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| A living room in a large, gracious house in a
park-like setting - before. The colors, furniture, fabrics and
detailing did nothing to reinforce the architectural style of the house.
On the right is the same room after. The architecture
of the house called for an English, William Morris approach, which suited
both the clients' tastes and family history. Those with a keen eye
for detail will recognize the shameless borrowing we did from Standen, a
Phillip Webb / William Morris collaboration in England. |
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The original built-in bookcases in the midst
of restoration.
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The same view after. The space itself
is a cozy inglenook at the end of the much larger living room. The
overmantle is new, based on ones from Standen. The original surround
had some historical significance, so we had to retain it, but figure out a
way to incorporate it into the new vision. By the way, these are the
same armchairs seen in the first picture, just with new fabric and trim. |
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| The original fireplace had been
removed, and replaced with a Georgian-style surround by a designer in the
1920's who had achieved a level of local fame, (no, it was not David
Adler) and so the owners wanted to keep the mantle and surround
intact. There also might have been a covenant about it in the sales
contract, no one could quite remember, so it was decided to err on the
side of caution and work around it. I was inspired by a photograph I
saw in a book on Standen, and designed the structure on the right to
basically "float" on the wall, and not actually be fastened to
the surround at all beyond some small beads of caulk. Building
pilasters on the sides allowed me to get a pair of sconces into the
composition, something all fireplaces need, I think, and bring some
architectural interest to a fairly plain wall. The copper charger
has since been replaced by a red lustre plaque by William DeMorgan that
the husband and I secretly scored for my client's Christmas present.
At auction the following month, a DeMorgan plaque similar to ours, but not
as nice, sold for five times what he paid. The Morris-designed rug, Rounton
Grange, was custom made in a large size to fill the generous room. |
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| The left picture shows the entry
hall when I first came to visit. There is no sense of welcome, or
arrival, or of winding down, three things an entry needs, I think.
In fairness to my clients, the pink and white color scheme was left over
from the previous owners. By changing only the trim color and adding
a dark brown rough grasscloth to the walls, the entire character of the
space has changed. A beautiful Celtic-motif rug by Donegal Carpets
anchors the redecorated space, with a copy of a table by CFA Voysey that
we have made for us and a star lantern by Edwin Lutyens above. The
photo on the right shows a mural / frieze we had stenciled on the
grasscloth by a local decorative painter, based on a design the owner had
commissioned from an Irish artist from the Book Of Kells. All very
personal and closely related to my clients' personal histories and
backgrounds and family lives, which is something I try and reflect in all
my interiors is possible. The pocket door, an unexpected discovery,
was found boarded up in the cavity between the rooms, and just needed a
little TLC to achieve its former glory. |
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