Dovecote Decor's Most Popular Posts of All Time

Happy New Year!! While we take time in the New Year to make resolutions and choose direction, we also reflect upon highlights of the past. So.... looking back on the blog, here is a round-up of our most popular posts of all time. Thanks to the magic of Pinterest, these are the articles that get pinged with delightful regularity.

#1:Fashion and Decor Boldly Collide - Equestrian Style endures

By Liz Morten 

and Christine Storch

#2: Bobby McAlpine: A Sense of Place

#3  Nieuw Neo Georgian! Ruard Veltman's Mountain Masterpiece

House Beautiful has a fantastic spread on this beautiful mountain retreat in the April issue. We posted this article in August of 2010 and thought you would enjoy our thoughts on the subject as well.
Ruard Veltman collaborated with my friend "Mrs. G.," creating a spectacular home for her family of 6 in the English country vernacular of Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens:  "Sir Edwin, father of  neo-Georgian architecture, please meet Dutch born, Ruard Veltman, of nieuw-neo-Georgian architecture!"

#4: Devotion: The Country Farm Estate of Blitz and Dick Reynolds

As many of you know, I live across the street from the Historic Reynolda House Museum, Gardens and village. Our pastoral, small city is highly cultural and well preserved greatly, by the perseverance and generosity of the Reynolds family. I noted in my last post, on the Reynolda Estate,  that R. J. Reynolds was a highly progressive thinker who married an educated and energetic wife, to whom he accorded a great amount of personal autonomy. The estate was purchased in her name and Kate had full control over the vision, execution and management of this self sufficient enterprise--in 1917.  R.J. Reynolds died soon after the house was completed, which was a terrible loss.

#5:  Old Long Island Estates: A surviving James W. O'Connor Playhouse

Long Island is famous for its Gilded Age Estates, immortalized by F. Scott Fitzgerald and chronicled, with vigilance by Zach L. in his blog Old Long Island.  The American Country house movement was propelled by the tremendous fortunes earned in steel, railroads, shipping, coal and oil. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Phipps, Morgans, Pratts, Graces and Hearsts, to mention a few, erected spectacular weekend estates in Nassau County as private country clubs. Palatial homes in every idiom sprouted with architectural stables, polo fields, and Playhouses. Architect James W. O'Connor  cornered the Playhouse market. A Playhouse is a separate house, containing an indoor tennis court, occasionally a swimming pool, guest rooms, and a large gathering living room overlooking the tennis courts. This Playhouse survives today, and is one of the few private Playhouses remaining in the country.

#6: 17th and 18th Century Prints Leap from Old Volumes onto Lamps, Furniture and Fabrics

#7: Luther Lashmit's Adamsleigh: The Junior League of Greensboro and Traditional Home's Showcase House April 2013

 #8: Glorious Palm Beach and Shopping the Dixie Highway

I have been following fellow blogger, Jane Schott of Empress of the Eye, since she had her Fortuny pillow giveaway. I'm still sulking, since I was not the winner, but I've gained a bird's eye view into, literally, some of the best shopping in America. Jane is The Dixie Highway Chick, no question. Like High Point, it is a great jumble of shops and junk with some serious steals, but... you need to know where you are going. Jane knows.

#9:  High Point Market at Hickory Chair with Alexa Hampton--Video Tutorial

We have been saving the highlights from last April market to get everyone geared up for October! Watch our video of the always inspirational Hickory Chair space and listen to Alexa Hampton's take on the importance of scale in furniture selection.  We are touring with Pat Bassett who has taught me every thing I've ever needed to know about shopping High Point. 

#10: "A" List Design Destinations in L.A.: Hutton Wilkinson's Casa Contessa

The Bloggers conference was a glorious excuse to visit L.A. at the end of February. Daughter number 2 and I arrived early to see some of our favorite haunts.  The highlight was visiting Hutton and Ruth Wilkinson's new masterful Hollywood Regency Palazzo, Casa Contessa. It is next door to Tony Duquette's iconic Dawn Ridge which Hutton uses as a design studio for his fabulous jewels and his HSN reproductions.

A fantastical chandelier floats down the stairwell beneath the skylight at the roof level, like a magical underwater creature. This shot is actually looking down the stairs and the skylight is reflected in the high sheen of the floors.

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Nieuw Neo Georgian! Ruard Veltman's Mountain Masterpiece

House Beautiful has a fantastic spread on this beautiful mountain retreat in the April issue. We posted this article in August of 2010 and thought you would enjoy our thoughts on the subject as well.


Ruard Veltman collaborated with my friend "Mrs. G.," creating a spectacular home for her family of 6 in the English country vernacular of Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens:  "Sir Edwin, father of  neo-Georgian architecture, please meet Dutch born, Ruard Veltman, of nieuw-neo-Georgian architecture!"

This detail from the rear of the house illustrates the fusion of both schools: The Arts and Crafts ethic of combining hand crafted regional materials with swooping rooflines, deep eaves with Lutyens exaggerated Georgian windows, mullions, and transoms. From the inspirations of the pre-Raphaelite ideals,  Lutyens interpretations evolve and thrive in the ateliers of Bobby McAlpine where Ruard Veltman collaborated for many years. 

Nieuw (Dutch for new)-neo Georgian, interpreted by Mrs. G and Ruard Veltman, recombined from Atelier McAlpine, Fitz--meaning bastard son of--Lutyens, Fitz-Georgian, Fitz Pre Raphaelites, and Fitz Louis XIII , in an au courant grisaille color pallette, is all I have to say! Lets go through the bastards--shall we? 

Candida Lutyens sketch

Candida Lutyens, works within the legacy of her Grandfathers vision. Here we see the Georgian geometric paneling, windows, stone fire surround with the mixed geometry of arches and circles within the space that were the play things of her ancestor. 

Bobby McAlpine: Beautiful Homes: Late Summer edition 2009

These ancestral Elements also echo within the Mrs G./Mr. V. living room--Tall Georgian style windows, concrete or stone fire surround, naturally shaded palettes. Recombinant McAlpine, well bred DNA, marries provincial Regency Louis XIII Os de Mouton chairs (sheep horn stretchers), with a new aesthetic. New solvents react, mixing the French regency design period (1560-1643) with the Lutyens Arts and Crafts innovation (1810-1910). Both periods express changes in style, united by economic forces. The meteoric prosperity rise of the middle class, launched a Queen's wave to the past. Both visions unite as economic cusps.  Stately declines--nieuw rises, often with economic shifts,  often with enduring stylistic effects. Lets look around again. Grand takes on modern era--edge, tempered by soft velvets and palette. 

Edwin Lutyens struggled with his aristocratic wife, who immersed herself in the Spiritual Theocratic, schools of the era. Lutyens loved mixing geometrics, and Mrs. G. has had a contemporary seance in this vignette--triangles, on x's, on squares, upon rectangles,  within circles--the woman is all harmonious, oxymoronish, symmetry and complication. Welcome to Mr. G.'s world! 

Ultra modern lighting in the foreground gets invited to the party. The best parties, like interiors include all ages and types.  Mrs. G. explained that the gray palette throughout the house was inspired by the Jasper John's exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Mrs. G. wanted the architectural interplay of Geometry and curve to dominate the conversation. The neutrality of tone creates intimacy, and comfort. According to the Met's Johns catalogue, the grisaille application was: "to evoke a mood, at other times to evoke an intellectual rigor that results from his purging most color from his works." 

The rhythmic curves, of the nail head trim, break up the right angles in the geometry of the furnishings and architecture. They echo the swooshy Lutyens curves that are so characteristic of his work and relate to the counterpoint of the curvy Os de Mouton chairs. The dining area is raised above the living room adding visual dimension and depth to the large space. It creates a theatrical mood, where I for one, would have spent my childhood creating plays. The landscape, a reflection of the mountain environment, was painted by Mrs. G.'s father. 

The kitchen is very nieuw, and forgive our struggles with the light! Veltman's theory of kitchens is that as the contemporary center of entertaining, the refrigerators, dishwashers, coffee makers, and televisions should disappear. At a recent cocktail party, I was delighted to walk into a kitchen full of brightly clad guests set off by the chic aura of an upscale eatery in Soho. It is so very Lutyens, Veltman, Mrs. G. to plant a completely new space, that is united to the house in the color scheme. The accoutrement are cleverly disguised behind the paneling.

The nieuw countertop is in the cupboard or just off stage, in the pantry. Ruard is a fan of pantries, as lately, so is the entire blogosphere. Mrs. G. reports that it functions very well for a large family. 

Moving upstairs, I had to do a little detective work to discover the meaning of the head boards, and all the little hints Mr. Veltman planted all over the house, as little swooshy motifs, or footnote references. 

The eponymous Lutyens Napoleon chair was designed by Sir Edwin in 1910, supposedly after a Jacques-Louis David painting of Napoleon sitting in an asymmetric chair. I think it is because they resemble his hat. Little swooshes are repeated throughout the house. Let me know what you think!

Veltman designed this headboard, in the guest room, and I see the DNA recombined; characteristic Lutyens swoosh meets a glamourous Hollywood starlet. According to the Lutyens Furniture website: "Rhythmical symmetry.... is typical of Lutyens's love of form." I think Sir Edwin would love the nail head trim.  Evan Wood of Chandelier and Light in Charlotte, N.C. crafted the sconces throughout the house.

The  Thakeham bench has become the archetypal image associated with Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens. 

I know, I know where...is the clutter? This house is a completely new installation and has not acquired the layers and perfect additions that only time can provide.  Here, we have a Napoleon hat divided by a semi-circle. Another genuflect to the master's delight of interplay of rythmic line, geometry and the occasional symmetry.

Sir Edwin Lutyens jokingly called his neo-Georgian work, his: "Wrennaissance style." I think Mrs. G. and Ruard Veltman can add to the discussion as a Nieuw Wrennaissance style. As always, I like to leave you with a quote. Mr. Lutyens in a famous apology to his wife:

"I will wash your feet with my tears and dry them with my hair. True, I have very little hair but then you have very little feet.’

High Point Page Six!

We all love to have a chance to meet our favorite designers, and High Point was loaded with the top talent. Rizzoli, clustered the luminaries of the millenium for their book signing event. It was a huge success, as the design groupies flooded the Market Square Courtyard. 

Justin Bieber, get out of town! 

Mary McDonald engaged in conversation with each and every one of her fans who waited patiently for her stunning new book, which sold out before I could get my hands on one. 

Many of my dedicated readers know that I consider Bobby McAlpine to be the genius of our era. His quiet presence and soulful approach to life, sprinkled with wit and humor dazzles me. 

If you haven't purchased his book, get it HERE. I cannot resist the opportunity to walk you through some photographs of my friend's stunning McAlpine house. 

For those of you who would like to see more of this house click HERE.

The elegant designer, David Easton describes his love of textiles at Safavieh.  Safavieh developed  a special Soumak weave to capture the handmade character of the ikat textiles Easton collects during his travels. The rugs are hand-knotted in India of 100 percent wool. 

Barclay Butera, is posing in his eponymous showroom with my adorable new client, Haley. Separated at birth? Her husband built my website, and is amazing, so if you are interviewing tech support to build or alter your site--he's your man.

Thom Filicia , Genevieve Gorder of Dear Genevieve, and Francine Garder of Interieurs NYC had a joyous reunion at Capel Rugs, where Genevieve's new collection of graphic and colorful wool dhurries
took center stage. On Thom's link, his rolodex of favorite shopping haunts is a gold mine. His eco-friendly line at Safavieh was a show stopper.

His Henninger carpet in Purple Haze, embraces the plum tones we are starting to see around design town.
Excuse me while I kiss the sky!

Florence de Dampierre is new for me. She is a charming woman, interior designer and decorative arts historian, defining that je ne sais quois word: "insouciant." Her beautiful book, French Chic, is a revelation. This unusual transition fabric treatment puts the fun back in functional.

Two tone, graphic wood flooring, brings this girly, curvy French room down to earth.

Martyn Lawrence-Bullard's book: Live, Love and Decorate was a hit. His energetic presence bought quite a bit of sparkle into the room! He seems quite delighted with this edited wardrobe malfunction!

Suzanne Kasler, was scribbling her autograph madly for the waves of design lovers flooding the event. Her book, Inspired Interiors, was so distracting one Christmas, I could hardly open my other presents. I'm still not over her dining room.

In Interhall, in the IHFC, we ran into this glowing couple.

Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home was shopping at French Market Collection. She really is a lovely person and it comes across in her blog. The bloggy girls had a great time dining at Proximity last year. Steve Giannetti, needed to translate our social media obsessed banter to Bobby McAlpine, who is truly outside of the technological loop.

John Dransfield of Dransfield and Ross cuts a dapper profile at his eye candy space in interhall. Well, with all that name dropping, I have to admit a great fascination with this truly talented group of people who gather in High Point once a year to celebrate the ever mutating style of the home.

Even the market babies were wowed!

More Later!!

Don't forget to visit our store
for new market finds.

TheHigh Point Social Diary/Page Six

High Point was a glitter with the luminaries of the design world, thanks to both the Market Authority and manufacturers like Hickory Chair , Baker, and Century. The High Point Market Authority had wonderful designer guest lectures, in the old Noble's (100 High Street). Eddie Ross and Jaithan Kochar gave a fantastic discussion on creating buzz with social media. I was late due to posting as usual, but ran into Eddie and Jaithan in the IHFC and had a nice visit.  I always find them incredibly generous, and Jaithan remembered my blog, and sent me a comment, which to any blogger is like a sweet kiss.

We are looking forward to shopping with them in Charlotte during the next Metrolina flea market and you can read a great review of their discussion in High Point in this wonderful post by Life in a Vente Cup. 

The irreverent and often hilarious Vincente Wolfe signs Benji's book. He gave a provocative talk about the process of his work beginning with an extremely detailed questionnaire to the client.  In this discovery process he is able to give the client a highly targeted and more effective presentation of the space in total. Working with the client's existing pieces, and discarding the items that will detract from the total vision, the installation includes every detail from linen to candles. Vincente got a big laugh when he quipped: "I love it when they cry...Its better than sex!" I was fascinated by the raw creativity of this designer, who did not complete high school and has no formal training. Often drawing inspiration from travel and other cultures, he has created a clean aesthetic that is throughly fresh and unique. 

The bloggy girls got together and were sweet enough to include little me. Steve Giannetti took this picture of us and Brooke thoughtfully posted it with links to each of our posts. Lauren Liess from Pure Style Home, Brooke Giannetti from Velvet and Linen, Traci Zeller , Maria Killam from Colour me Happy and I pose to commemorate our fun evening. The virtual world unites us, but the real people behind each post become actual friends. We shattered the fun barrier! 

Look who we picked up at the bar! Yes, friends to my right is Sir Bobby, who I have knighted. The illustrious and non technological Bobby McAlpine was surprised to have a room full of bloggers paying tribute. He has never read a blog, although his partner Greg Tankersley has assured me that he will see that he reads our last post on his remarkable contribution to architecture and influence upon the lives of so many people. If you can imagine listening in on his conversation with Steve Giannetti, Brooke's architect husband, (who is taking the picture), it was heady stuff to say the least. Memorably, Sir Bobby's  (the equivalent of Sir Paul in musical circles) comment on second homes really struck a chord with me. He said that people build their first homes with other people in mind, and then design their second home around how their family interacts and actually lives. People should build all their homes like they were second homes. I liked that. 

This is what Sir Bobby was working on when I walked up to him at the bar. He works completely by hand. How do you draw to scale with no grid, or ruler? I asked him if I could photograph his notes, and he said to be sure to get the martini glass in the picture. 

In case you didn't see our last post, we were thrilled to welcome Bunny Williams BeeLine Home to High Point.  I wish Bunny has been a part of the lecture series, as we are huge fans of her work.

Alexa Hampton is always fun for a bit of banter, and a blast of her wonderful sense of humor, keeps us on our toes. Her elegant line of furniture for Hickory Chair, and her beautiful new book: Alexa Hampton: The Language of Interior Design, will all be collector's items. Benji and I pose with Kathleen McMahan of KM interiors of Charlotte. We are new BFF's. 

We wanted to meet Mary McDonald, as we love her range of work. Her new book is on our wish list, but visit her website and look at her colorful interiors, and masterful use of bold blacks. 

Do you see what I mean? We couldn't see all the fabulous designers and bloggers who come to High Point, but it is our Superbowl! We had to look at furniture. Our website is up and running. That is a good place to see our favorite treasures. More Later!