dog

.

Bunny love, An Affair with a Room

"A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules,
or fits certain definitions..
It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness."

Edith Wharton

Hands down, the BUNNY WILLIAMS KIPS BAY SHOW HOUSE LIVING ROOM has been THE most talked about room at the 2009 Kips Bay Charity Event-& likely for years past and years to come. From all the wonderful press I have read about Bunny Williams- I'm not sure if she would adhere to the old saying " I don't care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right"- but she definitely is the talk of the world of design and style blogs. Months after the room IS no longer, the photographs are taken-
the words "talk" on.


I hope to one day live in one perfect room. If it's perfect I only need one. This one could be a contender- I just need to decide where to put the bed.

THE ROOM

No doubt Bunny Williams is THE quintessential American Designer right now.

Yes, I admire her- in fact- in a blog story about Designer Dogs I said " I feel I know Bunny Williams." Maybe it is because of her own intense love for dogs and her perfectly designed interiors- custom built for style, comfort and intimacy-and for her client's eyes only. It doesn't matter that the entire design world wants to watch.

I love this little spot in Bunny's own home- it says everything I need to know-I already know about her love of dogs:

Books- Look at all those Books!
Flowers
Beloved Art
Color- that inspires, Mellow Wood that gleams
Knowledge of the Legendary Designers

photograph from New York Social Diary

All of these ELEMENTS are repeated in the KIPS BAY ROOM

If I could sit down and chat with anyone about the Bunny Williams room other than the designer or her mentor- is my favorite writer at ELLE DECOR- Mitchell Owens. Luckily I could- Well practically. Lucky for everyone, Mitchell Owens writes a blog for the magazine (go here to read his take on Bunny Williams room.)
From my take on his views- I'd say He loved it.

Her Latest Book- POINT OF VIEW

Three Decades of Decorating Elegant and Comfortable Houses

(take a look at the color palate here- familiar?)



A book from Bunny Williams that I refer back to again and again.

I asked Heather Clawson of the blog Habitually Chic about the scale of the room. Unfortunately- I did not have the thrill of standing there and seeing it- and that can make all the difference. Heather said " I don't know the exact dimensions of the room but it was quite large." Heather wrote an enlightening post with details and photographs that are must reads. I went back and did it too- using some of her photographs in this post. The intimate shots of the room; notepads and pencils, flower presses, books, magazines, all- further show the room's scale, proportions, color and the light and shadow in the space.

photograph from NYSD

Judging from the photographs of Bunny Williams and Albert Hadley (above) that seems to be very much the case. In fact- though the two seem to me a bit larger than life- in proportion to the furniture-Not so. All the more extraordinary that the room feels down to earth!

SKY- EARTH- SUN
color

photograph from Habitually Chic's Heather Clawson

Another wonderful photograph of Bunny Williams from a beautifully written article from NYSD. You will want to read it- great insights into Bunny Williams- really so down to earth.

from NYSD

What's great about this photograph in terms of the Kips Bay room, is the COLOR. Check out the BLUE, OLIVE, BROWNS, GOLDS. Though the colors do not appear in the same strengths or surfaces -they are SKY, EARTH, SUN.

HOW TO LIVE

another photograph from Habitually Chic

Sometimes when looking at published rooms- try one out- imagine your things in the room. Where would I put this OR How could I use this space? It might help you understand your own needs in a room and also help you begin understanding how the design of your favourite magazine room works.

I love- the Dining Area in the Bunny Williams room. I can see all of my design books spread about, laptop and an occasional pile of work on it and the tele tuned in to the cable news or an old movie running- sound down- but flashing inspiring visuals. For my use-I would consider this the Library. Though I don't have children- I could see them with studies on the table and laptops that could easily be monitored in the heart of a house.

& Yes- I think, importantly, the room is child friendly. A huge desire of many clients, " Kids" children, young adults, grandchildren are highly considered when it comes to practicality and performance in a room.

photograph from Habitually Chic

The large sofas, comfortable, and the JACOBSEN chair would be favourites of the young and the young at heart. In this case is not a CLIENT- but I am sure Ms. Williams would have learned a thing or two about what a room must be in order to be livable- and that RED chair- in a reality setting -could be THE thing the client insisted on- but more about that later!

photograph from House Beautiful

Voila! a perfect setting for dinner parties- an Indian sari draping the table.

photograph from HB

Now I know the room is one I could happily live in when Mitchell Owens sums up the room's "end result" as "fresh but a little funky, bohemian but well-bred." from his Elle Decor stylemonger blog.

another View of the Room-

Essentials, note pads, pencils, great lighting,
umbrella stand, drink table

photograph from Habitually Chic

One of the most wonderful things about this room is the thought that went in to it- A Bunny Williams signature? No- It is the mark of many great designers. Each client tells a different story, has a different set of requirements, wants something uniquely them. The art of "A Bunny Williams" is that her clients get the room they've imagined - with her unique brand -without stamping it ROOM BY BUNNY WILLIAMS. The SAME advice she generously shared with the readers of "bunny's beat" in the Elle Decor" November 2002 issue-"the greatest rooms" - are the same rules she applies to this Show House room or any room she creates.

BUNNY RULES
or
"GOOD BONES"

from the Elle Decor article by Bunny Williams entitled "the greatest rooms"

"4 simple rules to remember when creating a great room of your own:
1
Play with scale.
Do not be timid.
Dramatic, oversize furnishings can amplify a room's exuberance.
Tall pieces visually expand a room whose ceiling height is less that ideal.
2
Create excitement. Combine different periods of furniture.
Mix unusual colors, textures, and moods.
Juxtapose grand and simple.
3
Cultivate a sense of place.
You should know where you are -
city address, urban attitude;
country house, bucolic decor.
4

Maintain and update your space.

A room must sparkle, shine,
and smell delicious
(subtle lighting helps,too.)

the RULES are written right from this room-it would appear- 7 years later.

I am so glad I archived this article- below is the photograph that accompanied the piece about memorable rooms. All with" the perfect alchemy of scale, color, comfort, individuality. (BW)

Her FIRST:

Nancy Lancaster's Drawing Room-London

Bunny recalls in the article having tea with Nancy Lancaster in the room in her 20's.
She said of the room- "Everything was big.
The color, considered shocking in England in the 1950's, was a bold lemon yellow.
Most notable was the room's soul-elegant and warm, feminine yet strong willed." (BW)

Elle Decor photograph accompanying the Bunny Williams article
and an Elle Decor cover below of Albert Hadley's home.

Bunny Williams room has echos of the Hadley room above. All of THE RULES apply. Williams studied with Hadley- master of fusion with modern furniture, antiques and interior design. The wall color- shades of BUNNY? or HADLEY?

Speaking to this idea of good bones in a room: This from "Toby Worthington", a favourite with blog writers- bringing his adroit comments to the world of design and style blogs.

"There is an extensive interview with Bunny Williams in an issue of The Classicist where she discusses her work for Peter and Leni May. (see Point of View frontispiece, etc) That was in 1995 and I recall being bowled over by the depth of her comments, the intelligence and the plain good sense, the careful thought that went into her designs and her innate feeling for the mood of a place."

ELEMENTS OF A ROOM

A gorgeous Sofa

(from The BeeLine facebook page-become a fan!)

about the sofa...

"Based on one of my favorites...I enhanced the depth of the seat to accommodate a pair of decorative throw pillows. The apron boasts a whimsical curve and is trimmed in French nailheads."- description from the BeeLine Home website (here)

A Leather Ottoman with inset tray-in production for BeeLine Home
(according to the BeeLine Home facebook page
advance orders are being taken (this posted July 15)

Sisal Rug with painted details

Mitchell Owens said " I want to copy the sisal carpet, which Williams had painted with a boldly graphic border of white squares enclosing a field of dark brown stars."

Textiles

Though there is no great photograph of the curtains in the room, they are made from Indian bedspreads. I always like bringing "found textiles" into a room. Their presence gives a less studied, over thought, over wrought appearance. I adore this wonderful "hand embroidered and knotted Indian-style throw on pale, Dupioni Silk ground with olive ribbon technique encasing ottoman silk appliqué reserves and openwork."
It is a limited edition item from Williams BEELINE HOME Collection. The painted chairs in the room had their backs covered in a vintage silk Ikat. I will never tire of Textiles in rooms, be they suzani- as this one is reminiscent of- or the Indian Sari (see the dining table in the room). I will always want to live with them and they are no passing fad. Think about the wonderful Renzo Mongiardino rooms that are swathed in textiles and a recent Elle Decor feature story about designer Lisa Fine's rooms in Paris.

These pillows are from the line too.
"the designs derive from Italian, Indian and French inspiration"

(quote and photograph from the BeeLine Home site)

One of the pieces in the line that I would love to have is the "Naughty Miss Bunny" throw made of French Tissavel faux rabbit fur with choice of "decorative crimson or black grosgrain box pleated trim border." The box pleated border detail one rarely gets in pieces made on the market today. Leave it to "Miss Bunny" not to compromise on the touches that make an accessory standout. The throw appears on the red Jacobsen chair by the fireplace.

The Walls

A Garden Panel
60 x 60

"Hand-carved Javanese mango wood, applied in a little village outside of Semarang, near the Java Sea. This bas relief mural depicts a stylized garden reminiscent of the plaster work of the 1930’s. Available in an antique white chalky finish over gesso ground." (description from the BeeLine Home website (here)

A favorite photograph in my Bunny Williams archives:

( photograph from the BW office space from the pages of HG.)

I immediately noticed this same mirror over the mantel in the Kips Bay room and I'm hoping the mirror is to be a part of the BeeLine Home Collection-though it is not on the Home website yet. Will have to wait and see.

to Albert,

from Bunny

This year's Kips Bay Show House was a tribute to Albert Hadley. Bunny Williams worked with and learned from Hadley and the late Sister Parish.

Albert Hadley

(from NYSD)

Bunny Williams imparted subtle yet suitable touches that pay " homage" to her mentor Albert Hadley in the room. Again, Toby Worthington said " Bunny's room was the only one that honored the theme to any great extent. The stars in the carpet, the note de rouge of the egg chair, etc, were subtle quotes from Albert Hadley's repertoire." Heather Clawson," habitually chic" blogger, said the red Egg Chair eludes to Hadley's beloved red signatures in many rooms and is also a part of his own personal fashion sense. "The chair is also an unexpected design element in the room that his interiors are known for. He has a modern red zigzag table in his own apartment that is also unexpected. The design on the area rug are stars that are the same that he has used in his wallpaper designs."

Hadley Home

(Photograph from Habitually Chic)

& DV talks about red:

"I can't imagine becoming bored with RED-

It would be like becoming bored with the person you love."

Peaking out of the corner is the revved up red ARNE JACOBSEN EGG CHAIR.

(Habitually Chic photograph)

Hadley and his trademark RED, He's gotta love this Room!

additional articles to read about Bunny Williams

the NYTIMES

" Can Taste Be Taught?" READ THIS by Joyce Walder hilarious and delightful
"The Inner Sactum" by Carol Vogel

the first photograph of the Arne Jacobsen chair is from Design Within Reach here

The Decoration of Houses-Wharton & Codman have their say

...and so goes my little Summer Reading Series- It has morphed into an enormous tome. One of the questions I posed: What is the seminal book in your field or your passion that you would recommend to young would be(s) of the same?




As I thought about this question and what my own thoughts would be - After, thinking Billy Baldwinesque (as in the Aesthete's pick) I kept coming back to The Decoration of Houses. This was the pick of esteemed blogger HOUSE OF BEAUTY AND CULTURE as well. This book is filled with the expected wit, poetry and prose of Edith Wharton and the knowledge and authority of Ogden Codman.

Edith Wharton's THE MOUNT

Edith Wharton's Decoration was realized in The Mount

the Mount today

"Well over one hundred years ago Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, relatively unknown writers set out to destroy every aspect of 19th century decoration and house planning that failed to conform to the best classical principles which were of course, their own. Reading THE DECORATION OF HOUSES a century later is still a bracing experience. The work speaks with wit to the correct uses of rooms one can grow with and not discard like last year's fashion trends. The authors speak to all aspects of what is the best in homes past, although suggestions for the "ball-room"-as such, may not apply in today's homes, the sound principles still do. Read it and you may come away with the urge to rethink your own decoration of houses."*

the Archer Huntington Mansion Staircase designed by Ogden Codman

Applying the principles of THE DECORATION is done today, as witnessed in this article, "The House of Worth" (here). It is the story of the restoration of Bellevue House, a Colonial Revival mansion, in Newport, designed by Ogden Codman in 1910. The house was purchased by Ronald Fleming, a preservationist, who undertook the project with THE DECORATION OF HOUSES at his side.

The Rotunda of BELLEVUE HOUSE in all its glory.

photograph by Andy Ryan

One of the Three
Ceiling Occulus, Ducal Palace, Mantua

"of all forms of ceiling adornment painting is the most beautiful. Italy, which contains the three perfect ceilings of the world"

painted by Andrea Mantegna

photograph from Wikipedia

Quotes from the DECORATION

Proportion is the good breeding of architecture. It is that something, indefinable to the unprofessional eye, which gives repose and distinction to a room... in its effects as intangible as that all-pervading essence which the ancients called the soul.

The decorator is...not to explain illusions, but to produce them.

It is inevitable that the decorator, who comes last, should fare worse, especially as he makes his appearance at a time when contractor's bills are pouring in, and the proposition to move a mantelpiece or change the dimensions of a door opens fresh vistas of expense to the client's terrified imagination.

One of the first obligations of Art is to make all Useful things Beautiful: were this neglected principle applied to the manufacture of housefold accessories, the modern room would have no needof knick-knacks. It is one of the misfortunes of the present time that the most preposteriously Bad Things often possess the powerful allurement of being expensive. One might think it an advantage that they are not within every one's reach; but, as a matter of fact, it is their very unattainableness which, by making them more desirable, leads to the production of that worst curse of modern civilization- Cheap copies of Costly Horrors.

Tout ce qui n'est pas necessaire est nuisible.


Though formal rooms abound in the text- as said- the principles of The Decoration of Houses live on today- and are perhaps more relevant than ever.

*this review was written by my friend Sandford Peele

le style et la matière- reflections on Summer Reading

It is always a delight to stumble into a new blog portal- and immediately become smitten, such is the case with le style et la matiere. One of my favorites of le style is about Picasso (here) and another about Home (here).



Everything seems to have a twist to it-each blog does have its own, but this is a little different, Perhaps it is that "je ne sais quoi."



Take a look at this list and you will agree.

"In books lies the soul of the whole past time."

Thomas Carlyle

What books are on your Summer Reading List?

photograph from le style

Le Coeur cousu (The Stitched Heart) by Carole Martinez Reines

Reines et favorites: Le pouvoir des femmes (Queens and Favorites: The Power of Women) by Benedetta Craveri

L'obsession Vinci by Sophie Chauveau



Journal 1940-1950 Philippe Jullian



Snob Society by Francis d'Orléans







L'esprit des lieux: Elégance francaise (French Interiors: The Art of Elegance)by Christiane de Nicoly-Mazery





Regards de mode Paris Fifties by Georges Dambier. Glamour is relaxing! (too true!)







The Poetic Home: Designing the 19th-Century Domestic Interior by Stefan Muthesius









Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth by Mary S. Lovell





The Secret Code: The mysterious formula that rules art, nature and science by Priya Hemenway





Southern Cosmopolitan by Susan Sully





Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders by Gyles Brandreth (...I am onto this one, I love a mystery.)

Is there One book you honestly don't expect to get to? Why?

The list is ambitious, but I have to nourish my needs in English and in French. I do a lot of reading but some of it would have to qualify as butterfly reading, flitting in and out of one book to glean information then moving on to the next. "Snob Society", "The Poetic Home" might not be read from cover to cover. This doesn't mean they aren't important to me. And if these books take me into the Fall, that's fine too.

Where do you read and when? Does the genre you are reading dictate the place you read - do you just

take any old book to bed?

Mostly in bed or in a favorite armchair. I do like to open the larger format "beaux livres"/coffee table books

on a table to get the most out of them and to be near a window for a better view of colors in natural light.

Maud reading in bed by James McNeil Whistler

What does your bedside table look like?

It's a small oak table with one drawer, just the right size for my essentials: lamp, clock, books. I try to keep my library books in one place, so I usually have a stack of them on the lower shelf of my nightstand.

These are topped off by whatever my favorites of the moment are as well as any book my eight year old

daughter has decided I just MUST read. Fortunately, she has good taste ! She has me reading the Leonis Egyptian series by Mario Francis and a book on Merlin the Magician.



Did I mention that I like to read more than one book at a time?

What is your Favorite book for its sense of place?

"There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton's books, especially "The House of Mirth," have an incredibly succinct, but effective way of drawing parallels between interiors and her characters. Not so surprising from the Empress of the Decoration of Houses ! Otherwise, I have to agree with with your other interviewees that Manderly and even the boathouse in "Rebecca" really marked me.

What is your Security blanket book?

In Decoration: Mario Praz' "History of Interior Design" along with 3 books by Stephen Calloway, Peter Thornton, and Charlotte Gere which were published as a series in French,"L'Epoque et son Style." If I could only keep four decorating books - and I have quite a few, these would be the obvious choice. The illustrations and texts are exceptional and they cover decoration history from the 15th to 20th centuries.





(Mario Praz makes his second appearance on lists-An Aesthete's Lament is reading The House of Life by Praz this summer-little augury)





in Novels: Jane Austen, Henry James, Guy de Maupassant are old standbys.

What is your favorite library destination?

The Biblioteque Forney- a library specializing in the fine and decorative arts. It is in the Marais- a very wonderful part of Paris.



Another wonderful spot for pleasing my passion for books is Delamain- a beautiful book shop across from the Palais Royal in Paris. It sells books both old and new.

What is the seminal book in your field or passion that you would recommend to young wold be(s) of the same?

A book by Jacques Anquetil about the symbolism of weaving and fabric design. One day I 'll find this book again. Another book important to me in my field that doesn't overtake the Anquetil but is less obscure is The Sense of Order by Gombrich.

Favorite genre? Why? What is your most recent purchase in this category?

I love old books. That's not a genre, I know! I appreciate the thick hand papper and the texture of the old-time printed page. Life's treasure hunt and when I come across something out of print 0r less common, it's even more valuable to me. My latest discovery of this sort was a little nest of books on antiques/ art that just seemed to be waiting to com home with me The Gentle Art of Faking Furniture, the classic Small Antique Furniture by B & T Hughes & Selectioned Writings by Ruskin.

What is your favorite book cover?

It's not for the artwork; my choice is sentimental. The book is Tissus d'art 1931 which was hand bound by my friend Sandrine.

How do you define "library"?

My ideal library is a room in itself with a chaise longue, comfortable armchairs, a big solid desk, shelves all around and a fireplace would make it perfect. I love the descriptions of libraries in Victorian romances- the ones you go to when you just can't sleep and where you may just have interesting encounters. A library is an extremely personal place. I'm always interested to see the titles in other people's libraries. Looking at their bookshelves is a little like climbing into their brains. I find homes without books a little frightening!





as an addition to your library:



I have volumes 1 and 2 of The PARIS REVIEW INTERVIEWS for a bibliophile-Isn't that everyone reading these Summer Lists ? They AWAIT- your comments.