Book Recommendation: Living With Light by Axel Vervoordt

 

©Axel Vervoordt: Living with Light by Axel Vervoordt, Flammarion, 2013

This fall has been an amazing one for the release of gorgeous new books and the new Axel Vervoordt: Living with Light book is truly one of the standouts.

His ability to mix the old with the new into gorgeous and harmonious interiors is truly on display here and it's a much needed text book for any interior designer who wishes to study a rare master of European design. One of my favorite aspects of European design is the ability to mix the old with the new and for it all to seem modern and of the moment without ever being trendy.

This master bedroom furnishings include an English X-frame leather and wood campaign stool (c. 1890), an English walnut lowboy as a side table (c. 1720) and a sandstone torso of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara from Thailand. 

Dining room in a summer house features an Enrico Castellani relief painting (1967, Untitled, and 18th century Aix-en-Provence chest of drawers, an 18th century Piedmont crystal chandelier, and Louis XVI Italian armchairs and a beautifully draped table.

 A refined gallery sitting room for taking in the view. 18th century Italian refectory table and 17th century chairs. The rest are designed by the Axel Vervoordt Company. 

A grand party room.  Italian walnut credenza (c. 1660), a trio of 18th century Italian chestnut chandeliers, Louis XIII armchairs and an English oak table.

An amazing light filled dining gallery. Louis XIV dining chairs with protective slip covers, French chandeliers (c. 1800). The walls are covered in white Delft tile.

 Pardon me while I go back to pouring over each of the pages! Oh, and BOO - Happy Halloween!

Botero Collection from DuVerre Hardware

I'm loving this new collection, Botero, from DuVerre Hardware, designed by William Harvey. 

CURVY, SENSUOUS AND MODERN - just like the artists' paintings.

 

The original mobile home

 This historical society (DRHS) in my hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts posted this great old photo of "Halls Tavern" from 1908. This original Federal style house was built somewhere between 1790 and 1810 (1810 per DRHS and 1790 per Wikipedia referencing the National Registry of Historic places). The house was moved to Cambridge at 20 Gray Gardens West in 1930 and in 1983 it was listed on the Registry of Historic Places. Interestingly, the City of Cambridge's real estate records list the house as having been build in 1700, but it's not the right style for that. Unfortunately, what stands in its spot today is a gas station. The town, which is quite beautiful, is known for being very hostile to business development and maintaining it's original rural splendor. This section of town - Hall's Corner - still revolves around a flagpole as seen above in the 1908 pic above. Five roads lead to this traffic circle and we're still required to "keep to the right". You can always tell an out of towner when they go the wrong way and chaos ensues. The smaller house to the right of the original Halls Tavern was a school and is now known as the Girl Scout House.

Here's the house today. According to the records, it's been in the same hands since 1966 so there are no interior shots that I can find. Can you imaging watching this house being dismantled and trucked 40 miles up to Cambridge?  An amazing feat and a testimony to good original workmanship!

Am battling my first cold of the season right now. Yuck - though I do enjoy my medicinal hot toddies in the evening! My recipe: tea, lemon and a liberal dose of honey and whiskey.

I've also been busy working on my upcoming Art & Design lecture. Here's a sneak peak of one of my design schemes around artist Rick Fleury's painting "Perception"

It's going to be a fun evening with great refreshments provided by Snow & Jones and we're giving away design consultations, Rick's art prints and a fabulous Kohler shower head!

For more information and to register to attend, click here.

Hot Pic: An Inspired Sitting Room

 

This week's Hot Pic on Pinterest comes from Hutton Wilkinson's home in Beverly Hills. Killer. Makes me reconsider my ode to white spaces from last week! Are any of you schizophrenic when it comes to color and decor? Some days all I want is simple and New England stark and then I see a space like Mr. Wilkinson's above and it just ticks all my boxes. Love the color palette first off. Love the two colors and various shades of each. Love the antiques with the amazing pow of the wall treatment. Love, love love the tiny bergere. Marie Antoinette meets the follies bergere! The wallcovering is based on a painting by Tony Duquette's wife Elizabeth.

This house is situated next to Dawnridge, the late decorator Tony Duquette's amazing house. Hutton Wilkinson worked for Mr. Duquette and continues to nurture his brand and style.

Here's the living room Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson. Rowrrr! 

The view through the master bedroom.

Another view of our Hot Pic room which is Ruth Wilkinson's room and below a final look at the first image.

At first glance, the living room may seem completely at odds with this exuberant but more muted sitting room, but when all the photos are viewed together, the color story becomes more clear.

The inspiration painting: Elizabeth Duquette (American, 1917-1995) Classical figures in an interior; Classical figures with attendants, mid 20th Century (2) gouache on masonite, each signed Elizabeth Duquette lower right and further signed on the reverse. dimensions 14 x 16in (35.5cm x 40.5cm) 

Another Elizabeth Duquette: Pair of gouaches on masonite, Monumental Decorative Panels, circa 1950, by Elizabeth Duquette (American, 1917-1994), 10'h x 4'w. Provenance: Estate of Leona Helmsley

Photos by Christopher Sturman for Harper's Bizarre.

New from Ann Sacks Tile

Loving this new Pietra collection of porcelain tile from Ann Sacks which looks like natural Calacatta marble.

Can't wait to use it in a project soon! If you'd be interested in pricing and purchasing options, please contact me.

White Space

Ever since I worked on this beach house project above (which was featured in a cover story in the September 2013 issue of Cape Cod Magazine) I've been very drawn to predominantly white spaces. I love color, print and pattern, but recently the look of white backgrounds that highlight the shapes, colors and textures of the furnishings and accessories really captures my imagination. I went back and took a quick look at my Dream House Pinterest board and sure enough - there's a lot of white there.
And I just looove this selection of images below. There is something so romantic and feminine about these spaces without being girly or cloying.

Image source unknown

Source unknown

Design by Nancy Ross, photo by Laura Moss, styling by Stacy Kunstel

Designer unknown

 Lynette Scalo Design

Francine Turk Art Installations

Designer unknown. Possibly via Nuevo Estilo

J. Crew's Bridal Boutique, NYC.

Marie Olsson Nylander

While white bathrooms aren't a surprise, I think what I like about this is the gorgeous chair which is really highlighted against the white backdrop. Designer Unknown. From Atlanta Homes magazine.

Designer unknown - please let me know if this is yours!

Vicente Wolfe's living room

Lauren Liess design

Could you live with all white? Have a great weekend!

Links and additional information here. I did a reverse lookup on Google for any images that weren't originally tagged with original designer/publication information and where I could, I've listed the attributions.  If any of the unidentified images belong to you or you know whose it is - please let me know!

Please Join Us! Incorporating Fine Art Into Your Interiors

I'm excited to share that I will be presenting a lecture on art in interiors along with Cape Cod contemporary landscape painter Rick Fleury in November at two locations in Massachusetts.

I've long admired Rick's work:

 Perception    Herring River, Wellfleet        Oil on Canvas, 30" x 40" x 1.5"  

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Rick is devoting his professional life to painting coastal landscapes of New England – leaving behind successful careers as a journalist and New York executive officer and creative director in advertising and public relations.

His minimalist, contemporary style of landscape is widely associated with Cape Cod and coastal New England, with growing recognition nationally and internationally. He has used his work as a platform to speak on the issues of conservation, preservation and environmental awareness. Rick had a solo exhibition at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in 2006 and was later included in An Exhibition from the Permanent Collection at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and in recent invitational exhibitions at the Cahoon Museum of  American Art, The Cotuit Center for the Arts, The Harvard Club of Boston, the Boston International Fine Art Show, Art & Design 20/21, Boston, and the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival.  He is an Artist Member of Boston's Copley Society of Art, the oldest art association in the United States. His work has been selected for numerous juried and invitational exhibitions with Copley, resulting in major awards and a near-sellout solo exhibition in 2008.

The talk will cover a broad range of subjects including placement, lighting, interior design, digital technology, selection, resources, and getting started in developing working relationships with designers and artists.  I'll be creating some design schemes using Rick's work as the focal point - in both traditional and contemporary settings. This will be a very visual and tactile presentation including a Keynote presentation showing how art is displayed in many settings using our own work plus images from some of the best designers working today.

A huge thanks to Danielle at Snow and Jones, Inc. who is our generous host for both presentations in their Norwell and Yarmouth locations. Snow and Jones, Inc. is a premier destination for luxury kitchen and bath needs, serving the South Shore and Cape Cod since 1952. Tasty refreshments will be served and we'll be having some great giveaways!

You can RSVP online here or by phone with Sharon at 774-287-2508.