Just because it's pretty

Do we bloggers always need a reason to post pretty pictures? I for one don't think so. Sometimes we (or at least I) go to a museum simply to see something pretty and not neccesarily to learn anything. Is that too honest?

If you need another reason, it's my birthday; A little pretty is required. Shown here are some period rooms and furnishings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A bust of Louis XV at the age of 47 by Lemoyne and presented to his mistress, Madame de Pompadour (beat that portrait to your mistress, Congressman Weiner)

I show a lot of pictures of chandeliers on my blog I'm starting to realize. Would you believe I don't even own one myself?

Gilded lit a la duchesse (or flying tester bed) by Georges Jacob. Enjoy!

McCormick Apartments

The evolution of a building is natural, much bemoaned by strict preservationist but it is the nature of time, particularly in cities; another topic for another day. A building which started out as the most luxurious apartment building here in Washington, DC now finds itself a distinguished office building holding none other than the National Trust for Historic Preservation.I was lucky enough to have a tour of the building a few months ago and while many changes have been made to the interiors to accomodate offices, it's extraordinary how many of the original details have been retained. Construction began in late 1915 when a mansion previously occupying the site, the Belden Noble residence, was torn down (seen below). The sturdy looking 3 story mansion was built in 1880, meaning it was only 36 years old when torn down. I was just talking to a friend just recently about how some things never change; so many of us still regard many buildings as temporary, even fine specimens such as this (yet again a subject for another post).

The neighborhood, Dupont Circle, was the heart of the cultural center of the city at the time (and some may argue still is) and the new building was designed to fit into this city beautiful movement stretching across the country.The owner of the property, Stanley McCormick, hired local architect Jules Henri de Sibour (designer of many of the most beautiful mansions in the Dupont area now housing embassies) to design a large Beaux-Art Louis XVI styled building which would house 6 luxury apartments with servant quarters for up to 40 employees.The apartments are palatial and were rented out at prices that seem high, even today. Because of this, the tenant list reads as a veritable 'Who's Who' of the DC social scene from the era. Most famously, Andrew Mellon lived in the penthouse apartment while Secretary of the Treasury and later while building his art collection which would eventually become the foundation of the National Gallery of Art (an interesting story for my next post related to the building).

In 1941, the building was leant to the British Army for use during the war for purchasing and since has had many commercial tenants including NCARB (National Architectural Accrediting Board, Inc) , the national AIA, the American Council on Education and has been home for years now to the National Trust for historic preservation (who recently tried to unsuccessfully sell the building).

Despite having lived longer as an office building than as an apartment house, the building fortunately retains much of its early detail. One enters a rounded corner at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 18th Street NW into a small round lobby seen here.

Unlike luxury apartment buildings in the city today, there were no shared amenities per say. Rather, the public spaces, while beautiful, are small and efficient. No swimming pool , roof deck or gym were offered to the tenants!From the entry lobby, one stepped up into a marble lined vestibule which contained doorways into two smaller apartments, 3 seperate elevators (one for service staff) and the main staircase (which wraps around the primary elevator).The plaster work in the lobby is astounding and even more amazing is that it has survived intact for so many years.The marble floors are an added bonus in Washington as it gets rather hot here in the summer and this was built pre-air conditioning. However, most of the tenants were here only during the winter 'season' and would not have had to worry about this inconvienence.The marble main staircase, while wide and gracious, is rather utilitarian with simple moldings but originally had windows opening onto an air shaft for natural light and ventilation which has since been enclosed.

The landings outside of each apartment continue the simple moldings and 12" square black & white marble floors.Join me next week as I show details from these original apartments, a typical floor plan is below to whet your appetite!Color photographs are my own but the historical images come from the book "Massachusetts Avenue Architecture, Volume 1" produced by the Commission of Fine Arts in 1973.

My updated dining room

You may remember a few years ago I purchased an antique set of caned chairs and table made by Baker -see the post HERE. While the caning looked great, it wasn't very comfortable or practical and I had decided to have cushions made.

I used Aku Merali at Marketplace Interiors in Alexandria, VA. He is a well respected upholsterer here in DC used by everyone, including the White House. He recommended attaching a pad on a wooden base to the chair instead of seperate cushions and I followed the experts advice! I am so pleased with the result and couldn't be happier. The fabric I chose is Ralph Lauren Home's English Riding Velvet in Lovat -a beautiful muted turquoise.

After picking up the chairs on Saturday morning (thanks Mark!), I decided to host an inaugural launch and had some friends over for some fresh strawberry shortcake and champagne. I bought the Paisley Table Throw from Potterybarn which coordinates beautifully with the chair fabric. To go with the dessert theme, I used my Strawberries and Cream china by Royal Doulton and some Adam styled antique silver from Ms. Pixies.

I am so happy with how it all turned out and even more pleased to share my small changes with you all.

Superstitions

Do you hold any superstitions? I don't mean picking up pennies and avoiding black cats, this is a design blog after all! While going through some photos I took in the Metropolitan Museum of Art earlier this year, I noticed that these wall lights had the candle wicks left unburnt. I've always been taught that tapers should be charred before being left in a candlestick; not sure why, but I've always followed this rule. I know it comes from some unknown superstition but I can't seem to find what would happen if I didn't burn them! Do you follow this practice?
These rococo wall lights are manufactored by the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin in the 1760s.

Vizcaya: Goyesca

Adjacent to Giudecca and sharing a bathroom in the southeast tower is the guest room Goyesca. Named after the Neoclassic murals which cover the walls which depict Roman styled grotesques, I'm not sure the theme is the most appropriate or restful for use in a bedroom but they are none the less lovely!

Despite the pink lined bed canopy and delicate plaster ceiling medallion, I think this room has a decidely masculine feel to it, don't you? Maybe it's just the restrained neoclassical decorations which appeal to me.

The advantage of a tower bedroom is multiple exposures; here facing the bay as well as the gardens.

Other guest rooms feature just as much detailing in the wall coverings, such as the one below which has a strong chinoiserie influence.

So many guest rooms, could you possibly just choose one? I wonder how many guests would switch rooms weekly to experience them all!

Vizcaya: Giudecca

The Southeast tower holds 2 guest rooms which share a bath. Giudecca, shown here, is simpler than the rooms downstairs but no less elegant. The centerpiece is, again, a magnificent canopied bed.I love the decorative plaster work on the walls highlighted in mint green and tan, so evocative of the time period. The room is named after an island in Venice as it overlooks the Venetian-styled bridges and ornaments along the waterfront.At the foot of the bed (raised on a platform for some reason) are two Louis Vuitton traveling trunks. I suppose guests would need to pack a lot because they would never want to leave!

Vizcaya: Galleon guest suite

The main guest suite at Vizcaya is in the opposite corner of Mr. Deerings offering views of both Viscayne Bay and the Formal Gardens. Occupying the physical corner is the sitting room named Galleon after the shipping vessels which inspired the house.

The wood walls are painted to imitate marble and display a collection of 18th century Italian landscape paintings. As throughout the rest of the house, the diverse decorations include 18th century Italian and English furniture with a French Savonnerie carpet.

This extravagant suite seems like an amazing place to stay for Deering's guest of honor -wouldn't you say?

Vizcaya: Espagnolette

One of the most feminine guest rooms at Vizcaya is named Espagnolette. All of the guest suites were named after historical characters from literature and feature different design styles. Each suite comfortably features a bathroom and ample walk in closet.

This bedroom has access to Mr. Deering's bedroom suite via the balcony so one suspects that his most special female guests were invited to stay, if you get my drift. The room's name fittingly refers to a young decolletee woman from the 18th century, such as the ones depicted by Watteau. While he never married and remained deeply private about his personal affairs, Deering is known to have had several mistresses throughout his lifetime and certainly they were invited to stay at Vizcaya and probably in this suite. Chalfin chose to decorate the room in a romantic Venetian interpretation of French Rococo style. The room features an antique period mantelpiece but the centerpiece remains the magnificent canopied bed.

2011 Kips Bay Showhouse

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Kips Bay decorators showhouse while in New York. This years house is a historic 4 floor neo-Federalist mansion once owned by John Hay Whitney at 163 E. 63rd Street.The house has a piano nobile design with the primary spaces on the 2nd floor. However, a study and dining room open out onto the back yard from the first floor (the front entry is on the right on the plan above while the backyard is to the left).The study was decorated by Celerie Kemble (who has an unusually thick and beautiful business card) and is shown on the floorplan above as room #3. Probably one of my favorite rooms in the house. It didn't feel decorated so much as stylishly lived in. While the paneling was original and the focal point of the room, she covered the ceiling with some great antiqued mirror that held up visually to the walls.Next to it was the dining room, done by Matthew Patrick Smyth, shown on the plan as room #4.Many features of the current house were required to be kept by the current owners who generously loaned the house, leaving a lot of fixtures and finishes for the designers to work around.One such thing was the wallpaper in the dining room which Matthew ingeniusly decided to frame using drapes, much like a view. I loved the fresh look this gave the traditional space.The living room, located on the 2nd floor (see #7 on the floorplan above) stretches out along the width of the house on 63rd street. Decorated by Richard Mishaan, the room contained some SERIOUS art, unusual for a showhouse, including pieces by Leger, Niki De Saint Phalle, Hirst and Botero!Also on the 2nd floor was Campion Platt's "Ode to Jock" room, room #10, taking the place of the 'his' master bedroom with a game room or den of sorts.The finishes in this room were spectacular, however I'm not sure what was original and what Platt was involved with. I especially loved the hidden doors flanking the fireplace which had venetian plaster above a low wood wainscot. That door hardware is like jewelry.The 'her' master bedroom was decorated by Amanda Nesbit and is seen on the plan as room #9. These rooms face south and were light filled and really beautiful.The paneling had to remain and I suspect some wallpaper as well, which Amanda covered with some silk fabric.I loved the gilt lucite table with the 'floating' design.The glamorous master dressing and bathroom were done by Cayley Barrett Associates, seen on the floor plan above as rooms 8 & 8A.While the design/build firm has been involved with the showhouse many times in the past -this is the first time they have done a room designed by themselves.Joy Licht, the owner and founder of the company, was able to show me around the spaces and point out some of the great details. I especially loved the 'mirror' in the dressing room - a video camera and tv screen so you can see yourself 'live' (modeled so well by my friend Eric who joined me on the tour!).The tile work was done by artistic tile while the floors were the original antique wood parquet.These cute light fixtures dotted the space.No less glamorous than the master bedroom was the one done by Barbara Ostrom on the 3rd floor in room #13. The room was tiny and lacked a fireplace, unlike most of the other main rooms. Barbara added an antique mantel and filled it with wood -who would have guessed it was fake!Winning most fun room of the house (awarded by myself) was a childs room (#16) decorated by Harry Heissmann.Antique, smokey mirror covered the walls and the furnishings were colorful, fun and inventive with a lot of personal touches. If I was able to stay overnight in the house this is the room I'd choose; how fun would that be?! The pillow cover was a couture fabric covered in rhinestones adding a lot of fun 'bling'.Next to Barbara's bedroom was a den done by Jeff Lincoln (#12). I loved the blue painted woodwork and the furnishings he chose.After the closeness of the house below, it was like breathing fresh air when you walked up onto the fourth floor of the house. Wide and open with balconies on either end, this is the space any homeowner would spend their time in.Brad Ford decorated one end of the room with a really fun wood coffee table housing a built-in record player!Robert Stilin decorated the other end and terrace with a seating group around the fireplace. Again, art was the focus of his room.The rear terrace housed these really great trellised pavilions that I had to share with you to close; painted a french gray. See what I mean - beautiful rooms but you would never leave the top floor!

Check out more indepth coverage of the house at my friend Habitually Chic -Heather took some really great photos and got to talk to many of the designers.

Be sure to visit the house while in New York; procedes benefit a very worthy cause.