Designer

……………………….In the May 1992 issue of HG Magazine they featured an EIGHT PAGE SPREAD of my home on the Long Island Sound.  Wendy Goodman was the editor, and Oberto Gili, a very dashing Italian , was the photographer……At the time when they contacted me I had very little furniture in the main rooms. Our bedroom was almost finished, and the sunporch was finished, but that was about it. The green room was partly finished, but not enough to have pictures of it taken….That’s when I called John and Burt for help, and in a week the room was done. I’ve told the story in a previous post about the GREEN ROOM…….I had just had all of the columns along the water restored and they looked marvelous…….Later that year we had a horrific hurricane extremely late in the season, and it destroyed the entire wall of columns. I was in Europe at the time. Jac was staying with her Mom in Larchmont. She reported back to me what had happened. When I got home the lawn looked like an Italian ruin. There were broken columns all over the place. I called the man who had restored the columns, and he advised me not to do it again…….he said “it would be a waist of money”, and would probably happen again…..so I had a cement  curb made and had it painted white which is the way it is today. So these HG pictures are the only proof that a wall of columns ever existed……………It surely was pretty!

……………..There were basically two stories in the HG article….the interior photos and the exterior photos. The Green Room at the extreme right had just been completed with antiques on loan, most of which I ended up keeping….The sitting area of the master bedroom, lower left has a black, white and color floral tapestry scheme. I remember Jac did NOT want pictures of the bed taken even though it was beautifully done with a white quilted bread spread, and lots of white eyelet and fancy pillows There is also a beautiful window seat that has a dust ruffle and a long cushion covered in an ETRO jacquard tapestry of flowers on a black background, and tons of needlepoint pillows that Jac made. The sunporch is furnished with old Bar Harbor wicker furniture…..I don’t recall who told us, but Jac and I were given a tip that there was store in a real OUT OF THE WAY town in PA that had Bar Harbor wicker so off we went on an adventure.  It took us hours to find this town and this store….more like a warehouse. This was a depression era town and would have been a perfect location for a depression era movie! We went in and the man was surprisingly sophisticated…not what we expected at all We spoke to him for quite a while and told him what we were looking for. As it turned out he supplied many films with furnishings that he rented out. He was working on a Woody Allen movie. At the back of this cavernous room filled with all kinds of furniture and objects we found just what we were looking for!!! I couldn’t believe our luck!!! He has a couch that sat three, two different arm chairs….one with a woven in magazine holder on the side, and the other had a separate ottoman. Then there was a chaise lounge, two side tables, an oval table with a glass top, a narrow oblong table also with a glass top, and a small stool…They were all PERFECT, and would fit on the porch to perfection…………….Then the BAD NEWS…..they weren’t available!!!! Oh no this couldn’t be….they were too perfect and we had come so far. I begged and pleaded, and begged some more. I could have been given an Oscar for my performance….but all of the pieces were on hold and he couldn’t sell them. I told him I would give him a check right there and then or send him cash, but it was a no go…..Finally we gave up. I gave him my name and number just incase the deal he had fell through….or he found some other pieces….He knew exactly what we wanted…..Then a miracle happened….the people or company that had the pieces on hold decided they didn’t want any of them!!!! When I got the call that the furniture was avail I didn’t hesitate. He took a credit card, and he shipped all of the furniture to our home……..Sometimes miracles do happen!….The two paintings at the upper right were painted by me…..They are of the Bar Harbor chairs and stool……I haven’t done a painting since…..I keep saying I must start again, but I have not been inspired to pick up my brushes again…..maybe someday.

……………………They took quite a few pictures of the gardens. When I first moved in the previous owners had a grape arbor that produced lots of grapes….that didn’t taste wonderful, and made an incredible mess in  the fall, so I had it cut at the base and planted wisteria…..Oberto took pictures of the back of the house through the flower gardens.. The photos of the sketches at the upper left were taken in my NY  office. In the end I was very pleased with how the spread turned out.

…………………………In the Green Room, above the banquet, I have another Steve Kuzma paining done in Nova Scotia…..It’s a simple but beautiful painting of rowboats. It’s so peaceful…..Jac gave this to me as a Christmas present, and I cherish it.

…………………………Jac and I happened upon the JOHN CARROLL DOYLE GALLERY on one of out trips to Charleston….It is still located at 125 Church Street. Just from what we saw in the window we immediately fell in love with his work. John Carroll Doyle was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and lived there his entire life. Jac and I were fortunate to meet him once in his gallery. He was told by the manager of the store that we had, at the time, purchased two of his paintings. He was very pleased, and we spoke with him for quite a while. He was a tall, handsome charming man, and we had a very open friendly conversation. We talked about his and my work….Unfortunately, I was to find out he had demons and was an alcoholic and drug abuser. He never married and died at the age of 71…….The first painting Jac and I purchased was a large bayou scene with a beautiful white egret. We hung the painting in our family room. We decorated  the room using  the painting as inspiration for the soft aloe greens and soft browns. We eventually bought five of his paintings….three are of birds, one of a lily pad, and one of a bouquet of magnolias laying on a table. The flower painting hangs above our bed. He was a photographer and an author. I highly recommend you google JOHN CARROLL DOYLE, and maybe buy his book pictured here…..They still sell reproductions that are incredibly good, and maybe an original or two……He was an amazing artist……………gone too soon.