Stateside Decorating

Sadly in Europe we do not concern ourselves much with American decorators, at least not enough and not with the more contemporary ones.  Of course we all salute the likes of Albert Hadley, Billy Baldwin, Mark Hampton, Mario Buatta, to name but a very few, for their eminence in decorating history and legacy they have or will leave behind.

There are in the US today some young designers creating very exciting interiors.  As a foreigner I have probably only come across a few - my American readers, who of course top the list of Tents and Camels viewers, can correct and add to if they so wish! 

We have much to learn from the US in the way the decorating trade is regarded and defended.  I have always found that, in Europe at least, our profession is often not viewed as the professional occupation that it is over there.  Here are favourite images of a selection of US decorators of the moment. 

 

Thom Filica courtesy of Elle Decor

Jonathan Adler courtesy of Elle Decor

Matthew Patrick Smyth courtesy of Elle Decor

Carrier and Co

I am not a fan of anything-prylene outdoors furniture, in fact I passionately dislike it.  Just like most things that seem like a good idea in the beginning they are sometimes overdone and badly reproduced to lose all of the appeal of their beginning.  Instead there is such fabulous outdoors furniture, often from America, that it seems a shame for everyone to want a) dark brown b) cheap basket type furniture that often looks overcrowded on small balconies, like a stuffed can of sardines.

Mc Kinnon Harris Chaise

Mc Kinnon Harris Pharr bench

McKinnon Duval chair and Wyatt table

Instead I am a huge fan of Mc Kinnon Harris who's aluminum furniture is beautifully crafted an will withstand pretty much anything as they are produced for both garden and yacht.  Their sumptuous colour palette also banishes boring dark brown, a lethal combination with sand to begin with.

On the antiques front Talisman  have a series of American 1960's spun aluminium pieces pictured below, I have been drooling over for some time, I find them utterly charming and love them together with one of my favourite Galbraith and Paul prints.

 And for ultra modern furniture with staying power I love Brown Jordan's Cloud 9 lounger below

And Gaze Burwill below here

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

Large luxury hotels, as opposed to small and quaint boutique or country house hotels, are pretty hard to pull off in the style stakes.  They somehow always seem to age badly and end up being a slightly better version of a Holiday Inn within just a few years.  They can fall into the over glitzy category, over beige, over coloured and over everything.  I recently watched a fascinating French documentary about the Park Hyatt in Shanghai.  The film was not so much about the decoration but more about the unique service and attention to detail and 'l'art de recevoir', loosely translated as the art of  receiving guests.  It is something most of us take for granted when in fact it is a very subtle and skilled art requiring many years of experience often if not always starting at the bottom.  I have enormous respect for those in hospitality who perform with finesse, largesse, without effort as if it is second nature to enhance someone elses journey.  There is so much bad service today we make do with what should be cast as unacceptable.

Back to design and decoration and in my opinion the Park Hyatt pulls it off, it is very beautiful indeed

Park Hyatt Shanghai Lobby

The Spa pool

Park Hyatt Shanghai bathroom

Park Hyatt Bedroom

Imperial Suite Park Hyatt Vendome

I understand the Park Hyatt Shanghai was designed by New York based Tony Chi whereas the Imperial suite in Paris was designed, along with the rest of the hotel a few years ago, by US architect and interior designer Edward Tuttle.

Basket Case

Time of year for picnics and baskets, well perhaps not here as the heat works its way to 50 C but perhaps inspiration for summer retreats and dreamy places to nap away a sunny afternoon

Cabane Derives, Domaines des Ormes, near the coast of St Malo in France with breakfast brought to you at 9am, see more at www.lacabaneenlair.com

 Houseboats of Kerala, see more here

Patrick Dougherty's whimsical installations,see more at www.stickwork.net

And finally, the Basket House, home to the offices of the Longaberger firm of basketmakers in Newark Ohio.  You probably can't stay there, let alone nap, except maybe on the lawn, but it is a dream, an American dream, and a proper basket to carry the picnic.

Emerald Cut and Mushy Peas

Greens are still going strong, emerald and pea greens in particular.  I believe John Fowler used to say all greens go together. So glad as I am firmly holding on to my citrus green armchair, it will just need an emerald green cushion.

Z stool by Ashley Hicks

The Right of Spring collection by Jim Thompson

Lalique Languedoc Vase

Emerald Green Chinese Cabinet Inset With Antique Gilt Panels, China, Circa 1950, at Assemblage, see it on 1st Dibs

 

For good measure a few more palm trees, Island Palm fabric at Quadrille

Olive Green Jade Gloss tile at Limestone Gallery

Malachite Tile at Limestone Gallery

Interior Quotes

The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live. It is about the realities of what makes for an attractive, civilized, meaningful environment, not about fashion or what's in or what's out. This is not an easy job. Albert Hadley

Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail Leonardo DaVinci

Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style. Billy Baldwin 

Quality ... distinguishes style from fashion.  Giorgio Armani

Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.William Morris

 

I owe my color sense to crayons.  Angelo Rafael Donghia, New York Times 

It is usually a mistake to impose an individual's taste on a room that has its own....style. Conversely, to put very fine pieces of furniture in a room that is without architectural distinction is as absurd as wearing a tiara with a bathing suit.  Nancy Lancaster

Nothing is in good taste unless it suits the way you live. What's practical is beautiful...and suitability always overrules fashion.  Billy Baldwin

So many young decorators are trying to reinvent the wheel, and the results are sometimes very dubious. They're striving to do things that have never been done before. Quite often it is done without authority, without knowledge, and without a background in taste. They need to be educated about the past, and they need a richer vocabulary.

Albert Hadley, The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer

The greatest mistake in the world is to believe that so-called good taste is any use without a sense of comfort to complete it. Sibyl Colefax

Scale is of prime importance and I think that oversized scale is better than undersized scale.  Nancy Lancaster, English Country House Style

Decor must have sentimental value. A house must tell a story.  Mark Hampton, Harper's Bazaar, June 1989 

It is just as disastrous to have the wrong accessories in your room as it is to wear sport shoes with an evening dress. Dorothy Draper

And finally, always keep some perspective:

Decorate your home.  It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. Charles M. Schultz