Blog | Cristopher Worthland Interiors

Enduring Saladino Style: Vintage Kips Bay

Posted May 6, 2014. Filed in Classic Chic, John Saladino, Minimal Traditional, Romantic Classical Style

In practice, Decorator Showhouses are intended to introduce new ideas, trends, and technology by interior designers and decorators to potential clients and end-users of home furnishings products. Showhouses also offer the designer an opportunity to step outside the box and create a room, or rooms, for an imaginary client where the sky’s the limit. This year’s Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse is an example of such bravado and ingenuity. But how many of these showhouse rooms stand the test of time? There are several, I’m certain, but there is is one in particular that has never failed to delight my eye, all these years later, and that is a room designed by John Saladino sometime in the later 1980’s. Created at a time when his career was on a continual and rising trajectory, his imitable style is self-evident from the palette he selected to tables, chairs and upholstery of his own design. But there is more to this room than Saladino’s custom furniture. There is something magical about this room that draws me in and causes me to linger there. Is it the unconventional furniture layout with a simply covered conversational placed in the center, and an intimate arrangement a la Lady Recamier in one corner? Or is it the diaphanous unlined gray pearl curtains casually tied back, in the style of the great Italian seaside villas? Certainly, the medium brown paneled walls were in jeopardy of appearing dull if not for the shock of periwinkle on the sofa. I think what strikes me most is a sense of permanence on one hand, and a sense of nonchalance on the other: English and French antiques mix with upholstered pieces inspired by the ancient Romans, causally rendered; classical proportions and symmetrical furniture and accessory arrangements are countered by the casualness of simple cottons and the absence of a formal area rug. No doubt various creative flourishes – the blossoming branches placed casually on the floor; a sketch leaning above the mantel; an empty flower pot left in a corner on the floor; and a stack of books and a newspaper at the ready on an English stool – provide a confluent and energizing mix. A mix of styles, periods, mood and temperament could spell disaster in the wrong hands, but here Saladino’s insouciant mix is very pleasing and timeless. Unlike many attention-grabbing interiors today, here there is no one single piece that vies for intention. Instead, a marriage of all the elements combine to make this room stand out, and stand the test of time.

Featured in Showcase of Interior Design: Eastern Edition, 1991.

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One Singular Sensation

Posted April 21, 2014. Filed in 19th-Century-Style Eclecticism, The Collectors

With great consideration I’ve made the decision to alter the format of future posts. Due to the exorbitant number of hours I dedicate to producing one article – the research, scanning of images, and writing involved – I have decided instead to dedicate each post to one sublime and inspiring room, as the title of my blog suggests: The Art of the Room. This will not only allow me to post with more regularity but, more importantly, allow me to balance design projects, the running of my antiques shop, art making, and life commitments more readily and enjoyably. I view my role as a curator of the best in interior design and decoration, and I will continue to share the many photos that accompany a project and its back story. Rather than writing detailed descriptions and personal revelations for each image I will instead wax poetic over one singular and sensational room, following it with associated imagery and brief descriptions, if necessary and interesting. An admitted interior design-aholic, I personally would not appreciate being taunted by one mere image of an enviable dwelling, so rest assured that I will continue to provide as many images associated with each interiors project as possible. Now … let’s get on with the show!

The room featured in today’s post is the sitting room of antiques dealer Maroun Salloum, as featured in the May issue of The World of Interiors in 1999. Located in the area of Paris known as the Carré des Antiquaires, between quai Voltaire and the boulevard Saint-Germain, his address comprises his home, a shop, storerooms and a showroom — assuming he still resides at this address. According to Google his gallery, Maroun H. Salloum, remains at 17 bis quai Voltaire. Other than an exceptional article written by The Polyglot, there is little to be discovered about this inveterate collector.

I find the arrangement in M. Salloum’s sitting room to be particularly arresting: a confection of neo-Gothic paneling painted white is set against walls drenched in viridian, serving as a refreshing foil to a rich collection of antiques, textiles and objets d’art. Though literally absent, an Orientalist mood prevails that hints at the discovery of magical treasures, as with Aladdin’s cave. And no wonder, given that the Lebanese M. Salloum spent his childhood in Beirut, where an embarrassment of riches from the Ottoman Empire, China and 19th-century Europe converged.

M. Salloum’s panoply of eclecticism is informed by his particular interest in Seccesionist stlyles, from Prague to Glasgow, Budapest to Brussels, and New York to Vienna via Berlin, along with an affinity for French design – an attractive and pleasing cohabitation of the Modern and Romantic, masculine and whimsical. In the top photo the facing wood framed chairs with tassled bolster head-rests was designed by the Budapest Secessionist Lajos Kozma. The red portrait behind the sofa is by Theodore Rouault; the canvas below was painted in 1928 by Miçao Kono. In the second photo the black lacquer and gilt wood chair is by a pupil of Armand Albert Rateau. A Greek torso from the 3rd century injects a classical note, while the 17th-century stool adds a Chinese one. The entire room is wrapped in 19th-century Spanish neo-Gothic paneling, originally oak, that once covered the walls of the apartment of the prince-bishop of Barcelona. The sumptuous sofa is covered in Italian velours de soie. Scattered throughout are unusual oddities, such as the gold painted rattan bowl on the writing desk – a jardinière with Chinese-style handles made at the turn of the 20th-century.

Though chockablock with collections and unusual pairings, M. Salloum’s deft hand at arranging attractive and compelling compositions owes itself to a harmonious blending of color, periods, styles, and objects, and an eye for classical proportions and balance, as witnessed by the symmetrical arrangement of furniture, lighting, art and objects.

The marble head in the window is Mademoiselle Zina by Françoise Pimienta, 1917. A beaten copper cup by Henryk, a gold-painted bowl, a European 17th-century dog, and a Turkish box topped by a Chinese cup completes the collage of images.

In this collage of images are glassware from Turkey, a detail of a giraffe and zebra chair, the entrance hall, a pear used in science studies on a shagreen box, and an armchair by Kozma.

A pair of armchairs designed by Marcel Coard (c. 1925) frame a metal rams head washbasin designed by Zsolnay in Hungary in 1904.

A pair of fauteuils designed by Joseph Hoffmann (1905) flank a Cambodian Buddha from the end of the 17th-century.

Reading List: The World of Interiors, May 1999, with photography by Guillaume de Laubier. The last two photos were taken by Guillaume de Laubier for Esprit Collection by Jean Demachy and Françoise Baudot published, by ElleDeco, 2004.

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The House of Armani Redux

Posted April 9, 2014. Filed in Giorgio Armani, Minimalism, Moderne

In two of my earliest posts, Le Style Frank: The House of Armani and Le Style Frank: The House of Armani Revisited, I shared every known photo I possess of one of the most memorable and influential interiors with regard to my own decorative and architectural lexicon as it has developed over the years. The sheer minimalist and quiet luxury of Armani’s parchment sheathed rooms filled with Jean-Michel Franks’ iconic modernist (yet warm) furniture enveloped in shades of more parchment and cream still makes me blissful. This is timeless design at its best.

But, alas, I had not seen it all! The Spanish shelter magazine Nuevo Estilo published more recent images of Armani’s palazzo apartment in 2013. This recent glimpse into Casa Armani reflects his affinity for clean lines, neutral yet sophisticated color palettes, and Asian decorative elements.

In an earlier view of the salon Armani hired Peter Marino to collaborate on the apartments re-design in le style Jean-Michel Frank, with walls paneled in oak and furniture by the iconic French modernist. The only noticeable piece that remains is the Japanese links patterned rug.

When Armani’s apartment was photographed in 2012 for a feature in The World of Interiors titled Designers by Themselves a new furniture arrangement utilizing the same pieces is most notable.

The living room appears virtually unchanged in 2013, save for the addition of more highly decorative objets d’arts and a shot of plum in the silk covered pillows.

The photo above produces somewhat of a paradox for me, for I don’t believe it is a room ever before photographed. While it resembles the parchment sheathed study, the layout of the room with its blocked columns and a granite tiled floor tell otherwise. I assume there is another level, perhaps at penthouse level, that incorporates another dining room, which can be viewed beyond the facing sofa. Let’s take a look at both the library and dining rooms as they appeared in the 1980’s-90’s:

In this photo of the study taken for House & Garden in the 1980’s it is clearly evident we are not looking at the same room as above. Let’s now take a look at the dining room …

Clearly this dining room with its lacquered door entrance and ebonized wood floors contained within four walls is not the same room featured off the lounge, which can only mean there are at least two dining rooms in Armani’s palazzo apartment. But let’s, first, take a look at later photograph of Armani’s dining room …

Eureka! This is the dining alcove off the lounge area, featuring the same artwork (that reads as a mirror in the previous photo due to reflection), and the same furniture featuring iron clad tube chairs and a table of Japanese design. The Asian style lamps with silk plum shades were changed out with simpler Japanese lanterns. Until now, I had always assumed that this dining room was a redecorated version of the dining room in the photo above it. This, however, is not the case, as the photo below recently published in Nuevo Estilo illustrates:

Armani changed out all the furniture and added a graphic checkerboard pattern rug to the parchment-sheathed formal dining room that was originally featured in House & Garden in the 1980’s. I think it is fair to assume that there is another level, possibly more modern in terms of age, that encompasses additional living space to include a lounge and dining area, given the expanse of modern windows and floors entirely covered with black granite tiles.

Another view of the lounge, which shares the same drop-down soffit, features clubby Jean-Michel Frank lounge chairs and a mix of Japanese decorative objects.

Another view of the lounge, photographed at a different time? The expanse of windows, granite tiles, and parchment sheathed walls would indicate so. The lamp and sofa style also indicate as much, while the black cougar sculptures appear to have been added, or removed, as the case may be.

This photo of the third floor lounge was brought to my attention by a reader of this post – another fan of Armani’s style, and interiors evocative of Jean-Michel Frank. This wide angle view puts the layout of the lounge into perspective, and cements any unanswered questions regarding the configuration of the rooms featured above. Thank you, Sylvie, for your contribution!

In a photo taken for House & Garden in the mid-1980’s Armani’s bedroom is paneled in oak, in le style Jean-Michel Frank.

In what appears to be the same room, Armani has removed the paneling and painted it, simply, white. Though there is only one in view, the red Chinese lantern lends the room a decidedly Asian feel.

If any doubts remain as to the layout of Armani’s palazzo apartment, here is an exterior view revealing three levels, where the uppermost top floor’s facade consists of a continuous expanse of glazing, indicating the location of the lounge and dining alcove, and very likely Armani’s home office.

Reading List: The House of Armani written by Charles Gandee for House and Garden magazine, 1989, with photography by Oberto Gili; Designers by Themselves featured in The World of Interiors, December 2012, with photography by Gionata Xerra.

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The Philosopher Gardener – Part II

Posted April 8, 2014. Filed in Elemental Design, Fernando Caruncho, Organic Modern

I was immediately captivated but not entirely tuned in when I briskly scanned the April issue of Architectural Digest. I hesitated briefly on an article titled Natural Order and made a mental note to return when a moment of leisure presented itself. It wasn’t until that moment arrived that I realized why this particular feature held such sway over my senses: its images present the studio of landscape architect Fernando Caruncho, whose private residence I waxed poetic in The Philosopher Gardener Part I. Once again my eyes marveled at similarly poetic and austere pavilions linked by terraces, lush gardens of green, and water features. As enchanted as I have been, and remain, with his home, his studio compound speaks to my earliest imaginings of my own dream home, rendered in the color of stone. As with his private residence his studio reflects the same sculptural buildings and elegantly austere gardens that beguiled me years ago when I discovered his work, in 1997.

A pair of austere ecru towers is linked by an open stairway fronted by a gravel courtyard formed of three graduated, slightly overlapping circles, each a virtual room: “The floors are the gravel, the ceiling is the sky, and the walls are the clipped laurel and boxwood that follow the curves” philosophizes Caruncho. One tower is Caruncho’s office and archives and the other contains a reception room. Every morning Caruncho’s staff rakes spirals into the gravel to mirror the rippling effect of water in the fountain.

The terrace is dotted with fruit bearing trees: a fig on the left, a pomegranate on the right.

Another architectural passion of mine is for a nautilus-inspired staircase. This one is constructed of lime mortar and Russian white pine.

Spanish pine stairs grace the double-height reception room, which is dotted with scale models of Caruncho’s landscape projects. Herein lies a departure with my love affair with most everything else he conceives: my eternal disdain for pinewood.

Measuring 36 feet high, the room is where the designer meets with clients; the columns and floor are made of concrete, the walls are covered with lime mortar, and the lamps are from El Jardinero, his wife Maru’s home-and-garden shop. As much as I admire the exterior elevations of the studio compound the interiors don’t captivate me the way those in his private residence do. The rows of columns doesn’t feel comfortable, and the small grid of windows on the mezzanine reminds me of one of my least favorite design movements, shy of the Victorian, Post-Modernism. I much prefer the rambling one-story arrangement of his private residence, but this is, after all, a studio, not a private residence. I appreciate the appeal of height, volume and light.

The reception room displays a model of Caruncho’s garden for the Botin Foundation’s cultural center in Santander, Spain.

A Louis XV–style chair stands at Caruncho’s desk; the 17th-century Italian sculpture in front of the bulletin board depicts Mary Magdalene, and the articulated lamps are by Artemide.

A modest guest suite includes a space saving and multi-use bed, a fireplace and bath.

The stairway leads to the terrace; an open air corridor connects the tower that houses the studio and archives to the building containing the reception room.

Surrounded by walls blanketed with star jasmine, a lime tree shades the pebbled sunken courtyard.

Medieval-style industrial bars were placed over the windows of the studio tower as in his private residence.

The small building known as the Kiosk is mirrored in a reflecting pool.

The Kiosk features a skylit private office and sleeping loft.

All photos and room descriptions from the print and digital issues of Architectural Digest, April 2014, with photography by Simon Watson.

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The Philosopher Gardener – Part I

Posted April 7, 2014. Filed in Elemental Design, Fernando Caruncho, Organic Modern

Most of us have a dream home, a place not entirely tangible, even if just down the street. It’s the home of our imagination, the home we see ourselves in, in the future, in a perfect place, at the right time. My own dream home has changed styles and locales over the years but there has always remained one constant attribute: it will be a high-walled villa of pavilions connected by loggias and galleries, where every room opens onto a terrace or garden; a private inner sanctum of peace and tranquility, substance, understated luxury and ease of living.

About seventeen years ago I came across the nearest example of my imagined dream home. It was, and is, the home and studio of landscape architect Fernando Caruncho located in Galicia, Spain. It was everything I dreamed my house could be, and more. In my dream my house is the color of limestone or sandstone, or cement even. The older I became the more raw and elemental the structure became. I eventually would name it Casa Terra, or Villa Terre (Earth House). However, I had never envisioned a terra-cotta colored structure, but when I laid my eyes upon Caruncho’s high walled red ocher villa surrounded by exquisitely sculpted and manicured gardens of lush green and deep blue water … well, my heart melted. This property spoke to my soul; it is nearly impossible to articulate its impression.

Fernando Caruncho’s design program for his villa was very close to what I have imagined for my own: “nesting boxes” that reveal themselves slowly as you move through them, where structures are linked by gardens, terraces and water works – the whole designed in the style of a Spanish tapia, enclosed within tall stucco walls. This element of mystery and privacy has always appealed to me on an aesthetic and sensory level. There is something at once classical and acetic, or austere, in his work. His villa reminds me of what may have been left of the Roman ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum had they been looted entirely of all their classical architectural and decorative features, leaving nothing but cubist shells for the imagination to fill in the blanks. Have you ever watched a house go up and imagine the possibilities to later discover that the final result leaves you less than inspired? There is something about the raw simplicity of a structure such as this that fuels the imagination, a meditative quality that allows it to be many things at once without necessarily being any one of them in reality. Akin to a monastery, there is beauty in what isn’t there, allowing your mind and senses to breathe and participate in more dream-making. There is a spare and timeless elegance in its classic simplicity that appeals to me. It’s like someone you meet who carries themselves with great personal style and grace, who is natural, warm and affectious, worldly but never pretentious.

Copper doors open onto the tented entrance that leads to the home and studio.

Caruncho placed a large mirror on a wall in the living room to create another “window” to bring in light and reflect back the garden.

A jasmine covered pergola, like the cloisters of a monastery, frames the dark bottom pool viewed from sculpted “cushions” of Escallonia, the whole contributing to a una caja de luz, or a “box of light”. “Reflection is the soul of the garden”, maintains Caruncho, who has aptly been accorded the title Philosopher Gardener. Like Mexican architect Luis Barragán, Caruncho has created consecutive open courtyards and closed rooms. “Each space serves the other as a filter, creating movement of light and shadow, solids and voids, built and vegetal, all of which gives a rhythm and unity to the composition.”

The living room as seen from the pergola through industrial iron bars fashioned for windows and doors.

The kitchen courtyard is a cool and shady refuge, allowing herbs to grow unscathed from the hot summer sun.

The master bedroom is a quiet study in warm white and understated luxury. Fernando’s wife, Maru, designed the vase in the window.

Caruncho’s studio includes personal mementos, a fireplace in the style of Luis Barragán, a desk of his own design, and a 19th-century chair.

All rooms in the villa open to a terrace or loggia. A wall of green jasmine and a bamboo roof create an outdoor room of shade and reflected sunshine, to escape the heat of summer.

Shadows cast by the industrial iron bars of the pergola add drama to the peaceful setting on the terrace, where the family often has breakfast.

The dining kiosk across from the pool sits like a Japanese teahouse among sculpted “clouds”. Caruncho maintains that “a garden provides a gateway to reflection”.

The elevated dining kiosk overlooks the pool, the living wing of the villa, and the Somosierra Pass beyond.

Reading List: The Master’s Chambers by Charolotte M. Frieze for House & Garden, photographed by Nicola Browne; and Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People, photographed by Oberto Gili.

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Oh, Nicky, You’re So Fine!

Posted April 3, 2014. Filed in Continental, Eclectic Glamour, Eclectic Tradition, Nicholas Haslam

I can’t believe I missed this! Madcap decorator, writer, raconteur, crooner and bon vivant extraordinaire Nicky Haslam recently moved into a new London flat, as covered by T Magazine, of The New York Times, a few weeks back. He has traded his smaller, slightly contemporary, moodily nocturnal and glamorous flat for a light-filled bottom floor arrangement in a London property that boasts high ceilings, traditional moldings, and a blank canvas on which to paint his exuberant fantasies. Part Stephen Tennant, part Cecil Beaton, with a good dose of Eugenia Errazuriz thrown in for good measure, Haslam’s new quarters are grander, airier, and unquestionably his own by design.

The new living room represents a marked departure for Haslam, who is best known for his own brand of English country house-style glamour: think rooms swathed in dusty mauve and smoky lilac floral chintz, silvered chinoiserie wallcovering, sparkling chandeliers and personal bibelots scattered about. Here fresh, chalky white walls and a spare furniture arrangement floating on bare white painted floors feels fresh and spontaneous, echoing early 20th-century’s style setter Madame Eugenia Errázuriz’s dictum “Throw out and keep throwing out! Elegance means elimination.” Haslam’s love of smoky lilac continues to seduce nevertheless, this time in solid punctuations. The overall affect is reminiscent of an aesthete’s light-filled garden room fit for a glamorous cast of characters.

The “power of faux” is in evidence here: a faux marble panel surrounds a real marble fireplace, and an engraving of a Piranesi-style ruin is outlined in an irregular gilded frame whose shape echoes a Cocteau drawing. Resin falcons are painted white to mimic porcelain, and a pair of Warholesque portraits of Haslam by the artist Skid Stewart hang over a daybed. Framed panels on the walls are whimsically rendered in gray and appear to shimmer like mirror. The unexpected white painted garden chairs, formally flanking the fireplace, channels Eugenia Errázuriz.

Eugenia Errázuriz introduced garden furniture and a ladder into her trendsetting home in Paris, photographed for Harper’s Bazaar in 1938.

The living room in Haslam’s previous London flat had dark mauve painted walls and simple cotton upholstered sofas. The Piranesi-style engraving featured in the second photo had previously hung over one of the sofas in this flat. Four stools, when placed together, complete a fake Picasso painting.

Another view of the compact living room in Haslam’s previous flat features a classically-inspired tableau set upon a draped table placed beneath a window.

A metal chinoiserie lamp hangs above a table surrounded by the Picasso stools from his previous flat in the exotic and fresh dining room. The over-scaled white painted cabinet from his previous living room takes pride of place in the new dining room.

A portrait of Haslam’s great friend, Lady Penn, was the inspiration for the peacock-blue dining space.

The entry hall introduces 1930’s-style glamour with an exotic mix of faux-bamboo walls, a faux shell console topped by a parade of faux terra-cotta statues, and a whimsical hand-painted floor fit for Cole Porter.

A northern Italian wood bed is dramatized with a wood-and-canvas baldachin inspired by a Cecil Beaton sketch. The walls are painted a chocolaty oxblood, and the floor is carpeted in olive-green AstroTurf. Yes, AstroTurf! How is that for irreverent madcap kitsch? It actually feels quite liberating, throwing out the rules book.

A plaster relief hangs in Haslam’s bathroom, another faux interloper on the scene.

Haslam, ever the inveterate “atmospherist”, has beguiled us yet again with his new London flat. Read the full story by TMagaine here. Photography by Simon Upton.

Photos of Haslam’s previous flat are from his book Sheer Opulence. Photography by Simon Upton.

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CLASSICO-MODERNA

Posted March 25, 2014. Filed in Classic Chic, Michele Bönan, Understated Luxury

Luxury hotel collection J. K. Place has introduced a third boutique-style hotel to its existing venues in Florence and Capri with the recently opened J. K. Place Roma. For the design and decoration of their latest property in the Eternal City they once again turned to Michele Bonan to cast his sybaritic take on elegant eclecticism with a contemporary point of view. I was immediately drawn to the classic-modernism of the main lobby, a vast classically proportioned space with a soaring ceiling, awash in shades of limestone, and symmetrically arranged lounge areas. It’s ordered elegance is evocative of a modern day Palladian villa with a dash of David Hicks. Mirrors imitating roundels above each door and Greco-Roman-style busts and marble consoles introduce a classical note while Cubist-style art and mid-century-style furnishing inject a modern vibration. A luxurious stylized graphic design for the carpet introduces the only pattern, if you don’t count the heavily veined marble door surrounds. It’s a modern classic that will stand the test of time for years to come. Tutti classico!

Photography by Massimo Listri for AD Italia, February 2014.

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LE BON MIX

Posted March 23, 2014. Filed in Chahan Minassian, Classic Chic, Classical Moderne

Featured in the February-March issue of French AD is a breathtakingly atmospheric pied-à-terre designed by architect and interior designer Chahan Minassian. So seldom are his projects featured in trade magazines that I may have actually let out a slight gasp discovering his latest. As glamour goes this is my kind of hedonism, with rooms bathed in an ethereal haze of powdery gray and shimmering mercury, as though volcanic ash had fallen and settled here, and where classic elegance marries modern bravado, with a dose of whimsy and the surreal thrown in to makes things a bit more interesting and less conventional. A modern day Emilio Terry, Minassian could rightly claim. Minassian established a design program that embraced variations on the classical to include contemporary artisinal objets d’arts, a unifying color scheme of variations on gray, and recurring luminous radiance via mirrors, crystal, gold and bronze.

The foyer, above, appears original but is in fact a recreation evocative of 18th-century classic French architecture reinterpreted in a very personal fashion. The geometric pattern of the marble and stone flooring vibrates in the “game of mirrors” infinitum. The plaster sculpture is by Day Schnabel (1960)

Chahan Minassian-Le Bon Mix-Salon-Paris-French AD Feb-March 2014-Gonzalo Machado

The salon is divided into three areas en enfilade – with two of the three visible in the photo above – enveloped in banks of ethereal mercury-glass mirror set into panels, defining the classical space in a unexpected way. Fine moldings and complementary hand-knotted silk carpets unify all the rooms, allowing a mix of styles and periods: a mirrored round end table from the 1940’s, a Louis-XVI chair and a chaise longue designed by Minassian, a trio of tables in brass doré by Kam Tin, and a 19th-century armchair. Sprinkled throughout are objets de curiosité, such as whimsical bronze tables with branches for bases by Claude Lalanne, mineral base lamps, glimmering Venetian glass sconces, a mysterious gold painting on wood by Nancy Lorenz, and agate specimens, to name but a few.

Chahn Minassian-Le Bon Mix-Salon-Paris-French AD Feb-March-Gonzalo Machado

A tight view of a seating area in the salon near the fireplace showcases Minassian’s alchemical hand, where 1940’s-style glamour meets comical reinterpretations of the classics: a faux bois Louis XVI-style armchair by Minassian and a coffee table by Jacques Duval-Brasseur juxtapose a classic Louis-XVI-style sofa and the ephemeral elegance of Murano sconces.

Chahan Minassian-Le Bon Mix-Buffet-Paris-French AD Feb-March 2014-Gonzalo Machado

An 18th-century buffet of rich patterned veneer was reinterpreted by Minassian with verre églomisé door panels set with medallions of carnelian and agate. A curious tableau of mineral specimens and an organic sculpture rests atop the cabinet.

Chahan Minassian-Le Bon Mix-Dining Room-Paris-French AD Feb-March 2014-Gonzalo Machado

The dining room, which inhabits one end of the salon, affords an enviable view of le tour d’eiffel. Can you imagine dining here in the evening by candlelight? What a sensory delight! And, arguably, the most beautiful of chairs in creation, a variation on the klismos (vintage Michael Taylor, 1970’s), surrounds the custom dining table topped with a ceramic sculpture by Peter Lane. Over a particularly decorative Louis XVI console is an engraving by Serge Poliakoff.

Chahan Minassian-Bedroom-Paris-Le Bon Mix-French AD Feb-March 2014-Gonzalo Machado

The luxurious master bedroom, bathed in a darker shade of soothing gray, features an upholstered bed with a chocolate brown satin cover and an orylag (rabbit) fur throw. The pair of bronze tabourets are from the 1940’s; a collection of art works by Joseph Villeneuve orbits above a console signed by Jacques Duval-Brasseur.

Chahan Minassian-Bath-Paris-Le Bon Mix-French AD Feb-March-Gonzalo Machado

The classical bath is enhanced by a gleaming gold bathtub that once belonged to Christian Dior, mercury glass mirrored panels, and a mix of patterned marble.

Descriptions based on an article, Variations Classiques, written by Renaud Legrand for French AD, February-March, 2104. Photos by Gonzalo Machado.

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FOYER FANTASTIQUE

Posted March 22, 2014. Filed in Classic Elegance, Emilio Terry, Picasso, Riviera Style

There are few things that settle in my memory and linger there, much like Proust’s madeleine, than does this image of a foyer in an 18th-century Palladian-style villa in the south of France known as Château de Clavary. Less grand than a château, de Clavary is reminiscent of the work of the 18th-century neo-classical architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux, featuring classical proportions, high ceilings, simple moldings, and an elegant and sober presence. Classical perfection aside, it is two quite exceptional features that bring this space to life: a pair of plaster and marble consoles by Emilio Terry, who once worked at de Clavary, and the room’s dominant feature, a mosaic stone floor designed by Pablo Picasso in 1927. Here is a room that marries two ideals in perfect unison and harmony: classicism and modernism. It’s a case of “opposites attract”, where tension is created between seemingly disparate styles, where balance is achieved commingling the raw with the refined. Nature is architecture and design’s greatest teacher, and it is apparent that one-time owner Peter Wilson – then chairman of Sotheby Park Bernet – knew a thing or two about channeling this ideal, here, in the foyer of his villa in Auribeau-sur-Siagne, where he vacationed until his death in 1984.

Château de Clavery was built around 1790. Photo from Living Well by Carrie Donovan, 1981.

Château de Clavary was built around 1790. Photo from Living Well edited by Carrie Donovan, 1981.

The story of Château de Clavary prior to Wilson’s stewardship is rich with intrigue. In the 1920’s an American, Russell Greely, moved into de Clavary with a French aristocrat, François de Gouy d’Arcy. Here they entertained the intelligentsia of the 20th-century — Igor Stravinsky, Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc, Constantin Brâncuși, Kees van Dongen, Fernand Léger, Man Ray, Francis Picabia, Isadora Duncan, Jean Cocteau, Max Jacob, Paul Valéry, and the like. Designer Emilio Terry worked at de Clavary during this period, where his design for the dining room remains intact. The couple were also friends with Max Ernst and built a studio for him on the property. Peter Wilson relayed a story about Picasso in an interview with Susan Heller Anderson: “Picasso dropped by one day while he was out driving. He said he had been trying to find the house for a long time and wanted to see the floor. He was very pleased that it was intact and said the house seemed much the same as he remembered it.” That was 1973, a short time before Picasso’s passing.

A still featuring a mosaic design by Picasso in the foyer of Château de Clavary, from the documentary "Picasso - Magic, Sex and Death" by John Richardson, Picasso's authoritative biographer, and directed by Waldemar Januszczak.

A movie still featuring the mosaic designed by Picasso, from the documentary “Picasso – Magic, Sex and Death” by John Richardson, Picasso’s authoritative biographer.

Emilio Terry’s design for the dining room remains intact. From Living Well edited by Carried Donovan for The New York Times, 1981.

For as long as I can remember, since discovering this gem, I have searched for more photos of Château de Clavary’s interiors to no avail, until recently when I discovered a post written by Jennifer Boles, of The Peak of Chic, suggesting the eventual demise of connoisseurship, featuring none other than Château de Clavary from a House Beautiful feature published in 1975. I was so beyond thrilled to learn of this article that I wrote to Jennifer thanking her for her curatorial prowess, with a promise to dedicate this post in her honor. So … “Here’s looking at you, kid”!

Here are few of the photos from Jennifer’s post that I can’t resist cataloging here (I am obsessive about filing stories and images in one place for future reference). Read her full post at The Peak of Chic.

Peter Wilson posing on the grounds of Château de Clavary.

A wonderful close-up of Picasso’s mosaic.

The entry hall with a view toward the front door and one of Emilio Terry’s covetable plaster and marble consoles.

The living room with a decidedly English point of view.

Another view of Emilio Terry’s design for the elegant dining room.

READING LIST: Living Well: The New York Times Book of Home Design and Decoration edited by Carrie Donovan, 1981; The Peak of Chic blog curated by Jennifer Boles.

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VILLA E.1027 REDUX

Posted February 22, 2014. Filed in Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier, Moderne, Modernism

“The biggest secret of E.1027 is that it offers spaces for secrets, having layers of interiors within its interiors.” –Katarina Bonnevier

Photo by Simon Watson

Villa E.1027, Eileen Gray’s modernist 1929 villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the French Riviera, opens to the public with great fanfare thanks to a complete seven-year renovation made possible by the Friends of E.1027 and two soon-to-be-released films staring the villa. A biopic titled The Price of Desire will take us back to the year 1929 when Gray settled into her new villa. Filmed on location, the freshly restored interiors serve as a backdrop for the intellectual avant-garde that weaved in and out of her life. Florid murals painted by Le Corbusier, often in the nude, are present despite Gray’s outrage toward him for painting them in her absence, without her permission. In fact, Gray was so infuriated she would never again return to E.1027, building a second villa along the French Riviera, Tempe A Pailla, in 1932. The film further delves into Gray’s relationship with her lover, the chanteuse Damia (played by Alanis Morissette) and her professional and private relationship with Jean Badovaci, the architect and editor of the avant-garde magazine L’Architecture Vivant. Another film, a documentary titled Gray Matters, will delve into Gray’s enduring and formidable place in the annals of high modernist genius. You can read the full story, written by Jean Bond Rafferty, in the March 2014 issue of Town & Country.

Villa E.1027 as it appears today. Photo by Manuel Bougot.

E.1027 was designed with privacy as a premier objective, as a refuge and haven from the discriminating and often ridiculing eyes of mainstream society. Sited on a secluded bluff overlooking the Bay of Monaco, Gray embraced the modernist vernacular of this eras great innovators while insisting on interiors that were equally seductive and comfortable – not merely intellectual spaces designed to please the eye. Her iconic Transat chair (inspired by deck chairs) and Bibendum chair (inspired by the roly-poly Michelin Man), telescoping tubular steel tables, and a propensity for folding screens, informed luxe moderne interiors with beds as sofas for lounging. Furthering her penchant for secrecy guest rooms could be accessed via private entrances. There is something particularly soothing about these rooms, awash in light with graphic shots of indigo and black against a chalky white background. You can almost feel the sea breezes and scent of mimosa wafting through Gray’s vision of a holiday respite never quite actualized as she had dreamed it to be. The murals and Le Corbusier would remain (Le Corbusier, in a cabin he designed directly above E.1027) yet life at E.1027 was not to be: Le Corbusier would meet his untimely death in the bay, likely eying Gray’s villa one last time.

Le Corbusier altered the entrance of Gray's villa by painting over her mural with his own. Photo courtesy of Foundation Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier altered the entrance of Gray’s villa by painting over her mural with his own. Photo courtesy Foundation Le Corbusier.

The main salon as it appeared in the late 1920's. Photo from L'Architecture Vivant, c. 1929.

The main salon as it appeared in the late 1920’s, featuring Gray’s Transat and Bibendum chairs . Photo from L’Architecture Vivante, c. 1929.

The salon as it appears today with its restored nautical map and a modified version of her Black Board rug. Photo by Simon Watson.

The salon as it appears today with its restored nautical map and her Black Board rug. Photo by Simon Watson.

A vintage view of the salon with the addition of a mural by Le Corbusier. Photo from L'Architecture Vivante, c. 1930.

A later vintage view of the salon with the addition of a mural by Le Corbusier. Photo from Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work by Peter Adam.

Le Corbusier posing in front of his mural. From Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work by Peter Adam.

Le Corbusier lounging on the salon’s bed in front of his mural. From Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work by Peter Adam.

Le Corbusier and his wife with Jean Badovici. Photo taken by Gray.

A view of the main salon as it appeared prior to restoration, with Le Corbusier's mural on the back wall. Photo by Luc Castel.

A view of the main salon as it appeared during restoration, with Le Corbusier’s mural on the back wall. Photo by Luc Castel.

Another mural by Le Corbusier as it appeared when the property was photographed prior to renovations. Photo courtesy of Foundation Le Corbusier.

Another mural by Le Corbusier as it appeared when the property was photographed prior to renovations. Photo courtesy Foundation Le Corbusier.

A vintage view of the terrace features a tubular steel table with cork top and adjustable light fitting, and full-length concertina folding windows opened up to the view. From Eileen Gray by Phillippe Garner.

The balcony off the salon opens on to the view of the Bay of Monaco, and features sailcloth awnings reproduced to the original design. From Grand Designs, 2011.

An exterior view featuring the upper balcony off the living room. Photo by Luc Castel.

The main bedroom as featured in L’Architecture Vivante, c. 1929.

A guest room with a private entrance as it appears today, post renovation. Photo by Simon Watson.

A guest bedroom showing a perforated sheet metal folding screen and Gray’s adjustable tubular steel table. Photo from Eileen Gray by Phillippe Garner.

A view of E.1027 from the coastline during renovations, with Le Corbusier’s Unités de Camping sited above it. Photo from Grand Designs, 2011.

Le Corbusier's five cabins - Unités de Camping - with a mural of a man waving, above Gray's villa E.1027. Photo by Simon Watson.

Le Corbusier’s five cabins – Unités de Camping – with a mural of a man waving, above E.1027. Photo by Simon Watson.

For a comprehensive source on the life and work of Le Corbusier read a special page dedicated to the prolific architect and artist at Artsy, which includes his biography, beautiful images of his works, exclusive articles, as well as up-to-date exhibitions – a unique Corbusier resource.

“The home should be the treasure chest of living” – Le Corbusier

includes his bio, beautiful images of his works, exclusive articles about Le Corbusier, as well as his up-to-date exhibitions – it’s a unique Corbusier resource.

READING LIST: The Sphinx of the Riviera by Jean Bond Rafferty, Town and Country, March 2014, with photos by Simon Watson; Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work by Peter Adam; Eileen Gray by Phillippe Garner; Utopia Preserved by Alistair Gordon, House & Garden, September 2001; E1027, La Méditerranée D’Eileen Gray by Marianne Niermans for Pont de Vuew, 2011, with photos by Luc Castel; Mistress of Minimal by Sue Hermans for Grand Designs, 2011; back issues of L’Architecture Vivante (if you’re fortunate enough to score them!); Friends of E.1027 website; Foundation Le Corbusier website

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ROMANCING THE TABLE

Posted February 13, 2014. Filed in Alidad, Andrew F. Tauber, Axel Vervoordt, Bruno de Caumont, Craig Wright, David Hicks, Dining Rooms, Fisher-Wiseman, François Catroux, Geoffrey Bennison, Hubert de Givenchy, Kalef Alaton, Manuel Canovas, Miles Redd, Nicholas Haslam, Thomas Britt

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Have you booked that enviable cozy banquette set into a discreet niche in your city’s most romantic restaurant? If not, sorry Charlie, you’re too late! At this point in time you will be lucky to score a booth at Applebee’s, which in all directness won’t score the points you’re aiming for. But don’t fret, you have style, vision, and … just enough time to pull together your own highly personal romantic venue. And I’m here to help: feast your eyes and senses upon these delectably seductive dining rooms, the ne plus ultra in romancing the table.

Alidad’s own London dining room is the ultimate lover’s delight in fine dining. The walls are paneled with antique mirror set with rows of candle sconces, and the elegant table, draped with decadent crimson velvet flowing to the floor, is set with gleaming silver, crystal and overflowing roses. A celestial nightscape twinkles overhead. This very well could be le ne plus ultra – you need not look further! Photo courtesy of Alidad.

David Hicks’ pink and red confection for his dining room at Britwell in Oxfordshire. From David Hicks: A Life of Design by Ashley Hicks.

There’s nothing more intimate than sharing a loveseat in a well-appointed dining cabinet designed by Nicky Haslam. Architectural Digest. Photo by Andrew Twort.

Manuel Canovas’ antique rose painted dining room sets a romantic tone for a Valentine’s Day brunch. From The French Touch by Daphne de Saint Sauveur.

Neoclassical splendor in Bruno de Caumont’s intimate Marais dining room. House & Garden; photo by Pascal Chevalier.

If you're lucky enough to enjoy a warm climate on Valentine's Day what's better than dining alfresco surrounded by romantic candlelight, as seen here on Bruno de Caumont's terrace in the Marais. From Parisian Interiors by Elle Decor, 2008. Photo by Joel Laiter.

If you’re lucky enough to enjoy a warm climate on Valentine’s Day what’s better than al fresco dining surrounded by romantic candlelight, as seen here on Bruno de Caumont’s terrace in the Marais. From Parisian Interiors by Elle Decor, 2008. Photo by Joel Laiter.

Want to get closer to your Valentine? Set a very small dining table, as Andrew F. Tauber did in his New York City apartment, c. 1978. Architectural Digest. Photo by Irving Schild.

The setting of Craig Wright's dining room in his previous West Hollywood home is dripping with romance: a table straight from an Italian villa is elegantly set with starched linens, fine china, crystal and vermeil flatware before a fireplace set with vases of flowers and wall-mounted vases filled with roses flanking a niche holding elaborate Italian candlesticks. From Los Angeles: A Certain Style by Pilar Viladas. Photo by John Vaughan.

The setting of Craig Wright’s dining room in his previous West Hollywood home is dripping with romance: wall-mounted vases filled with pale pink roses, flanking niches holding elaborate Italian candlesticks, surround a table straight from an Italian villa elegantly set with buttery roses, starched linens, fine china, crystal and vermeil flatware. From Los Angeles: A Certain Style by Pilar Viladas. Photo by John Vaughan.

Don’t try this at home – go to Venice! May and Axel Vervoordt’s magical dining room in their Venetian palazzo. Architectural Digest. Photo by Mario Ciampi.

Andrew Fisher and Jeffry Wiseman channeled the luminous quality of Venice in their own Nob Hill dining room. Elle Decor. Photo by Grey Crawford.

Thomas Britt sets a theatrical stage fit for a Roman Emperor in his New York City dining room. Architectural Digest. Photo by Jaime Ardiles Arce.

Palatial inspiration, le goût Rothschild, compliments of Geoffrey Bennison, 1983. The World of Interiors. Photo by James Mortimer.

Modern nocturnal glamour informed Hubert de Givenchy’s Paris dining room, c. 1978. Architectural Digest. Photo by Pascal Hinous.

François Catroux’s dining room, c. 1979, in his previous Paris residence remains one of my favorite romantic rooms. All of the elements are present: intimacy, mood, and classic chic elegance. House & Garden. Photo by Michael Boys.

A table for two in a dining room designed by Kalef Alaton in the early 1980’s stands the test of time with his simply classic chic style. Architectural Digest. Photo by Charles S. White.

Easy enough to pull off: an intimate table set for two in the library will show your mate just how smart you are. And don't forget to buy a shade for your candlesticks! Miles Redd; House Beautiful. Photo by Thomas Loof.

Easy enough to pull off: an intimate table set for two in the library will show your mate just how smart you are. And don’t forget to buy shades for your candlesticks! Miles Redd; House Beautiful. Photo by Thomas Loof.

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THE POWER OF BLACK

Posted January 29, 2014. Filed in Black & White Rooms

Suddenly I am noticing black painted walls with increased frequency. Is it me – my own predilection toward black – or is black back? Though I haven’t (yet) painted a room of my own in black it feels comparable to when you purchase a particular vehicle and suddenly notice them everywhere. It didn’t really hit me until I discovered an interview with Stephen Sills, conducted by the New York Social Diary, which included photos of his Bedford country house in its latest incarnation, which I recently covered in “Savoir-Sills“. A never-before-seen photo of a bedroom in the guest house had recently been painted not quite black but, let’s say, charcoal – a very dark gray – in high lacquer. Considering Sills’s body of work, which usually conveys a spare, quiet elegance awash in neutral color and low contrast, this strikingly glamorous room with its high-impact glossy dark walls seemed such a departure. So, I decided to do a little research and cull a few photos, past and present, that convey the allure of black rooms. What is it about painting our rooms black that seems so daring, so dramatic? Are we ready for a 1970’s redux, a return to glamour?

Stephen Sills; New York Social Diary, 2013. Photo by Jeff Hirsch.

Black is a power color – strong, vigorous, and dominant. It can be considered elegant and sophisticated – even conventional, conservative and serious (think “black tie”, or a classic black Mercedes). Black as a background in a room pairing classic and modern elements can be chic. Or, black can be minimal and modern in its severity, feeling cool when paired with chrome and glass (think the High Tech craze of the 80’s and early 90’s). Paired with white it appears crisp and graphic in contrast; yet with orange or red black becomes aggressive, even sinister. Left with itself black allows its subjects to stand out; it is shadowy and mysterious, conveying perhaps a coolly private retreat or, conversely, a place of danger and intrigue. A black background blurs the lines of readability and invites invention. Black, depending upon your perspective, can appear welcoming or foreboding. How do the following rooms, painted black, make you feel? Are you ready for a black room of your own?

ELEGANT AND SOPHISTICATED

Kalef Alaton; Architectural Digest, 1984. Photo by Peter Vitale.

Thomas Britt; the New York Social Diary, 2007. Photo by Jeffrey Hirsch.

Albert Hadley, circa 1990. Photo by Libby Cameron.

Albert Hadley, c. 1990. Photo by Libby Cameron.

Jeffrey Wiseman and Andrew Fisher, c. 1990. Photo by David Duncan Livingston.

Architecture by Andy Skurman with interiors by Tucker and Marks, c. 1995. Photo by Tim Street Porter.

Architecture by Andy Skurman with interiors by Tucker and Marks, Architectural Digest c. 1995. Photo by Tim Street Porter.

Bunny Williams; New York Apartments: Private Views by Jamee Gregory. Photo by Mick Hales.

Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen; Architectural Digest 2011. Photo by Tim Beddow.

Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen; AD 2011. Photo by Tim Beddow.

GLAMOROUS AND CHIC

Billy Gaylord; Architectural Digest 1975. Photo by Russell MacMasters.

Arthur E. Smith; Architectural Digest Visits: American Interiors. Photo by Peter Vitale.

Arthur E. Smith; Architectural Digest Visits: American Interiors; c. 1975. Photo by Peter Vitale.

Ernest de la Torre; Elle Decor 2006. Photo by William Waldron.

Tony Ingrao for Lisa Perry; Vogue Living: Houses Gardens People. Photo by François Halard.

Tom Ford, London, 2009. Via Real Estalker.

Jacques Grange for Aerin Lauder; Elle Decor 2009. Photo by Simon Upton.

Kelly Wearstler; Elle Decor 2011. Photos by Mikkel Vang

Kelly Wearstler; Elle Decor 2011. Photo by Mikkel Vang.

Kelly Wearstler; Architectural Digest 2013. Photo by Roger Davies.

MODERN AND EDGY

Jay Spectre; Architectural Digest 1975. Photo by Jaime Ardiles-Arce.

Eric Bernard; Architectural Digest 1975. Photo by Jaime Ardiles-Arce.

Bray-Schaible; House & Garden 1980. Photo by Langdon Clay.

Bob Patino & Vicente Wolfe; House & Garden 1984.

CRISP AND CLASSIC

David Hicks, c. 1970.

Stephen Mallory for the Kips Bay Showhouse, c. 1970’s.

Kevin McNamara; Architectural Digest 1975. Photo by Richard Champion.

MAC II; The New York Book of Interior Design and Decoration, 1976. Photography by Norman McGrath.

MAC II; The New York Book of Interior Design and Decoration, 1976. Photo by Norman McGrath.

Albert Hadley; Architectural Digest 1976. Photo by William Steele.

Miles Redd; Elle Decor 2011. Photo by Fernando Bengoechea.

Miles Redd; Elle Decor c. 1997. Photo by Fernando Bengoechea.

Kelly Wearstler; House & Garden 2005. Photo by Oberto Gili.

Aerin Lauder; House & Garden, 2007. Photo by William Waldron.

Victoria Hagan; Elle Decor c. 2009. Photo by Simon Upton.

John Minshaw, 2009. Via John Minshaw.

Mark Cunningham; Elle Decor 2010. Photo by William Abranowicz.

Phillip Gorrivan’s Carnegie Hill apartment, via Phillip Gorrivan, 2011.

Luis Bustamante; German Architectural Digest, 2010.

Rob Southern; House Beautiful 2011.

MYSTERIOUS AND SHADOWY

Tom Ford and Richard Buckley, Paris; House & Garden 1998. Photo by Todd Eberle.

Abigail Turin, San Francisco. Photo by David Duncan Livingston.

Abigail Turin, San Francisco, c. 1990. Photo by David Duncan Livingston.

Vincent van Duysen for Eric Paul van Lerberghe; German AD. Photo by Wouter Vanderstol.

Jenni Kayne; Architectural Digest 2012. Photo by Roger Davies.

Julie Hillman via Julie Hillman on-line.

Marc Meiré; German Architectural Digest. Photo by Douglas Friedman.

Marc Meiré; German AD. Photo by Douglas Friedman.

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Enduring Saladino Style: Vintage Kips Bay

One Singular Sensation

The House of Armani Redux

The Philosopher Gardener – Part II

The Philosopher Gardener – Part I

Oh, Nicky, You’re So Fine!

CLASSICO-MODERNA

LE BON MIX

FOYER FANTASTIQUE

VILLA E.1027 REDUX

ROMANCING THE TABLE

THE POWER OF BLACK

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