The Genteel Geranium

I've heard some awfully disparaging remarks about geraniums, and for the life of me, I just can't understand how such a well-mannered and proper plant could elicit unkind comments. Thanks to their cheery and good-natured blooms, geraniums are guaranteed to bring one out of the doldrums, something else that means this flowering plant deserves a little respect. (I should add that I'm guilty of making disparaging remarks about gladioli, but that's a post for another day.)

While I'm partial to red blooming geraniums, pink, coral, and white are fine by me too. And did I mention how easy they are to care for? They only require some sun, a good watering, and the occasional deadheading. But I'm certainly not the only one who is a fan of the geranium. Take a look at some of the others who admire this most genteel of plants.

Image above: Lady Diana Mosley (née Mitford), had pots of geraniums including this one scattered around her garden at her Paris home, The Temple of Glory at Orsay.




During the annual Festival of the Patios in Cordoba, Spain, townspeople decorate their patios, terraces, and balconies with geraniums and other plants.



Cecil Beaton grew scarlet colored geraniums- and lots of them- at Reddish House.




The very elegant drawing room at Bentley in Sussex, owned by Mary Askew. Note how the red of the geraniums, pillows, and book end tables punctuate the room.






Countess Margaret Willaumez and her dog Moppet enjoyed the geraniums at their home in Capri, Casa Lontana.

Image at top from The Finest Houses Of Paris; Cordoba, Spain photo from House & Garden, November 1971; Beaton photo from Celebrity Homes: Architectural Digest Presents the Private Worlds of Thirty International Personalities; Bentley photo from Country homes (The Worlds of Architectural digest); Willaumez photo from House & Garden, January 1970.

Let's Chic It Up for the 1950s

Hands down one of the best conferences that I've ever attended was last year's Chic It Up! conference at Winterthur. Absolutely fascinating and well worth the trip up North. In fact, it was at last year's event (it focused on 1940s design) that I heard Pauline Metcalf speak about Syrie Maugham. It was after listening to her lecture that I knew her book on Maugham was going to be a winner...and it was.

This year's event, scheduled for Friday, November 12, will look at 1950s design. Speakers include Thomas Jayne (whose new book The Finest Rooms in America was just released), Donald Albrecht (he is an absolutely terrific speaker who will speak about Cecil Beaton and 1950s set design), and other decorative arts historians. And what could be better than to visit Winterthur as well?

If meetings didn't keep me in Atlanta, I would attend in a heartbeat. Poor me. Anyway, if you live in the area or plan to be close-by, I encourage you to make plans to attend. You will not be disappointed!

For more information, click here.

For Your Consideration, v. 1

I have to, um, hand it to Cecil Beaton. He was awfully creative. The walls of his guest bathroom were adorned with outlines of his guests' hands (painted by Beaton, of course) that were signed by the respective hand's owner as well. Not for everyone, but it is a humorous take on the ubiquitous guest book.

(Image from The Thirties in Vogue by Carolyn Hall)

A Beaton Beatification

It was a Cecil Beaton kind of week. Not that that's a bad thing- far from it. It just seems as though everywhere I looked, there he was.

First, I bought a book that showed his London home from the early 1960s. It was not what I expected as I'm more familiar with Beaton's romantic, eccentric style of decor. (Or perhaps I should say "romantical"...a term coined by Paula Deen. Actually, every time I hear her say that, it drives me up the wall.) This particular version of Beaton's home has a French Billy Baldwin kind of feel to it. That is, if Billy Baldwin had been born and raised in France.

The two images at top were Beaton's living room in which the walls were covered in black velvet. Yes, black velvet- how great is that? What might be even more interesting is that the velvet is trimmed in gold and silver Spanish embroidery. Fortunately, you do not need to imagine what it looked like. Here is a detail shot:

The marquetry floor was saved from a Rothschild house that was demolished. The corner banquettes are vermilion with pillows made of obis. Both the floor lamp and the cocktail table were by Diego Giacometti. And notice too (in the photo at the very top) the painting of Beaton by Christian Bérard.




Vermilion made another appearance in Beaton's bedroom, though this time in the form of flocked walls. The bed is a rather simple affair of steel with brass pineapple finials, and according to the book's text it was covered in white draperies in the summertime. Both the bedside cabinets as well as the room's doors (not shown here) were white with gilt detail. I admit that I'm not too crazy about the carpet, but it was a different era and perhaps we would have found it attractive at that time.




Beaton's bathroom with sumptuous silk curtains and a gouache by Denis Hawkins. The mahogany bath fixtures were from Wilton House.



A grainy photo I know, but this landing sported animal print chairs and a jardinière filled with plants.

So after having studied these photos, I later attended an event at my friend Jared's showroom which fêted Cecil Beaton fabrics. More Beaton, but just in the flesh. Well, Beaton wasn't there in the flesh, but the textiles inspired by his sketches were. Here are a few that caught my eye:




(Beaton home photographs from The Best in European Decoration)

All That Glitters is Not Always Gold

I'm mesmerized by these Cecil Beaton photos, above. Of course, the costumes are really something else, especially that worn by Tilly Losch in the second photo. But what really fascinates me are those backdrops. The top photo (that's Beaton's sister, Baba) looks as though the subject is sitting in front of a wall covered in aluminum foil. And in the Losch photo, the background looks a little more liquidy. I can't quite tell what it is. And despite the fact that both photos are black and white, you can tell that the backdrops are reflective. I love it.

These photos started me on a roll looking for unusual uses of metallics. Of course, one of the most memorable "metallic moments" was Rose Cumming's use of metallic foil on her bedroom's walls. Eccentric, perhaps, but genius as well. And I always thought that the curtains were lamé, but I was wrong. According to Adam Lewis' The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design, 1870-1955 (from which I took this photo), the fabric was actually a silk like that used for saris:



Metallics seem to be a popular choice for tablecloths. Mai Hallingby chose quilted Mylar for her The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook tablesetting. Very tongue in cheek-or at least I'm assuming. I do think, though, that you would have to wear your sunglasses and sunscreen should you be sitting at a Mylar covered table under the noontime sun.



Sirio Maccioni's tablesetting for Tiffany Taste included a gold lamé tablecloth. Now remember, this is fantasy. I'm not suggesting anyone run out and buy lamé. But...if you wanted to be cheeky and over the top, it could be fun.



If all of this metallic is a bit too obvious, there are other ways to add a little glimmer and shimmer to your rooms. Think polished sterling silver bowls or trays. A not so shiny metallic wallpaper. Gold or silver leafed frames. And let's not forget metallic fabrics. I love those...so much so that I used a Celerie Kemble for Schumacher metallic fabric for my living and dining room curtains.

Glimmer by Schumacher


(Beaton photos taken from Beaton by James Danziger; Cumming photo from The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design, 1870-1955 by Adam Lewis; Hallingby photo from Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook, The and Maccioni picture from Tiffany Taste)

Baroque-en Beds

I'm a great admirer of people who have the guts to go out on a limb and do something crazy in their homes, even if it's not so very stylish. Didn't Diana Vreeland once say that it was better to have bad taste than no taste at all? One room that seems to really stir people's fantasies is the bedroom. And no, I'm not talking about those fantasies. This is a design blog after all.

Most of us have tailored, upholstered headboards and plain but appropriate bed linen. Can you imagine having one of these Baroque, bold, and over the top beds in your bedroom?? Probably not. But sometimes it's interesting to see what goes on behind closed doors.

(Image at top: I could say something cheesy like "Snare him in your web of allure", and I just did!)


Only a Hollywood actress would have an over the top bed like this. And that actress was none other than Mae West, famous for her risque one liners. When asked why the bed had a mirrored ceiling attached to it, she quipped "I like to be able to see how well I'm doing!"


Helena Rubinstein was nothing if not innovative and provocative. Here, she was photographed in her illuminated lucite bed designed by Ladislas Medgyes. The bed was only four feet wide by five and a half feet long to accommodate Rubinstein's short stature. Notice the footboard is etched with a vase of roses and an "H".


Yet another illuminated bed, c. 1936. What I want to know is...would the lighting on this bed create down shadows on your face? If so, that might not be so attractive.


Men are not always immune to the flamboyant bed syndrome. Cecil Beaton had this exuberant bed in the Circus Bedroom at Ashcombe. If those walls could talk...