Amelia’s Folly

Architecture
April 30, 2013

Still on a beach kick here in Charleston, so I thought I would introduce you to our other popular beach – Folly Beach. As shown in the pamphlet above, Folly Beach has been a popular destination in South Carolina for years. One of my favorite Charleston-based interior designers, Amelia Handegan, has a house at Folly Beach that was photographed for Architectural Digest, which I thought I would share.

This is perhaps one of my favorite parts of Hanegan’s Folly Beach home. The change in the pattern on the floor is meant to represent where the old house ends and the new house begins – so that the viewer is aware of the passage of time and of the home’s different building campaigns. This is an extremely preservation minded piece of Handegan’s design, and something that I have also done in my home in Charleston to distinguish the new from the old.

I could get pretty comfortable with that view, what about you?

Photos courtesy of Architectural Digest & Amazon.com

Serenity on Sullivan’s Island

Interior Design
April 29, 2013

I just spent the weekend at the beach in Pawley’s Island, SC, and as a result I am in an extremely beachy mood at the start of this week. So to kick of the week, I thought I would post about Sullivan’s Island, SC – a place just twenty minutes outside of Charleston, which is where W, Hamish, and I go to the beach. Sullivan’s Island is located at the mouth of Charleston Harbor and was historically used as a defense of Charleston. The Battle of Fort Moultrie, which took place on Sullivan’s Island during the Revolutionary War, was actually the origination of the Palmetto tree and crescent moon on the South Carolina state flag.

Sullivan’s Island is a special place. The long flat beach seems to go on for miles. Facing South, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean is spectacular, and facing east, you can see peninsular Charleston in the distance. Sullivan’s Island has that laid back vibe that a true beach community should have, has not been spoiled by over development.

This Sullivan’s Island beach house was featured in Charleston Home Magazine a few years ago. The all white palate exemplifies seaside living, and the open air feeling of the house, with its porches and breeze ways, is typical of Sullivan’s Island beach houses.

Can’t you just see yourself sitting on that porch with a glass of sweet tea and a book? In the hammock perhaps?

Albert the Great

Designers
March 6, 2013

This book arrived last night, and I finished reading it this afternoon. I must confess, I don’t typically read all of my cocktail table books cover to cover, however, I had been waiting to own this one for quite a while and so I completely immersed myself within its pages. It is fair to say, if it isn’t obvious already after last week’s posts, that Albert Hadley is one of my absolute favorite decorators, and easily the greatest American decorator who ever lived. This book tells his story, and it is an absolute page turner. I love love loved it.

One of the most wonderful things about the book were the quotes from Hadley himself, and not all the quotes were decorating specific. Some were just great comments on life and a love of all things aesthetically pleasing.

“A rearview mirror is intended for a careful backward glance but the focus must be on the road ahead.”

“The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live. It is about the realities of what makes for an attractive, civilized, meaningful environment, not about fashion or what’s in or what’s out.”

“It is all about manners.”

The book is also filled with these wonderful Hadley sketches. Pictured here is the famous Astor Library – apparently a design concept that he came up with over a cup of tea with Mrs. Astor. He was criticizing, or rather disagreeing with, another decorator’s scheme for the space, and Mrs. Astor responded with, “What do you mean? What would you do?” To which Hadley responded, “Red Lacquer and brass.” And the rest, is history.

Next up on the reading list, Drawings and the Design Process in order to truly indulge my love of this storied decorator and his beautiful sketches.