We caught up with Mr. Devine in his garden upstate this summer and have enjoyed our moment in the sun…here’s a quick Q&A:

CAM: Charlotte is a different type of design for you…can you give me a little more…… What drew you to a print?

MD: I was really taken with the gracefulness of the design and its boldest. Many of my patterns are geometric and this one is floral so it’s really a departure from the rest of the collection. I think my garden is having a growing influence on how I see design.

CAM: Pagodas…I have a pagoda as my company logo, you have a fabric…what attracted you? Talk a little about your love of chinoiserie.

MD: I have a passion for chinoiserie.  Both fretwork designs and pagodas. They are so classic and chic, but at the same time can be really fun and very today by just changing the colors. I think I got my first feel for pagodas many years ago when I was studying art history and saw 18th Century interpretations. They were so whimsical and joyful – I knew immediately I was a devotee.

CAM: How would you describe your palette?

MD: My palette range is a reflection of the colors that I love. Since the fabric is printed to order, and it’s so easy for designers to change the colors on a whim, the palette is limited only by one’s imagination.

CM: Top sellers?

MD:  Fretwork, Gramercy, Petite Fleur and Dottie are a few of the top designs that have stood the test of time.

CM: How many us showrooms in the US? Europe?

MD: I have four showrooms in the US and a road group that represents the collection. I am in London, Paris and Madrid in Europe.

CM: Talk to me about blogging….

MD: I have been blogging for a couple of years. It’s a wonderful platform to share ideas and inspirations.

CM: We love your products, too.  They go with everything and everywhere, from the front hall to the terrace.  Speaking of that  – and doesn’t everybody need an extra tray for Labor Day entertaining?

This year, the showhouse is at 106 East 71st Street.  For more information visit the Kips Bay website.

Credited by Diana Vreeland with “banishing Victorian gloom,” Elsie de Wolfe made a name for herself as a pre-eminent interior designer in the early 1900′s with some of America’s most famous families as clients.  Hilariously enigmatic, Elsie was famous for her morning exercises, her fresh, feminine and often outlandish sense of beauty, and her surprising marriage to Sir Charles Mendl following a lengthy “Boston marriage” to heiress and New York theatrical agent, Miss Elizabeth Marbury.  Elsie’s motto, “Never complain, Never explain,” later appeared embroidered on pillows, but made her no less desirable of a dinner guest, nor subject of gossip.

The prolific life of Elsie de Wolfe changed more than just the dark interiors of the late nineteenth century.  She was a trailblazer and an inspiration to women.  Her homes in Beverly Hills, New York, Paris and Versailles were fantastic, and well published even at the time, but it was her own richness of charm that made them so remarkable.  Among her circle were many of the creative personalities whose legacies shaped the 20th Century.

Today marks 60 years since her death.  Once again, we celebrate Elsie.

The current exhibition at the Pierpont Morgan Library (running from April 2nd to August 1st, 2010) is the first time original drawings by Palladio have been exhibited in New York and the first time in the United States since 1982.  The exhibition of 33 original drawings clearly illustrates not only how Palladio translated the architecture of antiquity into his own language, but how his influence traveled and was adopted in England and the United States.  Charles Hind, exhibit curator says, Palladio “combined theory and practice in publications and buildings as no other Renaissance architect.”

The villas of the Veneto built by Palladio are based on the principles of simplicity and proportion.  A simple notion, it might seem, but Palladio proceeded in making architecture more democratic.

It would follow that Thomas Jefferson owned several editions of Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’ Architecttura (published in 1570), what he often referred to as “the Bible.”

Many of Palladio’s drawings were acquired by Inigo Jones and carefully studied by him.  Jones was a stage designer until that time, and then became England’s first architect and responsible for Anglo-Palladianism.  Lord Burlington, another Palladian enthusiast, brought more original drawings into England.  His property passed to his daughter and heiress Charlotte and into the family of the Dukes of Devonshire. In 1894, the drawings were given to RIBA – the Royal Institute of British Architects, whose Trust is organizing this exhibition in association with the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architecttura de Andrea Palladio, in Vicenza, Italy.

This exhibition illustrates how Palladio’s design principles of proportion, harmony and beauty made the journey from Vicenza to North America: from Colonial times to the current day, through southern domestic architecture, to Jefferson’s design for the White House and the Virginia State capital.  Models for the exhibitions were made by Timothy Richards and examples of his work can be purchased in the Morgan Library book shop, a must stop on the way out.

“The Villas of Palladio also mark an important moment in the history of the home, the beginning of domestic architecture – that is, the beginning of architects’ interest in the private house.” Witold Rybczynski. (The Perfect House, Scribner 2003.)

The weekend after visiting the exhibition, I had a business trip to Virginia which included Monticello.  Much more on that in a story in June…  Before leaving the area I went to visit the ruins at Barboursville;  Jefferson’s adaptation of Villa Barbaro in Treviso was the inspiration for Governor Barbour’s mansion.  Tragically, on Christmas day 1884 the house burned to the ground.  Its brick ruins currently protected by the owners, the Zonin family, of
Barboursville Vineyards.

Jefferson’s design embodied a number of his renowned signatures — the integration of the structure into an elevated knoll, the dome (not erected), and an octagonal room at the focal point of the wings of the house. Here, the octagon forms a core for the three stories of the house; from the main level it rises as one room, 2 stories high. The grandeur of this room, projecting from the south facade, lends power and elegance to the house.

Four ionic columns announce the porticos front and rear, flanked by symmetrical wings revealing time worn brick and an octagon standing roofless.  Ruins have a haunting romantic quality.  They are also intellectually puzzling as you attempt to reconstruct the house in your head, what was the floor plan, where was the staircase, what was the view from the porticos and on…

Photos of the ruins are on C’est Inspiré.

Websites and Info

The Morgan Library & Museum
Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street
New York, NY 10016
Ph. 212-685-0008

Exhibition runs April 2 through August 1, 2010.

Timothy Richards
Model maker
Different types of models and each can be adapted to the customers’ needs. It is possible to produce a small limited edition run of models or one piece. Models may vary in size between six inches high to three foot high. Costs will vary depending on size, complexity and the number to be made.
Models available for purchase in the Morgan gift shop.

Barboursville Vineyards
17655 Winery Rd.
Barboursville, VA 22923

Winery and Visitors center
Ph. 540-832-3824
M-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
Sun 11:00am-5:00pm

Books

Palladio and his Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey, Editors Charles Hind and Irena Murray (Available at the Morgan Library and Museum.)

Palladio, by Giovanni Giaconi

The Four Books of Architecture, by Andrea Palladio

Palladio Beltramini, by Howard Guido and Burns

Palladian Style, by Steven Parissien

The Perfect House, by Witold Rybczynski

This is something to aspire to, encouraging young designers to stay the course.

The Complete List:

Ralph Lauren

Barbara Barry

Margaret McCurry

Mario Buatta

Charlotte Moss

Nina Campbell

Oscar de la Renta

Dan Carithers

John Saladino

Clodagh

Michael S. Smith

William Diamond & Anthony Baratta

Robert Stern

Jamie Drake

Kelly Wearstler

David Easton

Bunny Williams

Mariette Himes Gomez

Vicente Wolf

Albert Hadley

***

More information is available on the Traditional Home website.

MAX’S TIPS FOR DECORATING SMALL SPACES…

1. Small should not be underrated!

2. For someone like me, who is immaculate but not necessarily tidy, a small space is the perfect answer! Everything has its place – making it easy to whisk away the day’s mess in five minutes.

3. STUDIO – By its very meaning, it begs for someone with creative juices to make something of it quickly and instinctively, without a lot of planning.  It’s an opportunity to try something you might not attempt on a gigantic scale! Practice, practice, practice.

4. One lives in a dorm room, usually, for five months to a year.  Show up with the basics!

- One can of paint, in a color you love (Thanks, Charlotte!).

- A carpet is essential.  I had to cover the linoleum floor!

- Some art you like.  In my case some great vintage prints, and one enormous painting by my friend Stephanie.

5. A college town thrift shop can be all you need!  I bought a great chest of drawers, a mirror, and fabulous gilt frame (for my bulletin board).

6. Call in some favors.  Not everyone has access to Charlotte’s leftover tid-bits, but surely you have a friend who can sew!  My friend Margaret’s mother, upholsterer M.L. Glover, made the tartan cloth for me and the whole room came together!

LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED…

• Be bold.
• Observe everything.
• Find what you love, and do it ithe best you can.
• Multitasking is key.
• Edit, edit, edit.
• Learn to appreciate “decorating serendipity,” not everything is planned!
• Spontaneity is a good thing.
• Be true to yourself.

THE TWO GREATEST THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM CHARLOTTE MOSS…

• Appreciate everything and everyone around you.
• Realize and appreciate that inspiration is everywhere.

• Slipcovers give you flexibility: a feeling of being more relaxed, informal… and can stretch the budget

• Drama is created with contrast – in the case of these rooms, a light blue is used in the sitting room and a dark blue in the bedroom.  The depth of color suits the room’s use – dark for sleeping, light for reading, relaxing and conversation

• Baskets, lacquered trays and linen boxes organize newspapers, magazines and mail and at the same time keep things accessible

• Use a portiere in an entry foyer/vestibule or between two rooms to create a break, a sense of discovery, or just a little mystery

• Use a pedestal and a large jardiniere in front of a window that together become sculptural – one large object

• An easel allows you to display art in addition to hanging on the walls.  It can be changed frequently, giving the room a sense of movement and freshness

• Bamboo window shades add texture, a dash of informality, and create that essential contrast with silk curtains

• Use a variety of table lamps and floor lamps – minimize recessed ceiling lights – and by all means, use candlelight!

• Embroidery enhances a plain fabric to the level of home couture

• Divide a screen in half and anchor two corners

• Just about anything can be used for napping. a day bed, a sofa, or a chaise

• Use blocks of color to create a clean, bold look

This year’s show house benefited the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey and took place at Sheep’s Run, a beautiful estate built in 1915 for Thomas F. Vietor and his wife, the former Elizabeth Allen.  The house evokes the romantic charm of a Cotswold cottage, featuring extensive, ornamental metalwork, twenty-seven rooms and ten tiled baths.

Our inspiration for the Show House….

“…the colors ran the gamut of Fowler’s range.  Against a grey-lavender ground, frosted green trees – with strange white flowers – bear clusters of purple berries and green… wiggly bouquets of mauve poppies.”

The King of Sweden gave Nancy Lancaster a fragment of Chinese painted paper—that provided the inspiration for a mural described above painted by John Fowler and George Oakes. The mood of this quote and the paper set the tone for the Master Suite’s scheme…

The color mauve was discovered in 1856 by the eighteen-year-old William Perkin—go read Mauve by Simon Garfield (Faber and Faber 2000)—a fascinating story…

The palette in the Master Suite… For her, French blue, mauve, ivory, pale pink and celadon. For him, midnight blue, pistachio and imperial yellow…

Think artemnesia, anemones, helichrysum, philadelphus, lavender, baptisia, and olive…

Playing in the background…Dusty, Anita, Aretha, Etta, Reba, Mariah, Patti, Nina, Eartha, Bette, Carla…

Les Femmes Formidables
is available as an iMix!

The room fragrance wafting gently in the background, Left Bank by Charlotte Moss for Agraria…

“Regarde – look, feel, wonder, accept, live!” – Colette’s philosophy of life inspires us.

2009 Show House Designers Include:

Bunny Williams Incorporated
Charles Pavarini III Design Associates Inc.
Christopher Coleman and Angel Sanchez
Christopher Corcoran
Eileen Kathryn Boyd Interiors
Joe Nye, Inc.
and many more!

Now – go and see it for yourself!!

Kips Bay site

A sepia toile from Travers depicts enjoyment and the pursuit of pleasure
This tiny room, our first Kips Bay Show House, was actually a passageway we closed off
We created a tented bed and decorated the landing leading into the room with
treillage walls, pedestals & urns
A seductive small space – for one, or even better, for two

A landscape of chinoiserie by de Gournay
An umbrella bed for napping
Velvets, Chinese embroidered silk, cashmere, leopard
Individual Oriental poppies in vases on the mantel – when a single blossom makes a statement

Coromandel, tete de negre, the color of toast
Leather, parchment, raw silk, velvet
Rock crystal, Louis XVI & anemones

A floating bed
Mouton Blue
Stationery organized in baskets
Books – everywhere
A dressing table casually draped yet elegantly detailed with lapis beads
Charlotte’s “Daydream” wallpaper by Brunschwig & Fils
Cricket boxes & turtle shells

Every girl’s dream – a pied-a-terre with room service!
A wicker sofa lives unselfconsciously with a lacquered bureau plat
Two rooms created from one by adding a mahogany & glass screen
Bright floors reflect light, feel fresh, and warm the space
A tented room lends a romantic & exotic feel to an office dressing room
Fashion photos are on the wall, on the bookcase, and placed on easels – nothing is static

Check back for our teaser preview of this year’s room and lots of photos once the Kips Bay Show House opens on April 17th – hope to see you there!