Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond

While in Richmond I visited the lovely Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  The beautiful original building, seen above, was designed in 1936 by Norfolk VA,  architects Peebles and Ferguson in English Renaissance or Georgian style.

Sadly that is no longer the main entrance, but rather a nice but blandly modern addition by London architect Rick Mather from 2010 serves that purpose. I know I know, I'm always baised towards beautiful early 20th century classical buildings, so sue me, it's my blog afterall!

The recent additions include a lot of work to the extensive site which holds a lot of other structures from the former lives of the property.

I admit to loving the landscape and hardscape, especially the water features.

The full length of Mather's addition.

The interior is large, bright, and open and features nicely detailed modern stairs.

It's a huge museum!

If you do a little wandering, you can find the original entryway and stair which is reminiscent of an English country house foyer.

I love this limestone detailing.

And the ironwork and wood railing is beautiful.

This colorful enclosed Roman courtyard in the original building houses an amazing Roman mosaic depicting the 4 seasons. More on that tomorrow when I share some of my favorite pieces from the collection.

As I mentioned the site has had previous incarnations, primarily as the Confederate Soldier's home campus until 1941 when the last resident passed away.

The charming carpenter Gothic style chapel, known as the Confederate Memorial Chapel, was designed by architect Marion J. Dimmock in 1887.

The other large building on the grounds is the Home for Needy Confederate Women (what a name!). 

Designed in 1932 by architect Merrill Lee, the residence was in use until 1989 when the last residents were moved to a nearby nursing facility.

And I know you're thinking it; Yes, Lee based the neoclassical structure on the White House!

Logan Circle House tour

For those of you in DC, don't forget the Logan Circle holiday house tour this upcoming Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 from 1-5.  The neighborhood has an assortment of restored Victorian houses through modern 'loft' apartments so the variety is always interesting and the Christmas decorations are inspiring. Hope to see you there! Tickets are available HERE.picture via WeLoveDC

Windsor Farms, Richmond

I spent the day in Richmond recently and drove through one of the most storied neighborhoods in the city, Windsor Farms.

Developed in 1926 by Thomas C. Williams, Jr.,  the planned neighborhood was originally meant to be created from authentic English Country houses which were to be dismantled and brought across the ocean.

Parliament put a stop to that (seriously) but 2 houses were successfully recreated from ancient British buildings and reside in Windsor Farms, both operating as house museums; Agecroft Hall, above and Virginia House, 2 above.

The rest of the houses were then designed by a who's who of 1920s (and more recent) architects and landscape designers including William Lawrence Bottomley and Charles Gillette.

 Driving through this bucolic neighborhood is as good as a house tour!

It was fun trying to decipher which houses were old and which were newer, as most are kept so immaculate that one can't age them.

 The neighborhood is an architectural dictionary of styles.

 And time periods!

 The houses range from grand estates to smaller residences.

 Everyone had a perfect yard and the old trees add so much character.

 I loved the brickwork on these tudor revival houses.

 I'm always a sucker for a white brick painted house.

 And a picket fence!

If you ever find yourself in Richmond, check out this neigborhood. Stay tuned for future posts on Agecroft Hall and Virginia House!

Doorways of Georgetown

The other day while walking through Georgetown I noticed this beautiful door and transom. Notice how the glass door inside the vestibule has the same transom as the solid entry doors - I love this look for letting light into the stairhall.  Now this is just one example of the many beautiful doorways of Georgetown.

My haunted chairs; fabric advice

A few weekends ago I was driving through Georgetown and stumbled upon an estate sale.  I've been attending a lot of these lately in order to feather my new nest and was excited to find a set of 4 18th century English dining chairs which I was able to scoop up for a bargain as it was the last day of the sale.

The chairs have seen better days and need a good cleaning and polishing (Murphys oil soap and some furniture polish) and the upholstery contains 40 years of dust and grime (or whats left of the upholstery). But the chairs are sturdy and in excellent condition otherwise and of a diminutive scale perfect for my apartment.  One chair is in such bad condition that I'm just leaving it in my storage unit for another future owner to deal with -and here is where the story begins!

Unbeknownst to me, the house is one that hosted a media frenzy a year ago when a society matron was murdered by her much younger husband.  Years before the murder, some violence forshadowed the death involving a chair.  My chair with the horribly bashed in corner perhaps??? oh my! That chair  will forever be called my haunted chair and will stay untouched in my storage unit!
However, whats to be done with the 3 others? In my posession I have a length of grey cashmere upholstery fabric from Ralph Lauren Home as well as beautiful plaid wool, also from Ralph Lauren.  I'm thinking of using the plaid but thought I would ask some of you what you thought?  Orange plaid, grey cashmere or something new?

Jonathan Adler opens in Georgetown!

 I'm very excited to report that one of my favorite design shops, Jonathan Adler, has opened in Georgetown!

I've always loved Adler's fun pots, accessories, and furnishings, and it makes a great addition to my neighborhood.

 Midcentury with fun pops of color and whimsy is his base design guide.

 This bed looks pretty cozy though, no? The store is HUGE with lots of furniture groupings.

 I loved this zigzag sofa.

 Everything looks great against navy blue.

 I love love these candlesticks.

 And his pillows are the best and most fun around.

 I loved this fun art piece; sunny yellow feathers that look like a giant dandelion on the wall.

Don't forget to stop by the shop while on your holiday shopping run in Georgetown. The shop is located at the corner of Wisconsin and N Streets NW.

And if you'd like to meet Jonathan Adler himself,  he will be in the shop all day Tuesday, November 27th signing copies of his newest book.

Spoils of Market

While at market, other than checking out the latest trends I did some shopping for myself.  One of my favorite shops is the reproduction company Van Thiel & Co which also carries a selection of antiques which is where they got their start.  I picked up a fantastic framed watercolor signed E. Rotsaert from 1927 of a winter landscape at sunset. It arrived last night and I immediately hung it in my bedroom.  I love how it looks against my wall color, the sunset just pops.

Oddly enough the wall color is 'Tiffany Blue' from Sherwin Williams in their new Emerald label paint (which is the most fantastic paint to work with) even though it bears no resemblance to what one thinks "Tiffany Blue" should be. I hung the watercolor under my framed print by Jeremiah Goodman.

Have you found any treasures lately?

A quick change: before and after

I recently was in New York helping my best friend from college with an apartment he had just purchased.  As he just bought a large mortgage and is gutting the kitchen, he was loathe to spend money on the only somewhat outdated bathroom. The biggest problem was the rusty, dated light fixture which spanned the vanity wall, seen above. Replacing the fixture would also require changing the mirror and quickly become a big project.

After cleaning and lightly sanding the backplate (windex!!), we decided to use rustoleum spray paint in a metallic dark bronze finish.  Edison bulbs were ordered online inexpensively for a quick update (found them HERE). The look is very industrial and of the moment: think restoration hardware.

What do you think of this quick and easy update? We were happy with our improvement!

Fall 2012 TRAD HOME

Don't miss the latest addition of Traditional Home's TRAD HOME online which features an article I wrote in conjunction with my friend Raji Radhakrishnan, designer extraordinaire!

In the article we feature some of our favorite shops and haunts in DC, beautifully photographed by the talented Colleen Duffley. Many thanks to editor Ann Maine who says of my Hirshhorn description in her Editor's Letter "With a flair for words as well as design, Stefan descibes this hidden gem as a round building nestled in a classical square city".  It was a fun if exhausting day and I'm happy to share it with all of you! Article begins on page 114.