There is one design legend who I fear is slipping into obscurity, and it would be a dreadful shame if that happened. That person is the late Sybil Connolly. If some of you are not familiar with her name, I'm sure you would recognize her work.

Born in Wales to Irish/British parents, Connolly began her career as a clothing designer, first in London and later setting up shop in Dublin. Proud of her Irish heritage, Connolly worked tirelessly to promote the native crafts of Ireland. Many of Connolly's clothing designs incorporated tweeds, woolens, and most notably Irish linen. In fact, Connolly garnered praise and notoriety for her pleated linen dresses. The handkerchief linen was so fine that it took nine yards of linen to make 1 yard of pleated material. Much adored in Ireland, Connolly also developed a devoted fan base here in the States with Jacqueline Kennedy, Rockefellers, and Duponts becoming clients. (You might recognize the official portrait of Kennedy below in which she is wearing a Sybil Connolly design.)

As the swinging Sixties and early 1970s rolled around, Connolly's designs fell out of favor with the liberated woman. Refusing to capitulate to the latest trends, Connolly once said "There comes a time in everyone's life as a designer when you have to decide whether you want to create the beautiful or the merely fashionable. Sadly, there can be a conflict between the two." With her glory days of fashion design waning, Connolly ventured into designs for the home. And this, to me, is the work that is most striking.

Connolly designed collections of textiles for Brunschwig & Fils and F. Schumacher as well as tabletop items for Tiffany & Co. Ever the champion of Irish handiwork, Connolly incorporated Irish motifs- flowers, basketweave, and the like- into most of her creations. In fact, I'm sure many of you recognize Tiffany's classic Tiffany Weave China which was designed by Miss Connolly.

But her greatest work of all had to have been her beautiful home on Merrion Square in Dublin (in my opinion, one of the most charming areas in all of Dublin). With the ground floor dedicated to her design business, Connolly's private quarters were comprised of the upper floors as well as a mews house. Her home reflected her style, her elegance, and her passion for the best that Ireland had to offer. Connolly once remarked: "Perfection is not human and we shouldn't pretend that it is. The ideal house should look lived in, as if somebody reads the books on the shelves." This sentiment is one with which I agree wholeheartedly and one which I have tried to convey on this blog, although not as eloquently as Miss Connolly.

Back in the mid-1990s, I had the opportunity to hear Sybil Connolly speak while I was employed with Tiffany & Co. Unfortunately, a fellow employee fainted and Connolly's talk was cut short. It was something that I always regretted, especially as Connolly died a few years later. But, I suppose I can take consolation with photos of her work. As you can see, she had a varied, productive, and fruitful career, and it is one which deserves some posthumous attention.

(An aside: when I was researching this post, I came across a New York Times article from October 1980 announcing a buffet dance at the downtown Rich's department store here in Atlanta. The dance was a benefit cook-off for the March of Dimes. And...Sybil Connolly cooked a marinated lamb, Robin Roberts of Clarence House made deviled chicken breasts, and Mary Jane Pool prepared an avocado salad called riboon. Now that was a stellar event! Had I been older and known who these people were at the time, I would have paid my $100 to attend.)


The Mews House's cheery yellow Living Room. The plaster shells on the cornice were duplicated from some real shells that she purchased in California with Tony Duquette.


The Living Room in the main house. The curtains were made of an Irish floral fabric.


Connolly's bedroom which was inspired by her antique Angoulême porcelain. Connolly found the Angoulême patterned wallpaper in London, and she then had the Irish textile industry copy the same print onto linen. Nancy Lancaster was so taken with the charming green and white bedroom that she asked Connolly if she could copy it.


A table set for tea in Connolly's garden


The dining room of the Mews House. Connolly's collection of blue and white Irish delftware grace the walls. It also looks as though the panelling on the walls was actually painted on in shades of blue.


The dining room of the main house. The wallpaper's floral print is fuschia, which grows wild in Ireland.


A blue and white toile that Connolly designed for Brunschwig & Fils (Image courtesy of The Hunt Museum)


"Tipperary" wallpaper designed by Connolly for Brunschwig. Do you think this looks like the Angoulême print in her bedroom?


A glazed chintz pattern, "Lily of Galtee", designed for Brunschwig (image from The Hunt Museum)


Tiffany Weave china, designed by Sybil Connolly



The late, great, and discontinued china pattern known as "Mrs. Delany's Flowers". Designed for Tiffany & Co. by Connolly, the floral pattern was inspired by amazing collages created by Mary Delany in the 18th century. Delany was admired throughout England and Ireland for her charm, intellect, and artistic skills. She used thousands of pieces of colored paper to create collages of flowers.


A paper collage by Mary Delany, c. 1777. Delany's collages inspired "Mrs. Delany's Flowers". (Collection of the British Museum)


One of Connolly's famed pleated linen dresses (photo courtesy of The Hunt Museum).


Jacqueline Kennedy's White House portrait, painted by Aaron Shickler, features Kennedy wearing a Sybil Connolly gown. (Image courtesy of The White House Historical Association)

Here's her kitchen, ready for some sprucing up.

"The cupboards are a pale pinky beige that I intend to paint white and install new handles (chrome), as well as install a new shelf (white) somewhere above the cupboards.

My laminate benchtop is a swirly, "natural rock inspired" pink/violet/blue monstrosity, but we're stuck with it, and I'd like to make the best of it.

Here's the room on the other side of the kitchen which we don't actually use as a dining area."

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"My eye tends to be drawn to soft colours, like icey pink and blue, even soft lavendar. I just don't know what will go best with the benchtops we have, although it does incorporate a mixture of these tones."

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drape pattern source

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Details, details, details.

N ow is the time to gather up your soft blankets, wool scarves and felt to re-purpose them around the house! I’m not that skilled with a lot of the domestic arts, but I love ideas that make me feel like I had some “hands on” experience in creating special things for my home. So, grab your glue gun or glue sticks and get ready for some EASY “homespun” ideas! Fall is in the details.

• How about creating your own monogram with felt & glue? Trace and cut a monogram out of felt. Adhere it on a pretty piece of fabric and tack around an ordinary pillow. Instant personality!
• Add a strip of wool and some fringe to ready made curtains or sheets with a trusty glue gun and even I can be a seamstress!
• I loved those cute little “balls of yarn” in a bowl. These are simply strips of wool wrapped around craft Styrofoam. Such a cute fall accessory for a coffee table or entry table!
• Bundle up your summer pillows, shams and bedding with layers of coziness! Wrap existing shams with scarves, old blankets, flannel sheets, or a sweater. Tie and or tack in place for instant fall warmth.
• Make a seasonal dust ruffle with a blanket or flannel sheets. Tie loose edges with ribbon for a special detail.
• Create sweet little silhouettes of your favorite pooch to fill up an empty wall! Spray paint mismatched frames in autumn colors. Trace whatever shape you want onto black felt. Cover the frame’s cardboard insert with a flannel sheet (how cute to use hounds tooth with a hound silhouette!). Glue the felt shape on to the sheet and reassemble frame.
• Warm up a cold doorway with a no sew blanket curtain! Fold over a rod or hang from hooks. For a custom look, fold over top to create a “valance.” Looks great and can save energy if you use a warm blanket around a drafty door or window. This is something I do every year because we have old windows!
• Use plaid or autumn colored wool scarves to dress up a table or chair!

Find monogram templates here (you will probably have to shrink them down to size if you want to use them on a pillow) as well as other templates for decorating pumpkins!

Photos and ideas found at Better Homes & Gardens!
Click here for lots more ideas on BH&G “100 Days of Holidays” feature!

Related articles on The Inspired Room:

20 Little Things To Treasure in Autumn

Seasonal Nesting Tips

A friend of mine introduced me to a wonderful source of handmade wallpaper. According to the Grow House Grow site and creator Kate Deedy, the wallpaper designs are are inspired by a lifelong love of storytelling. The paper can be purchased in rolls or by the sheet, and each pattern is available in three different color combinations. I think the Sweatpea print (part of the Cottontail collection) would be great in a kid’s room. But switch it to the tapioca color scheme, and it’s all grown up! –Erica P.

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.

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!

Yikes, when Simple Mom jolted me out of my Fall bliss to remind me that we only have 12 weeks until Christmas {faint}, I nearly passed out. How could it be? Now you all see why I wanted to get a jump on Fall, just about the time you realize Fall is really here it is time to start singing Christmas Carols!

While I am not wanting to rush the seasons, I do like to take some time at the beginning of a month to think about what is ahead. I want to make certain I am living a life of purpose and intent through each season of life. And Christmas isn’t one of those things you can whip together overnight, I need to plan ahead to fully enjoy the holidays.

Here are my top three holiday things to think about now:

1) What are the holidays going to look like for our family this year?

While we keep our basic traditions the same from year to year, we tend to zero in on a particular focus for what our family will do or how we will celebrate. Some years this has involved going out of town to focus on our family, some years we have very simple and frugal holidays, and some years we throw big parties and go hog wild with the celebrations. Identifying what our holidays will look like helps us to plan accordingly for our budget, time and expectations.

2) In light of our holiday plans, what will I teach my children this season?

Every thing in life is a learning opportunity (for kids and parents!), so with the different ways we celebrate the holidays each year we are able to cover a variety of scenarios to instill different values. From hospitality, to organization, to social skills, to the joy of simplicity, frugality, family and giving rather than receiving, the holidays are full of opportunities to grow and learn.

We try to teach our children the true meaning of the season and yet fully enjoy traditions and all the fun the holidays bring. The holiday lessons for my children begin as I start to make plans and involve them in the process. In other words, I need to get going on this!

3) What can I do now to prepare ahead?

Now is the time to decide what gift giving will be like for my family this Christmas. Because this year we will be having a very frugal and simple holiday, I need to start now to find easy (remember, I am not crafty!) and creative yet meaningful gifts.

Because memory making and traditions are important to me, I need to incorporate them into my plans or they end up being forgotten or crowded out by less important things. The best way for me to maintain traditions is to schedule them on my calendar now (assigning a cookie baking day, or designate a budget and time for a shopping excursion for new PJs for Christmas eve, for instance).

In the coming weeks and months, even as we continue to celebrate all the goodness of fall and everyday home decorating, I’ll be sharing simple ideas & traditions that will help us enjoy all the wonder of the holidays while keeping the meaning of the season in focus. Plus, I’ve got lots of exciting and BIG NEWS to reveal!

Speaking of living with purpose and authenticity,
here is an excerpt from my CWO article for October:

The crisp air and falling leaves outside my window remind me of how fleeting life is. Days turn into nights and before I know it, another month has passed in the blink of an eye. My son in second grade, my daughter is now a married woman and my middle daughter will be applying to college soon. Where is the time going?

One of the things I am so aware of as I watch my family grow and change is my need to remain committed to living a life of intent and purpose. It isn’t enough to let days slip through my fingers and hope for the best. I need to embrace each opportunity to build my home from the inside out. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Top photos: Hostess With The Mostess
Bottom photo: This Old House