I don’t really need to say much about the impact of a fabulous entrance door.
Architecture
Mar 152013
Vatican Hill is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome.
It is the location of St. Peter’s Basilica. The masterpiece designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. St Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. Because of its location in the Vatican, the Pope presides at a number of services throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Vatican Basilica, or in St Peter’s Square.
Treasures of St. Peter’s
Michelangelo’s Pieta
Bronze of St. Peter attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio
March 15, 2013
Architecture, Art, Artisan and Craftsman, Best Dressed Walls, Ceilings No Responses »
Feb 202013
Not sure I agree with this list, but here it is with pictures for your enjoyment.
- Catherine Palace, Russia
- Sleeper-McCann House, Massachusetts, US
- Castle Howard, York
- Powerscourt, Ireland
- Marble Palace Mansion, Kolkata, India
- Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Malaysia
- Werribee Mansion, Australia
- Villa d’Este, Italy
- Falling Water, PA
- Chateau de Chambord, France
Catherine Palace
At the top of my list as well.
Exquisite floor, ceiling, walls and doors.
The amazing Amber Room. In a class all by itself.
Love this wall of individual panels for the artwork.
Sleeper-McCann House
I disagree with this choice. Not in my top 10.
Castle Howard
Powerscourt
Marble Palace Mansion
Because this is a private residence no photography is permitted.
February 20, 2013
Architecture, Beauty Cult, Ceilings, Doors, Fireplaces, Floors, Gardens, Fountains, Sculpture, Wall Treatments, Windows No Responses »
Jan 072013
Thanks to all our readers and lovers of all things classical. The blog is going on its third year and the annual statistics indicate we are close to 100,000 readers.
I am very excited to see the appearance of classical beauty in interiors, architecture, furnishings, art, fashion and entertainment. Here is a sampling of all categories to demonstrate today’s classical.
Cover of January 2013 Architectural Digest
Designer Vicente Wolf uses contemporary art and eclectic furnishings in a classic Manhattan prewar apartment.
Cover of November Veranda
1884 Italianate New Orleans home was a resurrection not a renovation said homeowner Gary Laborde. Their intention was to restore and streamline the interiors. With designer Ann Holden and architect William Sonner took the house down to its 1884 footprint. They preserved the entrance hall with a frescoed ceiling, the living and dining rooms, the staircase and a parlor. The changes they made are difficult to determine. Outdoors they copied the balusters, pilasters, dentil work, soffits, and weatherboards. Indoors all the baseboards, door jambs, casings and transoms were sent to a millshop to be copied.
Love to show advertisements which use classical elements for beauty and visual excitement. Wonderful panels in this fashion shoot.
Fabulous wall.
Natalie Portman as seen in Vogue
Antique Accents
Accessories – must have these crystal candelabras
Love this piece.
Season 3 of the popular PBS Show Downton Abbey shot on location at Highclere Castle.
Great shots of classical beauty from Anna Karenina. This necklace is gorgeous.
Architecture
Art
Last month Architectural Digest showcased the latest resort Selman Marrakech, a sprawling Moorish-style hotel minutes from medina. Developers Saida and Abdeslam Bennani Smires and decorator Jacques Garcia the creative force on the project. The exteriors are pure redbrick grandeur.
Love Moorish designs with all the intricate patterns.
There are 56 guest rooms and five riads. The interiors are Second Empire elegance with Napoleon III-inspired chairs, ebony-stained plasterwork, and antique carpets.
The ebony stained plasterwork is amazing.
I so enjoyed researching the other resorts mentioned in the Architectural Digest article. I know you will enjoy seeing them and want to add a trip to any one of them to your bucket list.
The Royal Mansour – Magnificent!
November 9, 2012
Architecture, Beauty Cult, Ceilings, Doors, Furnishings, Gardens, Fountains, Sculpture, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »
Nov 062012
Stone is indeed a classic. For my next home I will choose limestone for my exterior. This is limestone cladding from Stone Work Construction. It looks so elegant. I would choose this over brick any day.
Exterior cladding is the process where stone is applied to walls to augment the exterior of the wall. Using quality stones for exterior cladding will add value and an earthlike feel to a property.
Stone cladding is installed by arranging identical cuts of similar colored natural stone tiles in either a vertical or horizontal manner. The relative low cost maintenance of stone cladding also appeals to the urban customer.
My entrance foyer would continue the limestone feel. This interior is quite similar to my floor plan with an arcade of columns surrounding an open center. Stone work by Haifa Limestone
Mine will have rectangular niches not circular as shown in this foyer with my paintings of Hubble Space Images as the background for physics and symbolic images.
I like this design as well.
An iron front door is a great choice for a limestone interior.
And my hallways will be vaulted. This is my dream house so I am dreaming.
This is Blanco Paloma Limestone. It would be a good choice because it is appropriate for cladding, living rooms, stairs, counters, fireplaces and more. It is available in slabs and custom sizes and lots of finish choices: brushed, honed, polished, patina, antiqued, tumbled, hammered, filled, unfilled, cut, split, sealed, rustic, carved and cisled.
Love this carved stone tub.
Getting back to the foyer, some stairways.
The sculpture and lines on the walls don’t appeal, but the stairway is fabulous.
Stone is a Classic.
Oct 222012
Beautiful isn’t it. The home of the last Romanov Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Tsarskoe Selo; near St. Petersburg, Russia.
First Anteroom. I love the ornament on the reveal of the entrance. This is a beautiful place to put ornament and an idea for our homes today. Our space may not be as wide, but I have included a version of this ornament appropriate for a narrow entrance reveal.
Decorators Supply #7573 4-3/4″ x 31″ $87.90
Love the color of the walls and the beautiful moldings.
Ornamentation when glazed or painted really calls your attention to the carving and design.
Boudoir of the Empress
Drawing Room
State Bed
Three Graces
Sep 252012
This months’s Veranda is filled with fabulous designs. I found Matthew White’s interior design a great combination of classical features in a modernist villa. He is my kind of designer, a classicist, with a deep love of antiques and decorative arts made through old-world techniques.
Matthew White built this Hudson Valley retreat with his partner, broadway producer Thomas Schumacher. A take on a Palladian villa with bold modernist lines, and a warm stone facade. White worked with architect Dennis Wedlick to capture the feel of a historic villa in a contemporary way. “Those villas are designed with the outdoors in mind,” says Wedlick who brought limestone from Minnesota.
Love the wallpaper in the dining room which was digitally produced by enlarging 17th century engravings.
Details were kept to a minimum; plaster walls, linen fabrics, a quiet color scheme.
The Garden Room is lined in pale-toned encaustic tiles.
Elements such as reclaimed oak flooring and steel window frames give the villa a grand but relaxed Italian style says White. Love this door.
Aug 212012
Traditional Home September’s issue cover is this beautiful dining room. The explanation of the wall treatment which unfortunately doesn’t show in this picture sounds fabulous. They had a painter copy the strié gray-green wall color the owner saw in a Neiman Marcus catalogue. The painter began with a blue base topped with beige strié that was then trimmed with silver leaf atop gold—a month of painting. The resulting paneled walls have a quintessential Louis XVI look but also offer a freshness ushered in by views through three arch-topped French doors that lead to the terrace and garden.
Black and white tile floors are so classic for a foyer. Have to point out that a Beaux-Artes grille would have added a lot.
I like and appreciate the work involved with painting the crown molding with a gold background and the raised ornament white. The designer on this project is Marshall Watson.
Wonderful panel treatment.
This issue is full of beautiful homes and the magazine’s website does a great job of showing rooms from past issues in their slideshow. This next house was designed by Gail Plechaty. It is mostly a white palette and I must say it is serene and gorgeous. The fireplace mirror is so strong against the white.
Aug 102012
When I heard Britain’s reference to itself because of all their Olympic gold medals, I thought it would be fun to post some great pictures of all their fabulous royal bling.
Royal Tiara and the Coronation Necklace
Entrance to Buckingham Palace
Royal Heraldry
Buckingham Palace
Palace of Westminster
Big Ben
Spencer House
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