The beginning of one of Napoléon Bonaparte’s earliest letters to Joséphine de Beauharnais simply oozes sensuality: “Seven in the morning. I awaken full of you…the…
View More Transitory SpacesCategory: Historical Design
Historical design research and historical design movements are the foundation of all design, and they are subjects I write about often. I adore certain periods of history but rarely come across a design movement I don’t enjoy.
One of my heroines of historical design is Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. She had such an eye for great design, which reflected her classic fashion sensibilities and she wasn’t afraid to stand up and say when an interior or a piece of architecture deserved preservation—two of her greatest achievements along these lines the White House and Grand Central Terminal. I go on an excursion with her and her sister Lee, which they illustrated in a beautiful slim, large format book titled One Special Summer.
In my post A Backward Glance on Rue de Varenne, I fantasize about actually getting into Edith Wharton’s apartment on that storied street rather than standing in the rain as I have on two trips to Paris—longing to see what’s behind that statuesque door in terms of the buildings historical design. So far, no success, but I’ll keep trying! In my piece, Courtesan Style Counts, I look at a gorgeous chair called the Courtesan through the eyes of the English Demi-Monde in their heyday. And in Henry VIII’s Cult of Cloth, I look at how the Tudor king used textiles to make like more sumptuous.
Rewriting the Myth of Pandora
I’ve always been fascinated by the myth of Pandora because the most widely accepted explanation of this parable—that feminine curiosity “is responsible for all the…
View More Rewriting the Myth of PandoraThe Built Legacy of Henry VIII
The 2016 Academy Awards are handed out this coming Sunday so I’m celebrating a film that showcases the built legacy of Henry VIII to delve back into…
View More The Built Legacy of Henry VIIIRenovating During the Tudor Era
Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. Looking back to the Tudor Era from this great distance, it’s easy to see how barbaric a sport jousting was.…
View More Renovating During the Tudor EraDining with History
A month from Sunday, I’ll be winging my way to Paris to attend Maison & Objet, and I’m thrilled to say I’ve been invited to…
View More Dining with HistoryThe Red Carpet Treatment
There is a momentum to writing that, once interrupted, is challenging to reboot. I’ve experienced this first-hand during the past two months as I have…
View More The Red Carpet TreatmentOne Special Summer with Jackie O
Hegel’s caveat “history teaches us nothing” may be relevant in cultural and philosophical realities but in the design world the statement is far from succinct.…
View More One Special Summer with Jackie OWe’ll Never Be Royals
Nest Nest Nest features the Alliage pattern.As I write this, I can feel the design energy draining from the Americas as the movers-and-shakers in our…
View More We’ll Never Be RoyalsFurnishing Pastimes of Henry VIII
As I mentioned in my last Improvateur article presenting a brief history of Hampton Court Palace, I launched into a furnishings fantasy when I heard…
View More Furnishing Pastimes of Henry VIIICinderella in the South of France
Cinderella in the South of France “From morning until night, Cinderella worked very hard. She carried water, got the fire going, cooked, cleaned, and washed.…
View More Cinderella in the South of France