2017 : A Year To Remember !

A favorite gift this year - Stubbs and Wooton slippers!

What a year!  I ended it with a blast as over sixty dear friends showed up for my birthday!  Thanks again to the hosts, plus my friends and family !

All set for the guests!

Since I received over 82 pictures of the merry revelers, I decided to not show any of them!  No favoritism here!  I was also delighted to be pleasantly surprised as my family came down just for the party!

Pillow in Brunschwig and Fils, "Le Zebre"

Another fave gift (there were many) was this lovely pillow from old friend, Judith Auclair, of Maison Auclair...you can find her at MP Interiors, suite 302, Miromar Design Center, Estero, Florida (just north of Naples)...happy 2018 !!! 

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Charm of the CAROLINAS

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC 

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, I was forced to evacuate my south Florida condo, and head north - to the lovely Piedmont area of North Carolina....where I spent a fabulous ten days with my beautiful family, and visited some of my favorite haunts while there too.   Ms. Kay, of the uber charming Pink Door, introduced me to the proprietor, Mr. Glenn Blair Lavinder.  A native of Maryland, Glenn is simply  smothered in taste and style, and I really enjoyed chatting with him, and soaking up his aura of southern style and manners.  He had spent part of the summer overseeing a pop-up shop in Roaring Gap, where I once was most fortunate to assist the daughter of DeWitt Hanes with (her) bedroom in her ancestral home there- (picture Nantucket in the mountains)...no small feat, since DeWitt had used Sister Parish before I arrived on the scene!

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC

I was charmed by the arrangement of items on this green bar tray...known as "libations".

The Pink Door, Inc. GREENSBORO, NC

Not to mention these exquisite taffeta curtains in ivory- reputedly purchased from a Palm Beach estate, and designed by Colefax and Fowler in London... (they are not for sale).  After I reluctantly left the Pink Door, I also paid a much overdue visit to fabulous, beyond chic, Caroline Faison antiques where, SURPRISE, Caroline was !  (she had not been there on my last visit, sadly) Can you say CHARM? Can you say BEAUTIFUL?  Her grandson, Ben, helped me with my purchase of two small Canton ware plates- on his i-pad thingy, since none of the old school Carolinian's would ever dream of using such a thing! LOL!

Reynolda Estate, Winston-Salem, NC

Back to lovely, old, Winston-Salem (have you seen "Light in the Piazza"?) - I always love to visit the house museum, Reynolda House and Gardens- the former country house of the Reynolds family.  They visited it often from their estate in Greenwich, CT., before donating it to Wake Forest University.

Reynolda Estate, Winston-Salem, NC

Above, the long view of the "front yard" acres- which were created by Thomas Warren Sears, and influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted.  Way off in this direction, is the distinguished subdivision, created by Katherine Reynolds, called Reynolda Park, where I was fortunate to create an English "County" style (think Country Life magazine) foyer at 1040 Arbor Road, for the Shakespeare Festival Decorator Show House many years ago, sponsored by Selwyn and Leigh Rose, the homeowners at that time.  I used a stunning Brunschwig chintz in bright pinks and greens on a white ground for the central skirted table.

Dean Farris Interior Design circa 1986

While in town, I also visited the Gazebo (Reynolda Village) -met Agnes Butler, proprietor of All Through The House (Reynolda Village)  - J.McLaughlin, (Reynolda Village), as well as, Darren Waggoner, proprietor of Idlewild Interiors, and Larry Laster, proprietor of Laster's Fine Art and Antiques, a wonderful establishment my family has patronized for many years- and where I purchased a lovely old Mintons plate, in old blue and crackled white.  This gave me great pleasure.  His son told me he was dead when I inquired as to his whereabouts. (not true)-. This is part of the charm of the Carolina's- a "deadpan" sense of humor!  Visit and enjoy!  The High Point "market" is coming up, and I urge you to visit these fine establishments while in the Piedmont "triad" region.  DF *****

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Chateau de Menars

Brunschwig et Fils Menars fabric at the former Wrightsman house, Palm Beach, FL

Besides the old Rory Cameron villa, La Fiorentina, I've always admired the former house of Jayne Wrightsman, in PB, where this Brunschwig cotton print, called Menars ~ was used in a major way by Vincent Fourcade...

Click here to read about the Loire Valley chateau called Menars, which Madame de Pompadour acquired back in 1760.  Enjoy!  DF *****

Madame de Pompadour, by Francois Boucher

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Trending Classic, Les Touches

Geoffrey Beene

All of us have always loved the way fashion designer, Geoffrey Beene, used the now famous "Les Touches" from Brunschwig and Fils~ in his dining room in Connecticut, many, many years ago...and I do recall the text saying that the pattern had been hand painted on the walls, to match the festoon fabric shades...brilliant!

Brunschwig and Fils "Maisonette" Collection 2015

Recently, perhaps due to the popularity of ikat patterns, this BF classic has become super trendy, especially with decorators...my friend Louise Cronan is planning to use it in the less seen aqua colorway with Kelly green in her new Palm Beach cottage.

via Palm Beach Daily News

Mark D. Sikes for Legends of La Cienega

Michael S. Smith, via AD

When I saw this stunning guest room in the Rancho Mirage home of designer Michael S. Smith, I knew I had to post about the fabric! He also got the cover of the new AD~and what a sensational tour de force that house is! See Architectural Digest...DF*****

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Have a very happy Passover and Easter! 

Classic Coraux

Brunschwig and Fils

I've always loved and admired the classic "coraux" pattern - and recently have been trying out some of the wallpaper from Thibaut , which is from 2003...

and you might say, oh that's so ten years ago, but not me!

This one, above, has a white background with tan coral branches... I was thinking of it for my kitchen.

And this one, above, is in the reverse- white on beige- which one do you like better? I like both although am leaning towards this one...

And I still like this coral sateen I put on a pair of chairs several years ago- I've forgotten whose fabric this is- anyone?

You can also check out Cowtan and Tout, and Brunschwig and Fils for these patterns, in wallpaper and fabric...

Perhaps it all goes back to my love of nature, and certain romantic places like the Oliver Messel estate on Barbados- with its coral stone walls.  

Our talented friend, Judith Auclair makes these fabulous coral encrusted brackets- I think this is exactly what my living room needs!  If you love coral as much as I do, pay a visit to Palm Beach- or MP Interiors here  it's all over Worth Avenue- Enjoy!  DF *****

Gaston y Daniela Lisboa Collection

I've always been drawn to the textiles created by Gaston y Daniela, for Brunschwig and Fils, now owned by Cary Kravet.  Here's the new "Lisboa"  collection - love the azulejos tiles in the background. 

Lisboa, by Brunschwig et Fils

We had used "Guatemala Cotton" by Gaston y Daniela, a few years ago at the Mini residence, here in Naples.  Here's a shot of the bed, we also used it for the draperies in that room...



Dean Farris Interior Design



   
I still love using printed materials, even though they are not as fashionable as they once were- (the 80's) and the charm and colour they bring to a space.  We used these cranberry and sage tones, as the client wanted to retain the look and feel of their former home in Aurora, Illinois.  Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!  DF*****