James Andrew for Rooms With A View 2011
As mentioned, I had the great pleasure of being a part of this year’s Rooms With A View Design Show, and I took the opportunity to make a few statements about interior design while paying tribute to my mentor Albert Hadley.
With generous sponsorship from the superlative Scalamandre, it was only natural that their fabric would become the starting point for my design, (you can read more about this in our previous post). I love upholstered walls and the quiet and luxurious softness they bring to a room, and the “Gilles Stripe” I think is quite smart, lending its palette along with the illusion of some height to our micro setting. I used curtains, lined and interlined with heavy flannel and trimmed in wonderful ebonized wood tassel from Scalamandre. Sheer under-curtains add another layer and also soften the light coming into a room. It’s a shame that oriental carpets has gone a bit out of favor, and so I decided to show how fresh and fantastic these carpets can be. Here I used a wonderful Sivas in cream and beige from
Galerie Shabab.
Albert Hadley was keen to support emerging artists and artisans and in keeping with this, I used a collection of our very own Scott McBee’s animal portrait paintings in red, (a signature Hadley color) and I selected the super-clean “Bertrand” desk from our friend’s at Atelier Delalain.
One of a pair of wood and mirror obelisks F.P. Victoria
Hadley preferred an elegant eclectic mix of pieces sharing the same spirit and living beautifully together in a room, and his go-to resource for the most fantastic furniture was F. P. Victoria. Following suit, I used a stunning pair of wood and mirrored obelisks, a pair of Sornay sculptural oak arm chairs, and an ebonized Louis XV bench which I upholstered in a fabulous Scalamandre “Giraffa Lampas.” An English brass ink stand in the form of an alligator was the most perfect nod to my mentor and his well known penchant for a bit of whimsy. And of course Hadley was famous for his ceilings—gilding and lacquering them with spectacular results. I commissioned decorative painter Topher Carnes to create a ceiling effect that capped my room with ambient glamor and warmth.
Pair of Sornay oak armchairs F.P. Victoria
I’m pictured (above) at the opening gala wearing a Tom Ford “Country Jacket” in a dark brown wide wool check, Tom Ford era Gucci black flannel pants, Tom Ford brown and white woven cotton mini hounds tooth check shirt with French cuffs, caramel silk knit tie and silk pocket square, antique moon stone cuff links, Gucci python belt with silver buckle, Tom Ford brown suede with brown crocodile cap toe shoes and my fragrance is Creed Royal-Oud.
