Guest room

The guest room of my first commission, 1996.





Walls - paperbacked Jean Monro chintz
Ceiling - Pale blue, matte
Floor - Dark straw sisal, trellis wool rug in Indian jade
Bed - Dressed as a daybed in pale blue linen moire, large antique Aubusson cushion
Chair - Large Billy Baldwin slipper chair in shell glazed linen
Wardrobes - Dragged to match woodwork (chintz ground) and lined in shell glazed linen
Curtains - Pale blue linen moire lined in the chintz, tortoiseshell blind
Mirror - Oriel Harwood faux bois in plaster
Jardiniere - Louis XV filled with maidenhair ferns
Side Tables - Papier mache tray on stand, nacre inlaid side table
Lamps - Brass floor lamp (far end of bed), blue porcelain table lamp

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Now playing: The Beauty Room - Those Days
via FoxyTunes

How to turn a Moscow mafioso into a robber baron

Maison 21 liked this overblown, grandiose monstrosity in his What's wrong with me? post. And so did I.

These are some of the elements I would choose to make it work for a rather grand drawing room. Who says one can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?


Lee Jofa's Pondicherry Silk for the walls as well as the massive Hutton sofas.
The carpet would have to be an antique aubergine Donegal.


Lee Jofa's Crescent Damask for the curtains and the other upholstered pieces in the room.


A pair of 19th Century Ebonised, Red Boulle and Brass-Mounted Display Cabinets, the stepped plinth top over a frieze with applied gilt-brass putti, vines etc., over two clear-glazed doors enclosing shelves, between plain pilasters headed by gilt brass trusses, all on a conforming plinth. Perfect for either side of a Breche Violette bolection fireplace.


A Regency mahogany breakfront side cabinet, circa 1810, the ebony banded lip above four doors with re-entrant panels, on a plinth. In desperate need of restoration, but this would be fantastic when done.


A Regency Mahogany Secretaire, the moulded top over a panelled fall enclosing cupboards, small drawers, and a leather-lined slope with lidded tills, ink and sand pots, and a pen tray, the base having two panelled doors between scrolled, moulded and leaf-carved trusses, on a moulded base with lyre- shaped feet. Again, just in need of a little attention.


Pair of massive sofas by Gary Hutton .


A Regency Rosewood and Brass Inlaid Chaise Longue, covered in gold cotton velvet, with two bolsters, the shaped back and scrolled ends over a loose squab on straight rails and sabre feet with brass paw caps and castors.


An ebonised and parcel gilt window seat, in Regency style, early 20th century.

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Now playing: Henry Mancini - Michael's Theme (from 'The Godfather')
via FoxyTunes

Look what I found...

a picture of the philistine, measuring something no doubt.

Normally I would not be so base as to name and shame, but I do think that this could serve as a lesson to all when selecting clients....Blah,blah,blah...
Oh, who am I kidding ? No, this is exactly what it appears to be - a little philistine bashing.

One should not work for clients who are:
1. Control freaks - especially when the emphasis is on the freak.
2. Petite Bourgeois - especially when they think they are Haute Bourgeois, and you know they are not.
3. Bankers - who then become unhappy housewives, and who then become unsuccessful antique dealers, and who then become unsuccessful handbag designers, and who then become shoe* designers - all in the space of three short years and several tainted lives.
4. Hagglers - it shows they do not value your services and that they are cheap - cheap people are just that, and their lives reflect it regardless of their surroundings.
5. People you hate - because regardless of the overwhelming desire to watch them crash and burn, it will show in your work.

* Suffice it to say I would not be caught dead in them or work for the type of woman who would wear them. Perugia she's not.