Celebrating Shakespeare The 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death is April 23rd, the date he passed in 1616 at the age of 52 believed to…
View More Celebrating ShakespeareTag: 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.
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…
View More Find Your Red Carpet StyleDining 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 HistoryNarratives That Illuminate Design
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…
View More Narratives That Illuminate DesignThe 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 TreatmentAn Unsung Hero of Modern Design
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…
View More An Unsung Hero of Modern DesignOne 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 VIIIDecorating Hampton Court Palace
The premise of this article and the next one I’ll post here on The Diary of an Improvateur (next week) began with a rather capricious question:…
View More Decorating Hampton Court Palace