furniture in the lounge and living areas, evocative of works by Donald Judd, for graphic contrast and multipurpose use as seating or tables. Then he hung predominantly black-and-white works of art to further punctuate this graphic vibration. His modus operandi remained one of simplicity and elegance, never showy, in keeping with the unpretentious decorative traditions of the 18th-century. For the kitchen and bathrooms he introduced a shock of fluorescent yellow for a lighthearted contrast – juxtaposed by a large Swarovski crystal ball chandelier in the kitchen and a Plexiglass shower screen in the same color for a note of fun in a bathroom. The overall effect is one of simplicity, spareness, light and playfulness; a place free of extraneous design, a sunny and relaxed Mediterranean retreat where one can rest and rejuvenate.

Frédéric Méchiche-Living Room-St Tropez-WoI-June 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

Frédéric Méchiche-St Tropez Villa-WoI-June 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

 

rédéric Méchiche-Kitchen-St Tropez-WoI June 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

Frédéric Méchiche-Kitchen-Bath-St Tropez-WoI-June 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

Frédéric Méchiche-Corridor-St Tropez-WoI-Une 05-Jean-Francois Jaussaud

 

Frédéric Méchiche-Bedroom-St Tropez-WoI-June 05-Jean-Francois-

Photos taken by Jean François Jaussaud for The World of Interiors, June 2005.

Permalink         Comments (0)        

Favorite Vintage Ads Friday: Rose Cumming

Posted June 6, 2014. Filed in Favorite Vintage Ads

Rose Cumming Advertisement 1983

I’ve been trying to come up with something that would make it easier for me to post more frequently, especially on Friday when I’m usually out the door and hopefully off to a relaxing respite somewhere. The answer came when I was thumbing through old House and Garden magazines from the 80’s and rediscovered ads that still have the same impression of great style all these years later. One of the older examples is this ad for Rose Cumming found in a 1983 issue. All the style of the grand dame of traditional eclectic glamour is present in this photo. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could beam ourselves back in time to her eponymous shop? I hope this series, as long as it lasts, brings back memories of favorite rooms and images for you as well. Bon weekend!

Permalink         Comments (0)