Happy New Year, 2015!

I started this blog as part of a New Years resolution in 2007 with THIS post. In the past 8 years I've had so much fun sharing my design musings and inspirations and hope to do so for the next 8 years. Thank you for being part of my blogging experience and the best of Health, Wealth, and Happiness to you in 2015!

Merry Christmas!

"May Peace and Plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door, and may happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas" 

From ArchitectDesign to you, may you have a very Merry Christmas! Stefan

Holiday Decorating: Renaissance style

I always think the weekend after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to decorate for the holidays. For exterior decorating it's not too cold yet (hopefully) and it leaves the decorations up for the longest for everyone to enjoy!

Recently while in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, I noticed the fan of fruit above the front door of the Bank of Alexandria Building  (1792) seen in the images above.  Commonly referred to as "Williamsburg over-door fans" these decorations actually date to the early 20th century thanks to House Beautiful magazine!

For the Holiday issue of 1926 House Beautiful encouraged its readers to decorate like Lucca della Robbia, an Italian Renaissance sculptor known for his use of fruit wreaths (see above for an example of his work). In the late 1930s Christmas decorating competitions were held in Colonial Williamsburg and many of the participants sourced House Beautiful and created these fruit decorations which would have been thought quite odd and wasteful in hard Colonial times!

The pineapple is often used as a sign of hospitality, perfect for the holidays.  These over-doors are also similar to the magnificent carvings of sculptor Grinling Gibbons who achieved ultimate realism in his carvings of fruit and flowers in early 18th century England.  What do you think -would you use fruit in your holiday decorating?

Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse

I'Yo Ho! my boys," said Fezziwig. "No more work to-night! Christmas Eve, Dick! Christmas, Ebenezer! Let's have the shutters up!" cried old Fezziwig with a sharp clap of his hands, "before a man can say JackRobinson. . . ."

"Hilli-ho!" cried old Fezziwig, skipping down from the high desk with wonderful agility. "Clear away, my lads, and let's have lots of room here! Hilli-ho, Dick! Cheer-up, Ebenezer!"Clear away! There was nothing they wouldn't have cleared away, or couldn't have cleared away with old Fezziwig looking on. It was done in a minute. Every movable was packed off, as if it were dismissed from public life forevermore; the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ballroom as you would desire tosee on a winter's night.In came a fiddler with a music book, and went up to the lofty desk and made an orchestra of it and tuned like fifty stomach aches. In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile. In came the three Misses Fezziwig, beaming and lovable. In came the six followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business. In came the housemaid with her cousin the baker. In came the cook with her brother's particular friend the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who was suspected of not having board enough from his master, trying to hide himself behind the girl from next door but one who was proved to have had her ears pulled by her mistress; in they all came, any-how and every-how. Away they all went, twenty couple at once; hands half round and back again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping, old top couple always turning up in the wrong place; new top couple starting off again, as soon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a bottom one to help them.When this result was brought about the fiddler struck up "Sir Roger de Coverley." Then old Fezziwig stood out to dance with Mrs. Fezziwig. Top couple, too, with a good stiff piece of work cut out for them; three or four and twenty pairs of partners; people who were not to be trifled with; people who would dance and had no notion of walking.But if they had been thrice as many, oh, four times as many, old Fezziwig would have been a match for them, and so would Mrs. Fezziwig. As to her, she was worthy to be his partner in every sense of the term. If that's not high praise, tell me higher and I'll use it. A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwig's calves. They shone in every part of the dance like moons. You couldn't have predicted at any given time what would become of them next. And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance, advance and retire; both hands to your partner, bow and courtesy, corkscrew, thread the needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again with a stagger.When the clock struck eleven the domestic ball broke up. Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig took their stations, one on either side of the door, and shaking hands with every person individually, as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas!

Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse by Charles Dickens

All Photos from 2010 Holiday House by myself

Bûche de Noël

A client recently presented me with a traditional Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log, for the holidays and it was so pretty (and delicious!) I had to share it with you all. The dessert is a traditional French pastry commonly shared around the holidays and decorated to look like a log ready for the fire (that is, if one decorated their logs with snow and meringue mushrooms).This dessert in particular came from the Praline bakery in Bethesda (a suburb of DC) which was founded by former pastry chefs from the White House kitchen. This version featured both chocolate and vanilla butter cream on a sort of chocolate brownie (is your mouth watering yet?). If you're in the DC area you may want to consider one of these as a hostess gift -you won't regret it!

Merry Christmas!

To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! I hope you are all enjoying my White House tour, I know I am. Thank you so much for your informative comments. I have to admit I sadly know very little about this important building's history and am enjoying the lesson!

White House: East Room

Probably the most famous room in the White House (at least in my understanding) is the East Room, home to some of the most memorable events in the building's history. The largest room in the house, it was originally refered to as the Public Audience Hall but the name was thought to sound too reminicent of a throne room and so has since been referred to as the more democratic sounding East Room. The room has changed notably from the 19th century. During Grants administration, the room was highly ridiculed as being 'steamboat Gothic', as seen below in 1873. Thanks heavens curators haven't decided to go back to this version of the room!The room's transformation was done most notably by the architectural firm McKim, Meade and White, seen here below in 1904. McKim based the Louis XVI design on the famous Salon de famille at the Chateau de Compiegne, seen below. The details were perhaps slightly less refined due to the limited headroom, but notice the same heirarchy of pilasters and paneled chair rail: a notable inspiration.Later, from 1949-1952, when the room was dismanteled during the remodeling of the white house, the original paneling was damaged and had to be recreated. The picture below shows a detail of the paneling today (ignore the switchplate cover which I thought was a bit hilarious -thats the best they can do?!). The paneling was done in a simpler fashion but is perhaps more elegant to my eye. Certainly, at the least the ceiling is preferable if not the paneling. During the Kennedy administration, Jacqueline Kennedy made her famous bid to save the quality and history of the White House. She hired notable interior designer Stephane Boudin who oversaw a lot of the elegant transformation of the interiors including painting the red marble fireplaces a clean white, seen above (which I wish would be brought back into the room; the Clinton's had the white paint removed). The curtains are of similar fabric to what Boudin chose although with a more complicated valance, done by Mrs. Bush. The gilded valances are original to the McKim renovation of the room.The Aubusson styled carpets were installed by the Clintons to help preserve the wood floors.During the holidays, the central window curtains are opened to display a Creche. In most images I've ever seen, these curtains have been closed for whatever reason -is it the view?In this image from 1920 below, you can see a different window configuration from the McKim renovation which I prefer. I suppose during the Truman administration, when the room was changed and simplified, only the central window made the cut?The beautiful mahogany doors and doorframes, seen below, are original to the room from 1815 when the room was first finished after the burning of the White House. Prior to that it was partitioned into spaces as needed, including Abigail Adams hanging her laundry here! The theme in this years decoration is the peacock, which I think is a lovely color combination with the gold.

Join me tomorrow to see the State Dining Room.

White House entry halls

Last night I had the opportunity to tour the White House for the first time and see all of the holiday decor.

Everyone knows this iconic building and the history is taught to school children the country over. I was embaressed to admit I had never visited given that it's a mere 4 blocks from my apartment!

Everyone says their first impression is that it's small, but that was not mine. It's a BIG house! However, I thought it felt sort of institutional and not residential at all, did anyone else ever get that impression? It could have been the crowds of tourists that led me to feel this.

Today I'm going to show some of the details I noticed in the entrance and cross halls - probably my favorite parts of the house; certainly the most elegant that I was able to see.

The space was dramatically lit, which probably helped my impression! I loved the uplit tree branches in the oversized urns.

The first of many trees greets you, flanking the colonnade.

I thought these drapery rods were unusual and interesting!

A portrait of Bill Clinton above an empire daybed sits on the right of the entry beside the fireplace -certainly a place of honor?

Across the entry hall from the fireplace is the grand staircase where we have all seen pictures of our many presidents before formal occasions, draped in poinsettias for the season.

Directly across the hall from the front door is the seal of the president over the blue room. As the hall is relatively monochrome, it really makes a statement!

The cross hall was probably the most beautiful room in the house. The pink and white marble checkered floor really gleamed in the light. No wonder so many presidential press conferences are held in the East Room with the hall as a backdrop.

I think these photos say more than a thousand words on how multiple lighting sources create a good effect!

A detail of the urns.

These chandeliers which line the cross hall really are stunning!

More poinsettias drape the entry to the State Dining room.

The mouldings are all intricate and obviously well cared for. They could have been made recently -no gloopy paint in sight!

Behind the main staircase was this empire settee. Now, the White House is full of Empire furniture, which I'm not a huge fan of -does anyone know why? A piece or two mixed in is great but a whole house full?

A bust of George Washington lies in the niche between the entrance hall and state dining room.

On the opposite side of the Cross Hall, Lincoln lies in the niche right before the East Room

Lafayette is in a niche in the overdoor of the beautiful cherry doors which lead to the back staircase.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more interiors from the White House!