Thursday, January 20, 2011

An Invitation to the Finest Rooms

Thomas Jayne -- friend, author, interior designer, decorator, and sometimes collaborator -- will make a presentation of The Finest Rooms in America this Friday, January 21, 2011, at 4 p.m., as part of the lecture series of the Winter Antiques Show in New York City.  The talk will highlight the individuals and their distinguished collections featured in his new book of the same title.  The location is the glorious landmarked "Tiffany Room" of the Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at East 67th Street.  Seating is on a first-come basis and is complimentary with Show admission of $20 (to benefit the East Side House Settlement).  A book-signing reception follows.  For more information, see http://www.winterantiquesshow.com/ and click on Special Events.
For those who are not able to attend, there is the book which features fifty of the most attractive and influential rooms in the U.S. from the past two hundred years.  Starting with the Tea Room at Monticello and ending with a Sitting Room in Albert Hadley's apartment, there is an eclectic mix of extant rooms from a diverse range of periods and styles, with extant being a key word.  Both public and private rooms are shown, with my favorite U.S. house museum, Vizcaya, represented by the Master Bathroom, shown here in the first two photos. 

Vizcaya's bachelor owner, James Deering of the International Harvester fortune, and his companion collaborator, the incredibly talented Paul Chalfin, created this fantastic estate, then on the outskirts of Miami, and started spending winters there in 1916.  Architect F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr., and landscape designer Diego Suarez helped realize the magnificent and exotic tropical estate that once empassed 180 acres.  The walls of this bathroom are panelled with three types of marble with silver decorations.  The ceiling is tented with linen embroidered with Pompeiian motifs.  The most memorable feature of the lavishly handsome room, however, is the shaving stand in the form of an antique brazier, seen in the first photo.  This house is open to the public and is not to be missed if you ever travel to the area;  actually, it is even worth a trip as a destination.

No decorator is credited with the furnishing of the Master Suite of the Kent, Connecticut, home of Annette and Oscar de la Renta pictured above.  Annette de la Renta was a long-time client of Parish-Hadley, in both her present and previous marriage, as her mother and Sister Parish were life-long friends.  But Mrs. de la Renta is now her own chief designer for her interiors, often calling on various interior designers to do particular aspects of a room.  For example, one person might be called on for locating a specific piece of furniture, another for arranging furnishings and selecting fabrics, and another to supervise fabrication and upholstery, I am told.  The results are certainly as individual as they are stylish.
Another favorite room in the book is the collaboration of two of this country's most influential design talents, Bunny Williams and John Rosselli.  It is the 30 by 50 main room of the renovated 1840s barn on their property in Falls Village, Connecticut.  One of the top interior designers, Bunny owned the property with her former husband and used the building as a garage and shed for garden equipment.  After her marriage to John, a now-not-so-secret-trade-source for decorative furnishings, the two were able to combine their incredible talents on this space, a contrast to the relative low-ceilings of the historic main house.  The hospitable couple created a lovely, yet remarkably comfortable, room for entertaining with a delightful mix of informal furniture, shapes, colors, and textures.
Readers of The Devoted Classicist might be surprised that I would be enthralled by this outdoor room featured in the Introduction.   It is from the Frances Brody House, Los Angeles, decorated by Billy Haines, the former silent film star.  But it can be analyzed as a classical space;  it just has a modern vocabulary.  Modestly, Thomas Jayne has included only three photos of his own work, and they are confined to small images in the Introduction, which also includes his thoughts on design philosophy and how they were formed.
All photos are from The Finest Rooms in America by Thomas Jayne with Anne Walker, published by The Monacelli Press, 2010, a book that is highly recommended for all who appreciate the study of decoration, past and present, or "ancient and modern" as Thomas would say.

Thomas Jayne's book THE FINEST ROOMS IN AMERICA can be purchased at a discount of 37% off the published price with the option of free shipping by clicking here to visit The Devoted Classicist Library.

44 comments:

  1. Oh, that Vizcaya bathroom---best of the best

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  2. D.E.D., I almost hesitated to use the bathroom as the lead photo as that is what shows up on Blogrolls. But I do love it so. In my own work, I make the bathrooms, especially the larger ones, as significant as the adjoining rooms; the bathroom just happens to have plumbing fixtures.

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  3. I like the baths but I'd prefer living in a barn. Mom was right about me after all.

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  4. I can only congratulate you for this post.
    The panel with the coloured leaves could make a great mosaic.
    Glad to have found this blog.

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  5. Terry, the Williams-Rosselli former barn is hardly roughing it. Anyone would be very comfortable there, and it is set among beautiful gardens that Bunny has developed.

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  6. M.A., I totally agree. Although I would love it as a wall mosaic, it would also be wonderful as a floor, and perhaps the bottom of a pool, no?

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  7. As a long former resident of Miami, I am very familiar with that bathroom as well as the house and the gardens. Many a stylish party has been held in the property. As to Annette de la Renta's bedroom, it would be my ideal in heaven...all I would need is a kitchen equipped by Williams Sonoma! Rushing out to get the book. How I would love to be in New York to attend!

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  8. Julieta, there are several more photos of the de la Rentas' master suite in the book. The bed, with even the foot posts and sculpted canopy covered in embroidery, is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

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  9. A superb recommendation - thank you!
    All these illustrations are lovely and the reconverted barn has me asking myself once again, why are fanlight windows such triumph in a room? I'm almost always drawn to them.

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  10. L.S.E.L.M., perhaps it is that arched windows and doors provide such a lovely frame for the view beyond. Adjacent to this room is a Conservatory that was added to the barn utilizing three pairs of wonderful, salvaged, arched French doors overlooking a parterre garden, plus new doors at each end. This room is not shown in Thomas' book, but there are several photographs in Bunny's book AN AFFAIR WITH A HOUSE that I recommended in a previous post.

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  11. A presentation that would of been a great honor to have attended. I am putting Mr. Tackett's book on my Amazon wish-list. A book to hold center stage on my library shelves or coffee table. I'm looking forward to reading it. Thank you ~

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  12. I am such an idiot...I had meant Mr. Jaynes' book. It's been a long morning already. Please feel free to not post my comment(s)! My apologies.

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  13. D.T., you do not know how many times I said "woops" at the spilt second after I hit the send button! So please don't be hard on yourself. Many thanks for reading my blog and leaving a comment.

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  14. I'm ordering this book! Wish I could have attended the lecture today. I'm glad you speak so highly of Bunny Williams, I think she is beyond fabulous...I did my internship with her firm and will be forever grateful for the rich experience! Glad to have found your blog. Enjoy the weekend!

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  15. Hamptontoes, I have known Bunny for almost thirty years and we have done countless projects together, both at Parish-Hadley and afterwards, when we each opened our own offices. I learned an enormous amount about interior design working with her, so I know you got a lot out of your internship! Bunny is an incredible talent and has earned her place among the top decorators today.

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  16. I received this fabulous book for Christmas and it is a joy! So many beautiful swoon worthy rooms!

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  17. How is it that I missed this book and the fabulous pictures inside? Sadly, with yet another snow day on our hands here in the suburbs, getting into NYC was close to impossible yesterday. So glad you stopped by The Buzz and introduced yourself! That Billy Haines outdoor "room" is fabulous! (and so is Albert, one of Diane's first clients!)

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  18. Carolyn, you will know many of the designers with a room featured in the book, no doubt. John Saladino, Kitty Hawks, David Kleinberg, the late Mark Hampton, and many more are represented. And I am sure Mr. Hadley's practical side had a lot to do with his appreciation of your company's fabulous flower arrangements! (I was very impressed by the photos).

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  19. Hello and thank-you so much for leaving a comment on my blog and even more so because I have just found yours. I would love to have gone to a lecture like this but unfortunately Australia is a little too far away. I will definitely buy this book as it looks stunning. The bathroom in the top two photos is jaw-dropping and the use of marble is my favourite. I adore marble and it looks like it was also used on the floor tiles as well. I have just done our bathroom using calcutta marble and an egg and dart motif for the cornice and grey painted walls. I am so happy to have found your blog as I adore the history of design and decoration and love using architectural classical motifs. As you may have noticed from my blog name I am completely taken with 18th century history, decoration, architecture and characters that filled it. The Georgian period in England and Ireland is also a favourite and one of my favourite source books is "Irish Georgian" by Herbert Ypma. I also have Sister Parish's book and I can't believe you worked with her firm. Her story and work is incredible and obviously you have a very successful firm. I would love to see some of your work.
    The palace of Versailles and gardens are my favourite .... I have been there three times and each time I can't get enought of it. I have actually taken photos of the Hall of Mirrors glass and tight shots of panelling and door handles in the Petite Trianon and framed them. I also loved a chateau called Vaux le Vicomte and did a post on it some time ago. The same artisans like Louis le Vau and Le Notre first worked here and the owner Fouquet had a big party when the chateau was finished and invited Louis 14th who became incredibly jealous. He then through Fouquet in jail and took the artists to start work on Versailles which was then just a hunting lodge...... but I am sure you know all this and I am getting carried away! Sorry! They re-enact the celebration every year and light 2000 candles throughout the chateau and have a champagne bar and baroque orchestra playing in the gardens. I was lucky enough to go one year and it is truly unbelievable as there is no electricity on at all .... very magical and haunting.
    Thank-you once again and I will be an avid follower of your blog
    Kind regards
    Frances aka M.A. the2nd

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  20. Frances, Calcutta, sometimes also called Calacotta in this country, is my favorite and most often used marble. Don't worry, there will be many examples of my work in future postings.

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  21. Frances, as a student, I visited Vaux le Vicomte and it played a big influence in my own garden, in very basic terms. As you remember at Vaux, the terraces conceal the awkward slope of the land, and I used those same theories for visual correction at my own modest home. Instead of a colossal sculpture as a focal point in the distance, I have a folly to catch the eye. It is more of an interpretation if theory rather than a literal re-creation, of course.

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  22. A classic space with a modern vocabulary...love that, so happy to have discovered your blog! Off to read some more posts.

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  23. Thanks for sharing!
    I hope you have had a wonderful weekend!
    Xo,
    E&J

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  24. Finest rooms in America is really something, we can't tell what really attracts us. Maybe because of its unique photos, illustrations and content.All in all, simply awesome just like staying in Texas Hill Country Land For Sale.

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  25. I was very happy to find my way to your intelligent, beautiful and inspiring blog and will enjoy coming back again and again. It will be added to my blog roll.

    Thank you for stopping by Avolli. So happy to have made you 'acquaintance'.

    My best,
    Tricia

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  26. Oh, so lovely. And if I still lived right around the corner from the Armory on E. 70th, I would be there in a heartbeat! Gorgeous, thoughtful blog, will most definitely be back!

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  27. adore that Frances Brody home and that divine outdoor room....
    pve

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  28. I have just spent the better part of my morning perusing your beautiful blog...can't wait to add this book to my ever growing collection!

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  29. Home automation says:Iam very glad to visit ur blog...This is Absolutely a Traditional Decor ... http://www.edgonline.com/ Thanks for sharing!I hope you have had a Good weekend!

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  30. John,

    Fantastic posts! And thank you so much for commenting on my AH post on DeanFarrisStyle!

    Dean Farris

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  31. wonderful bathroom! lovely greetings

    http://design-elements-blog.com/

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  32. Oh wow, what a beautiful selection of rooms. When I see rooms like this, I like to imagine myself in them, being suitably glamorous of course :)
    *kisses* HH

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  33. Love the book and your selection of rooms...so stunning! Just came back from Paris and it was visual stimulation overload! I happened to get the book there incidentally and indeed it is filled with many spectacular rooms.
    I just posted some pictures from the trip that I think you would very much enjoy..please take a look. Nice post!
    www.theenchantedhome.blogspot.com

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  34. What a fantastic book. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, John. Also, thanks so much for your kind comment and visit to my blog.

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  35. I love Bunny's barn room, but my all time favorite room in the world is David Easton's great room in Balderbrae. I have loved it for over 20 years.
    Best,
    liz

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  36. Liz, I also loved the main room of David Easton's house in the country. But he sold Balderbrae and most of the furnishings went to be auctioned (and brought big prices). As it is no longer extant as you picture it, that room did not qualify for the book.

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  37. Great post! Finest rooms, indeed!
    XOXO LETA

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  38. Did you attend the lecture? Would love to hear about it!

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  39. I hate I missed Thomas Jayne's presentation- the tented ceiling in that bathroom is perfection.

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  40. I've always been so enchanted with that barn of Bunny and John's.
    Pure magic.

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  41. Wow, it looks like a fabulous book! That Bunny Williams room is one of my favorites -- in fact, I love "An Affair with a House" and go back to read it again and again. My mother actually worked for Annette de la Renta's mother -- Mrs. Charles Engelhard. She had a beautiful home in NJ, decorated by Sister Parish. I especially loved the butler's pantry with cabinets painted by Richard Neas. Sadly, the house has since been sold and redecorated...

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  42. ArchitectDesign, unfortunately I did not make it to the Winter Antiques Show at all this year, due to the weather and numerous other restrictions. So I did not hear Thomas Jayne's presentation. But we both have some other opportunities. Keep a lookout for notices of appearances for various chapters of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America.

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  43. Mary, there were numerous Englehard homes decorated by Parish-Hadley, but Mrs. Englehard considered the beautiful Bernardsville estate her main residence during my tenure at P-H in the 80s. I fondly remember her as very gracious lady.

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  44. Many beautiful rooms to admire. Great post!

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