Hillwood: Living Artfully

This past week I had the opportunity to preview the new exhibit at the Hillwood estate here in DC: Living Artfully, at home with Marjorie Merriweather Post. I've written about Hillwood many times in the past and am lucky enough to live just a few blocks away. This new exhibit provides some new thrilling opportunities previously unseen at Hillwood!

The exhibit is actually more of an event as parts are to be found throughout the estate focusing on Marjorie's role as hostess at her 4 main estates: Hillwood, Mar-A-Lago, TopRidge, and her yacht, the Sea Cloud.

I'm most excited about this exhibit because this is what I find so fascinating about house museums: I want to know how people actually LIVED. The image above show the dining room with its Mar-A-Lago dining table shown uncovered for a change and set as for a dinner at her Palm Beach estate. Information, photographs, and videos make you feel as though you yourself were a guest!

However the most exciting thing to come out of this exhibit are areas previously unseen in the mansion have been refurbished so they can be opened to the public. Above you see the very utilitarian 50's wetbar located just outside of the Pavilion where Marjorie hosted square dancing as well as first-run movies.

Interesting tidbit; Marjorie's staff were all welcome to watch the movies along with her guests and in the prime spot no less. Staff watched the movie from the balcony while guests sat below in Jansen styled sofas.

Located just off the main entry hall, the ladies powder room has also been opened to the public for the first time (seen above). Family wedding photos are displayed here gallery style on silk bedecked walls.

Check out the period fixtures including pink toilet paper! Interestingly enough, Marjorie purchased home fragrances in such bulk that the museum still has a quantity and uses it to this day in specific areas of the house (smells rather like face powder).

Located just off Marjorie's bedroom suite, her personal beauty parlor is also now open to the public. More photographs of family and friends are adjacent to the latest technology in haircare of the day.

As part of the exhibit the closets are fully stocked as when Marjorie is in residence. At the time her personal maid, Eva Zackrisson, would bring a week's worth at a time down from the main closet in the attic.  Also shown are adorable hooked bathmats used at her numerous houses. As you can see Marjorie loved pink!

 Above you see a collection of her day-wear along with coordinating hats.

Beneath some of her jewelry a small collection of her Bob Inc shoes are shown in different shades to match her numerous ensembles; for both day and evening.

Yet another closet in the dressing area houses some of her evening gowns from 1958-1964 on custom crocheted hangers. Who doesn't want to see this stuff!?

One more space open to the public is a basement bomb shelter (one of 4 on the estate). Notice the pink?  Marjorie provided enough space in the shelters for all of her staff: a gracious hostess as well as a gracious employer.

 Items from her yacht, Sea Cloud, are exhibited in the library.

 Including her custom embroidered shoes which she would occasionally wear on board.

The Snooze Room lies at the top of the main staircase and was where a guest could rest while visiting for the day. It also provided a small separate bedroom for children to the adjacent guest suite.

Out in the Adirondack Pavilion collections from Marjorie's summer house in the mountains, Top Ridge, are displayed.

 I loved this canoe!

 Marjorie even had luggage specifically for each location -notice the tag on the case above?

And what is a society hostess without her napkins embroidered in her monogram. I'll leave you with the adorable little dog annunciation device Marjorie used at Top Ridge.

Everyone must go to Hillwood to see this wonderful exhibit and remember, the collections are updated constantly with always something new to see! The exhibit will run from June 8, 2013 until January 12, 2014.

Darryl Carter: inside look

This past weekend I finally had the chance to tour Darryl Carter's new store and studio here in DC that everyone has been raving over.

 The discrete facade in an up and coming neighborhood, Shaw, belies the large amazing space within. Only a small "Darryl Carter" logo in red on the front windows alerts the visitor that they are in fact in the right place!

One can see why Darryl chose the space for his shop: the beautiful industrial spaces are old, worn, and interesting; the perfect contrast to his quirky but beautiful antiques and custom designed pieces.

 This imposing antique lion greets you as you enter.

The first floor features a lot of smaller items by local artisans such as pottery, dishes, glassware, and art pieces. I loved this old stone urn!

The second floor is large and covers his furnishings, antiques, and a lot of other unusual finds.  Copies of his amazing book are to be found scattered throughout the shop.

 At the rear of the 2nd floor, fabric samples are housed in orderly fashion in industrial metal baskets.

 Stunning intaglios by yet another artist line the stairwell.

Everywhere you look are fascinating objects: both found and antique. This chinoiserie dressing mirror picks up the shelving on the wall opposite.

I always associate this type of striped menswear upholstery with Darryl but this was the only example I could find in the shop!

 Taxidermy is to be found throughout the shop as well as cowhide and zebra skin rugs.

Most of the lighting comes from Darryl's collection for the Urban Electric Company. I especially loved these sconces lighting the stairways.

The Attic space is the most beautiful and gets amazing light through old skylights and dormer windows. Darryl originally intended this to be his personal office but the store got larger than anticipated!

 Imagine taking your phone calls on this comfortable daybed everyday.

I was amazed at the breadth of items that is carried by the store - everything including the kitchen sink!

Behind the shop is a private courtyard, perfect for parties. The lines of this old mattress make for an interesting art installation.

Located in the former garage is the design studio where his staff works and client meetings are held. I loved these metal and glass doors.

The wood paneled space is painted Darryl's favorite color by Benjamin Moore, Bonifant White, which visually expands the space. Even the staplers and tape dispensers on the desks were white! The color is from his line at Benjamin Moore where you can get his look for your own home.

Anchoring the work space is a closet with amazing antique hardware. Antique door hardware is to be found throughout the shop on all of the doors - no detail overlooked - don't miss it!

Darryl's shop is located at 1320 9th St. NW, in Shaw, across the street from the convention center. I encourage you all to visit!
Photos taken with my underwhelming iphone - visit the shop to see everything in greater detail!

Why don't you.....

Why don't you buy a lot of different lampshades for your boring chandelier in contrasting fabrics, like here at the Brooks Brother store in Bologna? Love this look!

A hidden Venetian garden

My Australian penpal, Neil, has been traveling again, this time to Italy. He sent me photos of this hidden garden in Venice that I just had to share with you!

The Palazzo Soranzo Cappello dates to the late 16th century and now houses the architecture authority for Venice, Belluno, Padua, and Treviso.

The house is beautiful but it's the garden that steals the show.

This classical folly anchors the end of a lush, green garden.

A closeup reveals a brick structure with worn stucco covering to appear as stone.

I love the Italian mindset as to preservation (the Palazzo was recently restored);  Let it look old, it doesn't need to look brand new like in Paris.

Maybe it's the architect in me but I need some sort of architectural anchor to give a garden interest.

Aren't these blooms spectacular?

You would never guess this was in the heart of Venice!

Perfect spot for a picnic.

The gardens are open to the public during office hours.

 Be sure to check it out on your next Venetian getaway!

This and That

I've been busy getting back into the swing of things from my vacation but thought I'd share with you some of my weekend before getting back into normal postings (more Paris and other house tours!). I stopped by my favorite shop in DC, ArtisanLamp (antique lighting fixtures and lamps), where I picked up a number of fixtures for a project. They're soon to be expecting a new shipment of antique fixtures from France as well as the semi-annual sale so be sure to stop by!

The weather couldn't have been better and I spent Sunday visiting local real estate open houses, discovering some hidden neighborhoods that were real gems!

 I loved these antique fixtures flanking the frontdoor of an old stone bungalow.

I pass this house in Georgetown everyday and just love the climbing roses growing over their front railings. This time of year DC is a gardener's paradise with roses exploding throughout the city.

I can't decide if I like it better by day or night! What were you up to this holiday weekend?

GIVEAWAY: Novica gift ideas

I don't often do giveaways here on the blog but NOVICA is a company I really believe in and love to share (I've done a few giveaways with them in the past). They're offering a $75 gift certificate to a reader of my blog.

Use it towards a larger purchase like the Celadon Vase at the top or something less expensive like these fabulous stone obelisks above.

This stone sphere would be really great in a tablescape and I'm loving the classical lines of the Parota wood table lamp below too. A silver heart-shaped necklace would make a great gift.

To enter, simply leave a comment below. Leave additional comments for sharing this on Twitter and on Facebook for even more chances to win! I will randomly select the winner Tuesday, May 28th at noon. Good luck!

Paris vacation - day 7

Rainy day 7 was spent primarily at the Louvre. Overwhelming, immense, claustrophobically crowded, and over the top in every way possible, who can visit Paris without a visit to the Louvre?

The apartments of Napoleon III were luckily open and were awe inducing even after the splendors of Fountainbleu. The Grand Salon, seen above, reminded me of a hotel lobby in scale and how I would have loved to have had a drink there!

It was fascinating to see the furniture of Madame Recamier (including HER recamier) as well as numerous portraits of her including the famous one by David. The museum is so immense it is difficult to even follow the maps given upon entering under the Pei Pyramid but treasures abound around every corner.  While the highlights of the museum such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, the Venus de Milo, etc., draw huge and overwhelming crowds, other parts of the museum are quieter and cafes are to be found in all sorts of corners for museum breaks.

I think the biggest surprise upon seeing many of the paintings I studied back in art history school is that many of the paintings by David and others of that time period are LIFE SIZE if not larger!  'The Consecration of the Emporer Napoleon' must be at least 30feet long and 20feet high. Vertically challenged Napoleon never looked so big.

The stairwells are so large that you would think you were in Grand Central or some other train station. They provide excellent meeting points however and many have cafes or small gift shops.

Rounding the corner on my escape, I was shocked to see both of Michelangelo's slaves with no one paying any attention to them. It was a joy to be able to study them closely without being jostled about.

'Winged Victory' flies over a palatial set of stairs, straight out of Funny Face; The only thing missing was Fred Astaire!  A quick run over to the Marais for last minute shopping (I'm keeping Mariage Freres in business) before a quiet night at home and packing rounds out this magical trip. I hope you've enjoyed my daily recaps and find something useful for your own trip to the city of lights!