The most beautiful mantel in the world

As so often happens with blogging, time gets away from you.  As time builds you think the next post has to be really spectacular to explain the absence. Well 6 months have passed but in Covid time that doesn't count as much, right?   This post has grown from an initial image because I start to research and before you know it the one picture post becomes a minor history lesson! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

This all started when I saw the most beautiful mantel of all time (undebatable!) in an advertisement in House & Garden UK magazine (top image). If you don't subscribe you should, the Brits produce the only remaining reliably good, hard-copy magazines! I wasn't familiar with the London antique dealer Westland London but am so glad I know of them now from an advert in the magazine. 

The chimneypiece was salvaged from the ruins of Dalquharran Castle in Scotland.  Seen above, the castle was designed by, of all people, Robert Adam.  I'm not sure about you but castles like this are not what I associate with Adam but apparently he designed quite a few!  However, it appears the forbidding façade hid a delightfully neoclassic PURE ADAM interior.  Sadly that is all long gone. 

Above is the plan of the castle complex by Adam, designed around 1785 for his sister and her husband, Thomas Kennedy of Dunure.  It was completed in 1790 when the old castle was abandoned as a ruin.  Sadly enough this "new" castle was ruined itself in 1967 when the roof was removed to avoid local taxation.  Karma?

Above is the mantel before being removed from the tower library and below a stunning aerial shot of the castle today in ruins.  I imagine the library was located in the large tower as the curvature of the mantel is minimal. 

Westland states that the chimneypiece, designed by Robert Adam, was carved by the renowned Dutch stonemason Pieter Mathias van Gelder.  The central panel features 2 sphinx flanking a globe.  The endblocks feature classical lyres and husk swags above fern corbels. This is pure perfection to my eyes, all day long. 

A closeup of the panel below. 

While not designed by Adam sadly, I will share an antique mantel I picked up in Middleburg, Virginia, earlier this year and had installed in my living room. I had wanted a Georgian style mantel like this and love the old Pine - beautifully restored for me by David Clair.  I believe it dates to the 1920s or there abouts.  The honed Italian slate helps to bridge the gap between my overly small firebox and the size of the mantel -when in doubt go black! 

Images of the Dalquharran mantel from Westland London, while images of the castle come from Wikipedia. Naturally the image of my fireplace is from my trusty iphone

Robert Adam's Entrance Hall at Osterley House

After the Etruscan dressing room the Entrance Hall at Osterley House must be my favorite room in England.

The space is so good that in fact it was the only room to be directly COPIED on a sound stage for the filming of The Grass is Greener - in which it appears for only a matter of moments.  That's a lot of expense although perhaps it was used in scenes which hit the editing room floor?  I wonder what happened to the scenery after filming?

Above is Cary Grant on a brief walk through the house (actually sets on a London sound stage) with his butler before opening to the paying public in The Grass is Greener.

Although it was meant as the Entrance Hall today on a tour of the house it's actually one of the last rooms you see; although you catch a glimpse of it from the long gallery central doors (below) earlier in the tour.  Those are the 'front doors' of the house.

The Entrance Hall was completely redesigned by Robert Adam during the extensive renovations to the Tudor house by removing one portion of the block of the house, essentially creating a U shaped plan.  One enters up a grand exterior stair and through what was formerly a totally enclosed courtyard which makes for a truly impressive processional entrance. The wing of the house which was removed was replaced with a classical screen which acts as a covered porch. Even the ceiling of that outdoor space has elaborate plaster-work.  One only wishes the current tour took this same path rather than in through the family entrance past service spaces on the Ground floor.

The hall was used for more than just grand entrances though; the family would use the room for dining and overflow from the long gallery during the weekend parties and balls they would throw.

Every inch of this space and surface is designed to complement all aspects of the room. The floor reflects the ceiling, the wall panels encase armorial panels, and even the furniture was designed by Adam.

 The soft french grey and ivory white are excellent foils for the limestone floors and mantelpieces.

These lovely 3-branch oil-lamp sconces designed by Adam grace elaborate plaster brackets. These would make for fantastic electric uplights today!

 At either end of the room are apses which function as inglenooks without the built-in seating.

The flowers in the firebox are decidedly odd but don't distract from the perfection of every detail. 

 This limestone mantel would be stunning on a flat wall let along softly and impressively curved to fit the wall.

Imagine having to do the math to figure out the details of the curved ceiling - no 2 pieces are alike.

 Notice too the built-in window seats facing the courtyard.

 I think mahogany doors within painted trim are one of my favorite details in life.

The Greek key cornice, which normally would be one of the first things I'd notice, is almost lost amongst the exuberant plaster-work.

 Greek key too in the classical overdoor (and who doesn't love an enfilade?).

The small vestibules on either end of the entrance hall have the most beautiful groin vaulted ceilings perhaps I have ever seen. A shame more discreet smoke detectors could not be found! Perhaps it would be better more in alignment with the pattern?

Here I leave you with the recommendation to visit Osterley House & Park on your next visit to London!

Etruscan dressing room at Osterley Park

I recently took a birthday trip to England to fulfill a lifelong obsession with English Country houses by touring 8 houses in 8 days. Many of these houses only survive thanks to the National Trust and visitors. I have to say they are exquisitely run with great cafes, well maintained gardens, and really good gift shops (I bought a tea towel for the kitchen at each house).  With a membership to the National Trust (or their sister organization The Royal Oak Foundation) you gain access to many of these houses for free and help in their preservation.  American house museums take note, you have a lot to learn from the British!

Rather than share over 2,000 photos I took and bore everyone to death I thought I might perhaps share a highlight.  Both my favorite house AND my favorite room are the one and only Osterley Park by Robert Adam and the Etruscan dressing room.

I first became aware of the house not through any scholarly research on Robert Adam but rather through my love of film. The house has been featured in dozens over movies over the years and uses the fees to help in restoration as well as raise awareness(brilliant!). In fact a portion of the house was closed the day we visited due to filming; I missed the upstairs family bedrooms, the library, and most of the service spaces on the ground floor (although saw what was the nicest servants hall in all of England I would bet).

My favorite movie featuring the house is the charming "The Grass is Greener" from 1960 featuring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons. While only the exterior of the house was actually used in filming, a number of the interiors were used as inspiration for the extravagant sound-stage sets (more on that in my next post).

The State bedchamber is one of the major public spaces off the gallery and salons, never really used for sleeping, and the Etruscan dressing room was really more of a sitting room. It all starts with the doors, below.

Probably the most scholarly room in the house, Adam took 4 years to research the design of the motifs scattered around the space (1754-1758) during his 20 years of completely renovating this Tudor house from top to bottom into the height of (his brand of) classicism. As throughout the house he designed everything: trim work, wall treatments, furniture, curtains, in fact everything down to the very design for the firescreen which the lady of the house embroidered. Actually, his first design was overly complicated for Mrs Child so he designed a 2nd simpler version.

Most of the designs are individually hand painted onto paper and pasted onto the walls: almost like decoupage. Imagine having to paint dozens of identical decorations!

While the house was built in the 16th century, in 1761 the owners of the house, the Child banking family, hired Robert Adam to renovate the house on the outskirts of London into a weekend party house for entertaining.  It stayed in the family until 1939 when it was opened for public tours and then it was used by the government during WWII.  This is a very abbreviated version of its history but we're here for pretty pictures, not a full history lesson.

The reason the entire Adam's design stayed intact was the house was never actually fully lived in and was only one of many houses within the family. The house was given to the National Trust in 1991 and some of the artwork (removed by the 9th Earl of Jersey in 1947) has slowly been returned by the family.  The furniture stayed together as a collection because it was sold to the V&A after WWII and so was returned to the house.

I apologize for so many of my photographs but it was all so beautiful I couldn't weed any out!

Notice how the details in the woodwork are all picked out in different colors. Imagine painting all of that with a tiny little brush!

Here is the aforementioned firescreen designed by Adam for Lady Child.  These firescreens kept the heat of the fire from melting the makeup from the faces of women (and probably some men given the time period!).

The details in the frame were just amazing - grey background with black and red detailing -yes please!

Keep in mind this was the 18th century and everything you see was hand carved: so intricate!

Lion motifs everywhere. I love the ribbed and swirled base.

A pineapple finial for hospitality.

The fireplace garnitures are also just painted onto the wall on either side of the mantel.

Notice the pin prick in the center of the motif above? That's from the compass used to draw the circles.

This chair-rail almost looked Egyptian to me with the leaves at the very bottom. I love that when you see everything from afar it looks crisp and perfect but when you get close you see the wonkiness and can tell its all hand done.

So many patterns. Notice below the jambs of the integrated window shutters with the swags and urns? That just screams Robert Adam to me.

See a great video of the house exterior and interior on youtube HERE
Read more about the Childs family and Robert Adam HERE at a great blog, lostpastremembered.
Visit the house yourself and be sure to stop in the cafe for lunch HERE.
All photos with the exception of the movie poster are my own. 

Robert Adam: new book release!

Another book which makes its debut this spring is on an architect who needs no introduction. Robert Adam, Country House Design, Decoration & The Art of Elegance by historian Jeremy Musson from Rizzoli is really the definitive book on the Scottish architect who transformed the face of Neoclassicism.

The photographs by the late Paul Barker are among the best I've ever seen of these oft-published projects which defined a style; the Adam Style. The architect was truly a Renaissance man designing parks, buildings, and furniture; an entire environment really, while also serving as a member of British Parliament (1768-1774)!

Nearly 250 years later his projects still astonish with their use of ornament and color in revolutionary ways.

These iconic spaces are instantly recognizable as the work of one man. This volume which covers many of his remaining projects have miraculously not changed centuries later -a testament to their timeless design.

Robert Adam delves into his design process, with many reproduced drawings, which is a must for any modern designer. How does one design for the long term and what is the thought process? This book is a must-have for any reference library as the definitive collection of this master architect, Robert Adam.

© RobertAdam: Country House Design, Decoration and the Art of Elegance by Jeremy Musson, Rizzoli New York, 2017. Images may not be reproduced in any way.