tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post4381864192880075556..comments2024-03-14T04:01:02.005-04:00Comments on THE DOWNEAST DILETTANTE: Have Boiserie Will Travel, Before, After, and AfterThe Down East Dilettantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-49107520586275010532010-03-01T22:27:35.587-05:002010-03-01T22:27:35.587-05:00Ahhhh, THIS is exactly why we madly clip and dog-e...Ahhhh, THIS is exactly why we madly clip and dog-ear our books. 80% of the challenge is about making connections.<br /><br />That bed is extraordinary ~ thank you for trailing it for us all!Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04348849115235899670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-26140512001345907222010-03-01T13:25:08.987-05:002010-03-01T13:25:08.987-05:00I'm with Turner Pack Rats. Don't character...I'm with Turner Pack Rats. Don't characterize your work as a mere cut-&-paste job. Putting a bunch of separate pieces together to form a greater whole is the very definition of Art, whether those pieces happen to be individual notes in a Bach fugue, or bits of painted metal & wire in a Calder mobile or, in this case, a bunch of clippings from old decorating magazines. <br /><br />Pack rats get a bad rap these days, dismissed as weirdos in need of help from professional de-clutterers, but with their non-linear approaches to information storage & retrieval, pack rats can also serve as preservers & disseminators of culture & civilization, which informal function can only become more & more critical as public repositories of knowledge & information toss their 'outdated' records in order to make room for coffee bars & gaming lounges. Today, the Librarian at Alexandria would probably be dismissed as a 'hoarder'. <br /><br />Here's to Pack Rats!Room Temperaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607564640695937012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-80293705217023236472010-03-01T06:57:10.841-05:002010-03-01T06:57:10.841-05:00oh, dilletante - give yourself some credit. if yo...oh, dilletante - give yourself some credit. if you weren't a hopeless pack rat like me, you wouldn't be able to entertain us by linking all of this stuff together and then perfectly embellishing it with your great experience.<br />one of these days when i have lots of time, i'll send you a photo collection of all my chairs.<br /><br />security word def:"plaympe" - a make-believe childhood companionTurner Pack Ratshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08611044946684881118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-74147999181216208342010-02-28T22:12:20.352-05:002010-02-28T22:12:20.352-05:00Anon: Thanks--indeed a terrific pic.
Home Before...Anon: Thanks--indeed a terrific pic.<br /><br />Home Before: When I was a child, our local library was full of juvenile sections mysteries that took place in historic houses, with kids solving the crimes---a genre I think does not exist anymore. I plan a post sometime, because interestingly, I wound up living for awhile in the home of the writer of one of my favorites...it's a post coming up.<br /><br />But yes, anytime you're ready, let's start writing those historic room mysteries. cheers.The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-66913328733340868242010-02-28T21:58:24.366-05:002010-02-28T21:58:24.366-05:00I do sense a mystery series cooking up. I keep thi...I do sense a mystery series cooking up. I keep thinking how wonderful that would be to have mysteries (like Poiret but) set into American historical rooms. Sigh... Loved the discussion of artist/math wiz in the duality of the architect. In the end, the artist comes out on top.home before darkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272062955786414729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-29297939897744359102010-02-28T21:04:55.959-05:002010-02-28T21:04:55.959-05:00FYI: There's a very nice picture of that bed o...FYI: There's a very nice picture of that bed on the McMillen website.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-36333049789597588992010-02-28T16:53:58.565-05:002010-02-28T16:53:58.565-05:00Incidentally, you're all so nice to give me so...Incidentally, you're all so nice to give me so much credit, but remember, I just saved the clippings, and listened carefully to our friend's tales of his moves, in addition to being lucky enough to enjoy some of the wonderful houses he caused to be created. The pictures are credited to their original sources, and I've linked to Carol Vogel's 1988 article in the New York Times, wherein was told the story of the Denning & Fourcade and Naggar redecorations of our friend's original McMillen scheme.The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-47612082962184724282010-02-28T16:50:06.607-05:002010-02-28T16:50:06.607-05:00Anonymous: I know that Albert Hadley worked for M...Anonymous: I know that Albert Hadley worked for McMillen at some point, and may well have been involved in our friend's commissions, and know that they were acquainted, but Nathalie Davenport was the decorator of record for these jobs.The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-1123638158102074952010-02-28T16:47:58.054-05:002010-02-28T16:47:58.054-05:00Yvonne, No, although a previous apartment owned by...Yvonne, No, although a previous apartment owned by our friend was below the Von Bulow's.The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-69891371450105089732010-02-28T16:41:39.622-05:002010-02-28T16:41:39.622-05:00That was some post. Thank you for
that info and gr...That was some post. Thank you for<br />that info and great photo's<br />Was that Sunny Von Bulow?<br /><br />yvonneLa Petite Galleryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553902574516930172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-85985755622649930872010-02-28T15:27:15.997-05:002010-02-28T15:27:15.997-05:00Please tell us more about Gregory Smith. Who was ...Please tell us more about Gregory Smith. Who was this man that had such an unending love affair with decorating and architecture?<br /> <br />And the Senior Smiths, the collectors of so many great paintings, please tell more about them.<br /><br /><br />By the way didnt Albert Hadley do most of the work at Mcmillen for all of the Smiths?<br /><br />As for this post on the history of Mr. G.B. Smith's rooms...every word of it interesting, we blog readers are lucky to have you!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-52723778236991769932010-02-28T15:20:17.147-05:002010-02-28T15:20:17.147-05:00Stefan, I wish I could take more credit as a detec...Stefan, I wish I could take more credit as a detective (just don't call me Miss Marple!), but with a friend of many year's standing, the work was all done for me.<br /><br />Magnaverde, agreed about the production values of McMillan book. Amusing anecdote: Another friend and I were staying with Gregory in East Hampton the day, it happened, that the McMillen book arrived. Somehow, the designer had chosen to place a couple of color pages of another house, in addition to Gregory's, in the color spread in the middle of the chapter devoted to him. It so annoyed him--he had ALWAYS been a modest guy,insisting his houses be published anonymously (which is why I referred to him anonymously), that to have someone else's house in the middle of a chapter where he for the first time allowed his name to be used---that there was some serious talk around the dining table of razor blading out the offending pages. (It didn't happen)The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-90940846900061481652010-02-28T14:17:35.435-05:002010-02-28T14:17:35.435-05:00I always felt that the chapter on the Smiths in Si...I always felt that the chapter on the Smiths in <i>Sixty Years of Interior Design: the World of McMillen</i> was one of the most interesting in the book, and my big gripe has always been that the book's crummy prduction values--dull, lifeless reproductions of the black-&-white photos & teensy, too-many-to-a-page color shots--made it difficult to follow the evolution of the Smith's various decors & residences. But if I ever saw the Denning & Fourcade revamp of the Fifth Avenue rooms, I never put two & two together before to realize that it was the same place. And to see an even later interpreation of the room is a real bonus. Nor did I know that that incredible bed was now Mario Buatta's. Thanks for connecting the dots for us slow learners. <br /><br />BTW, Stefan, I think the real problem for math-challenged would-be architects is not always the actual classes themselves, but the <i>fear</i> of those classes. Well, that plus the kind of clueless high-school guidance counselors who used to tell people like me--I was already getting bad grades in trigonomertry & calculus--not not to waste my time even thinking about a career in architecture. Of course, that was in the day before calculators & computers. And, too, like you, I wanted to do houses & small stores & offices, not skyscrapers, so the math thing shouldn't have been a deal-killer, but it was, because, in my innocence--and ignorance--I allowed it to be.<br /><br />Then again, in the old days, if one had the right connections, even a total lack of technical knowledege wasn't necessarily an immovable object. When the great David Adler was trying (for the--what--second? <i>third?</i> time) to pass the qualifying test for his architecture license, and came across a too-technical question that he was unable to answer, he filled in the space for the answer with a pragmatic "We have people people in our office who take care of this sort of thing." <br />Ah, the good old days...Room Temperaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607564640695937012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-21997457139452383092010-02-27T23:47:12.371-05:002010-02-27T23:47:12.371-05:00what a lovely room. You displayed some real detect...what a lovely room. You displayed some real detective chops here -should I call you Hercule Poirot? Like out of a Christie murder mystery!<br />It's so funny that some people start an education in architecture and drop out claiming bad math skills. I am not one to dwell on my faults -but I'm not the best mathemetician! I do well at the basics and geometry perhaps -but I FAILED calculus for engineers in college...yes -FAILED. It marred my academic career! But I didnt' let it deter me and now I'm an architect. Maybe I'm an exception to the rule? But for the most part - any architect I have met is not very 'mathy'. I think for the next generation we need to dispell these rumours of architects having to be good at math in case we scare away some potential talented architects!!ArchitectDesign™https://www.blogger.com/profile/01481754380363676771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-85941117817716955372010-02-27T23:03:30.569-05:002010-02-27T23:03:30.569-05:00Fascinating post, The images, going through the de...Fascinating post, The images, going through the design changes, absolutely beautiful.<br /><br />KarenaKarenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05206642885608991170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-31281078570198906132010-02-27T19:26:54.350-05:002010-02-27T19:26:54.350-05:00I used to know who bought the apartment after our ...I used to know who bought the apartment after our friend left it, indeed someone well known in artistic circles, as I remember. Our friend's particular interests were in music, and in the seventies, one might see such old timers as Alice Tully and the like at the apartment, along with a passel of important musicians. Other than the photos of the redecorations, I know little of the apartment after the late 70's.<br /><br />This room was on the left hand side of the front, location of Pulitzer's old bedroom. Another grand apartment was made of the Pulitzer's music room, the left 2/3 of the second floor.<br /><br />Candice Bergen in the Pulitzer house? I knew nothing of that. Interesting.The Down East Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13950254669198151850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-79371344427067100172010-02-27T18:34:47.668-05:002010-02-27T18:34:47.668-05:00As a former resident of Manhattan, I often passed ...As a former resident of Manhattan, I often passed this house and always looked up to the drawing room whose long south-facing windows opened onto a balcony. Many times I saw someone looking back. Each time it was a different person, usually famous. Perhaps the apartment was often rented or loaned during the 80s and 90s. <br /><br />Is this the same room arranged by Albert Hadley a few years ago for Candice Bergen?JohnTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4185045903146972312.post-49320701267332464732010-02-27T16:36:20.159-05:002010-02-27T16:36:20.159-05:00The drawing room has such lovely proportions to pl...The drawing room has such lovely proportions to play with. A lovely post - thank you for sharing. David.Lord Cowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08022567039394790375noreply@blogger.com