Remembrance of rooms past

The world evolves...styles change...time marches on. The loftiest interior design gods create exquisitely beautiful homes that we mere mortals can only aspire to -- and then they sell those homes and do something different, somewhere else.

Who can forget John Saladino's villa in Montecito? He published a book about it, here. 

What an amazing place.

Stone walls...

Delicate hues...

Old velvet...

 And gardens that feel as if they've been conjured up out of the mists of time.

Then there was Helene Aumont's supremely charming "farmhouse" in Santa Ynez.

 Bold

Original

Colorful

 

Featuring a seemingly effortless I just tossed that throw over the couch two minutes ago nonchalance that only the French seem able to achieve.

And gone, gone, gone. 

I wonder what happens to these homes when they are sold. Do the new owners scrap everything and start from scratch? Do the furnishings end up on 1st dibs?

I know, I know. Nothing stays the same. We are all constantly looking for new ideas, new ways to improve our environments.

But still...RIP, you beautiful rooms, you.

Piedmont Estate, Part II

For those of you who wish you had just a little more space in your home, I present you with the statistics on the Piedmont estate home I toured a couple of weeks ago: 21 rooms, including eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a six-car garage. 
 8,677 square feet.

Now, by today's standards, this is not even a really big house. I went to a party a couple of years ago where one guest remarked casually that his home was over 13,000 square feet. Astonished, I asked him what he did with all that space. He was equally astonished at my question. 
"My wife and I use every inch," he replied.

There are many thousands of wonderful inches to recline and relax in here. Including a number of rooms you could call studies, libraries, dens, or family rooms. 

Bookshelves, comfy chairs, lots of natural light. The perfect spot for tea in the afternoon.

That is one busy coffee table!

This looks like a make-out corner for the teenagers in the family.

One small corner of the real library.

Now we get to some of the bedrooms and bathrooms. I believe this is the master, which looks small, but it isn't. I'm still waiting for my new camera with the wide-angle lens.

A pretty dressing table. Probably part of the master suite, but when you walk through 21 rooms, you get a bit dazed and confused. Which is my way of saying, I'm not really sure.

 

 

Now this I have no trouble remembering. It's the master bath, and it was downright breathtaking. Nothing like a room full of gleaming marble surfaces to start your day off on the right foot. You can look out the window and watch the fog rolling in over the bay.

A big old tub opposite the sink. I hope this is the original--those 1920s tubs are so beautiful with their rounded edges and deco-era trim. 

This sweet girl's bedroom was surprisingly sophisticated. Love the pink curtains!

And then there were a series of guest bedrooms, which all looked very much like this one. Sign me up for a month in this house!

As I walked through room after room after room (remember, there were 21 of them!) I wondered, who lived in this house, and for how long? I could not find a sales history, but judging from the incredibly low property taxes, I'd say it's been owned by the same family for decades. I like to think it was a big family, with children and dogs running down the long hallways, and Thanksgiving dinner for 25 in that big dining room (minus the balls on the table). 

I don't know why, but I didn't notice the gorgeous door knocker until I was leaving. Purely decorative, because you'd never be able to hear anyone knocking if you were in study #4, or guest bedroom #7.

But then, you'd have Carson to answer it for you, right?

   

  © 2013 by A Silken Swoon. All rights reserved. All photos, unless otherwise noted, by Eileen of A Silken Swoon. 

Parade's End

I'm taking a little detour today from Part II of the Piedmont home tour to talk about Parade's End,

the latest Edwardian-era drama from the BBC that just aired on HBO. Because I just finished

watching it, and all I can is, wow.

I've now watched so many BBC productions that I think I must qualify for duel citizenship, but 

I still get excited when a new one rolls in from across the pond. Parade's End is the 

real deal, British to the core.

If you watch, make sure your forced air heating system is turned down, the windows closed, and

all other competing noise damped down. You will still need to replay certain conversations 

at least twice to make sure you heard correctly, but that's part of the charm, right?

The plot, in a nutshell:

Christopher Tietjens, a stiff, upright, honorable aristocrat of the old school is hoodwinked into

marrying the beautiful and pregnant (maybe with his child, maybe not) Sylvia. 

Christopher is played by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, whose mouth can move in more direcitons

than a soccer ball during a World Cup match. (Really, it's amazing.)

Christopher and Sylvia, in trouble from the get-go. 

Sylvia, Christopher's bride, is bored and bratty, a veteran of a recent affair with a married man. She's a victim of Edwardian times--bursting with intelligence and passion but bound by corsets and stifling social mores.     

Enter Valentine, a young suffragette who, out of the same sense of boredom is reduced to running around a golf course yelling, "Votes for women!" which I guess constitutes high excitement in the English countryside circa 1914.

Christopher and Valentine -- love at first shout

Christopher happens to be on the same golf course when Valentine makes her embarrassing debut. She and Christopher take one look at each other, and it's off to the races.

The Brits have such trouble expressing their emotions--they often use horses instead

Of course, the war intervenes. Not to mention Sylvia, who turns into a surprisingly competitive wife. Who knew she cared? Or does she really? You have to watch to find out. 

She wants him because she can't have him

There are some amusing supporting characters, including the social-climbing Edith and her demented minister husband, Christopher's world-weary older brother Mark Tietjens (played by the delightful Rupert Everett) and Mrs. Wannop, a dotty but lovable novelist and the mother of Valentine. 

Demented minister

World-weary brother

It's all very messy and glorious, like life itself. The war scenes do go on too long, but then, the war went on way too long as well. If you get tired of looking at the trenches for 40 minutes, imagine spending four years inside them, dodging bombs and bullets. 

  
When Christopher comes home, we feel his pain. As well as his eventual triumph.

Do give it a try, and let me know what you think. I'm about to start watching it again.

Photos via the BBC and HBO

© 2013 by A Silken Swoon. All rights reserved. 

Piedmont Home Tour, Part 1

I think some of the best times of our lives are the ones that happen by serendipity. 

 If the best laid plans often go astray, so be it. Chances are you'll end up having a blast.

Case in point: About a week ago, my friend Shel and I were on our way to see an 

open house in the tony town of Piedmont, not far from where we live. 

We were not especially excited to see this place. The house we really wanted to tour 

was not open that day, and we expected it never would be. That's because it's a 

large estate home with an asking price that would appeal only to top executives

at places like Goldman Sachs. The newspaper listing said by appointment only, 

and believe me, we both checked. 

So imagine our surprise when, on the way up the hill to see the first house,  

Miss On-the-Lookout Shel spied a realtor's open house sign with the address of the house 

we thought we'd never see.

Without missing a beat, Shel turned the steering wheel right instead of left, and we were 

on our way to having a jolly good time. As you will, too, when you see this place.

Except for its wingspan, which I could not begin to capture with my iPhone (new camera is on the way) this house looks relatively modest from the street. 

 But upon entering, it takes on a Gatsby-like air.

 

Standing in the entry, you have so many choices it's dizzying. In every direction, crystal chandeliers beckoned. But, like moths, we headed for the brightest spot, the dining room.

Here, the afternoon sun poured through the windows while we tried to figure out the significance of the balls on the dining room table. Was it supposed to be 

reminiscent of a bowling alley? Or was The Prisoner filmed here recently?   

Balls or no balls, the room itself is stunning.  

Maybe if I saved enough string, I could buy this house.  

 

From the dining room, we headed into the kitchen, relieved to see there were no more 

balls there. But you could hold a ball in the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room.

Imagine the meals you could conjure up on this stove! Appetizers for 100. Dinner for 20, in a snap. Wait a minute--anyone who owns this place is going to call the caterers.

 

I just know I would bang my knees repeatedly on those big oven door knobs. 

Bruised and bleeding, I would retire to this darling mini-fireplace for solace.

   

After dinner, it's fun to head into the living room for coffee and dessert.

Note the oversized chandelier -- Liberace would be proud. 

You can choose your corner -- there are many cozy spaces in here.

I would probably take my repose near the piano, as I like the idea of some musical entertainment on a full stomach. 

 

  

Back to the entrance hall and stairwell. Is it time to go upstairs? Not quite yet.

A charming little vignette beside the stairs. I love the way the painting echoes the 

vertical lines of the millwork.

As it was a chilly afternoon, we decided to head to the back garden before the sun abandoned us. We found a small park out back, with a swimming pool below. 

Olympic-sized, of course. 

Nooks, fountains, and statues abounded. 

Interestingly, the back of the house looks far, far grander than the front.

Which speaks well for the original owners' modesty. 

 

 

In the foyer, we overheard the real estate agent saying the main floor was about 

4,700 square feet, the second story was almost 4,000 square feet, the third story...here 

her voice trailed off, but it didn't matter. I mean, who's counting?

Later this week: bedrooms, bathrooms, a library, the basement. 

 And the fabulous front door knocker.

       

      © 2013 by A Silken Swoon. All rights reserved. All photos, unless otherwise noted, by Eileen of A Silken Swoon.