I was immediately drawn to the article, "Healing Power." (text-Mimi Reed, photography-William Waldron, styling Lili Abir Regen) The exterior of the New Orleans house is transporting- evocative of a time past, the Italianate Carroll-Crawford blush pink stucco has been restored by the owner with help from friend and designer Richard Keith Langham.
After my first glimpses of the interiors- I LOVED!- I realized I had seen them before. As I read the article, I realized this was a relatively new project.( Knowing I wasn't wrong - I sometimes know that-occasionally It turns out to be true-) I delved into my "files."
The files produced an article from House Beautiful October 2000, "Casa Bravura." Amongst other things- It proves- GOOD DESIGN ENDURES; the New Orleans house is the result of the owner's move and the knowledge that you don't start again- leastwise not in terms of design-If it is GOOD. The owner along with two children, now widowed, moved much of her California's home contents to New Orleans. It also proves that my taste has changed little in nine years. I LOVE this house- Both of them.
from the 2000 "Casa Bravura" article:
The most striking thing about this room other than its size (30 x 60 feet), is the fantastic Beauvais Carpet RUG. You'll see it again in 2009. Other items to note are the large white serpentine SOFA by Langham & Co., the green suede covered gilt antique CHAIRS and the 18th c. Italian Mirror ( 6 1/2 foot mirror to be exact-perfect for 24 foot ceilings). Langham also painted the living room pink- a "shot in the arm" as he referred to it- which I love. Doesn't every house need at least one "shot."
the 2000 Calfornia house Foyer with trompe l'oeil tile and tooled leather. The Portuguese hall TABLE becomes the DINING TABLE in the New Orleans 2009 house and the English Regency CHAIRS (2nd pic below) serve as CHAIRS at the dining table.
all the following photographs are from the Elle decor 'Healing Power" article. Find all the above mentioned pieces in the new house and a few more that were not!
When the owner decided to head for New Orleans she called on Langham again. The wonderful article finds Langham and client romping through New Orleans having a blast and Langham taking some measurements before he leaves and then returning to put everything to rights. According to the owner, Langham's solid background in classical English decorating and his adept ability to do it with a twist and make it "younger" gave her absolute trust in the end result. Acknowledging the use of most of what was accumulated from three previous houses decorated by Langham, little furniture had to be purchased.
Rather than new purchases, Langham chose to make his mark in the NEW Orleans house with lively color (I LOVE the Dining Wall color!~ Abstract Blue by Pratt & Lambert) and in lightening up the curtain design- though formal- with lively and unexpected fabrics. In the 50 foot double parlor, Langham left the walls a chalk white -but lacquered the 18 foot ceilings COTTON CANDY PINK...
This MUST BE the "shot in the arm" Langham administers to all his houses.
...this one goes in the file along with its predecessor. GOOD DESIGN ENDURES.
