Booked: Ben Pentreath’s English Decoration

When I was in NYC last week at Grace & Favor, a book caught my eye, and I knew I had to have it. First, it’s by Ben Pentreath, about whom I wrote last month, here. Ben is a hugely accomplished architect and shop-owner as well as a blogger. Second, it’s about English decorating, which, as in many houses in the UK where I’ve been a guest, is all about generations and layers.

I’ve seen a number of images of Ben’s house on his blog, as well as the houses of friends, so I knew this book would be a treat.

Ben talks about six or eight houses and what makes them work. Obviously, classical architecture’s a good jumping off point.

And then a selection of great pieces that’s been assembled and collected over the years, not just picked up at HomeGoods.

Ben talks about the art of styling a table, and of course, he goes right to the master – David Hicks.

One of the things I love about British decorating books is that the rooms are not styled to within an inch of their lives, like American rooms are. For instance, you’d never, ever see an image like this in an American book.

Or this:

Or this:

In an American book or magazine, everything would be perfect. The pillows would be fluffed and chopped, the blanket would be thrown over the back of the chair at an insouciant angle and the books would be in the Hicksian colour arrangement. I think that more people live in houses that look like this than in houses where everything’s perfect. I know I do!

It was great fun to see Ben’s massive London map in a few of the images of his flat.

And in the bottom image, you can spot the map in the mirror and the David Hicks book on the table.

The book is terrific and if you’re looking for a present for yourself or someone who loves English Decoration, you can find it here.

SEASONAL MIX

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A Winter’s Day in NYC

I had a chance to go up to New York last week, mainly to pick up the print which J. Pocker was framing for me (more about that next week!), and to see some friends, one of whom was in the city from Chicago.

I met my friend who works at Scalamandré for lunch at the D&D building, and then had a chance to look at some of Scalamandré’s new offerings, which are gorgeous! I loved this cut velvet zebra print!

And this zebra print in either brown or black print on linen!

This is the pattern in the curtain at the Metropolitan Opera, except the repeat’s been scaled down from the original 125 inches!

And I loved the wallpapers, too!

Who could resist this cheeky monkey,

or this cute panda?

I was amazed by this woven ikat piece! It looks blurry, but it’s no!

From Scalamandré, we hopped in the car, and took a road trip to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Andrea Brooke has opened the most fabulous store called Grace & Favor, British Design in Brooklyn.

The shop was terrific and had a great selection of objects selected specifically to be unique to G&F. Seriously, how could I possibly resist this?

Andrea works with English artisans to specially create pieces for her.

I loved the woolen pieces from the Cotswolds where my family spent a summer. She had these great pillows in wonderful menswear fabrics, as well as some beautiful throws.

I’ve raved about some of the terrific English wallpapers, and Andrea had the walls papered with some great papers that you can order through her. This paper looks like steel files, this one like a wall of books, and these lovely green birds have a subtle, but glam golden shine to them!

The day was capped off by a great dinner with friends, including fellow bloggers, Reggie Darling and Emily Evans Eerdmans, as well as frequent blog commenter, Magnaverde, and my friend Jonathan, who helps run his family’s company, Rosselli. Emily’s just finished writing the definitive book on Mario Buatta.

At Reggie’s suggestion, we went Keen’s, one of the oldest steakhouses in New York. It’s filled with artworks, many rooms and thousands of pipes which line the ceiling. Reggie writes about it here.

Dinner was a lively affair, and the conversation never stopped for a second. There were connections between each of us that ensured a wide range of topics, lots of laughs and loads of affection!The food was old-fashioned, but delicious! Keen’s has no need for fancy infusions, foams or any of that culinary nonsense. They do steaks and chops and the like, and they do them well. It’s food your father would have eaten and it’s fantastic! The place was packed on a rainy Tuesday evening. It was such a fun day, until, literally, the last 15 minutes, when I looked at my watch at 9:50 and realized that I had to catch a 10:05 train! Luckily, we were close to Penn Station and the train was late, but much panic ensued in the intervening 15 minutes!

Thanks to everyone who helped make it a memorable day! I will treasure the memory of a day spent with friends!

ARTE LIMITED

Beautiful artwork from my long term sponsor Arte Limited.  Why not hop over to get some christmas gift inspiration?



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{This is a sponsored post...written with passion, I only write about things that I love ♥}.

Happy Thanksgiving

I’d like to say how thankful I am for everyone who reads Pigtown*Design, for those who leave comments, for those who e-mail me and for those who just check in occasionally.

I am thankful that I have a great family, loving and supportive friends, a job that is fascinating, a sweet dog, and a good life. What are you thankful for?

Archives Blog

It’s always been a bit distressing to me to know that all of the fascinating things I find in the MedChi archives just disappear back into the stacks, never to be seen again.So, in an effort to have them see the light of day, via pixels floating through the ether, I’ve started yet another blog! It’s called MedChi Archives, and here is the link.

Several people asked about the portrait I posted the other day. This is John Hawkins Patterson (1816-1893).

Here’s what I know:

John Hawkins Patterson was born in Baltimore on August 10, 1816. His father, William Presbury Patterson, was a native of Scotland. Dr. Patterson studied medicine in the office of Dr. Ashton Alexander who was one of the founders of the Faculty, and also Provost of the University of Maryland. Dr. Patterson graduated from the University of Maryland Medical School in 1837, and went to work in partnership with Dr. Alexander.

On the death of his preceptor (basically a tutor), Dr. Patterson became heir to a large amount of Dr. Alexander’s practice. He was the friend as well as the physician of many prominent families in this city, among whom he practiced for more than half a century. But he found time also for unremunerated work among the poor.

For more than 30 years, he was physician to St Paul's Orphanage where he was held in grateful remembrance. He was described by one who knew him well as genial and cordial in manner, unremitting in the care of his patients and commanding the love and respect of his brethren in the profession.

Dr. Patterson died May 25, 1893. His portrait was presented to the Faculty by his daughter, Mrs. Mary F. Birch, in 1897 and these remarks were made by Dr. Samuel C. Chew at the presentation of the portrait, which was painted by J. Dabour.

SCENT

My all time favourite scent, Pulp by Byredo. A perfect winter companion :)



Image: By me