From our archives: bright colors in the interior of an American villa
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09 Mar 2023
American designer Jeffrey Bilhuber had a difficult task — to tactfully update the family mansion, in which the third generation of the same family already lives. And Jeffrey handled it masterfully!
After receiving an order to design a mansion in Taxido Park, Jeffrey Bilhuber discovered several "pitfalls" at once. Firstly, the house belonged to the third generation of the client's family. As a child, she spent the summer there, and when she got married, she received it as a wedding gift from her mother. "It was necessary to modernize the house, while at the same time not crossing out its history, full of memories dear to the owners," says Bilhuber.
Living room. The long sofa is made of two sofas that have been in the room for many years — the decorator simply sawed off each of them on the armrest. The upholstery is made of Tashkent, Schumacher velvet, pillows with floral ornaments are sewn from Ceylon, Vervain silk. Two antique bergere armchairs are upholstered in Brasilia, Boussac cotton. On the right is an armchair in the style of Louis XV, bought at auction in New York. Cocktail tables, Antony Todd Home.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
The second difficulty was that well-wishers from among relatives, friends and acquaintances of amateur decorators have repeatedly tried to rid the house of a touch of old-fashioned. At the same time, everyone acted in accordance with their own concepts of beauty, complementing the interior with a giant crystal chandelier, or with "cheerful" wallpaper with a catchy pattern. "There were some wallpapers that I would hardly have bought myself," the designer cautiously notes. "But I left them and took it as a kind of challenge."
Hall. There is a carpet on the stairs, Beauvais Carpets. An armchair in the style of Louis XVI was bought at auction in New York.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
In addition, the house had an excellent, albeit diverse, collection of European furniture collected over many years. To some extent, it reflected the history of not only the mansion itself, but also the entire town of Taksido Park - a fashionable resort in the mountains of New York State.
This place was discovered at the end of the XIX century by the tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard IV — he acquired hunting and fishing grounds here. Later, other celebrities began to visit here, including millionaire J. P. Morgan and decorator Dorothy Draper. It is possible that some of them have been in the house that Bilhuber was assigned to design: the social life there has always been in full swing. "Each generation added something of themselves to the house, according to their taste and understanding," says the designer. "My task was to turn the disparate elements into a single whole."
Different generations of the family have unsuccessfully tried to rid the house of a touch of old-fashioned"
Bridge room. Custom-made tables, chairs, Howard Kaplan Designs. The sofa is upholstered in Langdale, Osborne & Little linen fabric. Carpet, Beauvais Carpets.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
The designer started his work with the living room — it seemed smaller because of the not very successful arrangement of furniture: two sofas were located opposite each other. Without thinking twice, the designer sawed off one armrest from each and made one big one out of them. The room immediately became more spacious.
Small living room. Most of the furniture was in the room originally. The ceiling is covered with Trixie wallpaper, designed by Albert Hedley for Hinson & Co. The room is illuminated by a vintage Italian chandelier, Stilnovo. The Louis XVI—style armchair is upholstered in batik by Muriel Brandolini, the armchair on the right is upholstered in Lorenza, Clarke & Clarke fabric.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
The owners of the house love bridge, so Jeffrey turned one of the living rooms into a hall for card battles. Along the long sofa he arranged tables under frivolous umbrellas. The playful decor of the room shows how Bilhuber understood his task. "The house is designed for recreation and reception of guests. Here they relax and have fun. All conventions should remain outside the threshold." In the library, for example, there was a full-fledged bar with a counter and stools. Bilhuber removed the bulky stucco from the walls of the room and painted them with multicolored stripes. "They immediately set you up for a cheerful mood: you can hear the clink of cocktail glasses."
Library. The armchair is made according to a sketch by Jeffrey Bilhuber and upholstered in cotton fabric Seville, Villa Romo, the pillow is sewn from velvet Raj, Malabar. Stacked stools, Antony Todd Home, are used as cocktail tables. There is an antique chandelier in the shape of a ship under the ceiling. The walls and ceiling were painted by the decorative painting specialist Mark Giglio.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
I needed to modernize the interior without crossing out its history, full of memories dear to the owners"
Canteen. Chairs with unusual shaped backs are passed down in the family of the owners from generation to generation. The red lampshades for the crystal chandelier were invented by Jeffrey Bilhuber — without them it looked too old-fashioned.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
The designer made the hall lighter by painting the brown wooden panels with turquoise paint, and decorated the crystal chandelier in the dining room with red lampshades. Accents of purple, orange, fuchsia appeared in all rooms, visually uniting the interior. The idea to choose such a range came to Bilhuber when he first drove a car into the gates of the Taxi Park, behind which the mountains covered with greenery opened. "When I saw the blooming rhododendrons against the dark foliage of the laurels, I realized: "That's it!“ They told me what the house should look like."
At the same time, the designer is well aware of: this will not always be the case, the next generation will surely bring its own touches to the interior. "I will only be glad if this story lasts for many more years,— Jeffrey sums up. — The main thing is that life goes on!
Guest bedroom. Wallpaper with the image of a bamboo lattice is part of the original decor of the room. Roman curtains and bed trim are sewn from cotton fabric Tropicana, China Seas. Carpet, Shyam Ahuja.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
Many of the rooms were already covered with wallpaper that I would hardly have bought myself. I took them as a challenge."
Bathroom attached to the bedroom. The walls are decorated with paintings.
Photo
WILLIAM WALDRON. STYLE: MARTIN BOURNE
Style
Martin Bourne
