A Resounding "Woof" for Staffordshire Dogs

Diana Vreeland, the grand dame of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar magazines from the '30s to '70s, was a lover of the Staffordshire ceramic dog figurine, as was the legendary interior designer Dorothy Draper, who placed them throughout the fabled Greenbrier Hotel.

A pair in interior designer Anna Spiro's office. 

During the Victorian era, it was considered fashionable protocol to put a pair of Staffordshire King Charles Spaniel figurines at each end of one's mantel. This Victorian era find, grouped as an lavish collection, is in the home of Libertine co-designer Johnson Hartig. 

I got this odd incarnation of a King Charles Spaniel at GasLamp Antique Mall in Nashville. Granted, it is not a Staffordshire dog, as evidenced by the bizarre color and the lack of the tell-tale chain that typically joins the collar. But for $16, it's a whimsical deviation. 

Wouldn't this silver whippet statue look fabulous bookending a fireplace? 

£135.00 at alexanderandpearl.co.uk.

Greyhounds flanking a fireplace in House & Garden, May, 1988, photograph by Oberto Gili.

When 1st Dibs Visits the Wrong Side of the Tracks

Many years ago I heard this strange-but-true tale of a drug kingpin's décor. I tuned out most of the story, being uninterested in the drug trade or the finer details of pit bulls. However, one point stuck: Due to his work's secretive nature, this gentleman could not flaunt his wealth. So he lived in a small bungalow with a bland exterior. However ... however ... the interior was tricked out like Kimora Lee Simmons was his stylist, lavishly over-the-top.

I have delusions of such drug kingpin grandeur whenever I visit 1st Dibs. In my fantasy, my home's exterior still looks like it belongs in its zip code. But with a few purchases, the interior becomes the domain of a Palm Beach grande dame, one who owns these 1930s-era Dorothy Draper chairs from the Crown dining room of San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel.  

And of course, why own one pair of Dorothy Draper chairs from San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel when you can own two? This pair, of cast aluminum, was made in the 1950s. J'adore.

In my fantasy, these fabulous English girandoles, circa 1775, also make their way into Chez Moody. 

While chilling in my Dorothy Draper chairs, I could play a game with the man of the house. This backgammon board was originally designed for Lucille Ball by Charles Hollis Jones, who said, "Lucy ... was a fierce player." 

Where better to tuck away said backgammon game than in this 1950s Dorothy Draper chest from The Espana Collection for Heritage? 

My, this fantasy was as fun as a trip back in time to the Greenbrier Hotel when Mrs. Draper was the decorator. Now back to work ... or to rob a Brinks truck for a perfectly criminal ode to a criminal's interior.

Simply Smitten by Janet Hill's Paintings

I am smitten by the vintage glamour that pours out (in fairy dust, I'm sure) from Janet Hill's oil paintings. This Canadian painter works in oil, and her subjects include chic women, objects, food, and interiors. I especially love that one can have a more affordable version of these through Hill's Esty shop, where she offers copies as giclee prints. 

This one is called "The Ship Sinker," and I think it's obvious why. 

Love "Paige Reads Peter Pan." Makes me wish I was going to a summer dance, circa 1947. There would be punch, and some Kennedy-esque youth would spike it with bourbon. And you'd quick-step until dawn, upon which time there would be a breakfast buffet. I've heard about such affairs ... only wish I had been there. 

"Saturday Morning at Pemberley Flat" details a pug, Bloody Marys, and a room straight out of Dorothy Draper's sketchbook ... I'll take it. 

I wish I was invited to this "Sunday Picnic." 

And "Francine and her Frenchie" makes me want to don sparkly ballet flats and put Bunny in a  bicycle basket.

Have a great weekend!!!