You Must visit here (part one)….

If you are ever in Northern California, you must include an afternoon at Filoli in your itinerary.  Located in Woodside, just 20 miles south of San Francisco, it was a mere ten minutes from my childhood home, but sadly, is now 180 miles from home.  Even still, I try to visit at least once a year.   

Open February through October, with special events during the holidays, the house and gardens are equally spectacular.

 

Upon entering through that amazing portico, you find yourself in the Transverse Hall, bisecting the length of the 36,00o square foot Georgian country house.

Detail of the door moulding and pediment in Transverse Hall.  The quality of workmanship in the details of this home are truly awe-inspiring.

 

The interior knobs and keyhole covers

The stairway with it’s magnificent iron railing is just off the hallway.   The second story now houses the offices of the foundation, and is off limits to visitors.  (I sure would like to sneak a peek someday.)

 

Perhaps the most stunning room in the home is the Ballroom.  It’s delicate dove’s-egg-blue walls are accent with gilded column capitals and moulding details. 

The magnificent crystal chandeliers are copies of those that hung in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles during the signing of the Peace Treaty in 1920.

Six elaborate crystal wall sconces with amethyst colored crystal drops complete the illumination of the ballroom.

The scenes of Muckross, Ireland were chosen because, after a series of strokes, the master of the house, Mr. Bourn was not well enough to travel to this special place.  The five murals that encircle the room were painted by Ernest Peixotto in his New York City studio on canvas from sketches made in a visit to Muckross. The completed murals were then rolled up and shipped by train to Filoli in 1925.

The large French Baroque-style fireplace surround is carved brecciated Italian Machiavelli or Sarrancolin marble decorated with ormulu decorations of the head of Hercules and Nemean lions' heads molded to fit the marble.

It is truly breathtaking.

  

Across the hall from the Ballroom is the library, a copy of the library at Denham Place, England. The plan and arrangement of wall panels, bookcases, and borders carved in a floral pattern were copied from the English house built in 1690.

Though it’s difficult to see in the photo, the floor is laid in an alternating herringbone pattern to create a changing effect of light and dark stripes depending on the position of the viewer.

   Last time I visited, I had to ask a docent “what this room was?”  She very politely told me that it was the Reception Room.  Well, duh, don’t we all have rooms in which to receive our guests!?!  What a different world this must have been.

Notice the doorway mouldings.  The rooms along this axis are set enfilade style, so that you can see straight through the open doorways from one end of the house to the other.

   

At the south end of the house is one of my favorite rooms, the Dining Room, here, set for Christmas dinner.

The blue linen damask on the chairs is gorgeous.

The floral displays are an important part of the decor and are changed frequently.

 

The last stop on this very abbreviated tour of Filoli is the Butler’s Panty.  This room made such an impression on me as a young girl—the concept of having an entire room devoted to storing all that beautiful crystal and china, I was hooked.  You can read more about that obsession here.

Inside the safe in the Butler’s Pantry. 

To quote Rachel Zoe:  “I die!”

  

The floor plan of this spectacular estate. 

Clearly, there is much, much more to be seen.  If you’re interested in learning more about or visiting the house and gardens, you can access the Filoli website here.  Trust me, it is not a place you want to miss.

Next time, part deux, the gardens….

The gospel according to Dorothy Draper

 

The other day when I was browsing through the “home improvement”  books at my local Goodwill, I spied this book by Dorothy Draper that I was previously unaware of (gasp).

I haven’t finished all 365, but I thought I would share an excerpt from #11--my favorite so far….

 

“Oftentimes when I get to bed at night these phrases are still floating around my head, “Is it proper?” “Could I use?” “Would it be all right to?” “Are they using?”  “I love such and such a color, but could I mix it with so and so?”

Recently an ad for individualized clothes had a heading “Enjoy the luxury of being yourself.”  And to all those people who ask me all of the above questions, what could be a better answer?  What do you care what they (whoever they are) using?  Who knows what is “proper”?  Be yourself, think for yourself, be guided by good taste and have what you want….”

 

You said it sister!  I think if she were around today, Ms. Draper would have a fabulous blog.

 

Enjoy the luxury of being yourself!

Conversational Seating

 

design by Bunny Williams

Recently, when I was fortunate enough to hear Bunny Williams speak in San Francisco, she joked that it has been said of her that “no one can squeeze more furniture into a space than (she) can.”    While that statement may be true,  I challenge you to find a living area designed by Ms. Williams that isn’t perfectly suited to good conversation over a cup of tea for two or for after dinner lounging for a group of ten (or more.) 

 

 

Bunny Williams’ formula for furnishing a living room :  “A no-fail arrangement consists of a 7-foot sofa, a 4-by-2-foot coffee table, one upholstered chair, one bergère or other upholstered chair, a pair of open-arm chairs that can be moved around, one 30-by-20-inch bench, two odd end tables, and two low drink tables .”   Translated, that is seating for no less than eight, and could expand to upwards of twelve or more if needed. 

 

 

The key is not simply to have a lot of furniture, but to have a number of pieces that can be moved easily as well as some that multitask.  For instance, the three armchairs in the photo above weigh considerably less than a fully upholstered chair and can be moved without strain.   The garden stool can be used for seating, drinks, or even to stack books or magazines.  The ottoman in the back is functioning as a coffee table in the photo, but could quickly be converted to seating.  The upholstered chair by the fireplace would be a lovely place to curl up and read a book when alone, but one or more of the armchairs could be pulled over to use for a small conversational arrangement when guests arrive.

 

 

One lesson I learned the hard way is to make certain that all of the seat heights in a grouping are the same.   In my family room, I have one large upholstered chair that is especially squishy (granted, it could stand to be re-built and reupholstered) and, when sitting in it, I feel as though everyone else is looking down at me.    When selecting seating, it can’t be assumed that seat height is standard, and if you’re using antique pieces, all bets are off!  Be sure to bring your tape measure!

 

    

Large rooms are especially suited to having multiple groups of seating arrangements for different sized conversations.  This much publicized space designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber has it all.  Here and in the photo below, you can see that this room was designed for conversation.   There is ample “fixed” seating, supplemented by several occasional chairs and a number of ottomans.   The arrangement with the sofa and (gorgeous) klismos chairs is perfect for a larger group of people.

 

 

At the far end of the space, under the window, a pair of Bridgewater club chairs offer cozy seating for two and by the fireplace,  there is another pair of chairs with somewhat more distance and an ottoman between them…perhaps a grouping for three, or a place for the homeowners to relax by the fire and read.  (Those of you that have been in a relationship long enough know what I mean—sometimes it’s nice to just be in the same room with your partner without having to converse.)

 

 

I think a somewhat unconventional seating arrangement such as this one, designed by the firm McAlpine, Booth and Ferrier, can be tricky to plan, but the less traditional and less expected layout results is a casual and comfortable grouping—one that is easy to live in.

 

 

In this space, Phoebe Howard uses my favorite go-to solution for extra seating:  ottomans, footstools and small benches.   When I am out thrifting or antiquing, if I come across one of these little gems in good enough condition, I almost never leave it behind (no, really)—they are usually inexpensive and easy to reupholster and if the wood needs cosmetic repairs, that can also often be done at little expense.   I have one Swedish style bench in my living room for which I’ve had several top cushions made (currently it’s sporting a zebra pattern).  It’s so simple to pop off the top and change out the upholstery seasonally or whenever the mood strikes.  These small pieces are the masters of multitasking.  Besides being “back-up” seating, they can hold a tray for drinks or a vase of flowers or support a stack of books or even a small lamp.  Frequently, newer upholstered ottomans offer storage under the seat—a perfect place for newspapers or magazines or a game or a deck of cards or even for that collection of remote controls that seems to plague the modern living room.  Benches can be tucked away under a console table, which, in turn helps to anchor the console arrangement.  (See my previous post on the subject here.)  A small pair of stools looks fantastic pulled right up to the edge of the coffee table, or if the table is a bit taller, they can slide in underneath.   I  (quite obviously) can’t say enough about the benefits of having several of these small pieces in a room.

 

 

I find that when I have only one guest,  we often seem to wind up seated at my 40-inch round kitchen table.  My theory about why this happens is that when the group is so small, people are more comfortable with some sort of physical barrier separating them.  This is akin to the phenomenon whereby  I stand in the kitchen and company stands on the other side of the island.  (I dunno, maybe it’s just me….)  Designers Babs Watkins & Eleanor Cummings (whom, by the way I’ve become slightly obsessed with upon seeing two of her recent projects simultaneously featured in Veranda and House Beautiful!) have brought the same sized table into the living area.  This looks to me a perfect arrangement for two friends to share a little gossip and a cup of coffee.

 

 

Have you ever found yourself in the uncomfortable situation of sitting in someone’s living room and having to raise your voice in order to be heard?     It drives me crazy, the enormous living/family rooms so popular in the past decade that have but one seating group of grotesquely over-stuffed upholstered pieces that put people twelve feet away from each other separated by a coffee table large enough to seat dinner for eight.

This room, also designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber, makes good use of a potentially awkward space adjacent to the fireplace by squeezing in (comfortably) appropriately proportioned seating for four.    Keeping seating groups tight facilitates relaxed conversation.

 

 

This arrangement by Eric Cohler is perfect for conversation.  This radial type furniture plan works especially well in a square-ish room.  Everyone gets their own chair, so there’s no sitting at opposite ends of the sofa (because you know, nobody ever uses the middle cushion unless there is literally nowhere else to sit.)  There’s ample comfortable seating as well as some that can move around.  I actually wanted to do something similar to this in my own living room, but the boys won and the sofa stayed. 

 

 

I just love the arrangement of this  California living room by Betty Burgess.  It has many of the key ingredients for comfortable conversational seating:  1.  A not-too-big sofa (avoiding that middle-seat syndrome).  2. An upholstered, yet moveable, armchair.  3.  An ottoman doubling as a coffee table.  4.  A long bench with a beefy cushion (bonus-it doesn’t block the view of the garden.)  5. Extra seating tucked under the console, just waiting to be called into service.  6.  All seating is at roughly the same height.  And,  7. The distance between seats is not so great that you’d have to raise your voice. 

When designing seating in a living area, I always try to imagine that the chairs are conversing with each other.  I’ll ask myself  “Can left cushion sofa talk comfortably to blue bergère?”  I know it sounds kooky, but it works for me.

So, do you have any favorite tricks for seating arrangements?  I’d love to hear your suggestions! 

 

P.S. We’re still trying to name the newest member of our household—if you have any great (or even not-so-great) ideas, leave a comment here.