pretty and classique: the finest rooms

every so often, maison21 will grab a vintage decorating title from his little stash- just to peruse in a spare moment or two, and he almost always comes away with inspiration. the last title he pulled from his shelf was "the finest rooms, by america's greatest decorators" (viking press, 1964) featuring essays and photos of rooms by billy baldwin (and edward martin), rose cumming, marian hall and diane tate, mcmillen inc., mrs. henry parish II, george stacey, smyth, urquhart and marckwald, inc., and michael taylor. some of these names we all are familiar with, and some are unknown (at least to m21). it's always interesting to view period decor no matter if it's by a "name" or not and it's easy to see why some names we remember, because their rooms really do withstand the test of time.

a drawing room by mrs. parrish, from "the finest rooms"- so you think kelly wearstler and jamie drake invented the use of bold colors? think again...

as maison21 flipped through the pages, he found himself with inspiration he wasn't even aware he was looking for: he recently had to present some flooring proposals for a client's entry way, and thought the patterns in the stone floors in the first picture by billy baldwin and the wood floors in the second room by mrs. parish could be interesting options for the floor in question. whether or not these options get used in m21' current project or no, he's filed them away for future use.

this stair and entry were designed in the 1930's by mr. baldwin- love the birdcage!

this mrs. parish decor is a little too traditional for m21's taste, but the dark and light wood flooring pattern is a classique.

maison21 also thought he'd share these photos of an over the top sitting room and bedroom by rose cumming- you've probably seen them before, but it never hurts to revisit them. so gorgeous.

totally cluttered and totally wonderful- and that paper!

the metallic papered walls in the bedroom are simply stunning. no art hung, and none needed...

if you ever run across a copy of this out of print book, maison21 recommends you snatch it up, and get inspired, just like m21 did.

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