Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Secrets to Everyday Decorating & Home Tour
This spring, the illustrious designer Jeffrey Bilhuber released his fifth book with Rizzoli, Everyday Decorating, which was designed to serve as the ultimate decorating handbook for those who love to go to Instagram or Pinterest for inspiration and design knowledge. “There are so many awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping design images out there, it’s hard to know what to do with this information overload,” he explains. “Seeing a pretty room is one thing, but knowing how to distill what makes that space work and translate those takeaways into your own home is an entirely different matter.” In Everyday Decorating, Bilhuber shares the same nuggets of design gold that he has given his A-list clients like Anna Wintour, Iman, the late David Bowie, Mariska Hargitay, and Elsa Peretti.
The book is divided into chapters that illustrate how to make your home more comfortable, happy, colorful, personal, lighter and brighter, charming, and cozy. Using iconic images spanning the breadth of his career, each of the rooms chosen for the book make a statement, and Bilhuber tells us why with practical advice and easy-to-follow tips that will inspire and empower anyone to make enlightened design decisions. Never again will you sit in the middle of a room asking, “How come I have all this nice stuff and I’m still unhappy?” or “Why doesn’t it go together?” Those questions and more will be answered in snapshots that point you in the right direction. Bilhuber’s classically informed point of view mixed with his tell-it-like-it-is humor will prove valuable the next time you’re shopping for a sofa, making a bed, or considering paint colors.
As an added bonus, Bilhuber’s 17th century Locust Valley home just happens to be for sale… The listing describes the home as a unique example of 17th Century craftmanship with the best materials and ongoing attention to the best in architectural classicism. The property has been restored and has been brought into the 21st century with charming gardens for private living in a very special part of history. This historical house in the heart of Locust Valley with Colonial details has served as a private school, an inn and tavern. You know how I love stalking real estate, so let’s take a look at pictures from the MLS and from a recent One Kings Lane feature.
I love it! Everyday Decorating can be purchased through Amazon. For additional information on Bilhuber’s home, please visit the listing and One Kings Lane. You can also take an incredible virtual tour with interview by Quintessence here… Fun fact, did you know that the Climbing Hydrangea wallpaper in Bilhuber’s foyer is a historical reissue by Quadrille that first appeared in a scene of Gone with the Wind?!
ABOUT JEFFREY BILHUBER
Jeffrey Bilhuber is the founder and principal designer of Bilhuber & Associates. His work has been published in more than two hundred books and in every major design magazine in the United States and abroad. He is a regular on the AD100 and Elle Décor A-List. He has collaborated on an extensive list of product lines, including those with Stark Carpet, de Gournay, Henredon, The Lacquer Company, Elson & Company, Chesneys, and Mirth Studio. Most recently he partnered with The Perfect Room, a curated digital marketplace. He is the recipient of the 2019 Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award from New York School of Interior Design. He is the author of four highly acclaimed books published by Rizzoli: Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Design Basics, Defining Luxury: The Qualities of Life at Home, The Way Home: Reflections of American Beauty, and American Master: Notes on Style and Substance
A Respectful Renovation in Atlanta
When Atlanta designer Don Easterling and his partner Michael Proctor discovered a 1911 Ansley Park house for sale designed by Neel Reid, one of Georgia’s most revered architects, they jumped at the opportunity. The house had been minimally altered over the years, and it also had a rich social history… former owners entertained Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy in the home during the 1960 presidential campaign.
Easterling and Proctor embarked on a thoughtful and meticulous renovation, taking care that new features appear “as if they’d always been there.” They repurposed the original windows, new windows were custom milled to match the old; historic hardware, hinges, and mantels were incorporated; and period appropriate materials and finishes were selected. It was imperative to Easterling, an avid collector of antiques and architectural salvage, that the home’s additions look original. Therefore they enlisted residential designer C. Brandon Ingram and builder Pat Kurek to add a new keeping room, bi-level back porch, pool, and pavilion – all inspired by Reid’s portfolio. “It was fun to continuously ask myself the question, ‘What would Neel Reid do if Don were his client?’ ” Ingram told Luxe.
Nina Nash, Easterling’s design partner of nearly a decade, contributed to the interior design. Nash loves antiques and traditional furnishings, but she also likes to mix in bold colors, prints, and modern touches such as Lucite. The result is a beautiful combination of historical accuracy and freshness, ensuring the home remains poised for another century of gracious living.
This tour was originally written by Jennifer Boles and featured in Luxe with photography by Emily Followill. Additional images provided by Nina Nash, and from the portfolio of C. Brandon Ingram.
This home is perfection, and as a historic preservation enthusiast, the story warms my heart! For more information, please visit Luxe, and for ongoing inspiration please follow Nina Nash @ninamarienash, Don Easterling @doneasterling, and C. Brandon Ingram @cbrandoningram on Instagram. You can see an exquisite “new old” house built by Ingram here.
A Chat With Carleton Varney
This spring I attended the Dorothy Draper Design Weekend, which was the opportunity of a lifetime. Hosted by the legendary Carleton Varney and his team, I cannot more highly recommend this unforgettable decorating experience! It was incredible to be able to spend time with Mr. Varney, one of the world’s most celebrated interior designers, and I am delighted to welcome him to The Glam Pad today for a Q&A.
Carleton Varney (aka Mr. Color) is one of America’s best-known interior designers and the president/owner of Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc. As Dorothy Draper’s protégé, his work serves as a continuation of her legacy. Mr. Varney has decorated the residences of the entertainment, fashion, and business elite, and he is associated with the restoration and decoration of countless hotels and resorts worldwide. He has decorated various Governor’s Mansions and the U.S Ambassador’s Residences in Tokyo and Dublin. He restored and redecorated the Official Vice President’s Residence in Washington D.C. during the George H.W. Bush administration, and was a consultant for the Carter Presidential Library and various White House events during the Carter administration. He also redesigned and decorated the Carter residences in Plains and Ellijay, Georgia.
Mr. Varney’s versatility in design can be seen in the wide range of products that bear his mark, ranging from dinnerware, crystal, eye wear, home accessories, to scarves, including the 2017 Newbridge Silverware of Ireland home collection that bears his name. He has designed furniture collections for the Romweber and Kindel Furniture companies as well as for Ficks Reed. Since 1962, he has been creating designs for Dorothy Draper Fabric & Wallcoverings, which grace the rooms of some of America’s and the world’s most beautiful resorts and residences. Mr. Varney also writes a weekly decorating column, “Your Family Decorator,” in the Palm Beach Daily News, also known as ‘The Shiny Sheet’.
In 2005, Architectural Digest named him as one of the 30 “Deans of American Design.” In 2015, the Las Vegas International Market awarded him the Design Icon of 2015. He is a member of the Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame, and he has been awarded countless interior design awards. Welcome Carleton Varney!
Q: With a career that spans over five decades, what is your secret to remaining timeless and fresh?
A: I always have a sense of color and new spirit from all the things I see around the world and the different things other people are doing. They affect me because nothing is stagnant… decorating is never finished! I am always traveling and seeing new things, liking new things, and soaking in as much as I can of every beautiful thing I see. We shouldn’t lock ourselves away from change. I am in constant change improving color, changing pictures, lighting, table cloths, curtains. It is something that makes me feel alive and fresh in the world. You have a wardrobe filled with many things, and you don’t stop buying clothes, so why should you stop decorating your home? It’s never over until the fat lady sings.
Q: What role does the past play with interior design?
A: People want to know their roots. In order to be secure in your home, there has to be something rooted there… where you came from, an old photograph, memories from the past. Every home has to have a past, present, and a future.
Q: In today’s world of disposable furniture and design, how do you create interiors with a sense of permanence that will last?
A: Classics will always last, trendy designs tend to disappear. Go to a flea market to find treasures to combine with the latest trends.
Q: What are the essential classic pieces that you recommend investing in?
A:
- A drop leaf table… they are so versatile.
- Nesting tables (any type whether modern or prairie style).
- A comfortable and well-made chair and ottoman that can travel with you forever.
- A beautiful rug, not a cheap thing but woven, maybe Indian or Pakistani, or a tapestry.
- Chinese lamps – export and figural lamps made from jade or crystal.
Q: Do you have a favorite project or one you are most proud of?
A: My favorite project is always the one I’m working on right now!
Q: Where are your favorite places to travel, and how do they inspire you?
A: I love to spend time in Ireland. Inspiration comes to me from the Far East, Bali, and Bora Bora.
Q: Are there any items you love to collect? How do you incorporate collections within your designs?
A: I collect Staffordshire dogs and glass vases, you can never have enough vases in all sizes for flowers.
Q: What are the key elements within a Carleton Varney-designed room?
A: Color, color, and more color and not be afraid to mix them. Plus Carleton Blue as my favorite background color.
Q: Your client Joan Crawford once told you, “You remember one thing: I invented me and you can do the same.” What impact did these words have on your career?
A: I carried it through my entire career and I am still reinventing and will do so until I pass into heaven where I hope I’ll settle in a sky blue and white cloud atmosphere.
Q: What were the key lessons you learned from Dorothy Draper?
A: The importance of scale and it can be larger than life, use no colors that look like gravy, and black and white is always right.
Q: How did the Dorothy Draper School of Decorating come about?
A: It started with my original school, the Carleton Varney School of Art and Design at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. People asked if I could teach at other locations so now I can travel around and teach in our beautiful hotels.
Q: What is in store for the future of the interior design industry? And what does the future hold for Dorothy Draper & Company?
A: More combinations of new and old, new ways of buying, a future in hospitality, new restaurants. Perhaps an online store and retail shops in resort hotels.
Such an honor to have Mr. Varney join us today! Please visit www.carletonvarney.com to shop for exclusive designs from the Carleton Varney and Dorothy Draper collection, and to read his not-to-be-missed weekly decorating blog. You can also follow @carletonvarney on Instagram for ongoing inspiration. A Dorothy Draper School of Decorating workshop is scheduled for June 21-23 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, and for additional information on upcoming Dorothy Draper Design Weekends at The Greenbrier, please follow @the_greenbrier on Instagram.
