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.

The Dean's List

Several blogs and newspapers wrote about last November's event to benefit the outreach ministry and programs of the Southport (Connecticut) Congregational Church, "Rooms with a View, 2010".  This past year it honored Albert Hadley, the "Dean of American Design" with the collection of vignettes titled "The Dean's List".  Albert Hadley was my Best Boss Ever, but I had not started my blog in time to write about the event.

The current February "Architectural Digest" features a short article on the event, however, so I considered that eligible for a posting.  The photos above and below come from that magazine in an article written by Mitchell Owens titled "Master Class".  My friend and sometimes collaborator Thomas Jayne had a very small space decorated by fabulous inkblots, like a Rorshach test.  I provided a sketch of his ideas for the space as the illustration for the catalog that accompanied the exhibition, so I had a hint of what was to come.  But the results were fantastic in reality, as all, including Mr. Hadley, agreed.

Other friends who participated were Libby Cameron, Susanne Earls Carr, David Kleinberg, Brian McCarthy, Michael Whaley, and Bunny Williams.  Others, who were either before or after my tenure at Parish-Hadley, were Pamela Banker, David Easton, Thom Filicia, Harry Heissman, and Brian Murphy.  Five more vignettes are shown in the article, all showing an influence of the great Albert Hadley, so take a look at the magazine, now on news stands.  It is a treat for the devoted classicist.

Mid-Winter With Gardens on My Mind

This past week, I officially passed on the gavel, ending my term as President of the Memphis Horticultural Society.  For those who enjoy reading about gardening, the organization's newsletters are available on-line at http://www.memphishorticulture.org/.  Readers of this blog might particularly enjoy the description of my favorite private garden in the U.S. that I described in the President's Letter of the September, 2010, newsletter "Clippings" which can be viewed by visiting the site.

As some may guess from the photos, the garden that I have written about belongs to interior designer and author Bunny Williams and her antiques dealer husband John Rosselli.  The first photo shows antique tole flowers in pots on a window ledge at the Manor House, Bunny and John's weekend house in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  And the second photo shows a portion of the sunken garden, an outdoor room with a wonderful stone retaining wall on one side and lattice walls on the other three;  trimmed boxwoods around the lily pool form a room-within-a-room.  (The photo is reversed, for those who have visited).

 

My very minor contributions from years ago, a drawing for a fence, a bench, an arbor, etc., are all still part of the scheme for the remarkable series of gardens to form a collection that Bunny has created and beautifully maintained.  All these photos and more, along with the whole story of the property, are delightfully presented in An Affair With A House, written by Bunny and published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York.  The book is one of the best of its kind and highly recommended for all house and garden lovers.  And yes, it is pleasing to the most devoted classicist.

For The New Year Baby

Mealtimes, regardless of the time of day, would be considerably more stylish if one had this Egyptian-inspired highchair, circa 1930, from Maison Jansen.  I presume the lacquered paint finish simulates ebony and ivory, a classic combination that is hard to beat.  Add a quilted fabric lining for protection, and 2011 should be off to a good start.

This photo is from the section on Modern Seating from Jansen Furniture by James Archer Abbott, the 2007 companion volume to Jansen published the previous year, both by Acanthus Press.  James tells us that, in addition to the inventory of period furniture for sale in both the Paris and New York City showrooms, Jansen had their own workshops that could create furniture especially for a certain commission.  In additon, seating frames were sometimes purchased from other sources to be finished in Jansen ateliers, but surely this was custom made for a specific client.  Sadly, I know nothing of the residence for which this highchair was intended, but it must have been spectacular.

Decorative Painting, Part 1

An overabundance of mediocre to just plain bad decorative painting has somewhat soured the design profession and the general public to a great degree.  But special painting, ranging from simple glazing to trompe l'oeil, can provide a layer of interest in a very personal and unique way.  In this example by the late Robert Jackson, the artist incorporated a variety of techniques to decorate the walls of a dining room of an architectural project of mine in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, decorated by Bunny Williams.  Robert took my design for pilasters that provided the framework for a new bay window in this room and a new breakfast room adjacent, and gave a decorative rhythmic layout to the otherwise plain dining room.  While the lower panels are consistent in design as a trompe l'oeil panel with vines of morning glories, the upper panels are each a different romantic landscape view.  The overall effect, like the rest of the house, is one of charming sophistication.  There is a formality without stiffness, a trademark of Mr Jackson's work. For eight years in the 1950s, Mr Jackson developed his technique in England working for the legendary Oliver Messel and John Siddeley.  Robert Jackson enjoyed a long career of decorative painting, usually commissioned by noted New York City designers who appreciated his versatility and his knowledge of various styles and periods, especially 17th and 18th century French and Italian paintings.  

I have been fortunate to have had several phases of architectural design work to improve this stone Georgian Revival style house from the 1930s on a lovely site on a private road out the Main Line from Philadelphia.  (And I have been even more fortunate to have helped with additional residences for this couple as well, all beautifully decorated by Bunny).  This is the clients' primary home and my association was made even more a pleasure because both the husband and the wife were so involved and interested in the project, a situation that is not always the case.  Working on this wonderful house with Bunny, Robert, and fabulous clients was a treat for the devoted classicist.

The photo by Tom Leigton appears in the book Modern Murals, Grand Illusions in Interior Decoration by Caroline Cass, published by Whitney Library of Design.

Merry Christmas

Classic residential design knows no minimum size at the studio of John Tackett Design.  This new villa, currently in the planning stage for Miami-Dade County, Florida, is less than 2,000 square feet.  My new houses are not reproductions of specific traditional buildings, but a particular historic model might be an inspiration for an element of the new design;  it might be the general massing and scale, or it might be a particular feature such as the entrance that is reinterpreted for the new house.  Proportion and harmony of materials are two factors missing from so many of today's new houses, so I strive to achieve perfection in those two areas, especially.  And my houses are not just facades, but all elevations (i.e., all sides of the house) are important and each hold their own, visually.  Another important feature is the floor plan, logical in progression and spatially interesting, but meeting contemporary needs.

One of the inspirations for this free-standing single family home is the Pavillion Saint-Vigor by Gabriel in the village of Viroflay (near Versailles), France, built circa 1770.  But this house will be fully equipped for today's technology and LEED certified, environmentally responsible, and a healthy, livable home.  It will be suitable for even the most devoted classicist.

The drawing currently used for the banner was the cover for last year's holiday card, and the drawing above is this year's card.  Best wishes for all my readers, and I send hopes for peace and a very merry Christmas to all.

Maison Jansen: The Most Influential Decorators of the 20th Century

One of the many great things about the holiday season is the launch of wonderful new books.  There are a number of new titles in decorative arts by friends and acquaintances, but they have not yet made it to book store shelves in Middle America;  I hope to blog about them soon, though.  First, I will present a 2006 gem, JANSEN by James Archer Abbott from Acanthus Press' 20th Century Decorator Series with Mitchell Owens, Series Editor.  All the images shown here are taken from this book.  The photo above shows the Library of the Madrid home of the March banking family, overseen by then-head of the firm, Pierre Delbee.

In full disclosure, James Abbott is a valued friend of almost twenty years, since we were classmates in the Attingham Summer School in England.  In addition to authoring several exceptional books, he has been the curator/director of a number of great house museums, and he is a talented artist as well as all-around Good Guy.  I was an excited youngster when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave a televised tour of the sophisticated improvements to the White House, many with the input of Stephane Boudin of Jansen, we were later to learn.  I became familiar with Maison Jansen as a teen, seeing their work credited in library books featuring European architecture and interior design.  I really became a fan, however, after seeing their designs published in 1971 for the four day celebration of the 2,500th Anniversary of the Empire at the ruins of Persepolis, Iran, as shown in the model above.  Jansen designs have often be inspirations for my own projects and my fascination with the Kennedy White House decoration has been enriched with conversations with James over the years with my knowledge of Sister Parish's valuable contributions.  I was not disappointed when JANSEN was published.

 

I am writing about Maison Jansen because there are still many design professionals and enthusiasts that are unfamiliar with the noted inteior design firm.  In James A. Abbott's JANSEN, he states that Maison Jansen was the most famous and influential interior decorating company of the 20th century.  I resisted accepting that claim at first, but I fully embraced it after reading the book.  The Jansen client list was a very diverse international group;  most of them powerful and all were rich.  With headquarters in Paris, there were eventually offices or boutiques in Buenos Aires, London, Cairo, Alexandria, Havana, New York, Prague, Sao Paulo, Rome, Milan, and Geneva.

Jayne (Mrs. Charles B.) Wrightsman, is shown above, in 1959, in the Library of her house in Palm Beach, Florida, as refurbished by Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen.  The original 1917 house known as Blythedunes was designed by H. Hastings Mundy for Robert Dun Douglas whose family founded Dun & Bradstreet.  In 1930, it was sold to Harrison Williams, a utilities magnate who was once considered one of the world's richest men, and his wife Mona, a renown beauty, who hired architect Maurice Fatio and decorator Syrie Maugham to restyle the house into one of the most stylish of its time.  Financial reverses led to the sale to multimillionaire oilman Charles Wrightsman and his second wife Jayne who had become a serious student of decorative arts, especially those associated with 18th century France.  To make the house her own and satify her own interests, Mrs Wrightsman hired Jansen who paneled three rooms in period 18th century woodwork, altered and augmented as necessary in their own workshops, and floored four rooms in parquet of royal provenance.  The dazzling 18th century handpainted Chinese wallpaper installed by Syrie Maugham remained in the Drawing Room, but a Louis XV marble chimneypiece, set against a floor-to-ceiling framed mirror, replaced a larger baronial English fireplace.  Museum quality antique furniture was supplemented by handmade new furniture, also from the Jansen workshops, and the decor complimented the Wrightsmans' collection of Impressionist paintings.  After Boudin's death in 1967, other designers were called upon for maintenance and updating, notably Vincent Fourcade. 

When the house was sold in 1984 to Leslie Wexner of The Limited and Victoria's Secret, some of the antiques and art were divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Wrightsmans' Manhattan apartment.  So-called lesser pieces were sold at a celebrated auction by Sotheby's New York, an eye-opening event I experienced first hand with "decorative" and "second hand" furnishings selling for record prices.  Wexner demolished the famed house on six acress at 513 North County Road with 600 ft of ocean frontage, causing such an uproar from locals, that he abandoned plans to build a new house (designed by my former employer BeyerBlinderBelle) and decided against having a vacation house in Palm Beach after all.  Jayne Wrightsman, b. 1920, who introduced Boudin to Jackie Kennedy, still lives in a palatial, full-floor, art and antiques-filled apartment at 820 Fifth Avenue, one of New York City's most desirable addresses.

And the Wrightsmans are just one of the many clients and projects profiled in the book!  There is also a sequel of sorts, Jansen Furniture, to be reviewed in a future post.  Both are highly recommended for anyone interested in interior design.


Both Jansen books by James Archer Abbott are available at discount pricing with the option of free shipping through The Devoted Classicist Library in affiliation with Amazon here.