Thursday, August 15, 2013

Boca Grande Villa

This Boca Grande, Florida, home owned by interior designer Nancy Morton and her husband, Bill, is a real charmer...........and I love everything about it.

Nancy, president of Ginger Lily Interior Designs, and her husband inherited this four-bedroom villa and she has been lightening and brightening it ever since.......as she says, "it's a bit of an obsession now" and the changes are ongoing.

Looks perfect to me just as it is...........

Enjoy!

(To read more about this home, go to Architectural Digest.)


Ranch style home........one storey living!

Plunge pool in courtyard.......what a great idea.....a pool just big enough to wade in and cool off!

Nancy at home

Living room detail

Pecky cypress panelling in living room

Master bedroom with trompe l'oeil border on wall

Cypress beamed loggia - gorgeous!  All the trompe l'oeil art by Bob Christian.

Dining room walls with trompe l'oeil chinoiserie

Chinoiserie detail in dining room

Guest room perfection

More guest room perfection!




Architectural Digest






Wednesday, August 14, 2013

An Early William Diamond Design

As a followup to yesterday's Baratta post, I thought perhaps the true fans of Diamond Baratta might be interested in seeing an early (1980s perhaps) Manhattan apartment designed by William Diamond.

You will recognize his hand in these images, but it was long before they formed a partnership and amassed their unique group of artisans for their personalized details.

This post could just as easily have been about 'Animal Art in Decor', as that seems to be the main theme here......you can never go wrong with animal art and it adds a wonderful touch to the mix of quilts, tartans, chintz, hand hooked rugs, needlepoint and antiques.  Overall, the owners wanted a very relaxed 18th - 19th century look, so they shopped carefully for their choice of antiques.  Diamond went with vintage trunks to act as coffee tables, as coffee tables weren't really available in earlier centuries.

Now that William Diamond has retired, Anthony Baratta continues to forge ahead solo.

Enjoy!


A contemporary hand hooked rug.

Love the pastoral art among the other treasures.

Plube, their black lab.

Dog art, dog books and another pastoral art piece.

Needlepoint dog.

The den with more needlepoint and quilted animal pillows and wall art.



See the reflection in the dining room mirror.



Hooked dog rug and their two pets.

Quilts and chintz.



House and Garden


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Beautiful Classic Baratta Home

Here's another beautiful Baratta home........this one is very traditional and classic in design, as you will see.

The last time I posted a Baratta home (here), it was a classic coastal home, but this home is designed for a large family of three generations and lots of pets who love to gather at this home on a bay just a half hour from Manhattan.

With a mix of toiles, ginghams, chintz, ticking, needlepoint rugs, wicker and beadboard, and the usual attention to detail that Diamond and Baratta subscribe to, the home is a wonderful haven that anyone would be proud to call home.

Enjoy!


Look at the backyard overlooking the bay.

Covered veranda

Papier mache table and toile walls.

The pink toile upholstery is a beautiful complement to the panelled walls.

Love pretty rooms!

Custom needlepoint carpet.

Casual dining.

Formal dining.

Master bedroom sitting area.

View from the master bedroom.

Master bedroom sitting room.

And a flower arranging room - so cheerful and bright - absolutely divine!




Veranda




Monday, August 12, 2013

A Girl's Best Friend

Whoever said "diamonds are a girl's best friend" obviously didn't own a dog!

And wasn't it President Truman who said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!"  So true!

If you want a friend anywhere, get a dog!

Look at some of these beauties and best friends!


Audrey Hepburn and friends.

Candace Bergen and friends.

CZ Guest and friend in Palm Beach

Pinterest

Doris Day with two of her many friends.

Dovima and friend.

Edith Sitwell by Cecil Beaton

Elizabeth Taylor had dogs all her life.

Minnie Montagu and her five favorite friends.

A Parisian regular

Princess Elizabeth

Vintage Vogue

Vogue Italia

Vogue Italia

Joan Rivers and some of her many beloved rescues.

Michelle and Bo

Barbra Streisand

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Lee Radziwill - who has never been without a dog.

Martha Stewart and her champion dog, Genghis Khan, at the Plaza!
Love this picture!

Oprah and Sophie - one of her many beloved dogs.



All images via Pinterest