getting the Picture & what I like

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Susan Gutfreund's Henri Samuel decorated Paris Drawing Room

The most beautiful rooms have something.
Incredible Art?  Architecture? Period Furnishings? Austere Modernism? Frivolity? Perfect Balance?

Is it Color that sets your heart on fire for a ROOM, or maybe Color sends you right into a Zen Zone?
Each of us has our own measuring stick-as it were- that defines Our most beautiful rooms.

Which of these speaks to you? Is it one criteria-
All of the above?
or
None of the above?

Samuel's own apartment 1960

photographed by Mark Shaw

(Nico and her two dachshunds)

For Me- Many of these elements can be present and the room is a huge let down. The "rules" can be executed to the utmost and still they fall Flat.
What do I look for? In my personal choices and professional design choices- I try to envision myself or my Client in the room: Daily routines, family dinners, Social Occasions, Dogs, Skateboards in the Hall- crayons on the floor-and in the carpet. Get the Picture?
A Room has to connect to the Dweller. Someone has to live there. Each time I pick up yet another magazine and flip through the pages- I ask myself-

Who lives here? or WHO Could possibly live here?
Inevitably someone does and they love it Whether We do or not.

It is all subjective. The two Samuel rooms are touchstones for my  own room.
An old house for me, worn floors, carpets- Please NO perfect floors-I die.
I can be perfectly relaxed in a formal setting- No not wearing period silks-but fleece, maybe cashmere-if I really dress.
I care absolutely Not if the door squeaks or floors creak- practically a prerequisite for my perfect room-
&
Yes- a dog or two must be happily ensconced-whether hogging the sofa or resting peacefully in his own little bed.
What makes You "tick" with a room? What makes your "grade" in a MAGAZINE room?

More on the ELEMENTS OF MY ROOM and how I found elements from these Samuel Rooms for my own room next week.


1st Samuel image from Town and Country
2nd Mark Shaw Samuel room from here

a little bit of little augury

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I find continued joy in this blog. In talking with a dearest friend yesterday about this assemblage, I realized what I have been trying to do with the adding and deleting  of blog recommendations labelled PEOPLE-(to my right)  most of the blogs are written by one person, there are several here that have an ensemble cast. I can not even imagine, nor do I want to know how many blogs are out there-
Too Many?
Possibly.
We each find our own level of taste, quality and topic.
Happiness reigns.
But am I learning anything? This is the question I am applying to PEOPLE lately. What am I finding out at this moment, I didn't know yesterday, and hour ago?
Do I want to know?
Need to know? Even better.


I have kept Little Augury wide open on Topic because I am interested in many things, reading, following politics, to my Republican friends & clients- I Am-  You might feel- A Hopeless Progressive (worse than any Liberal), but that should not surprise You-
Does it?

Where do I stand? As our conversation continued yesterday- one mention of a blog in particular elicited from Friend this:  HE/SHE has an OPINION. We know where said Blogger stands. Do you know where I stand? Sometimes I wonder. I certainly don't want to alienate anyone-But if the tenor of Little Augury changes a bit or more than,  I want to know If you agree, disagree. Now this is not an open invitation to Nasty comments, don't demean me-You will be sorry, but don't hesitate to open a spot that is sore on the subject at hand. I would be less a host-If you felt you could not speak your mind.

I do write about fashion- No apologies. It is relevant.
Consider Elizabeth 1- where would she have been without her clothes? Exposed to the world and every threat there after. What she wore signified HOW she wanted to be Seen. Impregnable. And this with good reason-Every Man at Court wished to get into her knickers.
Joan of Arc- the fair maid of Orleans-how else-other than divine intervention-could she have faced the enemy. Certainly she claimed divine guidance-but she was no fool.She dressed for Success.
LOUIS 14 another fashion plate-
Pure Power Play, He liked to watch. they Mimicked Him, aped after Him.
He Ruled and not just  by the seat of his pants or as Fashion Arbiter but as Architect Designer wielding his rod- measuring stick.
Versailles was his calling card-and He had everyone at his fingertips.
HE liked to Watch too.

that brings me to HOUSES. I talk about Houses, You expected that, Right? I "oathed" to do more House posts in January, I think now I should admit defeat and say-I will Never write more about one thing than another. It just does not suit me. It will be whatever the day or night brings and hopefully that will bring YOU JOY, along with knowing.

Reciprocity. I am working on this too. Hence the changes to PEOPLE. What are they giving Me in return? This is not about You comment on my blog-I comment on Yours, though all of that is Nice and Neat and I do it quite a lot. I personally think it is Kind. Others in the same venue do not. Or say I can not possibly comment on everyone that comments on MINE! You should know what I think of that.

I want to get something from my PEOPLE- and I do. There are many PEOPLE listed over there to my right-that don't know Little Augury exists-But I get something from them ALL. & for that-
I Thank You. If you have something to offer and you are not one of my PEOPLE tell me-
I want to KNOW something I did not KNOW.
I want to be challenged. I want to learn. I want to give something back to you here too.
If not today, tomorrow.
Return. I have this offering to my People- New People- PERSPECTIVES really.

 

(click on text to see the page)

IF CHARLEY PARKER WAS A GUNSLINGER, THERE'D BE A WHOLE LOT OF DEAD COPYCATS-that's all I am going to say.  If that doesn't intrigue You-
HOPELESS.

CORBU'S CAVE- "Orlando" on canvas.

DISCOURS SUR LES ARTS ET LES SCIENCES- for the TITLE alone.

READER"S ALMANAC- Yes they have a BLOG! It is good too. Make that great-I have just gone to retrieve their LINK and LO and BEHOLD right off the pages of Little Augury. that is just what I am going ON (off?) about.

VOICE TALK  I can not sing-But I HEAR.


POST APOCALYPTIC BOHEMIAN "straight" out of San Francisco- with a twist & shout! out loud about Past heroes and a loving marriage to his guy- Unabashedly charming.

& last but not least- RED MUG BLUE LINEN because I need WATER. We all do.

You may think-



(all images are by Surrealist painter LEONOR FINI



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just tuck me in

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Do you love a nap? Do you love this Bed?
Photographed by Jacques Dirand, this Paris townhouse decorated by Renzo Mongiardino and Claudio Briganti, is one of those spaces. You know by now what that means. One that I am enamored with- it has been 12 years since I first gazed on these rooms and I am still in love. It must be Real. Of all the stunning rooms here there are many-full of Lichtensteins, Yves Kleins, Dubuffets, the owner's children- my favourite is this MASTER BEDROOM. Full of 19th century chinoiserie from England, the walls are softened with a silk that appears to be a sort of faded violet. The walls are divided by borders perfectly placed for special pieces of collected art.

Here- a few things that would be perfect for a room reminiscent of this one and only Mongiardino.

from 1st dibs -Melissa Levinson Antiques Parlor Suite in the Aesthetic taste consists of a settee and two side chairs. Each has a back bowed panel and seat with chinoiserie avian & floral accents raised on bamboo legs joined by x-form front stretchers.

 

 & this special piece from Alan Moss, on 1st dibs-a bronze tiered table with chinoiserie black lacquered trays by Maison Jansen, French, late 19th century.

 

 & I love this bed- from Linda Horn, at 1st dibs, but it is a bit heavy. 

What do you think? 

Should I keep looking? 

This one is 19th century, English bamboo bed with inlaid parquetry perfectly outlined with thick fitted pieces of bamboo. Interior panels designed with thinner bamboo framing. 

 & for fabric- No question- my beloved Dragon Empress-by Clarence House. There is a pale colorway with most of the colors shown  in this one-with a celadon rather than the blue. The only one colorway I have not used in a house- so it seems right.

 

It took Mongiardino & Briganti along with their clients 10 years to complete their opus. 

... irregardless of what the design tv shows and instant makeover pages of the design magazines tell you- 

ROOMS are not built in a day.

more here:
HG article- SERIOUS FUN from 1998 June, with William Norwich, Joy Hendricks, Delphine Pietri
read Mitchell Owens tribute to Renzo Mongiardino in the NY Times 1998 obituary HERE
little augury Dragon Empress posts HERE

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at 6's & 7's

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the LOVE BLOG AWARDS

or 

MRS TREFUSIS TAKES A TAXI wonderful blog and truly BEAUTIFULLY written, dropped this little box on me  and I offer her my humble thanks. She tells me- This award," like all good inheritances, comes entailed with conditions" - pass the award onto 6 other bloggers & reveal 7  things about yourself.

6

BEAUTYSLEUTH for BEAUTY

SAVOIR FAIRE for STYLE

GATHER for COMFORT

BOOKTRYST for KNOWLEDGE

CAPITOL BLOG for FASHION

&

 SMILLA4BLOGS for THE SOUL

(go see them all by clicking on the blog title)

7

 random things about me

 I love Myrna Loy-in any movie, especially and for always the THIN MAN'S Nora Charles 

or here as Mrs. Blandings:

Sarah Bernhardt and I share the same birthday- make of it what you will. I am thrilled.

I insist that I am a woman, though I still get occasional emails asking, I am amused-still.

4th grade photo offered as proof

Turtles are my talisman- ok, So I have blogged about this once, 

but it gives me an opportunity to offer this blog post  you may not have read.

"tortoise or hare?"

 I love the music of Mother Maybelle, this started at an early age- It just comes over me, I have to hear some Mother Maybelle.

I would easily select Oscar Wilde as my dinner partner-if asked to choose from the famous & drink in his witticisms and feast on his erudition.

I am a bit superstitious, why risk it? What about you? Tell me something I don't know about You, dear reader.


drawing by YSL from book LOVE by Yves Saint Laurent
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Love Affair with a room

How long can you hold on to a page from a magazine- after it loses its corners, clipped and otherwise? Is that 20 years?
Longer, So long I don't know just how long. 25?

this is a special one-it is my Love Affair with a Room tear sheet.
from a Christmas issue (think House Beautiful) of the Victorias- that is FREDERICK P VICTORIA & SON'S-family home. The cabinet maker and antiquarian dealer has a long standing reputation in the design community for crafting exquisitely made furniture. It is a family business.

A must read- here from Ronda Carman about Freddie Victoria, his role in the business and the influence of his parents, Tony & Susan. The room I still refer to-that I have long loved  is that of Freddie Victoria's parents.

In his comments to Ms Carman he describes his parents as yin and yang with-

"one being more whimsical and the other more classic. But from both I have learned the importance of craft and the appeal of uniqueness. Attention to detail and craft are the starting points of the value people place on things. They both have a very well trained eye for style and each is different. I didn’t always understand what they saw in certain pieces, but that has changed and I am learning a bit more each day."

What I find so very fascinating about this- it Perfectly describes why I am so drawn to the room.

what I LOVE and continue to seek in my own rooms and those of my clients-  
Comfort, Louis XV furniture, Quilts, Upholstered Headboards, Luxury Textiles, Blue, Red, Pink, Chinese porcelains, personal photographs, fresh flowers... & a cat.
What's Not to Love?




VISIT :
the Frederick Victoria home from All the Best & House and Garden 1984 here
the FREDERICK P VICTORIA business  here
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the Magnificent 7

One of the pleasures of this pursuit- getting a little pat on the back-in this venue it actually says-Someone  IS reading all this stuff and appreciates it.
Very Nice.
Thank You Very Much.
&
So many thanks to a new blog I have been enjoying recently- MADEMOISELLE POIROT
Her profile says "Originally from Paris and now trying to find my feet in London I have set up this blog to collect everything that inspires me" & herraison d'etre for establishing her blog is "For lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day" & she also has a sweet tooth-

this little gem is the PROLIFIC BLOGGER AWARD.

  "A prolific blogger is one who is intellectually productive, 

keeping up an active blog with enjoyable content."

After accepting this award, recipients are asked to pass it forward to seven other deserving blogs.
the MAGNIFICENT 7.

BEST of all those bloggers can suggest several blogs they find worthy of a daily read.

They do not have to tell us things like:

I xo chocolate,

:( rainy days, 

:) rainbows after a storm

or

Happiness is a warm puppy.
(charlie brown)

You may well say-shameless self promotion!  little augury-
Do Remember I have been a practicing decorator, designer for going on 30 years. It would not be possible to have avoided such temptations to do that before.

I ask You-
Think about the BIG self promoters in the Home Design and Lifestyle business-Living and Not.. Don't you like them, in spite of what you may say?
& Yes,
I also sold furniture-some of the good stuff. This is when I learned  "How to Sell."  Why? I worked on commission most of those years. (the trenches)

There is one thing you learn and I believe (if you don't -you are doomed in this business of interior design):

Believe in your knowledge and believe you will be paid for it. A recommendation to a client is a Your Gift. They should and do appreciate it.  Something like-Madame X- You should absolutely -Go to the little dump of a dry cleaners in the little dump of a shopping center, next to the dump of a service station. They are the experts in how to keep a paillette  from melting. These are the things that make other matters-like insuring Madame X that the $20,000 sofa is worth every penny. It really is.

Now for the little assemblage of the sparkling paillettes that make up my 7 Prolific Bloggers- that I read daily and you should give them a go as well-

MY DOG EARED PAGES

REGGIE DARLING

THE DOWN EAST DILETTANTE

THE MODERN TRADITIONALIST

IT'S ABOUT TIME

VICTORIA THORNE

PORCELAINS AND PEACOCKS

the catch- 

These 7 darlings have also been AWARDED

 the

BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER AWARD

Christina Lindsay of Fashion's Most Wanted  graciously bestowed this award upon little augury. I found FASHION through the HOUSE OF BEAUTY AND CULTURE. Superb both!  Christina shares her take on fashion, beauty and gives us the occasional glimpse into her London life.

She says,  

"Whether it's the latest thing or something from a bygone age, if I like it I'll write about it

NOW-  

In tradition of that BEAUTY- I must tell seven things you may not know about me. Could it be possible there are actually 7 things I have not blabbed about on this thing ?

I actually DO xo chocolate,

I DO Love rainy days, 

& I firmly believe
Happiness IS a warm puppy.

(charlie brown)

I am a big animal lover-

not to the degree that I love them better than people-

Just Some.

I love cutting flowers-

Peonies, Heirloom Roses, Iris.

I am pleased that the wonderful

Charlotte Moss

at tete a tete has Little Augury on her blog links.

I read too many Blogs!
(YOU?)

all the photographs are of Elsie de Wolfe- the first BIG SELF PROMOTER. What about a blog exclusively about Elsie? I have considered a second BLOG devoted to ONE of interest Woman in the World of Design. She is a possible, Suggestions?
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10 Things I like about You

Do you occasionally see a room in your favorite magazine that overwhelms? for the good-of course.

Or do you have pages torn out of that special room, checking the details over and over til those pages are dog eared - I do- And though my taste has changed over the 30+ years I have been collecting them-some remain. This is a new favorite-

What's not to like about this? a small library in the home of Harold Koda and Alan Kornberg, just "footsteps away from the Met- where Koda is curator of the Costume Institute.

Here are 10 things I like-

what initially caught my eye was the ART-what I thought was a topographical photograph turns out to be a brilliant photograph of computer chips by Chris Jordan,the scale of the work is great for the enclosed space.

2. I love the little NICHE area for the sofa- the surrounding bookcases. This is a great technique for using space to the max and feeling wrapped in Books. Book lovers will love this.

3. of course The BOOKS-books are books- no covers, no apologies.

4. & look out OVERHEAD, again Maxing the space- perfectly sized cubes for perfectly sized books.

5. all the better to see the art with and add to the intimacy of the space- the cylindrical LIGHTING cleverly mounted on the sides of the bookcases.

6. and that SOFA or divan- beautiful, tufted - in a golden ripe blonde wood grain velvet. naturalistic elements are always beautiful to me- I love silver or bronze in twig, tree bark or trunk or leaf forms- (see 7)

7. BRONZE TABLES with thorny legs by Herve van de Straeten, 2004. (van de straeten on 1st dibs)

8. using TWO TABLES in front of the long sofa creates more space and more intimacy too. It just works and always works in front of sofas (surely there are exceptions-but ...)

9. COLOR- the room is bathed in that golden blonde the WALLS, WOOD, FABRIC... and rug

10. the RUG-a pronounced gold with muted gray carved stylized designs- a 1920's Spanish Cuenca Carpet from Doris Leslie Blau.

that's an easy 10 and I didn't even mention
the FUR.


(photographs by Eric Boman in The World of Interiors August 2007 article "Arrangement in Blue, Gray and Black, written by Boman.)