* v i s u a l * v a m p *: Billy Baldwin

Showing posts with label Billy Baldwin. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Does Your Furniture Talk?

How many times have you rearranged the furniture in a room? What makes you jump up from the couch and start to push it around? Does it whisper in your ear and say "move me"?

The after Christmas lull gets me moving on small projects, like rearranging furniture. I take my Christmas decorations down on January 7, the day after Three Kings Day. Moving the furniture is a prelude to the post-Christmas refresh.

I have a small living room, no family room, so the living room is well-used. There is not one clear wall in the space, that is, not one wall without doors or windows. It's a tricky little room to get just right.

Visual Vamp Living Room
Pattern chair, lime green silk drapes, drawing of Cholo by PVE
Walls are a softer version of Billy Baldwin brown

It's no secret that I was influenced by the interior decorator Mr. Billy Baldwin at a tender age. To me the rooms he created were the filled with things I loved: color, books, flowers, pictures, pattern, sophistication, a mix of high and low furnishings, furniture arranged for conversation, rooms filled with warmth and interest.

I never intended to slavishly copy a Baldwin room, yet somehow so many things I saw in those rooms have trickled down in a modest way into my decor choices, personally and professionally.

I rearranged the furniture in the living room so that furniture is "talking to one another".
The French settee is now placed facing the sofa, in front of the double doors that are at the entrance. At first I was concerned it would block the way. But with a little nudging and tweaking I managed to allow enough room to pass in and out of the room.

I love seeing the back of the settee. I also love bringing back the lime slip covered wing chair and ottoman. The chaise lounge is in the guest room now. Moving furniture from room to room really makes a room feel new again.

Visual Vamp Living Room
Portraits of Kenny, Michael Pelkey, and Audrey Hepburn

When you sit on the camel back sofa and look out, the new arrangement of furniture provides a cozy cocoon.

Visual Vamp Living Room
Portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Mario Ortiz

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Winners of The Swank Lamps

Material Girls HERE had a fun contest going where you did a design board for a TV show interior using the fabulous lamps from Swank Lighting.

The winners are: Sesame Street, by Joshua (1st place). I love the nest chair, the alphabet border, the Warhol painting of Big Bird, and of course the lamps.

Six Feet Under, by Gina won second place.

And Top Design by Lana got 3rd place.

Congratulations to all!

I also entered doing a bedroom for Ugly Betty using these beautiful Swank lamps HERE

I really could have used those new lamps! But not to worry. When I found out I didn't win I went to Plan B and revamped my living room lamps. I found them on a trash pile on swanky St. Charles Avenue after Hurricane Katrina. They had huge drum shades covered in pleated green and black plastic, and drips of gold paint running down the beautiful caged glass bases. They were also filthy, but remarkably intact. I love how large the lamps are.

I cleaned them up and got some new oval shape shades.

But since didn't win a new pair of Swank lamps, I decided to paint the gold parts white. I also painted the edge of the cream color lamp shades with a bit of white. I thought the "white" lamps would stand out a bit more against the Billy Baldwin Brown wall color.

There are two of them, and I use one on each end of the huge Baker credenza.

I gathered up the white accessories I had on hand, including shells, and candle sticks, and a cool old wooden bracket. I also brought in a couple of the newly recovered dining room chairs.

I think the lamps turned out pretty good, bringing white accents to the other side of the room.

Even though I didn't win the fab Swank lamps, I still love these 1970's babies rescued from the trash. The caged glass really is very beautiful.
But stay tuned, because everything has changed again for the holiday look, including the return of the Mac Daddy of glam coffee tables.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

My Billy Baldwin Brown And Sexy Living Room

It's finally time to see what I've been working on for the past couple of weeks! I hope you enjoy it!

Here's a peek looking inside from the dance parlor. We put up the shutters, discarded for outside use because they are old and falling apart. I scraped and sanded them, and then stabilized the surface with satin finish poly. The stripe doors were painted four years ago, but now I did a free hand painted thin brown stripe to look like a chalk pin stripe to see if they'll still work out. What do you think?
The silk drapes and wall lamp with the brown silk shade and green silk wire cover are in the dance parlor which "looks" into the living room.

Now that you're inside, let's look around. I shot these photos using only natural light and a slow shutter speed. The light outside shifted quite a bit, as a rain storm was coming in. So I apologize for the dark photos. While the room has a deep color, it does not feel dark or dreary. It feels sexy and soothing and chic, and brings me back to my deep dark New York roots!

The paint is Color Place mixed into a Kilz base. Color Place is a Sherwin Williams paint made for Wal Mart (at about half the price). The color is called Buffalo. It is a warm brown with an undertone of gray. Light plays off of it beautifully. I painted the dance parlor this color four years ago, and decided to continue with it to fool the eye into looking like the living room is a much larger space. The new batch of paint matches perfectly. I use flat paint, and wrap the room in color - the walls, ceiling, and trim get the same color and paint. It hides flaws and make the boundaries seem endless.

I love the color of the old shutters against the walls. I needed to "center" this window to get the furniture placement I wanted. I would have liked to get a huge antique screen, and I mean huge, as the windows are 80 inches tall! But there's no budget for that! I love the old New Orleans shutters so much - it's Creole Regency! I think the tattered red paint looks like an old Chinese or Tibetan or Venetian paint finish. The shutters on the window can be opened.

I absolutely love the way the couch came out! The faux white leather is such a fabulous contrast against the deep color of the walls. I did not have the original skinny cushion re-used, but replaced it with a higher profile cushion to update the look of the sofa. The vinyl is very soft and fabric like. It's flannel backed. And of course the nail head trim is to die for!

I am so happy to finally achieve a symmetrical furniture placement. This is the first view of the living room. Previously the large Baker credenza with the flat screen TV and the off center window, were the first things you saw. The chandelier never looked quite right, though it has always been hung in the center of the room. Now it all lines up, thanks to the shutters.

I flipped the nine foot long credenza to where the couch had been. I had to block a door that leads to the guest bedroom. However there is another entrance to this room, and this door was seldom used. I think the door mural looks better then ever behind the credenza.
I did a Dorothy Draper trick (from her book Decorating Is Fun!), by painting the edge of the credenza doors the same color as the walls. She recommends painting furniture and picture frames to match wall color. I know some of you are cringing that I would paint a Baker piece. However, when I bought it years ago, it was just a $100. piece of thrift store detritus, not the Hollywood Regency treasure it has become. If ever I want to sell it at an investment piece price, I'm sure I can have it refinished. The top is pecan wood, and has never been touched.

The Baker piece is in the manner of Fornasetti from their Italian line (it has the label). I have a Fornasetti print resting on top, along with the caged glass lamps I rescued from the street. I have learned to live with the DVD and VCR, because it's important to the hubs. I just added a couple of pretty remote boxes and a piece of coral.

Here's a total view of the credenza. I try to make the flat screen a part of the art and objects. It's so weird to photograph a TV set - I don't know if it's better to have it on or off in the shot. There's a little French antique metal folding chair in front of the credenza.

Here's a view to the other side of the room. The light has shifted and it's a little dark. But I wanted you to see how tall my windows are, and how I a treat an unused "front" door as another window.

One of my favorite views is between the two windows. I placed an antique rusted metal drinks cart there, and propped up a very distressed vintage mirror (it has been in the garden and survived Katrina!) on it. My old Ballard Design Della Robbia lamp got one of the PB black shades. I "layered" another table in front of this, a gold wheat sheaf base table. It has a huge square glass top, but I replaced it with a 30 inch round one. I love using it as a book and magazine table. And of course the Ghost Chair is one of my favorite things.

It may look a little cluttered, but I love it. I "needed" a floor lamp, so I fashioned one out of a small table lamp on top of an antique bamboo plant stand. The etagere holds a collection of white objects, that look so good against the brown.

A few little details: black tassel pull on a lamp; antique cherub peeking out from behind the distressed mirror (I'm selling the cherubs on eBay now)...

...the other cherub, one orange Foo dog, a little iron urn of shells, and an old brown transfer ware plate with bugs and a bird on it. You can also see the great patina on the drinks cart.

The view from the couch into the dance parlor. And in this corner the Eames chair (also for sale on eBay now soon to be replaced with a chaise lounge the hubs chose for himself). Above is the Will Barnett print "The Young Couple".

So now the doors are closing on the tour...

I hope you enjoyed looking at it, as much as I enjoyed doing it!

It's still just a little bit of a work in progress. I plan to try out a new striped rug I ordered, and get a lantern to replace the chandy. And of course the chaise lounge is coming on the 26th. Also sussing out an Ikat pillow. The French settee is being recovered in the same faux white leather. I bought 15 yards (60 inches wide), and there was enough fabric left over to do the settee. I am also going to recover my four antique Isabelina salon chairs (we use them as dining chairs) in the same white faux leather. It's good, it's really that good.

And now credit where credit is due...

Who's your Daddy? Want me to build you a couch?

Thanks to the hubs, my Alberto, for never getting in my madcap way when I'm on a decorating jag. He hung the heavy shutters, even when he didn't understand what I was going for; he took down ugly fire alarms (this was an institutional building when we bought it), and expertly patched up the huge holes they left; he totally redid the cable TV wires; he rewired lamps for me; he let me show him pictures of chaise lounges; and he keeps the wine poured and the kisses coming.

The chaise the hubs wants and is getting!

The staging area in my office

And a very special and heartfelt thank you to my angels Sabina and Joe who made it possible for me to do this. I can hardly wait for you to come and enjoy it in person!
And thanks to all of you my dear bloginistas, for reading and writing and egging me on.

The inspiration - a small sampling from the clipping file: