ArchitectDesign picks at Fall Market 2012

Last weekend at Market was a whirlwind of seeing the best of what was new and now that I've discovered the antique dealers at Market Square, the best of what is old too! For the first Market I actually was doing a bit of shopping for myself for my new place.

Market is always such a fun opportunity to catch up with friends and network, all thrown in with lectures, presentations, and thousands of visits to furniture showrooms.

Much of Market is simply separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Much like personal furniture shopping, most of what you find is dreadful (it has to be said, I'm sorry!) but there are some really inspiring companies out there that I am happy to champion.

I thought I would first do an overview of my favorite finds at market (right click on any picture to read the title which is a description of what and where I found it).

Next week I'll follow up with an overview of the new trends, using my Market sponsor, Hooker Furniture, as a reference (although some of their pieces are included in my picks as well).

The talk of Market seemed to be my friend Barry Dixon's collection for Arteriors. I especially loved these glass barley twist candlesticks.

One of the trends was mid-sized furiture rather than the over-sized things we have seen the past few years. I loved this B-Y settee from Bradington Young / Hooker furniture.

The Capiz shell console with Moorish influences from Hooker Furniture was spectacular.

Charlotte Moss seemed to be everywhere at Market (as well as Candice Olsen, but none of her collections made MY picks) and her art collection with Soicher-Marin was lovely. I especially loved these hand water colored landscape drawings from French palaces.

One of my perennial favorites, Century furniture, impressed with much of their new offerings. I loved these Chateau Lyon console tables; check out those casters!

Pinterest is everywhere (do you follow me on pinterest?) and Hooker furniture has based an entire new collection on what women want on Pinterest, Chic Coterie.  I loved their writing desk which would make a beautiful hall or console table.

The Crillion side table at Julian Chichester would fit well into any living room. I loved the details such as the pull-out drink try and brass casters.

A piece that will make its way into my own apartment is the Davlin sofa above from Hooker Furniture. I especially love this mix of velvet and leather! I love the practicality and look of leather, but hate sliding around on it and its cold touch; the soft and cozy velvet is the perfect cushion cover.

The lines of the Emma chair at Julian Chichester were positively sexy.

I loved the faux tortoise shell accessories at Karen Robertson.

Not new but something I've loved for the past few markets, is this bombe drawer chest from the Grand Tour collection at Century. I love the traditional lines with the rough wood bark texture.

Also from the Grand Tour collection but new was this cocktail table. Now this is something I need to save my pennies up for beccause I MUST HAVE THIS. I love the gilded metal legs and that beautiful stone top. Just say yes please!

Attractive bar stools are always so hard to find and I loved some of the offerings at Bungalow 5 such as this one based on the Wishbone chair.

Hickory Chair is always inspiring. I adore their designer collections and could easily furnish my entire apartment from their offerings. I especially love that nearly everything is American made and they're working towards 100%! The Gregory Chair designed by the charming Alexa Hampton would look great at my new Cocktail table; 2 please!

Jeffrey Alan Marks of Million Dollar Decorators fame has a new collection at Palacek and I loved these Gunn stools.

I loved this Helena console table at NOIR.

The Thomas O'Brien collection at Hickory Chair included this Keith Desk that I'm in love with.

Doesn't everyone love a Klismos chair? Four of these Layton Chairs from NOIR would be fantastic in my dining room.

Speaking of chairs, I loved this new malachite fabric available at Century, seen here on a chair from the Oscar de la Renta collection which the talented Miles Redd heads.

And speaking of fabrics, I loved these new marbleized pillows at Design Legacy!

And I can't forget these Greek key ribbon pillows at Dransfield & Ross.

I could look at lighting all day long. Maybe it's the architect in me? These new Motif Mirrored Sconces at Regina Andrew were amazing and so reasonably priced!

Also in lighting that I loved were these new Olivia sconces at the predictably wonderful Visual Comfort.

Starburst mirrors seem to be everywhere and I love them (I own one myself!). This riff on the classic shape was made out of pencils at Tozai Home.

While I'm not always a fan of painted furniture, I did love this chest in ivory and grey with orange and green accents from Acquisitions Limited.

This etagere bookcase from NOIR was oddly named Roosevelt. I envision 2 of these chicly flanking a doorway.

I love shagreen (faux or genuine) so this dresser from Regina Andrew was a no brainer! The combination of red, grey, and gold is stunning.

This Shagreen drinks table by Mariette Himes Gomez for Hickory Chair was also lovely.

I also loved the Southworth Sofa by the always friendly Suzanne Kasler at Hickory Chair.

While many of the Halo wares leave me cold, I loved this swagged pedestal.

Thomas O'Brien has a collection at Visual Comfort as well as Hickory Chair and I loved his new Fiona Lamp available in 2 sizes.

One trend that seemed to be everywhere and originated with my friend DC-based designer Raji Radhakrishnan are large scaled wall murals, seen here at the always stylish Oly. I'm not making this up, her name was constantly named in connection with these!

And one of my favorite products that I have to admit to are the Krispy Kreme donuts which were being given away EVERYWHERE. I won't even tell you how many I ate for endurance in this season's Highpoint adventure!

National Park Seminary tour

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a fascinating historic housetour at National Park Seminary with my friend Maxine who I have mentioned a few times before. She's lucky enough to live in this unique neighborhood and invited me to join her!

The seminary, located at the northern tip of Rock Creek Park outside of Silver Spring, has a long history, many uses and owners, and now has been redeveloped as a condominium and townhouse community (more on that later). 

The site started as an estate but in the 1880s a resort was built here, high in the hills above Washington DC, so that people could escape the heat of the city. You can see the original inn below.

The resort was a failure due to difficulty in reaching the site and an economic recession at the time.

It was soon bought by a couple in the 1890s who started an exclusive girl's school on the site which remained for many years until being requisitioned by the army as auxiliary hospital space.  These odd structures you see here were club houses and out-buildings which, similar to the Columbian Exposition in 1893 were meant to educate the girls on different cultures; expose them to things they hadn't seen before. Pretty cool, huh?

They are all now private houses or still for sale by the developer who has given new life to the Seminary.

There has been a lot of negative feedback, many believing the developers have disregarded the detailing and history of the building.  They claim the developer turned the main building into a generic suburban condominimum.  Given the high cost of renovations, I forgive them this offense as the exterior restoration has been impeccable.  Many of the interior details have been retained, as you will see later in this post. This is a HUGE undertaking and I applaud their efforts -certainly better than wrack and ruin, no?

You can see the disrepair the campus had fallen into above in some of the un-renovated parts of the property (which are still available for sale); Serious, gross neglect on the part of the army.

Above you can see how the developers funded much of this work by turning some of the open land into townhouses detailed similarly to many of the more unique buildings.

My friend Maxine lives in one of these new townhouses which are nicely finished.  In this group above, you can see how they copied details from existing buildings (the dilapidated buildings in the center).

The main building, as I said earlier, is an enormous structure added onto over the years. The main inn remains the nucleus which the girl's school extended somewhat randomly in Victorian fashion. Above you can see the grand ballroom to the left which was surrounded by dorm rooms.

On the opposite side of the inn were mechanical and service spaces connected to the main building with this enclosed bridge.

Greek temples adjacent to French chateaus next to Tudor revival - it's quirky and fabulous.

Can you imagine something like this being built today?

To the left of the drive here is the "American Cottage" which a young family is currently renovating to suit their needs.

The stone work throughout is really nicely detailed and restored;  Original sculptures dot the grounds.

The Grecian temple you see behind the main building is attached in rambling fashion (of course) and now houses 2 apartments that I would die to see!

Near the mechanical spaces is this 'colonial house' below which is available. In better shape than some of the abandoned buildings you can see it still needs a thorough renovation! What a fun project this would be.

This stairhall below is on the first floor just off the porch, the center fan topped french doors is a coved living room following the shape of the transom. On the opposite side is a large kitchen and the main entrance.  Still quite a bit of the original building left to save.

The proceeds of the tour were to fund rehabilitation of the statuary.

This lead lion is hollow (who painted these yellow??).

This Indian is in far better shape.

This bronze sculpture is really lovely.

The aloha building (more apartments) has semi-caryatids surrounding the porch.

While much of the interior doesn't follow the original plans, details such as staircases, paneling, and fireplaces have been saved (even if they sometimes make no sense in the new layout).

This carved stone plaque below was in the 'president's mansion' entryway in an enormous inglenook. The house is now split into 12 generously sized apartments!

Wonder what it's like to live in one of these converted structures?

One of the first to be snapped up was the chapel; separate from the main building but attached by walkways.

The bulk of the interior is open living space with a corner filled-in with a mezzanine office over a master bedroom suite.

A truly unique space although maybe a bit too much 'church' was kept for my personal tastes.

The altar makes a perfect spot for the grand piano.

Remember the ballroom I mentioned earlier? It seemed like a fitting way to close.

Originally the upper levels were all dorm rooms (now they are apartments and storage spaces).

These plaster brackets are in perfect condition. The stone fireplace at the far end has sadly been painted but is still gorgeous.

So tell me, what do you think of this development? Would you live here?

The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany

Just in time for Christmas, Vendome has released a new book looking at the Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany by 4 experts in the field, Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy McClelland, and Lars Rachen.

Art glass lamps have received a lot of ire in the past few decades, due to the plethora of bad, cheap copies (remember the lamps Wendys had in their restaurants in the 80s?). However, none other than modernist architect Philip Johnson has said that "These objects are now regarded with fashionable horror. Such horrors are, however, unjustified. It is only that the proper perspective on the period is lacking" (page 35).  This book adds plenty of gorgeous perspective!

The authors delve into Tiffany's inspiration, his garden on Long Island, and other works the Tiffany studio was producing; not to mention over 70 examples of some of the most amazing lamps you've ever seen.  Definitely add this to the shopping list, you won't be disappointed!
Photography by Colin Cooke

Another ICAA tour!

Next Saturday, October 13,  join the ICAA Washington Mid Atlantic Chapter for a tour of three private residences on Maryland’s scenic Eastern Shore. First is a house at Follys Cove for a tour led by architect David Jones, who transformed a 1950s Cape Code style house into a symmetrical house distinguished by a dramatic classical portico which frames a water view.

Second is Timberlane Farm, an elegant example of Georgian Revival architecture. Architect Wayne L. Good recently completed a major renovation and will lead the tour featuring the house’s renovations and the addition of a pool pavilion complex.

Last will be Lombardy, a 250 acre estate with a Colonial Revival mansion. Over a five year period Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects restored the house to its original splendor, renovated an eighteenth century guest house and barn, and sensitively designed new outbuildings. The house was featured in Period Homes Magazine.
I'm unable to attend as I'll be at Highpoint Market again, but hope some of you can attend and send me the details!  R.S.V.P. to susan.sapiro@classicist-washington.org.