Palm Beach Chic -the Villa Artemis

Just in time for the winter season is a new book that is sure to bring a breath of warm weather to everyone's Christmas List: Palm Beach Chic from Vendome Press.

Chronicling the houses of the storied resort town, the large coffee table book features a huge number of houses ranging from the historic to the very modern.

 I hate those book reviews which ruin the whole book for you so I'll feature a number of images on one of my favorite houses in Palm Beach featured in the book, Villa Artemis.

Built in 1916 by architect F. Burrall Hoffman (who also designed Vizcaya) for Mr & Mrs. Frederick Guest, the house is most known for a number of images by society photographer Slim Aarons of daughter CZ Guest at the home (one seen above).

Although the house has been greatly modified since the Guest's time as owners, architects Ferguson & Shamamian recently worked on restoring and adding to the house with the present owners and it was decorated by designer David Kleinberg. This storied house has become even MORE fabulous thanks to this duo!

Notice the charming watercolor of the front door by talented artist John S. Coles in one of the bedrooms.

The white stucco house with Mediterranean blue accents is my ideal palette for a tropical climate such as this; classic but interesting.

While the grounds have been heavily redesigned, they still feature the same vistas made famous by Slim Aarons. The work in the gardens even won the prestigious Palm Beach Preservation Foundation's award.

The renovated pool house is where the family spends most of their time. I love the black and white palette.  

 The formal rose garden matches the neoclassical tone set by the house; formal but not fussy.

Two last images from the book I have to share are from the home of designer Lars Bolander and his wife. The open storage in the kitchen was designed to display their collection of cookbooks and china -why not be surrounded by all of your beautiful things?!

 This may very well be my favorite kitchen I've ever seen!

For more on these houses as well as plenty of others check out your own copy of Palm Beach Chic from the Vendome Press by Jennifer Ash Rudick!
All images unless noted are from the book by talented photographer Jessica Kewicki Glynn. 

Scalamandre

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of touring the Scalamandre townhouse in New York with Steven Stolman, the new president of the company. Meg from Pigtown Design also recently visited the townhouse so I thought I would add my experience as well!As an architect, I was admittedly a bit out of my league with the technical discussions of the fabric they were showing, but I could of course appreciate their beauty and history. Scalamandre was kind enough to pull some items from their archives for me which appealed to my inner design history geek!One of my favorites was the Boris Kroll designed scheme for Scalamandre from 1973 for the Continental Airlines premier 747 jet service to Honolulu. Imagine flying in such a chic and brightly colored plane on your way to paradise! The colors, seen in the photograph above, ranged from hot pink in first class to serene blue in coach. The fabric samples are attached to a floorplan of the plane itself.With much of their work focusing on historical restoration and recreation, Scalamandre had worked on the Metropolitan opera house renovation and recreated the stage curtains which have this immense gold trim at the base and lush red velvet, seen in the archival box behind. The challenge here was to recreate the original curtain but to meet all of the required codes regarding fire safety. Steven mentioned the seats were all upholstered in costly mohair as wool is a fire retardant.
One of my favorite fabrics from the archives was this charming Auntie Mame'esque chinoiserie print designed by the founder's wife, Flora Scalamandre, in the 1950s - I hope they bring this back!While known primarily for their prints and traditional fabrics, such as this great one on a sofa in the DC showroom, Steven vows to bring the company into the 21st century while leaving their whole legacy intact. His dream is that nothing will be 'out of print' and you can order any of the great fabrics from the companies history.Recent advances in digital technology make this dream possible and the company has developed ways of using the technology that meet or surpass the techniques of the past.

So many new gorgeous prints!

I loved this fern print - very Martha Stewart, don't you think?

This cheerful preppy fabric is meant for outdoors but Steven said that a lot of designers have actually been using this inside. This new ikat pattern is actually complexly woven with a raised, textured design. Another fabric from their new line is "muse ornamentale" which is an updated look at a traditional design. It reminded me so much of the tropically inspired grand fabrics at Vizcaya, which had Scalamandre in on its' restoration!Of course, what would Scalamandre be without their animal prints (we all know their iconic zebra!)

In their new collection is a metallic giraffe print that is beautiful on both sides!

Their classic leopard silk velvet is still available (and is one of their most popular despite the high price tag!)

A new addition and sure to be equally as popular is a tiger printed velvet in either a mottled green or hot pink!

And of course, Scalamandre's iconic zebra print is available in many colorways and as fabric, wallpaper or even umbrellas! I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I did! Many thanks to Scalamandre and new friend Steven Stolman (who is also a CMU alum I found out!).

Vizcaya: Goyesca

Adjacent to Giudecca and sharing a bathroom in the southeast tower is the guest room Goyesca. Named after the Neoclassic murals which cover the walls which depict Roman styled grotesques, I'm not sure the theme is the most appropriate or restful for use in a bedroom but they are none the less lovely!

Despite the pink lined bed canopy and delicate plaster ceiling medallion, I think this room has a decidely masculine feel to it, don't you? Maybe it's just the restrained neoclassical decorations which appeal to me.

The advantage of a tower bedroom is multiple exposures; here facing the bay as well as the gardens.

Other guest rooms feature just as much detailing in the wall coverings, such as the one below which has a strong chinoiserie influence.

So many guest rooms, could you possibly just choose one? I wonder how many guests would switch rooms weekly to experience them all!

Vizcaya: Giudecca

The Southeast tower holds 2 guest rooms which share a bath. Giudecca, shown here, is simpler than the rooms downstairs but no less elegant. The centerpiece is, again, a magnificent canopied bed.I love the decorative plaster work on the walls highlighted in mint green and tan, so evocative of the time period. The room is named after an island in Venice as it overlooks the Venetian-styled bridges and ornaments along the waterfront.At the foot of the bed (raised on a platform for some reason) are two Louis Vuitton traveling trunks. I suppose guests would need to pack a lot because they would never want to leave!

Vizcaya: Galleon guest suite

The main guest suite at Vizcaya is in the opposite corner of Mr. Deerings offering views of both Viscayne Bay and the Formal Gardens. Occupying the physical corner is the sitting room named Galleon after the shipping vessels which inspired the house.

The wood walls are painted to imitate marble and display a collection of 18th century Italian landscape paintings. As throughout the rest of the house, the diverse decorations include 18th century Italian and English furniture with a French Savonnerie carpet.

This extravagant suite seems like an amazing place to stay for Deering's guest of honor -wouldn't you say?

Vizcaya: Espagnolette

One of the most feminine guest rooms at Vizcaya is named Espagnolette. All of the guest suites were named after historical characters from literature and feature different design styles. Each suite comfortably features a bathroom and ample walk in closet.

This bedroom has access to Mr. Deering's bedroom suite via the balcony so one suspects that his most special female guests were invited to stay, if you get my drift. The room's name fittingly refers to a young decolletee woman from the 18th century, such as the ones depicted by Watteau. While he never married and remained deeply private about his personal affairs, Deering is known to have had several mistresses throughout his lifetime and certainly they were invited to stay at Vizcaya and probably in this suite. Chalfin chose to decorate the room in a romantic Venetian interpretation of French Rococo style. The room features an antique period mantelpiece but the centerpiece remains the magnificent canopied bed.

Vizcaya: circular staircase

Besides the main staircase at Vizcaya, right off the courtyard is another more sheltered stair, which also ascends to the southeast tower.

The little stairhall is decorated with more ancient porcelains and a little gilt table. Thick limestone treads are cantilevered off rounded walls forming a beautiful stair with bronze railing. Covering the first floor thru the third in an efficient manner, this was probably a more commonly used stair.Lit by sconces, the plaster walls are painted 2 charming shades of green (which speak so heavily of the era) as well as white plaster details.Looking straight down, the marble floor on the ground level gives you a focal point with its' design.The hall is brightly lit by sconces, a leaded glass window as well as a skylight.No detail overlooked, the design of the skylight matches the flooring down below. Also notice the mirrored walls of the barrel which help reflect more light into the hall.

Which stair would you choose to take? I'm definitely taking the circular staircase!