Friday, September 26, 2014

Markham Roberts, Decorating the way I see it.

The fine folks at Vendome Press recently sent me a copy of Markham Roberts new book, Decorating the way I see it, and I spent a happy evening perusing Robert's trademark 'un-decorated' style.
While Roberts modestly claims in the book to not have a trademark style I would disagree.  Each house has the style of its' homeowner graciously pulled together by the talent of the designer.
I hate those blogpost spoilers you so often see that share every image in the book; why purchase the book then? Seen highlighted in this post is one project seen in the book out of many that was previously published by House Beautiful (seen HERE).
The house was originally designed by noted architect H.T. Lindeberg (about whom I have blogged many times HERE) in the Locust Valley section of Long Island and retains all of the era's charm and graceful proportions.
The book is split into HOW Roberts works and starts practically, with the room's floorplan (seen above). Nothing fancy is needed.  The designer sketched the furniture to scale over a drafted floorplan to see how the room functions and what scale of furniture was required.
 The house is a charming brick structure. The room in question is the side wing seen above.
A true sign of any designer's talent is how they live themselves. The last few chapters of the book are devoted to Robert's own homes and the sneak peaks are delightful, particularly his private dressing room seen below where all of his interests collide.
The book Markham Roberts, Decorating the way I see it, is a delightful read full of Robert's obvious charm, modesty, and wit with a peak at some of his many projects which don't scream 'decorated' but rather are gracious homes where people can actually LIVE.
All photography in the book and this post by Nelson Hancock 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Weekend finds

This past weekend was perfect for shopping the local junk and charity shops and just enjoy the weather.  I was so excited to find this antique Italian neoclassical sidechair (and for only $25, no joke) at my favorite Christ Child Opportunity shop.  They've been in Georgetown for generations and support a great cause which is an added bonus.
I look forward to visiting Haute fabrics to find something appropriate for the chair to replace the green Naugahyde. Leather would be nice (calfskin?) but a deep chocolate or rust mohair would be lovely too -what do you think?
At my favorite local junk shop, Miss Pixies, I always find inexpensive silverplate that is my harmless addiction. It's so useful and at $1 a piece you can't go wrong!
 This pattern is by Century Plate and named 'Grosvenor' which seems really Adam-esque (if thats a word) to me.
I also picked up a few forks that match some of my other silver. It's amazing what a difference a little polishing will make - before and after seen above. Did you find anything exciting this weekend?