Recently I stumbled upon this beautiful English Country style home via Pinterest, and I couldn’t wait to share. It was designed by Susan Burns of Susan Burns Design, an interior design consultancy known for simplicity, elegance, and authenticity. Framed with magnificent gardens and barns, this stunning country home showcases an extensive collection of English and French antiques. It is a perfect example of how interior design, when done well, can meld together different period tastes. Let’s take a tour!
This home is the perfect marriage of old and new, and it absolutely timeless. For additional information, please visit Susan Burns Design and follow @susanburnsdesign on Instagram.
Suzanne Kasler is known for rooms with a foundation in tradition, pretty palettes, and a timeless sophistication, as well as for mixing American and European eclectic furnishings to create comfortable living spaces. In her latest book, Sophisticated Simplicity, Kasler shares her approach to the art of home decoration, from the fundamentals of room arrangement to finishing touches. The book features beautifully decorated homes from Atlanta, Naples, Nashville, Sea Island, and more. It also showcases an exquisite 1920s Richmond, Virginia home designed by one of my favorite architects, William Lawrence Bottomley. I had seen bits and pieces of this home floating around the Internet, but I had never before seen it featured in entirety, and it is magnificent. Below, is a brief overview of Sophisticated Simplicity, which was published by Rizzoli New York and released last fall.
One of the benefits of technology is that it makes this world a much smaller place, bringing together kindred spirits both near and far. When I met Melea Markell on Instagram, I immediately became enchanted with her exquisite line of home furnishings which celebrates a renaissance of French living through the reinterpretation of antiques, merging the Old World with the new. Melea’s passion for antiques was inherited from her mother who instilled the value of enjoying the present by honoring the past.
A Winston Salem, NC native and now Williamsburg, VA resident, Melea grew up in a household with a longstanding appreciation for fine arts, which set the foundation for her love affair with art and design. After receiving a degree in interior design and fine art, Melea worked as a visual merchandiser for Baker and Thomasville. She then imparted her decades-long knowledge and appreciation for antiques into a collaboration with Bradburn Home, an Atlanta, GA-based lighting and accent furniture company, where she sought to create “something familiar but yet new to the eye.”
Today I am delighted to welcome Melea Markell for a Style Profile Q&A and a tour of her beautiful Virginia home. Welcome, Melea!
Q: Please tell me about your exquisite line of furniture and home goods. Where do you find your inspiration?
A: The Melea Markell Collection for Bradburn Home represents a renaissance French living: feminine and elegant, but set in modern silhouettes to embody an eclectic, yet enchanting look. Known for my feminine interpretation of French antiquities, my collection exudes a soft and romantic spirit that encapsulates the charm of these neoclassical Parisian designs.
With a predominantly pastel color makeup, I do incorporate select saturated colors every so often to keep the overall collection fresh and unexpected. Each antique inspired lamp, accessory or piece of furniture contains a signature Melea element. Hand painted florals, gilded accents, to lend a sense of romance. From each of my travels to antique shops in Paris and throughout France, I’ve realized the real beauty in antiques lies in the details…which I wanted to carry over in my collection for Bradburn Home. Each flourish, gold leaf appliqué, carved detail…they uphold the Old World artistry and attention to detail.
Q: Do you have a background in Interior Design? Your home is lovely.
A: My appreciation for antiques and fine arts is a passion that started during my childhood, paved for me by my mother. She instilled values of enjoying the present by honoring the past. I was raised in a home where I was taught gracious living; to sincerely appreciate the beauty in fine art. My mother would always say, ‘the things we love truly, make us who we are’. With a degree in Interior Design and Fine Art, I started my career in the retail design industry as a merchandiser and buyer. After relocating to Cincinnati, I began my business as a furniture and accessory designer, leading to residential design.
Q: Do you have a favorite piece in your collection?
A: My Antoinette Lamp, one of my first designs. Neoclassical Louis XIV style…swags and form, in a pale pink glaze, with gilt accents. I am particular about shading, as is Bradburn, and this lamp has a lovely shade with mini pleats and trim. Very Marie Antoinette, hence the name.
Q: Who are your favorite designers, past and present?
A: Mario Buatta, for obvious reasons. Nicky Haslam, Carolyn Roehm, Ann Getty.
Q: Do you have anything in particular you enjoy collecting?
A: I am drawn towards antiques, and collect speciality china and crystal…especially that of Limoges. I also adore my Mottahedeh china, Chinoise Blue and Blue Lace patterns. Blue and white is beautifully classic and will never go out of style. I love small-scale French oil and watercolor paintings; each piece tells a story…whether it be the piece itself or a special moment in the discovery that touches you personally. I also collect antique boudoir lamps. I have definitely collected more lamps than I have places for, however, they provide inspiration for my designs.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I enjoy spending time with my husband, Tom and our Cavapoo, Maisie. We travel as often as we can and Maisie joins us wherever we go. As relatively new residents of Williamsburg, we try to allow time to enjoy the history, architecture and surroundings of such a beautiful, and sometimes forgotten, small town.
Thank you so much Melea for inviting us inside your beautiful home! I am such a huge fan of Melea’s exquisite Bradburn Home collection. If you love her style as much as I do, you will want to follow her on Instagram @meleamarkell for ongoing inspiration. You can also learn more about Melea through her website www.meleamarkell.com.
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Did Santa bring you everything on your list? If you are still looking to do a little holiday shopping, I am including a few fabulous After Christmas Sales below… Also, interior design enthusiasts can begin planning for the new year with a 30 minute consultation with Holly Holden, a favorite of The Glam Pad. I was delighted to learn Holly is now offering this service, which I cannot wait to take advantage of! You can learn more here or email [email protected].
Lee Robinson is known for his classic and timeless style, and when it comes to decorating his historic family home – Malvern House – for the holidays, he pulls out all the stops. Designed by famed architect Ogden Codman Jr., Malvern House was completed in 1922. It has been passed down from generation to generation dating back to the 1890s when the great-great-grandfather of Lee’s wife Babs Rodes Robinson purchased the land. Christmas is a time for the family to enjoy a little nostalgia at the ancestral home.
Lee says, “I’m inspired by Williamsburg Christmas decor. I particularly enjoy Della Robbia style decorations, with greens and fruit – think fresh everything. I feel this type of look would have been period-correct for the house. Even the Christmas ornaments are handblown glass, which, again, are period correct (Christopher Radko). Everything a bit nostalgic. Every year there’s room for artistic license. I usually match the ribbons to the rooms, trying to have all wreaths made of pruned boxwood. The needlepoint stockings, the nativity, and a paper Merry Christmas from the 1940’s that was used by my wife’s grandparents here at Malvern. It hangs in the Morning Room.”
Today we will take an exclusive tour of Malvern House, decked for the holidays by Lee Robinson, with photography by Tim Furlong, Jr.
For an elegant, timeless Christmas, Lee has provided so much inspiration! To learn more about Lee Robinson please visit his website, and you won’t want to miss this fabulous video tour of Malvern. For ongoing inspiration and information, please follow @leerobinsoncompany on Instagram. You can read two previous articles on Lee from The Glam Pad by clicking below:
Based in Louisville, Kentucky with an office in Palm Beach, Florida, Lee is preparing for the 2nd Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach which will be held Saturday, January 26th – Wednesday, February 20th 2019. Mark your calendar!
And if you still have not finalized your Christmas shopping, there is still time… Please see Alison from @cattlebaronincashmere‘s exclusive gift guides for The Glam Pad. You will want to place final orders today!
Launched in 2015, Southern Home has quickly become one of my favorite magazines. For those of us who loved and still mourn Southern Accents (which folded in 2009), Southern Home has come to the rescue! “Good design is timeless,” says editor Lynn Terry, who has been with Southern Home since its start in fall 2015. “We feature homes where every detail has been carefully considered.” And just like its sister publication Southern Lady, which I featured last week, Southern Home knows how to keep Christmas well. Today, I will be sharing highlights from their beautiful November/December 2018 issue and more…
For ongoing inspiration from Southern Home, I highly recommend an annual subscription. Single issues and archives can be purchased here, and digital issues are available here. For daily inspiration, please follow @southernhomemag on Instagram. A gift subscription to Southern Home makes a wonderful Christmas present, and for further holiday shopping ideas, please see Alison from @cattlebaronincashmere‘s exclusive gift guides for The Glam Pad… Christmas is just six days away!
