And no, it's not the spatter pattern that is discussed so frequently in episodes of "CSI". It's "Spatter", and it's one of my favorite Hinson prints. Designed by Harry Hinson in 1974, the print was inspired by the spatter motif found often in Colonial ceramicware (this according to a 2001 New York Times article). The article also mentioned that it's a print that counts Albert Hadley and Jeffrey Bilhuber amongst its fans. I've also read that Billy Baldwin used it in his Nantucket home, but I can't find a photo.

So, just where can you use a print like "Spatter"? Well, Harry Hinson used it in his East Hampton home (shown above), and I was thrilled to see it in another Hamptons house designed by Tom Scheerer (and featured in the August '08 issue of House Beautiful). But I do think you can use it in a city home too. How about in a powder room? Or a kitchen? Just think of "Spatter" as a modern take on early Americana.

And speaking of Americana, I was curious about Hinson's supposed inspiration for this print. Just what was spatter and how was it used during Colonial times? Well, one of the prime examples is spatterware. According to a ceramic curator at Winterthur, spatterware was originally manufactured in England where it was known as spongeware. As spongeware was not particularly popular in England, most of it was shipped to the American colonies where it became known as spatterware. And it was here in America where spatterware became extremely popular, especially amongst the Pennsylvania Germans. Sponge and spatter painting was also used on furniture, walls, and floors during this era.

So although I can't corroborate whether Hinson was actually inspired by spatterware or not, it's something to ponder. If you would like to learn more about spatterware, you should visit Winterthur. Henry Francis du Pont was a major collector of it, and there is a magnificent display of his collection in Spatterware Hall at Winterthur. Or you can read more about his collection here in an interview with du Pont's daughter, the lucky recipient of some of her father's collection.


(Many thanks to everyone at Winterthur for assisting me in my research of spatterware.)



Two images of Scheerer's fabulous wallpaper selection for an East Hampton cottage (image from House Beautiful, Aug 08; Simon Upton photographer).


A Spatterware platter, c. 1825-1855, Staffordshire England. Does this not look modern to you? Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont; image courtesy of Winterthur.


Spatterware pitcher, c. 1825-1855, Staffordshire England. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont. Image courtesy of Winterthur.


Four examples of Spatterware jugs, c. 1825-1855, Staffordshire England. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont. Photo courtesy of Winterthur.

Image at top: "Spatter" in blue and white on the walls and curtains of Harry Hinson's East Hampton dining room.

A few months ago I picked up a used book at My Sister’s Closet in Chamblee. I wanted to share it with you and never got around to scanning. Lately I was reminded of it because Carolyn Roehm’s A Passion for Blue and White was showing up all over the blogs. It’s on sale at amazon for $37.80. However, while I’m sure that’s a gorgeous book, I am loving the Stephanie Hoppen book I picked up for $5 (it’s at around $17 at amazon right now). It’s called Blue and White Living and though it was published ten years ago, it’s amazing how current it is, though I suppose blue and white is a classic that never goes out of style. Hoppen picked up on wallpaper prints, exotic Mexican and Moroccan touches, great bookcase arranging and even the ikat that’s so hot right now. Here are a few images from Hoppen’s book:

book cover images from amazon.com

all other images from Stephanie Hoppen’s Blue and White Living.

One of my favorite sites in London is Spencer House, located in St. James. Built in the mid-eighteenth century for John, first Earl Spencer (yes, those Spencers), the house's first architect was John Vardy, a student of William Kent. It was Vardy who was responsible for the exterior of the home as well as some of the interior rooms, though unfortunately for him, he was later replaced as chief architect by James "Athenian" Stuart, a disciple of Greek architecture. Stuart's influence is seen in the classic Greek detail throughout the interior, making it one of the first examples of neoclassical architecture in England.

Throughout the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, subsequent generations of Spencers set about at refreshing and remodeling the interiors of the home, including a remodeling led by Henry Holland. After all, the Spencers were a prominent and highly social family, so Spencer House had to reflect this. Interestingly, the Spencers lived in the home until the late 1800s, at which time they leased the house to the Duke of Marlborough and his wife (Consuelo Vanderbilt) as well as various organizations. During the blitz in WWII, the contents of the home, including the fixtures, were removed and shipped to the Spencer estate Althorp for safe keeping.

Fortunately for us, Spencer House is now restored to its former glory and is open to the public. Of course, the fact that Spencer House is one of the few remaining private palaces in London makes it important. But the other nice thing is that it doesn't seem to be on many tourists' radar, meaning no long lines!

(One tidbit of info that I just gleaned- Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, was the daughter of first Earl Spencer and thus lived in the home until her marriage to the Duke of Devonshire. For a great book on Georgiana, you might want to read Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. Or, I suppose you can wait for the upcoming movie based on Foreman's book. But the book is really a good read.)


The Palm Room was used by gentlemen after dinner. It was Vardy who was responsible for the design of this room.



The magnificent Great Room. According to Spencer House's website, the coffered ceiling and frieze were inspired by the vaults at the Temple of Concord and Victory in Rome.


The Painted Room (c. 1759-65) was one of the first completely Neoclassical rooms in Europe. Designed by Stuart to celebrate the marriage of the first Earl Spencer and his wife, the room is dominated by images of marriage and festivity, all inspired by ancient Greece and Rome.


Vardy's design for the Ante Room- originally conceived as the Spencers' private dining room- includes a stunning coffered apse. It was Henry Holland who inserted the mahogany double doors under the apse in 1792.


I like to purchase guide books from the sites I visit- just in case I missed something on the tour. I also like to mark the date of my visit on the inside cover. This might become especially helpful when my memory starts to fail me- hopefully not anytime soon!

That Valentino. His keen sense of style goes beyond his couture creations. I've never seen one of his homes that was not beautiful, tasteful, and elegant. (Unfortunately, I can't say that I've seen these homes in person. My impressions are based strictly on photographs!).

I think what I admire most about his homes is that they are entirely appropriate for their locations. His Capri home circa 1971 was a sea of vibrant blue and white prints- perfect for living la dolce vita. His London home, featured here, is veddy English. Now, I know this might all seem a bit predictable, but if you're going to have a home in London, don't you want to feel like you're in England rather than in the Mediterranean, for example? Personally, I don't get that maverick approach to design where a home is supposed to look the antithesis of its location- it seems a bit contrived to me.

But let's get back to Val's London home. Does it come as any shock that Colefax & Fowler designed it? Tom Parr of C&F was responsible for much of the interiors. According to a 1992 House & Garden article (from which these photographs are taken), Valentino felt it important to use a British decorator. But while Valentino wanted an English look for his home, he also wanted it to be "more aggressive". I'm a bit stumped about the aggressive part- perhaps it's the use of color? The mix of prints? Perhaps it's a more masculine version of the English look.

I wonder if the home still has Parr's imprint? Or, has it been redecorated? Does anyone know?









(All images from the September 1992 issue of House & Garden; Alexandre Bailhache photographer)

Posted by Lena

Volume Two of  "Lines & Shapes," a series of small books I co-curate with Maria Vettese, came out last week.

This book's theme is "block," and it's dedicated to projects created by our contributing artists. I find the projects so creative and absorbing, and hope that others will too.

But I'm especially fond of a section in the back of this book, where we show some of the artist's "favorite things." I thought I’d share images of these pages, which include favorite corners of the artist's homes and studios, and single objects which make them happy.

And here is one of my favorite things (not included in the book). It’s a framed bird print, purchased by my mom at Sears in the 1970s.

Thanks to Elements of Style for this post about how to live a Hollywood Regency dream by renting from Room Service.

Oh My God! THE LIZA ROOM TAKES THE CAKE! If you missed SF20, you can lament your loss by perusing these fabulous images Leah posted at More Ways to Waste Time.

Oh My God Part II: Oh Patricia Gray, thank you for this. At first I thought it was a Chelsea Lately sketch, but it really is Sarah Palin’s office

Home Rejuvenation’s posts blow my mind all the time. I’m giddy over the The Next Generation House by Sou Fujimoto Architects.

I’m just nuts about Mrs. Blandings. I don’t know how I missed this charming Kansas City-based blogger’s writing for so long.

I don’t know how it took me ten days to find fellow, the new online design magazine from decor fellow blogger James Saavedra. Thanks to Habitually Chic for the tipoff.

Check out the list of the most inspiring design books of all time from O At Home magazine. I’m such a dork; I circled the ones I already have, which added up to ten. I was really excited to see Luis Barragan, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown and J.B. Jackson included on the list, but was disappointed that landscape architecture was not represented more.

Bummer! The Farnsworth House, in spite of the plinth it sits on above the ground, is majorly flooded. To make a donation towards repairs, click here. (via AT: Chicago).

Design Bloggers in Print! The New York Times did a huge feature on design bloggers yesterday, and included some of my favorites, like Jennifer Dwyer from The Peak of Chic. Congratulations! Hey, you know what’s weird? Wordpress has the word “bloggers” underlined right now like it’s not a word. It has Wordpress underlined as well. What’s up with that?

• photo from Room Service via Elements of Style

• photo by Leah Hennen at More Ways to Waste Time

• photo from The Anchorage Daily News (Landov) via The New York Times, via Patricia Gray Interior Design

• photo by (I think) Sou Fujimoto Architects, via Home Rejuvenation

• image from Mrs. Blandings

• image from fellow by James Saavedra

• image from amazon.com

• image from landmarks.org

Saturday I hit The East Atlanta Strut with a few friends and it was such a great festival. The temperature was below 100 degrees, it wasn’t too crowded, and most of the art was affordable. There was something for everyone, from Sweetwater Blueberry Beer to a Midway Sangria, which is basically a big glass of vodka with some berries in it. I walked out a little more poor after not being able to resist a painting from Athlone Clarke. I barely got away from snapping up items from LoveAlison, Yoshimi Hosoda, and Cuyler Hovey-King. Had some of them been able to take credit cards, the damage would have been much worse. I thought I’d share a few shots of the action with you:

I love that this artist drives his bottlecap-covered pickup to the show with the art in the back, and then uses it as his display area.

Mary’s is just so much fun - it’s a gay karaoke bar. Those two eight foot tall green dudes were ALL over the festival. Right after I took this shot, Green God #1’s aluminum bowl boob fell out onto the street.

Ah, it’s a major award, or something like that. Does a leg lamp ever go out of style?

East Atlanta is a great neighborhood chock full of 1920’s and 1930’s bungalows and sweet Victorian houses on postage stamp lots. It is a great example of “old urbanism,” because everything is walkable. The neighborhood is still somewhat affordable, has a good music scene and great bars and restaurants, and it even has a flatiron building of its very own. What’s not to like?

flatiron building photo by flickr member quincunx

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I have a loft-like space (a large living/bedroom above the garage) near the Chesapeake Bay. The room has high vaulted ceilings (about 10 feet, though of course the peak is higher), lots of windows, and board and batten extending to 7 feet on the walls. The space has windows on all sides, so gets plenty of light. There is a desk/bookcase unit that divides the space into living and sleeping areas. The furnishings are going to be low and modern.

The space, under construction

In terms of color, I was thinking of a soft grey/blue for the 7ft board & batten section of the walls (something along the lines of Boothbay Gray from Benjamin Moore) and a deeper color above that extending up across the ceiling (perhaps Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy). The color would extend throughout the space (only the bathroom will be different). I will also need an accent color for the central bookcase/desk and the trim.

Alternatively, if we decide not to paint the ceiling, perhaps the Hale Navy for the central bookcase/desk. I would love some more color options for the walls, trim, and central architectural component.

Is this a workable scheme? Or would a dark ceiling feel too oppressive? Do you have any color suggestions? -Sarah

image source

image source

For a nautical theme that isn't too cheesy, she could pair blue gray walls with crisp white trim and cheery red accents.

image source

From Sarah:

We approach the coffee table category with trepidation: passions run high when it comes to the “drinks table.” We’ve narrowed this post to simple wood coffee tables, midcentury classics mixed with a few contemporary interpretations.

Below: Ligna Coffee Table from Belgium with solid oak top and stainless-steel frame; $2,150 from Lekker Home.

Below: The classic and unassailable Eames Molded Plywood Coffee Table. $799 from DWR; available in ash, ebony, natural cherry, or walnut.

Below: We love the Terence Conran–designed Roller Coffee Table with solid oak top and rubber wheels; $2,250 at Conran.

Below: Solid maple Nelson Bench from Room & Board; available in three lengths, starting at $699 for the 48-inch size.

Below: The Cubic Coffee Table Rectangle of oak veneer with a steel base is $750 at Design Within Reach.

Below: Hans Wegner ch008 Low Table available in ash, oak, or walnut and in several sizes; prices start at $1,640 at Hive Modern.

Below: The Stockholm Coffee Table features a sleek mid-century profile; $199 at Ikea.

Below: The Tiago Coffee Table from Crate and Barrel. Bamboo top with black steel frame for $299.

Below: The soigné Atlantico 010 Coffee table by De La Espada is $1,095 at Bluehouse.

Below: Perfection does exist in this life: in the form of the CT01 Basso coffee table from German-based e15, one of our favorite furniture purveyors. Cut through the red tape and contact our friends at 14Feet for ordering and shipping information.

If you've got time to spare and want to hear me babble (on and on) about how I got started with my business(es) and what I've been doing over the past 9 years, I recently did a podcast with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of CraftSanity. I have to say that I actually enjoyed doing this podcast because it felt more like a conversation with friend than a press interview.

I also did a podcast several months ago with Chronicle Books. I was kinda nervous when I did that interview. Okay, why couldn't I remember what I covered in my book?! Seriously. There were some definite deer-in-the-headlights, crickets-a-chirping moments during that interview. Thank goodness it wasn't live. Thank goodness is wasn't filmed. And thank goodness for the magic of editing so that I seem like a competent book author. Um, really, I am!

I'm still getting used to doing these broadcast interviews and I tend to get all self-critical when I listen to myself speak, so I haven't actually listened to either podcast yet. But trust me, you should--you'll either walk away with some quasi-interesting information about me or maybe even some laughs at my expense. Either way, it's good times.

this morning while i was holding ms. jackson in my lap and waiting for her soft paws to dry, i flipped through the new williams sonoma catalog and pretended that she was really interested in hearing my opinion on everything inside. she clearly wasn’t, but i thought this faux bois chair was fun. i wish it had cuter legs (i’d like this kind) but the fabric is pretty fun. click here to check it out.