PROGRESS: Blue and White on Bellflower

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design, 2018

Making fabulous progress on this Naples project- one of my favorite clients and favorite houses- a refresh- in the family quarters, from greens and yellows to blues, whites against a butter yellow background...

(c) Dean Farris Interior Design, 2018

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PORTIERE: Victorian Coziness and Elegance

So, this weekend, Billy went out of town for a charity event, and I had a bit of time to think about some Spring cleaning and re-arranging- I decided to remove the overlay of cognac gauffraged cotton velvet (an old bed coverlet!) from my one draped table, to show off the nice bright colors of the silk plaid table skirt- and one thing led to another...

I decided to see how a portiere would look in the small opening between my tiny foyer and the living-dining room...something I had wanted to do for quite some time.

DFID

Here it is! - tied back-, a fun bit of D.I.Y. that I enjoyed working on this weekend- and here are some other images of portiere that I found online - as well as some more of my own creation- this creates a remarkably cozy feeling, particularly at night- and I recall my Mother's decorator, Jonathan Arbuthnot using portiere when he first decorated her house in North Carolina, they were so elegant in ivory moiré cotton with gorgeous gadrooned silk tie backs in avocado!  Rich!

DFID

Above, this is how it looked before the tie back- and I liked it this way also- as it reminded me of an old villa or castello somewhere in Italy or Spain- and I already had the hardware from a previous project on the east coast of Florida!  (see similar in below images)

One can see how not tied back gives a completely different feeling and look- check out these tied back versions below, including my own!

DFID

DFID

Above, you can see where I also played with using a mirror where before I was using some boating pictures I had from a previous (waterfront) apartment.  Here's a few more, hope these inspire you to create your own cozy Victorian revival!  DF *****

DFID

DFID

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Agraria, Take Me Away !

DEAN FARRIS INTERIOR DESIGN  photography Related Images

Agraria Bitter Orange

A complex and subtle blend that permeates the air with additive waves of clove, the zest of bitter orange and just a touch of cypress. Described by The New York Times as "uplifting, mysterious & androgynous in its appeal."

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Cupola House

Billy and I have been working on the design-build of this new 14,000 square foot house for the past two years- located in the up country of South Carolina, we've christened the property "Cupola House" - for obvious reasons- here are a few shots from our last trip up.

The weather was FREEZING, like a damp English winter- and the temps were in the mid twenties...our thin Floridian blood was CHILLED.  Luckily, there were space heaters in the house. 



We used a brick called "Old Jefferson"


The garage, known as the EAST WING, will hold two Jaguars, a Chevy Suburban, and a Rolls-Royce...still waiting for the new doors to be installed.

The house is sitting on five acres... I took a hike to the lower part of the property to get this shot, eventually we plan to have an allee' of magnolias from the upper area down to the valley, with a decorative folly at the bottom.

A shot I took, looking up into the new cupola, before the small army of finish carpenters arrive to add all the gorgeous finishing mill work...

I couldn't get a good front shot of the new structure, since this existing ranch house is blocking the view- soon to be cut in half and moved to a lot in the nearby area...bye bye tear-down!  Stay tuned for future updates- DF *****

November 2011 News

News! Designing projects all over the U.S.! Partnering with Kreiss in a unique business model for the 21st century! TCB (taking care of business!) It's all good! DF *****

Georgian Revival - New Project

This bank is our inspiration

Home of Johnston Design Group, Architects

Concept drawing by an architect we had worked with previously

A cozy room in the tear down house...

This small charmer will most likely be torn down to make way for our new georgian

I look forward to the next year or so of new creative work for the ground up execution of a new georgian revival house in South Carolina... here are some shots I took while visiting the up country this past weekend, which are the basis of inspiration for the architectural style we have chosen for the house, to be designed by Scott Johnston and Carmella Cioffi of Johnston Design Group, Greenville, South Carolina. This will be the sixth house I've designed the interiors of for this couple, and their lake home was published in the Oct/Nov 1999 issue of "Country" magazine. Will share images of that house in a later post. Enjoy! DF*****

Terrace With A View

I recently had the pleasure of consulting on a large house downtown, very near Governor Rick Scotts place, and thought I'd share this roof top terrace and pool view with you. I look forward to showing some completed interiors and exteriors in the coming year. Wish me luck, as these houses can be quite a challenge. It's all in a days work for a busy Naples decorator ! Enjoy the week, DF *****