Some of you might remember my post,
Apres le Deluge, from about a week and a half ago where I waxed poetic about a fabulously chic townhouse that I walk by on my way to work everyday that was redesigned by architect Edward
Durell Stone after he bought it in 1956.
Well, the next day, I received a lovely email from
Hicks Stone, the man standing in the photo above and the son of Edward
Durell Stone and also an architect, asking me if I would like more information or photos about the house he used to live in. Would I??? Absolutely! And thus began an email correspondence and a meeting at the Four Seasons, an apropos choice of meeting sites seeing as Philip Johnson was a friend of his father's and his former boss!
Hicks Stone was kind enough to send very old photos of the house like the one above that shows the house before the bay window was removed and the screen wall was added. It is the third home from the right with the dark bay window. The house next to it on the right has since been painted white.
It's also so exciting to see the original interiors and compare them to what they look like today. The original shoji-screen style door were originally backed with paper and painted gold, which I happen to like but now they are paperless and painted white below.
The living room originally had wood paneling that the new owners decided to remove. For some reason, the original design reminds me of what Philippe
Starck is doing now. What's old is new again!
I didn't send Hick Stone any formal questions before we met because there is already a really great interview on his
website under the biography section. It is definitely worth checking out! I think the best part about Hicks Stone's email was that it prompted me to go back and really research his father's career in more detail before we met. I did ask him if he thought his father was the greatest architect no one has ever heard of today and he agreed that our generation doesn't know him but they should and he's starting to see his father's designs come back into style like in the work of designer Jonathan Adler.
I wish more people know about this amazing architect who was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1958. How many people get that honor?! The accompanying
article is fascinating, as is his book
The Evolution of an Architect. Edward
Durell Stone is a great storyteller and I recommend this book for any lover of modern architecture. He also worked on some amazing architectural projects at some of the firms he worked for and on his own, including Radio City Music Hall, The Museum of Modern Art, The Huntington Hartford Gallery at 2 Columbus Circle, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, DC and so many others, including the US Embassy in New Delhi, India pictured below.
It is considered a masterpiece and was said to have been greatly influenced by his second wife Maria, who is Hick's mother. Frank Lloyd Wright, a longtime friend and rarely one to pass out compliments, proclaimed it to be "The only embassy that does credit to the United States" and suggested they call it the
Taj Maria.
Edward
Durell Stone is the greatest American modern architect who's name people should know. I hope that you'll think of him the next time you go to Radio City Music Hall or The Museum of Modern Art. I know I will think of even more fondly now every time I pass by his old house. And I thank his son Hicks Stone for sitting down with me and discussing the man he just called dad.
you'll need to unpick the seams of the bag first. turn the top portion into a narrow tote bag and sew the two identical leftover pieces together as a changing pad.
if the changing pad is a little too thin for your liking, add a padding layer to it.
I happened to be looking around blogland today and stumbled upon Studio Annetta's lovely blog to find that she had just profiled one of my favorite design firms, Augousti. Owners Ria and Yiouri are pictured above. You have probably seen their shagreen and snakeskin bags around, as many stores carry them but their furniture is exclusive to Barney's and it is amazing!
It just so happens that I was at Barney's recently and had photographed their shagreen desk and matching chair. It was not only beautiful but was so well crafted and thought out. The little doors on each side open to reveal storage areas, one hidden by a lid and the other for hanging folders.
I thought about calling this post Johnson Hartig's All Grown Up and I'll explain why in a minute. As many of you probably know by know, Libertine designers Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig pictured above are profiled in the September 2007 issue of Domino. But what few of you probably remember is that Johnson Hartig was also profiled in the September 2002 issue of House Beautiful below! I know this because I have the tear sheets to prove it! I thought it would be fun to look back and see how his style has changed in the past five years. I think it definitely looks like he grew up and refined his decorating style while still retaining his penchant for collecting. 
Hartig above from five years ago working on his then burgeoning clothing line in the red workroom. Glad to his dog Pocket is still around too! 
The photo above is of Hartig's new living room in his house in LA which is dominated by a giant Damien Hirst spin painting. I remember making this type of art when I was little. I might have to ask my parents to find them since they're back in vogue! Hirst was also a recent collaborator on a recent Libertine collection. Hence the skulls as well.
Everything seems cleaner and more streamlined in the new house above as compared to the old penthouse below which was a bit cluttered. An English Regency dresser is flanked by 18th-century chairs and topped off with a Lucite and chrome flea market lamp. 
Hartig did keep his British flag motif but instead of a rug like in the old penthouse above, he now has a pillow on the couch. A self professed Anglophile, now mixes his Anglo antiques along side Lucite, modern art and memento mori that all seems to work. 
I think it's amusing that the new house has white walls in every room but the bedroom above while the old penthouse had colorful painted walls in every room but the bedroom. I love how his style has changed and evolved and it's so nice to know that the company he was running out of his penthouse is still in business. Libertine has grown up and it looks as if Johnson Hartig has too! Oh, and a line for Target ain't too shabby! 
Photos by Paul Costello and Fernando Bengoechea
I love it when when a great home is profiled by different magazines. It gives me a chance to see different rooms and angles and perhaps notice how certain aspects might have been added or changed. Such was the case with Lisa Perry's family summer home in North Haven, NY. I profiled this home a month ago in Pop Paradise based on the spread in Hamptons Cottages and Garden magazine and now Domino has profiled it in the September issue.
I don't usually love white walls but in the case of a serious art collector, they make the best backdrop, especially for the bright and colorful pop art that the Perry's collect. I also think it lends a light and airy feeling to the summer house. 
For those of you who don't know, Lisa Perry has been an avid collector of vintage fashions and just recently began a clothing line based on this love. She and her husband are also avid fundraisers for quite a few charities and host many parties at this home.
The color for the custom kitchen cabinets alludes to the water and sky that can be seen in the epic views from all over the house. The perfect shade of blue actually came from the Merimekko pillows in the den below. Lisa definitely knows how to coordinate! 
Photos by Douglas Friedman
"when it came time to redesign our half bath we were unable to find an affordable yet stylish solution for a vanity. our search lead us to ikea where i decided to hack a stolmen shelf and create a floating sink/vanity. i cut a hole to allow the hollviken sink to set down in the shelf and mounted it to the wall.
for storage i cut an effektiv storage unit down to 6" depth (originally 14") and mounted it to the wall. then i attached a grundtal towel bar to the bottom.
everything else in the remodel came from special order from the local "home centers". the entire renovation only cost around $1400."
Some of you might remember my post, Apres le Deluge, from about a week and a half ago where I waxed poetic about a fabulously chic townhouse that I walk by on my way to work everyday that was redesigned by architect Edward Durell Stone after he bought it in 1956.
Hicks Stone was kind enough to send very old photos of the house like the one above that shows the house before the bay window was removed and the screen wall was added. It is the third home from the right with the dark bay window. The house next to it on the right has since been painted white. 
The living room originally had wood paneling that the new owners decided to remove. For some reason, the original design reminds me of what Philippe Starck is doing now. What's old is new again!
Edward Durell Stone is the greatest American modern architect who's name people should know. I hope that you'll think of him the next time you go to Radio City Music Hall or The Museum of Modern Art. I know I will think of even more fondly now every time I pass by his old house. And I thank his son Hicks Stone for sitting down with me and discussing the man he just called dad. 
Swindler Cove Before and After
