Seeing Redd

As anyone who has read Mrs. Blandings' Enduring Style series knows, I am a HUGE fan of Miles Redd's work and last night I got to experience one of his spaces firsthand. For weeks, I've been counting down the days until the unveiling of my dashing friend David's newly decorated flat and the results were *gobsmacking*.

You will have to wait for whichever lucky magazine ends up profiling this swanky and swelligant space to see more, but three words capture the vibe completely: Rue Wintherbotham Carpenter.

Chicago's exclusive Casino Club still preserves Wintherbotham Carpenter's interior decoration

Hopefully a guest blogger will shed more light soon on this virtually forgotten but tremendously chic decorator who was also one of the major power players in Chicago's art scene in the 1910s and '20s.

As I watched the big day loom closer, I grew more and more apprehensive about what would make an appropriate housewarming gift. After all, with Mr. Redd curating all surface-scaping, the bar was set vertiginously high. Then, out of the blogosphere came the answer in my inbox from a kind reader: Shandell's matchboxes, handmade by Susan Schneider.

Simple, small, and one-of-a-kind - I knew it was a home run, especially after I found this one with the bird's eggs, which just happened to be the shade of David's blue lacquered walls. Click here to visit Shandell's Etsy store and scoop up your own.

Gil Schafer, Part II: In Town

Photo by John Lei for the New York Times

900 square feet of perfection.



Architect Gil Schafer meticulously designed every square inch of his historic Greenwich Village parlor floor-through, resulting in a space that sensitively conserves (or replicates) many of its original 1830s Classical details AND accommodates all the necessities of 21st century comfort.

This gorgeous burnt orange color was also used in Schafer's country house - I wonder if he wanted to create a sense of continuity between the two residences or just loves the color?

I am always curious to see the homes of designers - with no client demands to conform to, they can really let themselves go. It is clear that Schafer, who has done much for the Institute of Classical Architecture, walks the talk. Together with decorator Miles Redd (who also worked on Schafer's country house) and a crew of talented craftsmen, Schafer has created a mini-Palladian mansion in the tradition of English aesthetes Lord Burlington and William Kent, chock-a-block with prints, drawings and curiousities worthy of the Grand Tour. AND I adore that Schafer's TV is out in the open - why apologize for it?


Click here to read more about how Schafer ingeniously reconfigured the layout and how he handled having 13' ceilings which gave him more wall space than floor space.

Photo #2 by Rene Stoeltie, #3 and #4 © Paul Costello

Pleasure of the Day: the Gil Schafer house

Would you believe that this paragon of Greek Revival architecture was built in 1999?

Architect Gil Schafer built this country house from stem to stern for himself in New York's Dutchess County after finding all the period examples were out of his price range. And yes, you may recognize some of the rooms, decorated by none other than the sizzling Miles Redd.

Click here for the full tour at The New York Times.

All photos by Phil Mansfield for The New York Times.