House of the Week

Eydon Hall



I have just read Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox. It tells the story of the Langhorne family of Virginia - particularly the five most famous: Lizzie, Irene (Gibson), Nancy (Astor), Phyllis and Nora. It is an absorbing read and I highly recommend it. Two of the five girls and also one niece, Nancy Lancaster, lived in England and were the owners of fabulous country estates.

I am fascinated by Phyllis Brand's country house - called Eydon Hall, built in 1789. While not as grand as Nancy Astor's Cliveden or Nancy Lancaster's Kelmarsh, Ditchley Park and Haseley Court, Eydon Hall is wonderful because of its relatively smaller scale and also because it has not been altered from its original design. It is more the size of Mirador, the Virginia house in which all of these ladies grew up.


Phyllis Langhorne Brand by John Singer Sargent





illustration of Eydon Hall by Robert Henry Cheney

Eydon Hall is located near the village of Eydon in Northhamptonshire. It is a Palladian stately house and remarkably is still a private residence. The house is made of ironstone and each of its four facades is different. It has nine bedrooms and four main reception rooms.




Eydon Hall Lane


The Orangery at Eydon Hall

What an interesting house (and family). More on the houses of the Langhorne sisters later this week. To read an architectural history of the building - click here.

House of the Week

The obsession continues....which one you might ask? Neel Reid, or white houses with black shutters? Both of course!

This house was built for Henry Newman in 1921-22. The design of the house is credited to the firm of Hentz, Reid and Adler. The facade was drafted by AEC (documents do not tell us who AEC was), and the garden design is by Neel Reid. Every mention of the house I could find (in my Neel Reid books, Atlanta architecture books and online sleuthing) gives design credit to Neel Reid.

Timeless Elegance

These rooms have it...


Design by Sister Parish, image via Architectural Digest



Bunny Williams, photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg


Astor library, design by Albert Hadley


Mario Buatta


Sister Parish (White House dressing room)

UPDATE:
Thanks to the Devoted Classicist, I have some photos of the Astor Library the way it was when Albert Hadley decorated it. The photo above is from recent years when the house was for sale. Please go to the Devoted Classicist's blog to read more about this fabulous room.

Here is the original painting over the fireplace, compare to above:



And another photo of the room, with the original rug and chairs.



above two photos from the book ALBERT HADLEY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S PREEMINENT INTERIOR DESIGNER by Adam Lewis courtesy of The Devoted Classicist.

House of the Week

Harbour Island, Bahamas




This is the super cute beach cottage where JD stayed while at Harbour Island. The owner is the brother of Libby Cameron, business partner of Sister Parish's grandaughter Susan Bartlett Crater. Their business is called Sister Parish Design. The house was decorated by Libby Cameron.










The book that Libby Cameron and Susan Crater wrote, Sister Parish Designs - On Decorating, is wonderful. I wrote about it here.


India Hicks' store The Sugar Mill, was right down the street.

Lyford Cay

Jane Douglas has had a whirlwind summer. She has just gotten back from the Bahamas where she had lunch at the Lyford Cay Club. Originally decorated by Lady Ann Orr-Lewis in the 1960's, the interior was redecorated by Tom Sheerer (took him 7 years). It's perfect!!!









All of the above images via Whitehaven.

Here's a larger photo of the living room from Town and Country magazine- the club was featured awhile back.

House of the Week

I saw this house in a post on All the Best and fell immediately in love. I know it looks like all the houses I love, white clapboard, black shutters, but this one has something different - it's just perfect and seems to have soul.

This is Florence de Dampierre's house in Connecticut. Of course I had to see the inside, which you can find in her book French Chic. If you don't own this book, run out and pick it up - I spent several hours with it when I first purchased it.


The apple green den.

You can order the book here: French Chic - The Art of Decorating Houses

Ms. de Dampierre has a new book called Walls - also wonderful.

Both images are from the book, French Chic, photography by Tim Street-Porter.

Kitchens with Beams

above, a Frank Neely kitchen

We are very excited to be working on a beautiful Frank Neely designed white kitchen with beams. The beams will be installed this week or next and we can't wait to see them. (BTW, the Frank Neely website is now updated and there are many new portfolio pictures. Be sure to spend some time on his website.)

In the meantime, some photos of kitchens with beams....



above and below Brad Heppner kitchens




This kitchen above is from the Morgan Creek website.


Image from House Beautiful. I love the lighter beams.



This kitchen was on a house tour this Spring in Atlanta and won the Southern Accents Kitchen of the Year award in 2008.




image via decorpad


another Morgan Creek kitchen

These last three are all from Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles:






Isn't it interesting to see how the different colors of the beams impact the overall feel of the kitchens?

House of the Week

Evolution of a House


This was my grandparents' house when I was growing up in Atlanta in the late 1960's and 1970's. It is located on one of Buckhead's prettiest streets. I thought it would be fun to see how the house has evolved over the years.

My grandparents bought the house in 1967 and hired architect Henri Jova to redesign the house. Here is what it looked like when they bought it:



Here it is after Henri Jova's improvements:





I have so many fond memories of big family dinners at the house. In the large area between the back terrace and the pool area there was a pea gravel courtyard. We all used to play for hours in the pea gravel, but I remember how much it hurt your feet when you walked on it barefoot. I learned to swim in the pool:



A close up of the pool house - my grandmother is on the left, and the zebra painting is an early work by artist Helen Durant (who is my aunt):



Here is the house today. The driveway now swings across the large front yard.





I have always loved the pair of double bay windows, the Chippendale railing over the wings and the red door.







Isn't it fun to see how the house has changed over the years? It is a beautiful piece of property in a beautiful neighborhood. I wonder if there is still a pool and if there is, what it looks like now?