Friday, January 08, 2016

The Mill, Part Two



For part two of my series on the Mill, I am leading off with a photo of the dining room, which is my favorite room in the house.  Originally slated to be embellished with bold colors, the Duchess decided instead to decorate it in subtle shades.  She employed John Fowler and Mrs. Claude Lancaster of Colefax and Fowler to assist her with this room.  Fowler painted the room's bulrush and shell mural, which provided a charming backdrop for the Duchess's collection of trompe l'oeil porcelain as well as her painted furniture, while the floor's rush matting was another nice, tasteful touch.  As you can see, the room is quite a contrast to the Mill's other rooms, something that the Duchess addressed in her article: "This room is a surprise to everyone- even to me- coming to it as one does from the brilliant colors and homey, chintzy atmosphere of the hall. Sometimes I think the very contrast of the world of one talented decorator like Stéphane Boudin (who worked with me on the rest of the mill) with that of an entirely different talent is more dramatic than anything you might deliberately plan."

Other excerpts from the article that you might find interesting:

"Every house as it is lived in seems to me to take on a personality of its own; the Duke and I have tried to foster for our mill one of serenity and relaxation- with just a touch of gaiety- for ourselves and for our guests."

"I enjoy my own parties but that's usually because everything has been planned down to the nth decimal place."

"Although I can never be casual about entertaining, or about anything in the house for that matter, yet when really terrible things happen, I'm completely calm."

"I am cursed- or blessed, I don't know which- with a photographic eye. I go into a room or a shop and I take in every detail, even without really trying, and can describe it all afterward."

And on that note, let's move on to the photos...


The Dining Room, above and below:

"Even for a small luncheon like this I plan the table setting as carefully as for an important dinner. I like the contrast of the simple Italian pottery, bamboo-handled tableware and basket cornucopias of flowers with the rather elegant French and Italian painted furniture and the taffeta draperies of the dining-room."

Guest Cottage:

"This little sitting-room between the two guest rooms is only about 10 by 12 feet but by using small-scale furniture and rubbing the boiserie with light color, we gave it an air of space. The guest cottage is just one room wide- you enter the small sitting-room from the main courtyard and the French doors you see directly across the room open on the upper garden."


"Trellis bedroom in our guest cottage- we call it this because of the motif in the wallpaper. The dresser and chairs are painted to pick up the pinky-mauves in the paper and the lacquer mirror-stand and Oriental dancing figurines by Tony Duquette give the room a Chinoiserie accent. And notice the wallpaper covered with butterflies in the bathroom- it's my favorite!"


"I love the vibrant red wallpaper in the other guest room. It's cooled off just enough by the tracery of white, the white rug and light blue curtains and bed cover. On the painted Venetian chest are two Lunéville trompe l'oeil dishes- part of my collection of old French faience."


Bachelor Guest Quarters:

"We remodeled the old stables to make the two small rooms you see for bachelor guests. The irregularly shaped room is hung with pictures of the coronation of George IV tying in with the Regency-flavored décor."

"In the other bedroom, woven tapes form the bedspread, cover the bed frame and lend a color accent to an otherwise black and white setting."



Outdoor Entertaining:

"After lunch we often have coffee on the upper terrace just outside the drawing-room. There we not only see and hear the waterfall but we have a wonderful view up the valley of the Merantaise. The Duke and I enjoy most entertaining our friends at the mill in small groups so that we can really talk with each one."


"In late afternoon the trees around the millpond cast shadows across the upper terrace. The wing in the background houses my bedroom and the large door to the right opens into the drawing-room. The stairway in the corner goes down to a little areaway with a door leading to the entrance hall of the mill."


"We turned a small building attached to the old barn into this outdoor dining-room- delightful for entertaining in warm weather. It overlooks a flagstone terrace and the garden; beyond the door in the back wall is a serving pantry. On bad days, the sailcloth curtains are drawn to protect the room's furnishings."


"Our chef, René Legros, who was with the Duke in England, thinks the mill's kitchen much too small as it is, compared to the one in Paris. Here he is preparing a buffet luncheon to be served on the terrace: cold lobster, chicken pie, mixed vegetables, asparagus salad, glacé bananas, little cakes and cheese. The 18 copper pots hanging above are new, but those copper molds under the window are very old ones- they came with the Duke's things from London, and are stamped with the coat of arms of Queen Victoria."


The Duke's Room:


"This big comfortable room, once the mill's barn, is more than forty feet long. Most of the things here came from Fort Belvedere, the Duke's home in England. You can step through French windows to the garden and the Duke's desk is placed so he can look out on it. The small bookcase in the far corner holds the American and British, as well as the many foreign-language editions, of his book, A King's Story."


"The huge map over the mantel is one the Duke had in London of the pre-World-War-II world- now appropriately antiqued. On the bookcase in the corner are folders containing addresses of welcome given to him as Prince of Wales on his world travels- also some more recent ones. The portrait head was done in the Bahamas."


"You enter the room from the main courtyard through the wide French window. On either side of it are Grenadier Guards drums and bugles; on the wall mounted on shields are shoes of the horses the Duke rode in steeplechases he won. The trompe l'oeil painting over the table hid the pipes of an organ in our former Paris house."


"The most historic piece in the room is the table at the left of the fireplace- the one at which the Duke signed the Instrument of Abdication. The map above the mantel shows off his official engagements as Prince of Wales. On the left wall hang three of his collection of ceremonial bagpipe banners; the coffee table is made from a drum of the Welsh Guards."



The Bahamian Bar:

"We call this tiny room off the drawing-room our Bahamian bar because of the map of the Islands over the sofa and the other souvenirs of our five years in Nassau. The ceiling is less than six feet- tall friends have to stoop- but everybody seems to love this room, crouch and all."


Outbuildings:

"By turning left, from the garden you also get this view of the barn with the flagged terrace and awning. Beyond the barn you see part of the guest cottage and upper garden. At the bottom of the slope too low to show here is another small branch of the river."


"Here you see the wing for bachelor guests from the garden. The tall trees behind it- some are weeping willows like that in the foreground- shade the millstream. Beyond the tool house is the old river gate and an old stone bridge over the Merantaise River."

24 comments:

  1. Nancy Lancaster, recalling the time when she and John Fowler were first shown The Mill:

    'When she (Wallis) showed us the dining room she wanted done up, she asked, "How would you do it?".
    I said, "I'd understate it." There were two ideas I had, both from rooms at the Palais des Papes in Avignon.
    One had Indian corn on the walls, painted on plaster like fresco, the other painted with different bird cages.
    And instead of all the rich things everywhere, the furniture and pictures, I wanted to bring it down; I wanted simple furniture and rush matting on the floor. She (Wallis) liked that, and she liked the idea of the Indian corn,. So John painted the corn on the walls and a light green trompe l'oeil lattice dado. We made green, unlined curtains the colour of jade for the the windows that the light shone through.
    It was very pretty. The furniture was rather bad, however. She had a lot of Syrie Maugham's furniture that she insisted on using.'

    Nancy Lancaster: Her Life Her World Her Art, by Robert Becker. (Knopf, 1996)

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    1. How interesting! In her article, Wallis seemed to give more credit to Fowler than Lancaster, but the room has Lancaster's mark all over it, to be sure. By the way, I chose to refer to Lancaster as "Mrs. Claude Lancaster", just as Wallis did.

      Fellow decorators loved to bash Syrie Maugham, didn't they?

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    2. P.S.
      If that trompe l'oeil painting of books in the long room looks familiar: it found its way to one of the Gutfreund apartments in Paris, designed by Henri Samuel.

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    3. OMIGOD. I READ THE SAME THING..in that biography of Nancy Lancaster...!!!!!
      And remembered it. Isn't it so interesting????? Fascinating! Did you mind the painted furniture in there? I LOVED IT!!! LOVED!!!!!
      Goes to show.....stuff gets passed down that means something...and I am going to like it! All mixed up! I LOVE that house; and all that stuff that meant so much to both of them! I honestly could cry! the criticisms fall on deaf ears in my head! I LOVE it all!! I love the meaning of each thing....I love her descriptions of things.

      It has actually changed my perception of her. I had heard and read about her; "a dreadful woman"; Now; Since I read this description of her house written by her.....I have completely changed my opinion of her. She is now someone I admire and respect. I like her!!!! (as though she would care.....not!!!) But I have honestly changed my opinion!!! Everything in that house; has meaning and history to her....and especially to him....prized and respected by her! It is almost a shrine to things that had great meaning to him and his history. Beautiful!

      Not many other people like any of it.....and I love it! ( I Might have picked "the bird cages in the dining room....but I love the 'corn')!!!!"; but that is me! I loved loved loved her "photographic memory" line..... I am also "blessed or cursed" with a complete photographic memory.....(One is born with it! If you have it; you know it; if you don't you have no idea what in the hell we are talking about! that is for sure!!!!)

      ps I respect your calling her "Mrs. Claude Lancaster......she will forever be to me.... "Nancy Lancaster"; honestly....(my mother started telling me about her when I was 6 or close. 1953??) My mother called her "Nancy; Mrs. Lancaster" (Southern version??) Thank God she did....I wouldn't have known who in the hell she was later in life!! I actually was lucky enough to go to her former house! I almost fainted! The last house....the one with the small library......(Swedish wallpaper? big library with the bow window!) the living room.....and the entry hall.....all the same....extant! The garden was open to the public for a limited time.....but we had lunch in the dining room. (It is a wonder I stayed conscious the entire time)!

      The ducks came into the house......I let them in....(and the current owner told me to shoo them out!) "They came in and were eating our guests porridge yesterday!" I was agog!!! Love those ducks! They are wild mallards!

      They are the people who had Nancy living in the guest cottage for many more years than they bargained for!

      (so sorry to call her Nancy! I think of her as if I knew her! I have read everything I could ever find about her; so I feel as though I do know her!)

      My goal in life. Is to entice the ducks inside! at my house! I have them living in my pond! And I have had 10 ducklings a year for 15 years! Maybe I can entice them inside! they do come swimming when they hear my voice!! They come right up to me! (not in the house, yet!)
      ps You will never hear me bash Syrie.....not ever. a genius....she was. I respect genius!!! and I adore her chairs in that dining room!!!

      (Nancy hated Syrie) WHY????? I love all good decorators and their work. Honestly. My contemporaries who are good decorators....I admire their work tremendously. I don't understand. Do you?

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    4. So wonderful to see others defend this bygone historical interior design, and send the message that bashing another's viewpoint is a form of jealousy. For those who cannot understand the élan & panache of this couple, well perhaps it's time to lay the vitriol aside and look again at two mere people, who with the best of the eras decorators, fashion designers, & Jewelers used these interiors as sets in a play, with a cast of characters who really did adore them. Would Estée Lauder really have entertained the Royal couple at her homes and bought directly from the Duchess the CanaryYellow diamond from nazi lovers as the palace called them. In fact, recently released film footage of the Queen on the throne today as a child with both her parents, shows them ALL giggling and raising the nazi salute. Thank you Penny and Hutton.

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  2. I find the entire house very sad. The Duke was a deeply flawed, tragic man, and she was, well...just heinous. Her taste is appalling.

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  3. Very interesting....I was wondering about the quality of the dining room furniture. Have a fantastic weekend. Mary

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  4. So agree with srb, well said!

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  5. Thank you so much for this 2 part charming visit to a legendary estate. These images are a real treat for my imagination. It's clear this was where people laughed, danced to the latest music and smart cocktails were served, not too mention the food! Those marvelous gardens, the jewel tones of colors in the interiors...their own Shangri-la! A well deserved escape from condescending mumblings so very much alive it seems. Boudin is quite evident thru out and Fowlers touch is the Cherry topping. Thank you again for sharing these rare images...such a gift.

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  6. Anonymous1:52 AM

    I LOVE YOUR POST ON THE MILL... AND ESPECIALLY LIKED SEEING THE TONY DUQUETTE FIGURINES ON THE GUEST ROOMS PINK PAINTED CHEST OF DRAWERS. AS MENTIONED, THE WINDSORS HAD A LOT OF HELP WITH THE INTERIORS AT THE MILL,INCLUDING STEPHAN BOUDAN, AND JOHN FOWLER, ... AND TONY DUQUETTE TOO. IN HER BOOK "THE HEART HAS IT'S REASONS" I BELIEVE THE DUCHESS REFERS TO TONY DUQUETTE AS "OUR DECORATOR AT THE MILL, TONY DUQUETTE" WHICH TONY ALWAYS THOUGHT WAS VERY GENEROUS OF HER SINCE HE ONLY DID THIS AND THAT. I DO THINK THE GUEST ROOM IS PROBABLY ENTIRELY BY DUQUETTE CONSIDERING THE PINK PAINTED CHEST, PINK AND GREEN SCHEME AND THE PINK PAINTED CHAIRS OF WHICH HE OWNED TWELVE MORE JUST LIKE THEM IN HIS WAREHOUSE. ALSO IN THE DRAWING ROOM, YOU CAN SEE A TONY DUQUETTE, PAINTED SECRETARY DESK, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR HER "A LA ELSIE MENDLE'S FAMOUS MOIBLE" WHICH DUQUETTE MADE FOR DE WOLFE'S HOUSE "AFTER ALL" IN BEVERLY HILLS. THANKS FOR POSTING THIS GREAT OLD ARTICLE... SINCERELY, HUTTON WILKINSON, TONY DUQUETTE INC., LOS ANGELES.

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  7. I have an entirely different take on the whole place! That is what "makes horserace" as my Southern Mommy used to say!!
    Completely!!!!

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  8. What a great post, a bit of historical insight. From today’s point of view it all looks a tad heavy and over decorated, why were they trying to make an old mill look like a chateau? I guess tastes and perceptions have changed. The colours though are wild, hahah, very pop art. I wonder what she would have done to Buckingham palace.

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  9. Anonymous8:19 AM

    The Mill looks open , colourful , fanciful and less formal from their Paris estate .
    But also " dated " and very American 1952 ,the year they bought the place .
    I think they had a marvellous time in the lovely french countryside !
    Entertaining guests for over 20 years .

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  10. I am crazy for the Venetian chest in the red guest room! "Lacca Provera" it looks like!

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  11. Could it be The Mill is growing on me?? The subtle dining room by Nancy Lancaster, in my opinion, wins hands down with its elegant garden theme, so well-suited to this home's setting. But I can see, given that it was the '50's, how this brighter scheme must have felt optimistic following the horrors of WWII. It was a whole new way of living and seeing. It has such a powerful point of view I can't imagine there was a time when everyone agreed it was smashing. Duquette's input is certainly palpable. If escape and fantasy is what they sought, he was the one to call on. The lofty Duke's Room, with its green-and-red scheme, feels better suited for a Tyrolean castle. The red guest room could be a Miles Redd. And the black-and-white floral covering another guest room reminds me of one Albert Hadley did for a mid-Century modern house. I guess Penelope Bianchi isn't the only one to have change of heart! Hello, there, Penelope ... You may not remember me. You invited me to see you lovely home on the Arroyo in 1996 when I was working on the dining room for the Pasadena Showhouse with Billy Francis. You were so lovely and generous, I never forgot you, your gracious home - or those gorgeous chickens wandering around the property!

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    1. This made me cry! What a lovely compliment! Thank you!
      We moved to Santa Barbara the next year; 1997; and we built a house here with a very similar floor plan; but a different architectural style (this one is a farmhouse; that one was a pavilion ). We have the same kind of chickens! www.mccormickinteriors.com You can see them!

      I am so touched by your comment! And I agree with your comments on the Mill!!!

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    2. I wish this post had been published before the near year. I was staying in Montecito and would have loved to see you, your home and your amazing chickens. I love your joie de vivre!

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    3. SHE LIVES IN MONTECITO!!

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful treasure trove of photos! In the past I have only viewed photos in black and white and it is great to see the rooms in color!

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  13. This is some AMAZING vintage inspiration. I am adoring the colors of everything! Everyone went so BOLD back then.

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  14. Dear Jennifer,
    This post reminded me of when I lived in Atlanta, and attended classes at the Art Institute with Cary Langhorne Bond, whose family was related to Nancy Lancaster...I'd forgotten all about it! The faded plates are such fun to look at, thanks for sharing them.
    Dean

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  15. I have enjoyed this very much!The house takes me back to my childhood and early teens and I can remember my two AUNTS having similar decor.......THAT GREEN CARPET for one!One aunt had a house in PALM SPRINGS all white with a GREEN ROOM............I wonder who owns this house now?It would be fun to see the changes............
    LOVed the comments!

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  16. This was definitely an eyeopener for me. They were like children when it came to their homes. Very playful use of colors, whimsical self indulgent choices as was respective of their sybaritic lifestyle- I found very little of it to my liking but that's beside the point.They got away with it because of who they were. I found it quite sad that they surrounded themselves with his history as if to compensate for a life that might have been. Cheers, Thorgood

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  17. This was definitely an eyeopener for me. They were like children when it came to their homes. Very playful use of colors, whimsical self indulgent choices as was respective of their sybaritic lifestyle- I found very little of it to my liking but that's beside the point.They got away with it because of who they were. I found it quite sad that they surrounded themselves with his history as if to compensate for a life that might have been. Cheers, Thorgood

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