When I was first told that Joe Minton was being considered to be the interior designer for the Southern Accents Showhouse I wasn't sure what I thought. I had seen many photographs of his work, knew he was known as one of the best interior designers in the United States and knew he would do an incredible job. However, even though our offices are within a mile of each other, I had never met him before and had a big concern for the builder/interior designer relationship. In addition, because of our time constraints on building and finishing the house I was worried about working with someone I had never worked with before.
Well, to say that things went well is an enormous understatement. Joe and his staff were not only incredible to work with professionally, I feel that we have all become great friends. They took on the project like they were being paid by their highest-paying clients. And the outcome speaks volumes for the hard work and dedication they put into the project.
It is difficult to pick where to start with the pictures of the interior because every room is not only beautiful, but very fitting. When asked what was his favorite room in the house, Joe said, "Whichever one I'm standing in." Above is the formal living room which is sits directly in the middle of the house. Even though this room is quite large, Joe's take on this room was to create a comfortable feeling of an estate in the English countryside. His mixture of furnishings and antiques are perfect for this room. The floors in the living room (and throughout most of the house) are wide-plank, hand beveled oak. The ceiling has enormous oak trusses.
I designed the paneling for the library in a Jacobean style. Joe's selections for the room are classic English and the room is set up for work, reading or to simply watch television. Everyone raves about this room and it was difficult to get visitors of the showhouse to move on from this room.
The master bedroom and bath are my favorite we have ever done. The room is large enough to have two sitting areas. Joe designed this with a nod to old Hollywood. The walls are painted in a pearl color and the ceiling is in a very pale blue. The windows overlook the pool and backyard. There are two entries into the master bathroom -- her side and his. On her side, you entire into an octagonal dressing area and on through two closets. One closet is set up for handbags, shoes and out-of-season clothes and the other is a mirrored room with hidden closets.
The master bath resembles a bath you would see in the Savoy Hotel. All white Calacatta marble with bespoke cabinetry. The marble floor was designed to match the millwork on the ceiling. This room is very bright and soothing. Joe's mixture of stark white with antiques is beautiful.
When Joe first showed me the sample of the de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper for the dining room I was a bit scared. The background color was ORANGE. I think my first comment was, "Wow!". After more thought, Joe had de Gournay change the colors of the paper and the room is about as much of a statement as a room can make. The peonies in the paper are about 12"-14" in diameter. The room is square and perfectly set up for a round dining table which I love. There is a black tiled fireplace (we put tile in all the fireplaces) with a mantel from England. The ceiling is silver leafed with a glaze on it.
The conservatory (above right) is one of the rooms of the house that gives a nod to the great estates of the 1920s. Just beyond the entry hall, this room draws your eye through the house and to the backyard when you open the front door. With black limestone floors, antique mirrors on one entire wall and french doors opening to the loggia the conservatory calls for morning coffee and a newspaper or afternoon tea.
The bright and cheery laundry room is done in crisp white walls, ceilings and cabinetry and a concrete tile floor from Ann Sacks. The dog doesn't come with the house (he belongs to Joe).
Right after we finished the install on the house we were asked if Indulge magazine could do a fashion shoot at the house. The first picture is in the master bedroom, the second is in the entry hall, the third and fourth are in the study and the bottom two are in the master bedroom and study.
In my next post I will be covering the rest of the downstairs and the upstairs.
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