A Night Off

After a lovely weekend, I've decided to take a night off.  Of course, I can't leave my blog readers high and dry so I'm posting one of my all time favorite interiors.  This drawing room was designed by Billy Baldwin for long time clients Kitty and Gilbert Miller's London home.  Except for the flowers and the round pillows, it really does look like it could have been designed today. 

"A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart." - Billy Baldwin

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A Night Off

After a lovely weekend, I've decided to take a night off.  Of course, I can't leave my blog readers high and dry so I'm posting one of my all time favorite interiors.  This drawing room was designed by Billy Baldwin for long time clients Kitty and Gilbert Miller's London home.  Except for the flowers and the round pillows, it really does look like it could have been designed today. 

"A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart." - Billy Baldwin

Read more »

Billy Baldwin at Home

I'm counting down the days until Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator is published later this month but until then, I'm making due with my old copy of Billy Baldwin Decorates.  His own studio apartment on East 61st Street where he lived after his retirement in the early 1970's is one of my all time favorite interiors.  Except for a few elements and the old photography, it still looks good today.   

Billy Baldwin says in the book, "the best decoration in the world is a room full of books" and this space is described as "the look of a library for one-room living."

Even in the 1970's decorators had to deal with "all the usual juts and protuberances of modern apartment buildings."  Billy chose to deal with all the "beams and bumps" by coating them in shiny dark brown paint. 

"It occurred to me that this was strictly a city room, full of shine: the floor, the walls, the windows.  So I added more shine: a varnishy eighteenth-century painting of dogs, a wonderful Korean lacquer screen, and a few strategically places mirrors.  I put all my books on tall brass bookshelves-the warm glint of the brass become terribly important in the dark room."  The Porter Etageres are available through Ventry Ltd. as are the slipper chairs and other pieces. 

The Louis XV chair was one of Billy's prized possessions and he loved the texture that it and the crackled black Portuguese table, and the Korean screen added to the room.

The room was luckily not a big box and the bump outs allowed for furniture groupings including one for sleeping above.  The sofa is really a twin bed in disguise.

Billy added rugs for softness and had three sets of slipcovers made for all the upholstered furniture including ivory cotton, blue denim, and dark paisley.  I've only ever seen photos of the pieces in ivory slipcovers so this was interesting to find out. 

Like all decorators, it looks like Billy moved things around.  In some photos, the desk is placed in front of the windows and in others, a sofa has been placed in that area. 

In the beginning of Billy Baldwin Decorates is the following quote, "only your eye can tell you what you will be happy with.  Today, thank goodness, we are more concerned with the personal than with perfection."  But it's clear to see that Billy apartment was pretty darn perfect!

"A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart." - Billy Baldwin

Read more »

Fall Book Brigade

I'm either going to have to move or call in the carpenter to build new shelves because there is no way all of these design books being released this fall will fit in my apartment! I will definitely make room for them though because I can already tell they are all going to be fabulous and fascinating!

I was wondering recently when Carolyne Roehm was going to come out with a new book and A Passion for Interiors: A Private Tour will be released on November 9, 2010. I can't wait to see more photos of her homes in Connecticut, New York and Paris!

Mary McDonald is a favorite interior designer and I can't wait to see her new book Mary McDonald: Interiors: The Allure of Style when it's released on October 5, 2010!

Adam Lewis wrote the wonderful biography of Albert Hadley and has now turned his attention to the late interior designer Billy Baldwin in Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator. I was wondering when someone was going to come out with a new book on Billy Baldwin. As much as I love Billy Baldwin Decorates, the photos are a little fuzzy so I can't wait for this one to be released on October 26, 2010!

Albert Hadley has not only written the foreword to Adam Lewis's book but also for Timeless Elegance: The Houses of David Easton. Elegant is the perfect word to describe both David Easton the man and his work and I know this will be a wonderful book. It will be released on October 1, 2010.

I had the pleasure of meeting designer and store owner Suzanne Rheinstein while I was in Los Angeles and she is as sweet as she is talented. I can't wait to see more of her design work in her new book At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past. The title has me at hello! It will be released on October 19, 2010.

I probably know the least about Victoria Hagan so I can't wait to learn more about this chic designer when her new book Victoria Hagan: Interior Portraits is released on October 12, 2010.

Emily Evans Eerdmans wrote the wonderful book Regency Redux a few years back and she's following it up with The World of Madeleine Castaing this fall. I don't know much about Madeleine Castaing either so I can't wait be educated by Emily! It will be released on October 19, 2010.

Town & Country magazine has published some of the most luxurious homes in their pages over the years and now they have compiled them into a new book At Home with Town & Country. I can't wait to see which ones made the cut when it's released on September 7, 2010.

Alberto Pinto has already published some of the most elegant books on design and I just know that his new book Alberto Pinto: Table Settings will have us pulling out the good china every night! It will be released on September 14, 2010.

Bunny Williams is one of the nicest designers I have ever met and most talented. She learned from the best, Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, and I can't wait to read her new book Bunny Williams' Scrapbook for Living when it's released on November 1, 2010.

I'm sure this is just the start of my fall reading list so check back for more recommendations and reviews. I'm off to start planning my new bookshelves to house them all!

Read more »

Fall Book Brigade

I'm either going to have to move or call in the carpenter to build new shelves because there is no way all of these design books being released this fall will fit in my apartment! I will definitely make room for them though because I can already tell they are all going to be fabulous and fascinating!

I was wondering recently when Carolyne Roehm was going to come out with a new book and A Passion for Interiors: A Private Tour will be released on November 9, 2010. I can't wait to see more photos of her homes in Connecticut, New York and Paris!

Mary McDonald is a favorite interior designer and I can't wait to see her new book Mary McDonald: Interiors: The Allure of Style when it's released on October 5, 2010!

Adam Lewis wrote the wonderful biography of Albert Hadley and has now turned his attention to the late interior designer Billy Baldwin in Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator. I was wondering when someone was going to come out with a new book on Billy Baldwin. As much as I love Billy Baldwin Decorates, the photos are a little fuzzy so I can't wait for this one to be released on October 26, 2010!

Albert Hadley has not only written the foreword to Adam Lewis's book but also for Timeless Elegance: The Houses of David Easton. Elegant is the perfect word to describe both David Easton the man and his work and I know this will be a wonderful book. It will be released on October 1, 2010.

I had the pleasure of meeting designer and store owner Suzanne Rheinstein while I was in Los Angeles and she is as sweet as she is talented. I can't wait to see more of her design work in her new book At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past. The title has me at hello! It will be released on October 19, 2010.

I probably know the least about Victoria Hagan so I can't wait to learn more about this chic designer when her new book Victoria Hagan: Interior Portraits is released on October 12, 2010.

Emily Evans Eerdmans wrote the wonderful book Regency Redux a few years back and she's following it up with The World of Madeleine Castaing this fall. I don't know much about Madeleine Castaing either so I can't wait be educated by Emily! It will be released on October 19, 2010.

Town & Country magazine has published some of the most luxurious homes in their pages over the years and now they have compiled them into a new book At Home with Town & Country. I can't wait to see which ones made the cut when it's released on September 7, 2010.

Alberto Pinto has already published some of the most elegant books on design and I just know that his new book Alberto Pinto: Table Settings will have us pulling out the good china every night! It will be released on September 14, 2010.

Bunny Williams is one of the nicest designers I have ever met and most talented. She learned from the best, Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, and I can't wait to read her new book Bunny Williams' Scrapbook for Living when it's released on November 1, 2010.

I'm sure this is just the start of my fall reading list so check back for more recommendations and reviews. I'm off to start planning my new bookshelves to house them all!

Read more »