Behind-the-scenes: Pearls of Palm Beach, Chapters 1-4!
The tall arrangement of Casa Blanca lilies in the center of the Brauer’s glorious dining room inside The English House was sheer perfection. The elegant reticulated silver tray underneath the base of the vase offers practical footing and adds a timeless touch.
Introducing my new book, Pearls of Palm Beach, has been such an honor and a brilliant experience; I am simply overjoyed at how well it has been received! Thank you all for your enthusiastic support and kind words. And, my appreciation is extended to NivenBreen PR in NYC, who has done a brilliant job with the official release of the book!
As promised on my Instagram posts, here are some behind-the-scenes stories in reference to the first four house chapters:
Chapter One, The English House:
Stuart and I were invited to a CEO.org private dinner party at Daniel Boulud in NYC. (Stay tuned, Chef Boulud has agreed to do a Q&A for an upcoming newsletter!) Seated to my left was Stephen F. Brauer, the former Ambassador to Belgium, along with his charming wife, Kimmy. Steve and I began to discuss our shared enthusiasm for attending and buying at auctions. We also spoke of the importance of furnishing a house that tells a story about the interests of the homeowner, which is exactly what encapsulates the Brauer’s homes. I reached out to them about photographing The English House, their residence in Palm Beach, which they kindly agreed to!
Upon entering the house, the fragrance of white Casa Blanca lilies and peach-colored Osiana roses greeted me in the most elegant way. The captivating fragrance was subtly intoxicating. Each room featured these two flowers, majestically arranged. All of the vases were graced with a silver tray underneath, framing the arrangement. Mummy taught me this technique too, as the silver tray creates an understated, faint reflection of the flowers and the vase, as well as good footing, and if large enough, a place to collect unwanted pollen.
Lessons:
Place a silver, or porcelain, tray underneath your floral arrangements.
Arrangements featuring just one variety of flowers are elegant in their quiet simplicity.
Chapter Two, The Irish House:
The Brian P. Burns Collection of Irish Art is one of the most extensive private collections outside of Ireland. The art inside of The Irish House is stunning and is displayed upon colorful walls, as well as on other surfaces. Eileen has a keen eye for color, and her dining room table features flowers that enhance the table setting, along with an important Irish sculpture that echoes the art theme in the house. This is a wonderful idea to consider when setting a table!
When I first met Eileen, I brought her a little cookbook, just published by my Garden Club of Hartford members, as a thank you. A few nights later, when invited to dinner, I met her talented French chef who prepared a glorious sole almondine for us that evening. I thought to myself, how kind she was to accept my little gift so graciously because obviously, the chef did not need the cookbook. But, who knows, perhaps the chef may have enjoyed reading our tried-and-true homemade recipes!
Lessons:
Use a sculpture or something of interest as your dining table centerpiece.
Accept gifts with genuine appreciation, even if you do not use them or need them.
Chapter Three, The Lucky House:
A few years ago, while on a walk before attending a wedding at The Breakers in Palm Beach, I discovered a gem-box store: Lori Jayne. The window display of darling preppy embroidered pillows and elegant linens stopped me in my tracks. Lori and I became friends and she sweetly hosted a book signing party for my first book, The Pretty & Proper Living Room. She served her signature drink, the Bellini, which is also the name of her Malti-Poo!
The Bellini was created by Giuseppe Cipriani, of the legendary Harry’s Bar in Venice, in 1948. And it was in the loggia of Hotel Cipriani where Lori and her husband Michael discovered the latticework walls, with mirrors behind them. They chose to replicate the design, but to use a chocolate brown color behind their handsome white lattice covered walls to complement the Brunschwig & Fils, La Portugaise chintz on the club chairs in their family room.
Lesson:
When creating a room with crisp white latticework on the walls, have fun and use a unique background color to complement the color scheme!
An attractive room to serve drinks in at The Lucky House, which features a clever texture on the walls- latticework!
Chapter Four, The Preppy Condo
When I filmed my television episode with Lady Carnarvon at Highclere Castle, aka Downton Abbey, I was enamored with the bespoke carpet she had made for the well known library. Due to the tourist traffic in the castle, a new carpet had to be created, and Fiona had her initial F, along with her husband’s initial G, intertwined as a monogram and discreetly woven into one side of the border of the carpet.
So, when I entered into the master bedroom of The Preppy Condo, I was enchanted to discover a charming white linen chair, which featured Karen and Brent’s monogram beautifully embroidered in a soft blue to complement their heavenly blue retreat. Sadly, dear Brent has since passed away, but this sweet chair remains a treasure for Karen.
Lesson:
Think about monogramming something as a decorative detail in your house, other than just silver, a pillow or on linens.
P.S. If you enjoyed this newsletter, I do hope you will be inspired to share it with one or two of your friends, so they too will sign up! In Mummy’s words, “The more, the merrier!”