John Tackett is a Branch of the Parish-Hadley Tree of Life

John Tackett's design for a Garden Room in a renovation of a 1930s
house in the Volk Estates area of University Park, Dallas, Texas.
Image: John Tackett Design and The Devoted Classicist blog.

I have known all about Brooke Astor's Money Room, a famous space now revered by traditional decorators and architects, for 35 years.  Blessed with the classic proportions of a top Pre-War Park Avenue apartment building and given more than just a bit of help by knowing what to play up and what to play down, the expertly edited room was a great influence on this impressionable twenty-something.  But by the time of my tenure, however, it existed only in this one transparent image below, part of a slideshow presented to Parish-Hadley clients on occasion to illustrate a point.

Brooke Astor's "Money Room" decorated by Parish-Hadley in the 1970s.
Photo: ALBERT HADLEY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S PREEIMINENT INTERIOR DESIGNER

Mrs. Astor had given the name to a room in her apartment where she determined the beneficiaries of cash gifts from the Astor Foundation charities as well as from her own fortune provided by her late husband, Vincent Astor (son of RMS Titanic victim Jacob Astor).  The room was on the lower level, originally a separate full-floor apartment and later joined to her own with the insertion of an interior staircase.  Brooke Astor was about to leave on a trip the next day when she told Albert Hadley that he could redecorate the Drawing Room of her mother's former apartment if the work could be completed by the time of her return in only two weeks.  The whole Parish-Hadley office immediately sprang into action the next day along with their team of tradespeople and workrooms. 


The Dining Room of a new house designed by John Tackett
for a vacant waterfront site in Palm Beach, Florida.
The chairs are the "Jack" model by Bunny Williams Home.
Drawing by John J. Tackett.

The room was emptied and the furniture sent out for re-upholstery.  The walls were painted with a subtle yellow marble finish but the most memorable feature was the floor; the herringbone parquet floor was scraped and stained in two tones of varying zig-zag stripes, an innovation at the time.  An often over-looked feature of the room was the curtains hanging from big gilded rings on wood poles.  The curtain fabric, and the whole point of telling the story here, was a custom pattern that Mr. Hadley had just designed.  It was printed with a large scale, "Tree of Life" motif that resembled stylized embroidery in brown on natural linen.  The whole team labored diligently with designers Kevin McNamara, Bunny Williams, and Harold Simmons working late on the Sunday night arranging books and hanging pictures before Mrs. Astor's return the next day.  The room was a huge success but virtually unknown to the rest of the decorating world outside Parish-Hadley until it was published in 2005.


John Tackett's design for a new house on a secluded, wooded, hilltop site
in Nashville, Tennessee, is organized so all room benefit from the views.
Drawing by John J. Tackett.

This and many other stories about the company are told by thirty-one former employees in the new book released today, October 6, 2015, PARISH-HADLEY TREE OF LIFE; AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE LEGENDARY DESIGN FIRM.  As those who worked there earned the equivalent of an advanced degree in design, they are known as "alumni."  In an unusually high number of instances, the "graduates" went on to found their own firms.  Examples of their work, influenced by their Parish-Hadley education, illustrate the book.


John Tackett's design for a new house in Nashville features a service entrance elevation
that is pleasing to the owner who almost always uses this entrance as well.
Drawing by John J. Tackett.

Brian J. McCarthy had the idea for the book which had Albert Hadley's blessing before his death in 2012.  (Sister Parish died in 1994).  Bunny Williams volunteered her help in making the book a reality and they are listed as co-authors.  But co-editors would be more accurate as each chapter is told in the words of an alum.  In addition to chapters by Brian and Bunny, other well-known designers such as David Easton, William Hodgins, David Kleinberg, Michael Whaley, and Thomas Jayne relate their experiences at Parish-Hadley.  Plus there are others -- no less talented -- such as John Tackett, known to you all as The Devoted Classicist.

John Tackett's design for a new house in Miami Beach features a
circular Entrance Hall decorated with a Neo-Regency palm tree motif.
Drawing by John J. Tackett.

Not wanting to spoil the experience for those who will read the book, the decision was made not to reproduce any of the images from the book for this post.  As might be imagined, the book could have been published as several volumes but was eventually reduced to a usable 288 pages.  So here are a few of the John Tackett Design images that had to be cut from the final product. 

John Tackett's design for a new house on a minimal lot in Dallas was part of
a development of other homes of similar size and materials while otherwise being unique.
Drawing by John J. Tackett

PARISH-HADLEY TREE OF LIFE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE LEGENDARY DESIGN FIRM can be ordered at a discount from The Devoted Classicist Library, an affiliate of Amazon.  And if you do not have the 1995 book PARISH-HADLEY: SIXTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DESIGN or the 2005 book ALBERT HADLEY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S PREEMINENT INTERIOR DESIGNER, these can be ordered by clicking on the title.   For additional features of The Devoted Classicist blog, see the regular on-line/web version here.   See more examples of my work by going to LABELS on the web version and clicking on "John Tackett Design Portfolio."   Also, see the photos on the Facebook page of John Tackett Design.



John Tackett's design for a new house in the style of a Creole cottage.
Drawing by John J. Tackett.