DESIGNER SHOWHOUSE REDUX

I've been having deja vu all week.  Calls from painters ready to paint but the paint is missing. The thrill of finding a spectacular chandelier and having to wait to see if it's the right size and whether the shop would be willing to loan it to you. It's all part of the roller coaster ride that is a Designer Showhouse. That's right--showhouse number 2 just two months after my first showhouse has wrapped up! I'm proud to announce that I'm participating in the Home Is Where The Heart Is designer showhouse to benefit the American Heart Association. 

The designer house is a mansion once owned by the Pratt family, one of the many gorgeous estates built in the early 1900's on Long Island's Gold Coast (think Great Gatsby). The mansion is an impressive classic colonial with gracious rooms set in a stunning park like setting.

I'm designing the dining room, a generous 21' x 25' room with four period French doors and a pretty black marble fireplace.  It's a room made for celebrations and entertaining. Right now it looks tired, papered in a burgundy flocked paper that sings 1980, the room is ripe for a renovation.

   My plan is to update the room, integrating a modern palatte of rich grays and persimmon with a sleek Milo Baughman dining table as the centerpiece while retaining the beautiful intetgrity of the space. It's a fun room to design and I'll be sharing the gorgeous fabrics by Beacon Hill and paint selections from Farrow and Ball on my next post.  Until then, happy weekend--I'm off to find some lucite candlesticks!