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RESIDENTIAL INTERIORS

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“A Gilbert and Sullivan Sitting Room”
Atlanta Symphony Designer’s Show House

A special thank you goes to my great friend Penny Goldwasser, who, while I was working with her, gave me free reign to create this space.

The project included transforming a sitting room, hall and bath off a first floor bedroom.

“A Gilbert and Sullivan Sitting Room”...that blooms in the Spring”... A perfect place to be for after theater conversation or getting lost in the latest Dashiell Hammett mystery. The deep rose-violet walls remain year round, but during the spring the fabrics become cool and crisp. Accessories may change, and certainly the garden’s blossoms and greenery become a natural part of the room. The look is one of richness and comfort - with a hint of a smile here and there, and the sense of confidence in collecting. The room is exuberant and moves from victoriana, through the art deco period and on to the late 20th century. The invented client had a great sense of humor, was enormously self assured and loved her garden. Books, the theater and music were high on her list of the best things to spend time on.

Doing a room in a designer’s show house is in many ways a designer’s dream. That doesn’t mean it’s a breeze to execute. It can be both a joy and a curse to have yourself as a client. The 1920/30’s house, Butterfly Manor, was located in an historic residential area of Atlanta called “Buckhead”. It once belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Burt Lance.

Beginning with the bones of the room, I left all of the original door casings and baseboards and added a large crown moulding in all three areas as well as a chair rail in the hall and sitting room. Both the crown and chair rail were from Focal Point, which was relatively new at the time.

The walls above the chair rail were painted a deep plum and then received a satin glaze. Below, I used a grey and plum deco, banana leaf patterned paper which also received a pale plum glaze. The ceilings were painted with a satin finish rose/peach paint.

In this view of the main sitting room, above right, you see it all, bougainvillea everywhere. The drapery fabric is a period, 1940’s yellow “faille” printed with a plum and grey-green floral pattern. The panels are banded at the top, and deeply at the bottom, with mauve taffeta and bows of the same fabric. The main furniture is upholstered in a deep army green chintz. For Spring, the oriental carpet has been replaced with a floral, hand painted, canvas rug. The prized piece of furniture is a hand painted victrola cabinet. The artwork is an eclectic mix including a large contemporary painting by Basilious Poulis.

To the right, a closer look at the Chippendale style sofa and the window treatments.

In the hall which joins the sitting room, bath and bedroom, below left, the main feature is a custom designed “decoesque” console with a faux marble top. Above the console hang two 19th century landscapes flanked by a pair of lamps painted by the designer. Again the heavy oriental runner has been replaced with a painted floor cloth.

The bath is luxurious and definitely “hers”. The same color scheme follows through into this space. Below the crown moulding is added a deep swag border from Brunschwig and Fils and to quiet the room, only just a bit, a tailored blue and white stripe fabric is gathered on rods at the tub, the window and frames the sink and mirror. The drapery panels are bordered at the leading edge with a glazed plum chintz. A small lavender, English, wicker chair with it’s plump cushion provides just the place to perch and loose your shoes.

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