Tag: decorating history

There are so many pivotal figures that span decorating history who deserve attention. I count influencers spanning back into the mists of time who left decorative legacies.

You might be surprised that I include Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII in this group but one look at my diary entry Decorating Hampton Court Palace and you’ll see how the decorative elements in the castle deserve the nod. Decorative elements like eavesdroppers ornamenting the ceiling beams in the Great Hall and the tapestries hanging along the walls are colorful additions to the massive room. The castle contains the largest surviving Renaissance kitchens in Europe, and the intricacy of the vaulted ceiling in the Chapel Royal was installed by Henry VIII in 1535-6.

The chapel has been in continuous use for 450 years! And for those of you who have a sweet tooth, there is a Chocolate Room decorated with ceramics, copper cooking equipment, bespoke chocolate serving silverware and period glassware and linens. This is but one of the visionaries of the past who has impacted decorating history on my blog so stop by if you’d like to find out who else has caught my eye.

Fashion Furniture Design

Find Your Red Carpet Style

“Find Your Red Carpet Style,” urged Currey & Company’s Brand Ambassador Denise McGaha during a presentation in the company’s Manhattan showroom last week. The point…

Bernardaud produces the Marie-Antoinette pattern of porcelain

Historical Design Literature Travel

Dining with History

Saxon Henry December 16, 2015 Baroque Era classical antiquity decorating history demi-monde design narratives fine antiques fine porcelain France French aristocracy grand residences historic castles House of Bourbon Louis XIV Louis XV Louis XVI Marie Antoinette Marquise de Rambouillet monarchs nobility novelists painters Paris popular movies Rococo Style Royal Courtiers royal palaces salonniere Versailles Washington DC writing desks

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…

Three children painted in the Elizabethan style.

Books Garden Design Interior Design

Narratives That Illuminate Design

Saxon Henry December 9, 2015 antiques shopping in Europe authenticity Beinecke Library British poets Chinoiserie decorating history design industry leaders Edith Wharton Empire Style fashion influences interiors France French aristocracy grand residences historic castles House of Tudor Italy libraries lighting London monarchs Napoleon New York City nonfiction writers novelists Paris Parma Regency Era Renaissance Royal Courtiers royal palaces Tudor Era Venice Washington DC Yale University

Narratives That Illuminate Design If you believe that design-centric coffee table books contain nothing more than visual surveys of portfolios, I am out to change…

The luminous stained glass dome in the bar area of The National Arts Club in New York City.

Films Historical Design Literature

The Red Carpet Treatment

Saxon Henry December 1, 2015 actors and actresses books of letters decorating history Edith Wharton famous writers grand residences libraries literary design encounters memoirs New York City novelists popular movies set decoration

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…

Furniture Design Literature

An Unsung Hero of Modern Design

Saxon Henry October 12, 2015 American furniture manufacturers authenticity decorating history design industry leaders design narratives Groundbreakers High Point Market libraries lighting literary design encounters novelists set decoration

Resurrecting pivotal eras in design is irresistible to vanguards who understand that sometimes the best place to begin looking into the future is to take…

John, Jr., playfully tugs at one of the three strands of Jackie’s famous simulated pearl necklace

Fashion Furniture Design Historical Design

One Special Summer with Jackie O

Saxon Henry September 15, 2015 Atlanta British poets Chinoiserie decorating history design narratives Empire Style England Ernest Hemingway fine antiques Florence France grand residences Great Britain Henry VIII Italy lighting London Louis XV Louis XVI monarchs Napoleon New York City nobility Paris philosophers Regency Era Rococo Style Rome Royal Courtiers royal palaces Shakespeare Tudor Era Venice Washington DC

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.…

Jean Leon Gerome's painting Louis XIV and Moliere

Cultural Explorations Historical Design Literature

We’ll Never Be Royals

Saxon Henry September 3, 2015 Baroque Era Chinoiserie decorating history design narratives fine porcelain France French aristocracy historic castles House of Bourbon Louis XIV Louis XV Louis XVI Marie Antoinette Marquise de Rambouillet memoirs monarchs nobility nonfiction writers painters Paris Regency Era Rococo Style Royal Courtiers royal palaces salonniere Versailles

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…