Still Saladino

Excuse my inconsistency lately.  Haven't posted in about a month - blame it on spring.  It sprung in upstate New York, and the birds, the sun, my gardens all beckoned to me and I couldn't resist.  Now, to get back to John Saladino and coziness, I have two more homes that prove a "cozy Saladino" is not an oxymoron.

Images of the following Saladino-designed home are the reason I kept this House Beautiful from May, 1991.  Because it is an updating of  an older home, rather than a completely new one, it has similarities to the home in the last post found in Litchfield.

Again, this home is in New England, and, in this view, the addition can clearly be seen.  Love all the stone work in landscaping and addition.

Mudroom - so necessary in New England.

Front view very reminiscent of the front view from last post's home and very New England.

View from rear of the house.

Pardon the crease.  This room is so different from today's style with its dark walls and unpainted woodwork, and, crease or no crease, it had to be included. Clearer image to come.

See - clearer!  Distinctive Saladino trademark - the mix of antiques with contemporary.

I love this sitting room - shutters instead of curtains and the mottled walls that look a bit like Saladino's "scratch" coat used in many of his new rooms.

The leather sofa and chair from 1991 could fit right into Restoration Hardware today.  Saladino, definitely an icon.

New addition with view of the stream from earlier.  How about that beam!  Bet this is where the family spends most of their time.  Looks like a linen swag on the window to the left - again so ahead of his time or just timeless.  And cozy, right?  The wood, the antiques, the plants, the beams all make it so.

And, of course, the massive fireplace wall.

The other side of fireplace wall works perfectly in the kitchen.

More shutters and mottled walls in upstairs guest room.

So what do you think?  Doesn't John Saladino have quite a few cozy bones in his body?  

Even when working on a new home in the Hamptons, he never forgets his classical training. This next design appeared in the February/March 1992 issue of Vogue Decoration.  It has several other great articles, but I'm sticking to today's topic.

How great is this!!  A new house in a shaker style in Amagansett.  It sounds like something Newell Jacobsen would do, but it is strictly John Saladino style.

Beams and bricks take on a whole different flavor int this home.  Very contemporary foyer with antiques blending old with the new.

Beams and long dining table similar to house above.

Doesn't the living room below remind you a bit of his Villa Dilemma?   Love, love, love it.

Upstairs guest room.

Bath and dressing rooms.

First floor bedroom.

Same house but different views was featured in this September issue of House Beautiful.  Let's take a look.

I'll let the images and captions do the talking.

Better view of kitchen and eating area.

Love the modern art work with antique table and bowl.

First floor bedroom.

More mix of old and new in dining room.  Cozy?

When Saladino does old (as in today's first images), he adds modern.  When he does new, he adds antiques, beams, shingles and brick.  Does it result in cozy?  You must know by now that I think it does.  He uses the perfect touch, never cloyingly sweet, never cold and stark but rather...just perfect.

More Saladino houses next time.  I organized all my magazines featuring him in one pile, so before putting these issues away, I'll add at least another John Saladino post.

Apropos of nothing or just apropos of spring, while perusing these old issues, I came across two lovely images of white hydrangeas in pots and decided to end with them.  I actually grow this hydrangea in my garden, and it turns the softest shade of blue-pink in the autumn.  I grow blue hydrangeas everywhere and in pots next to teak benches, but the deer are deciding they like hydrangeas.  To discourage their rampages, yesterday I discreetly hung two bars of Irish Spring soap on two bushes. This morning one bar was eaten.  Arghhh.

Till next time, happy spring.

b

John Saladino - Warm and Cozy?

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth again, but have been south (more about my visit later while I stay on track today and remain true to my earlier promises), and have had a week-long visit from special family members - notably grandson #1.  Now to John Saladino who has been one of my favorite designers from House Beautiful's Home Decorating to his recent publication of Villa.  Today, let's take a look at his early work and decide if we  think Saladino design was warm and cozy then and, later decide, if it is today.

 As you will see, in 1981, not all magazine photos were in color.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Below is the front door of a former ice house converted into a guest cottage by John and Virginia Saladino in '81.  To the left of the door rests an 18th-Century stone bowling ball (similar to three new spheres I purchased from Lunaform in Maine resting near my own front door.)

"There are no pretty accessories, no flounces--(Saladino) used classic period furnishings in a contemporary way."  I loved this room then and still do - so clean, almost Belgian-esque yet in an American way.  The wall hanging is an Amish blanket framed.

Another view of living room.

Shaker table place beneath the living room window.

Cottage's simply designed bedroom with Saladino lighting.  Because of the room's simplicity, the antiques stand out.  Cozy?  Yes?  No?

Fast forward to Spring 1986 with Better Homes and Gardens Decorating.

The rooms which follow are of a 1722 house in Litchfield Connecticut  owned by Arlene Hoffman, a New York advertising executive, and her partner, Ray Gaulke.  In their restoration process, the couple did extensive research on the house and its decor, but sought the advice of John Saladino.  I think you will see his influences.

View from front door to the front garden.

Very Litchfield, Connecticut.

Front foyer with antique settle and contemporary artwork.  Newly carved niche, serving as a powder room, "gets just the right touch of antiquity with a sink set into an old wrought-iron plant stand."

Close-up antique drop-leaf table and ladder back chairs in music room.  I particularly love the window treatments in this home because they either do not exist or they are shutters.  Love, love interior shutters and the paneled ones throughout are great.

Music room is one of the four main living areas on ground floor.  "Music room" is what previous owners called this room.  Wood burning stove was one of the "few nods to modern convenience" which the owners added - for warmth.

Peek into dining room from the main hall.

The dining room with its blend of very new and very old is the only room in the house that is not a creamy white.  The warm red color is so inviting.  A designer once told me red is perfect for dining rooms because, when in them, people feel convivial and cozy, and look wonderful.  It certainly worked in my friend's house and looks like it does here also.

A very Saladino-esque blend of old and new evident in the living room below.  Note the continuity in the sofa fabric matching the seats in dining room.  The new upholstered pieces blend well with antique collections.  But, remove the upholstered pieces and we could be in the "Wyeth country" of my earlier posts.

On the other side of the living room, another gate leg table, this time with windsor chairs, shares space with a classic Eames chair and ottoman.  Bookcase and fireplace are icons of cozy.  Hidden behind a beam, lights wash over the bookshelves.

Four poster bed and quilt are new, other pieces are antique in master bedroom.

In the master bath, a one-of-a-kind sink is matched with contemporary goose-necked faucet.  Sink is an Italian mortar - so cool.

And now to my favorite part of the house, the kitchen of course.  Sadly, the stainless steel appliances are out of view, but I'll bet they perfectly cooled down the mellow woods seen here.  First a peek from the back door...

then a fuller view.  Love how the kitchen table is right behind the tufted sofa, but I so wish I could see "the six-burner commercial stove and the hotel-size floor-to-ceiling refrigerator."  Bet the editors of Better Homes and Gardens thought readers would not "get" such a juxtaposition in 1986, but I would have.  Mary Emmerling did.  (More about Mary later.)

Arlene Hoffman in Chicago in 2011.  She moved near her only son and is seen here surrounded by her books and her Biedermeier furnishings.  Do you think she misses Litchfield or has she never looked back?  

So can John Saladino be warm and cozy?  I always thought so from seeing, studying and loving these long-ago images.  If you disagree, that's fine, but just wait till my next post.

Till then,

b

I Know I Promised Saladino, but Another Necessary Detour...

Last week, I made a trip to Cleveland to see Ina Garten speak.  She was just as charming and informative there as she is on her Food Network show,  Barefoot Contessa.  When I returned home, I stumbled upon the very Martha Stewart Living issue I tried to find for my previous post on Ina (12.8.12), but I never looked in the February/March issue until March.  Since Ina spoke so fondly of Martha and since her talk is fresh in my mind, the following images seem to be appropriate now.  I promise, promise Saladino will be next (unless I have to write about Savannah first - am leaving for house and garden tours there tomorrow).

Here it is - Martha and Ina twenty years ago.  At this time, I followed Martha faithfully, but had never heard of Ina till this issue.

I loved Ina's stove (my own Viking stove was acquired shortly after this article appeared) and her seemingly easy way of entertaining.  She and Martha seem to be having such a nice time serving ribollita.

Martha and another (really great-looking) guest at Ina's for Sunday brunch - one of her favorite times to entertain.

I remember seeing this room and wanting to know so much more about this unknown person, Ina Garten.  Residents of the Hamptons, like Martha, of course knew her from Barefoot Contessa, once her gourmet food shop, but in 1993 I knew nothing about her.

I knew I loved her tablescapes from the first time I saw this article and still love them today.

Remember, this article is 20 years before her barn, but her table then looked as  inviting as it does today.  Beyond is a glimpse of her kitchen, pre-barn, where appetizers are arranged.

The appetizers served with Ina flair, uncomplicated and relaxed.

Close up of  appetizers.  Olives are still one of Ina's favorite appetizer choices.

Ribollita, below, is the star of the brunch with marinated eggplant as a co-star.

More brunch selections - shaved fennel, roasted beets, marinated artichokes and baby carrots on a radicchio.  On the right, Pecorino San Bernardo.

As the caption explains below, Ina was all about people and fun, and she still is.  Martha once said that when you hear Ina giggle, you know the fun is starting.  (Her ribollita looks so good.)

Frank Newbold was Ina's business partner then.

And still is today.

Martha and other guests at Ina's table in 1993.

Coffee-flavored semifreddo with hazelnut biscotti.

And lastly, because it is almost spring (somewhere - hopefully in Savannah) and because the magnolia blossoms are so beautiful, I leave you with this image from the same issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Please do not be disappointed this post is un-Saladino.  He is on the agenda.  By the by, if interested, Ina's recipes for this brunch are given in the magazine and probably online.

Off to pack.  I leave the house tomorrow at 7:30 AM.

Till next time-

b