Designer of Note: Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into a tightly controlled society known as "Old New York" at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage.

Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of America's greatest writers. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel. Essentially self-educated, she was the first woman awarded:

* the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Yale University
* full membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Edith Wharton designed and built her "first real home," The Mount, in 1902, located in Lenox, Massachusetts .


The Mount has been undergoing extensive restorations to bring it back to the original splendor of Edith Wharton's Decoration. Her seminal book on decorating "The Decoration of Houses" was one of the first design texts we were assigned in design school. She was strict and rigid in her ideals - both for the architecture, interior design and landscape design. Classic forms and materials were of paramount importance.

Her bedroom has undergone extensive restoration:


Original wallpaper was painstakingly recreated with the help of famed textiles firm Scalamandré.

"The Mount" offers tours, ongoing lecture series on the life and interests of Edith Wharton, including her travels. Fascinating! Also in Lenox: Tanglewood - the summer home of the BSO; Canyon Ranch Spa; Jacobs Pillow; Williamstown Theatre Company and the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Photos and historial text courtesy of EdithWharton.org


Recommended:

Designer of Note: Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into a tightly controlled society known as "Old New York" at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage.

Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of America's greatest writers. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel. Essentially self-educated, she was the first woman awarded:

* the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Yale University
* full membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Edith Wharton designed and built her "first real home," The Mount, in 1902, located in Lenox, Massachusetts .


The Mount has been undergoing extensive restorations to bring it back to the original splendor of Edith Wharton's Decoration. Her seminal book on decorating "The Decoration of Houses" was one of the first design texts we were assigned in design school. She was strict and rigid in her ideals - both for the architecture, interior design and landscape design. Classic forms and materials were of paramount importance.

Her bedroom has undergone extensive restoration:


Original wallpaper was painstakingly recreated with the help of famed textiles firm Scalamandré.

"The Mount" offers tours, ongoing lecture series on the life and interests of Edith Wharton, including her travels. Fascinating! Also in Lenox: Tanglewood - the summer home of the BSO; Canyon Ranch Spa; Jacobs Pillow; Williamstown Theatre Company and the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Photos and historial text courtesy of EdithWharton.org


Recommended:

New England Home Magazine Announces Design Hall of Fame

My friends at New England Home magazine have announced the first ever New England Design Hall of Fame Awards. The awards gala will be held on November 7 in Boston's State Room. Nominees are now being accepted for those designers and architects who's life achievements have made a significant impact on the architecture and interiors of New England. So, click on over here to cast your vote, or get on the early list for an invite to what's sure to be the event of the season in the Boston design community! (and no, this isn't a request from me to be nominated - I'm not qualified, having been in business far less than the 20 years required!).

(click the image above to read the press release)

New England Home Magazine Announces Design Hall of Fame

My friends at New England Home magazine have announced the first ever New England Design Hall of Fame Awards. The awards gala will be held on November 7 in Boston's State Room. Nominees are now being accepted for those designers and architects who's life achievements have made a significant impact on the architecture and interiors of New England. So, click on over here to cast your vote, or get on the early list for an invite to what's sure to be the event of the season in the Boston design community! (and no, this isn't a request from me to be nominated - I'm not qualified, having been in business far less than the 20 years required!).

(click the image above to read the press release)

Meeting Thom Felicia

This was a fun weekend! I attended Thom Felicia's talk on "Decorating from the Floor Up" sponsored by Karastan rugs. Billed as an interactive workshop, Thom went through the process of creating a design plan starting with the rug and how to bring in colors and textures for the floor, walls and furnishings that will complement and enhance each other. This was only the second stop on this tour and he did a great job.

Personable - and totally cute! - he's a real natural with the audience. Working with audience volunteers, Thom showed a series of slides and computer generated spaces (based on two of his own projects), selecting the different decorative elements that worked best with the two sample rugs. While it was, by necessity, all completely scripted and the "choices" were pre-selected, he managed to make that a funny element of the show and kept the ball rolling.


This image is the computer generated "design" based on a Thom project (below). The rug on the right is Karastan's Plum Blossom, which is a beautiful rug that is contemporary, yet still elegant and warm.

Gracie Square Urban apartment - Thom Felicia design

I was able to attend the meet and greet after the talk. Mostly it was rug dealers and some folks who ponied up for the $100.00 ticket (to benefit Susan G. Komen For the Cure). Thom was gracious and very sweet. I'd hoped to be able to ask him a few questions, but the photo line was long and there wasn't a chance to do much more than get a nice kiss on the cheek, chat a bit and take a self-portrait (above). Note to self - watch that camera angle - ugh!

Thanks Thom! And thanks to Connie Berry at Karastan and Jerry Arcari at Landry & Arcari for their generous invitations to this event!

And don't forget to watch Thom on his new show Dress My Nest on the Style Network!

Meeting Thom Felicia

This was a fun weekend! I attended Thom Felicia's talk on "Decorating from the Floor Up" sponsored by Karastan rugs. Billed as an interactive workshop, Thom went through the process of creating a design plan starting with the rug and how to bring in colors and textures for the floor, walls and furnishings that will complement and enhance each other. This was only the second stop on this tour and he did a great job.

Personable - and totally cute! - he's a real natural with the audience. Working with audience volunteers, Thom showed a series of slides and computer generated spaces (based on two of his own projects), selecting the different decorative elements that worked best with the two sample rugs. While it was, by necessity, all completely scripted and the "choices" were pre-selected, he managed to make that a funny element of the show and kept the ball rolling.


This image is the computer generated "design" based on a Thom project (below). The rug on the right is Karastan's Plum Blossom, which is a beautiful rug that is contemporary, yet still elegant and warm.

Gracie Square Urban apartment - Thom Felicia design

I was able to attend the meet and greet after the talk. Mostly it was rug dealers and some folks who ponied up for the $100.00 ticket (to benefit Susan G. Komen For the Cure). Thom was gracious and very sweet. I'd hoped to be able to ask him a few questions, but the photo line was long and there wasn't a chance to do much more than get a nice kiss on the cheek, chat a bit and take a self-portrait (above). Note to self - watch that camera angle - ugh!

Thanks Thom! And thanks to Connie Berry at Karastan and Jerry Arcari at Landry & Arcari for their generous invitations to this event!

And don't forget to watch Thom on his new show Dress My Nest on the Style Network!

Top Design - Another Top Designer - Dorothy Draper

"Good showmanship is the answer. The colour of your front door announces your personality to the world."

"Too much of anything is the beginning of a mess."

- Dorothy Draper

The lobby of the Carlyle, circa 1930.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Collection of Dorothy Draper & Co. and the Carleton Varney Design Group)

In Top Designs' Episode 6 "Life of the Party", Goil suggests they fashion a chandelier in a Dorothy Draper style - over scale and bold. Unfortunately, they were not able to pull it off, but it got me to thinking about Dorothy Drapers style. Words like bold, overscale and fabulous don't even begin to describe the style of Dorothy Draper.

Read "The Draper Effect" in New York Magazine, May 2006. Top Design judge Kelly Wearstler is quoted.

Lobby of the Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulfur Springs, W. Virginia

Draper oversaw every aspect of the Hampshire House in New York, including this corridor.
(Photo: CBS)

Victorian writing room in the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
(Photo: Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc.)

The Camellia House in the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
The photo was also taken in the mid-1940s. (Photo: CBS)

This photograph, taken at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in the mid-1940s, shows off Draper's ornate style.
(Photo: Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc.)

See Dorothy Drapers' Design Legacy on CBS.com

The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco shows how far Draper's influence stretched across the country.
This photo was taken in the 1940s. (Photo: CBS)

Lobby of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco
(courtesy of The First Post)

Metropolitan Museum Cafe
(courtesy of Dezignare)

Recommended:

Top Design - Another Top Designer - Dorothy Draper

"Good showmanship is the answer. The colour of your front door announces your personality to the world."

"Too much of anything is the beginning of a mess."

- Dorothy Draper

The lobby of the Carlyle, circa 1930.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Collection of Dorothy Draper & Co. and the Carleton Varney Design Group)

In Top Designs' Episode 6 "Life of the Party", Goil suggests they fashion a chandelier in a Dorothy Draper style - over scale and bold. Unfortunately, they were not able to pull it off, but it got me to thinking about Dorothy Drapers style. Words like bold, overscale and fabulous don't even begin to describe the style of Dorothy Draper.

Read "The Draper Effect" in New York Magazine, May 2006. Top Design judge Kelly Wearstler is quoted.

Lobby of the Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulfur Springs, W. Virginia

Draper oversaw every aspect of the Hampshire House in New York, including this corridor.
(Photo: CBS)

Victorian writing room in the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
(Photo: Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc.)

The Camellia House in the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
The photo was also taken in the mid-1940s. (Photo: CBS)

This photograph, taken at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in the mid-1940s, shows off Draper's ornate style.
(Photo: Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc.)

See Dorothy Drapers' Design Legacy on CBS.com

The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco shows how far Draper's influence stretched across the country.
This photo was taken in the 1940s. (Photo: CBS)

Lobby of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco
(courtesy of The First Post)

Metropolitan Museum Cafe
(courtesy of Dezignare)

Recommended: