on furnishing a house

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"If you have only just enough money to buy a bed, a chair, a table and a soup-plate, you should buy none of these squalid objects; you should immediately pay the first instalment on a Steinway grand."

& so,
He did.

Nichols' own Merry Hall

tripping along in the footsteps of his decorator friend Syrie Maugham .

ACANTHUS PRESS will publish a book this fall, SYRIE MAUGHAM .

Open publication - Free publishing - More syrie maugham

292 King's Road

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The Hall of Argyll House
by Sir John Lavery

Few well known, nay Famous, Designers are actually skilled decorative painters. We could name a few, but for the moment let's concentrate on John Fowler. He was that-and more. Legendary decorator, John Fowler held a great fascination with Marie Antoinette, and He had what makes a decorator great- An EYE. He had THE EYE- as far as they go during this era. The names Syrie Maugham, Sybil Colefax-with important social connections may trip off the tongue-but John Fowler was the name the National Trust would turn to in the future for his rare knowledge & historical correctness. When savvy Lady Colfax took John Fowler as a partner in 1938- the finest estates in England opened their doors to him & their firm became synonymous with the much loved English Country decorating style. This was the day when the word DECORATOR was a fine distinction, less so now. Happily- I answer to that in the great traditions of the decorators of the past.

but prior to the COLEFAX & FOWLER dynasty, John Fowler was coming into his own. As Fowler's biographer, Martin Wood (in Nancy Lancaster) puts it-" He was not a rich amateur aesthete but a professional artisan." John Fowler had painted for other decorators for years and in 1934, He became a decorator and shop owner. 292 King's Road became known as a place ladies would stop in to see the room settings that Fowler and his creative teams did up. He had studied and grounded his ideas in historical references- his curtains took on the life of elaborate 18th century festooned, ruched, tucked &bowed silken costumes. He took apart old curtains and studied the construction. He learned to paint, really masterfully paint- the light brushwork of fine faux details- an Art- today-sadly reduced to clunky flat, soulless geegawish paint.

292 King's Road was the laboratory, the Place, where Fowler was perfecting all his talents. He distilled the essence of French design into delicate notes in its rooms, he added painted furniture, swathed toile de jouy & lightened up the floors with rush matting. Fowler changed out the shop window with his latest creations. In the traditions of all "1st" shops-it was dripping with ambiance. The wiring was shaky- but candlelit chandeliers filled the rooms with romantic shadows. The rooms were cold-but warmed with scented juniper.
These are the heady days for a decorator- surely some of the most exciting for Fowler- this Pride of Ownership.

and so-the ladies came. Namely his neighbors- Bringing gifts to the shop? Well, maybe they did- but, his neighbors just happened to be Syrie Maugham & Sybil Colefax-no less. Imagine! Great rivals, these two grandees, must have shared in witnessing the phenomenon of a PRINCE come into the world right across the road. According to Fowler devotees, the two got into the habit of "nipping" over to 292 to have a look about. I can only guess how exciting and excruciating it must have been.

Sir John Lavery's painting perhaps, captures a tete a tete about their neighbor-the future PRINCE of DECORATORS- on the staircase of Colefax's Chelsea home, Argyll House.


Sources

English Decoration in the 18th Century by John Fowler
Colefax & Fowler THE BEST IN ENGLISH INTERIOR DECORATION by Chester Jones
Nancy Lancaster, English Country House Style by Martin Wood
The Prince of Decorators by Martin Wood
various articles from the many tear outs I have collected

GO See JOHN FOWLER HERE "thinking of pinking" about the Prince and the Baroness.

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Lady Gertrude Do! Do! Do!

Famed femme fatale, star of the London stage and musical theatre, lifetime friend of Noel Coward-

(applause, applause)

Gertrude Lawrence!

Her drawing room at Portland Place was decorated by Ronald Fleming. This-in the day of Syrie Maugham's all white drawing room- Lawrence opted for panache.

The stage set chic room sparkled with a mirrored wall along the bookcase and mantle. Comfortable upholstered club chairs covered in satin with small bullion fringes along the hems, a low slung rather glamorous sofa in a decidedly reptilian pattern, and a fireside bench with deep contrasting bullion fringe-Enter Noel Coward. Curtain up. A Stylish little Vogue Regency drum table probably held lighters, drinks as the white likely lacquered grand piano swayed while played by Noel Coward and Gertie sang.

I wonder what color that Satin was? Champagne- my guess.



A gorgeous photograph of the Lady GERTRUDE, Satin? Magnolia-my guess




Definitely a Satin Bed-Nude- my guess.



Cecil Beaton photographed the actress in bed swathed in chiffon, fur and satin in Vanity Fair 1934's-Celebrities in Bed. Yes dog lovers that is a dawlin' Yorkie in bed with Gertie.


What color is your Satin? silk satin rather? I know it might not be the thing these days, But baby it undeniably was back then.



Lawrence's drawing room foto from Style Traditions, by Stephen Calloway & Stephen Jones

Bespoke Taylor

When I started paying close attention to interior design, I was drawn to the work of Michael Taylor. With the forthcoming book MICHAEL TAYLOR- INTERIOR DESIGN (more images at 1st dibs-in "required reading",) by Stephen M. Salny -here are the rooms I pulled from pages of his many House and Garden features. Taylor was featured on the cover fifteen times.

According to Dorothea Walker writer of one of these many features, her's called "Taylor Made", Cecil Beaton once asked her "How is the best decorator in the United States doing?" After she guessed several premiere designers, Beaton said "No, no. Michael Taylor. He's the innovative one. An original."

I know this book will cover all of Taylor's revolutionary design work and I can not wait to get my copy. I will still hang on to these pages- for me they distill the brilliance of Taylor and inspired me.

Taylor believed-" If the furniture is all too ornate or all too primitive, the room is wrong. It is contrast that brings things excitingly alive." And as to color, "there is a tremendous amount of color in my rooms, but there are not many colors." Taylor is known for creating the California Look," using natural materials, bringing the outdoor sculptural stone inside. Taylor seemed at his genius best when he combined these elements with haute couture-like fabrics and period antiques, as seen in the following photographs.

Taylor's famed ALL WHITE in a Garden Room. The room contains pieces from Elsie de Wolfe's ballroom.

A Syrie Maugham sofa design in yellow Thai silk, along with eight panel Coromandel screen. This San Francisco home was one of Taylor's last projects. The yellow is a brilliant choice for the Coromandel screen. They were made for each other.

The Room in Full

An iconic Michael Taylor living room in San Francisco. Here Taylor combines it all- the 18th century Aubusson rug came from Peru, the Louis XVI chairs from Michael Taylor. The curved sofa- another Syrie Maugham design covered in a Brunschwig velvet. The stripe silk taffeta curtains are a Scalamandre stripe.

More of the same room with a pair of lacquered altar tables. More Yellow, More Green, More Taylor.