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President's Day

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George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, our nation's first and third presidents, respectively, both influenced architecture and design in America. Mr. Washington's "diaries and letters reveal intricate details regarding his approach and passion for beautifying his home" - Mount Vernon, a mansion overlooking the Potomac River in Northern Virginia. [Source: Fine Paints of Europe.] Mr. Jefferson has influenced many interior designers, and his Charlottesville, Virginia, home - Monticello - continues to serve as a source of inspiration. Interior designer Bruce Shostak, owner of Hillstead [pictured below], a Federal Style house in New York's Hudson Valley, grew up near Washington, D.C., and, according to Architectural Digest, "spent untold childhood weekends at house museums and the National Gallery of Art." He and his spouse Craig Fitt celebrate architecture of the early 1800s because of  its "great attention to proportion, scale, and appropriateness." Interior designer Frank Babb Randolph, a Washingtonian whose father Jennings Randolph served in Congress for 44 years, "looked to the diaries, drawings, and lifestyle of his hero, 'Mr. Jefferson,' " when planning the renovation of his three-story townhouse in Georgetown. [Photos from Veranda featuring Mr. Randolph's Jeffersonian home appear below.] Washington, D.C., designer Mary Douglas Drysdale told Veranda that she "grew up in the shadow of Thomas Jefferson" because her father was a graduate of Mr. Jefferson's university, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The third president's work influences her own designs, which appear below.  

In honor of President's Day, I share images featuring design inspired by our first and third presidents and their Virginia homes.

"Independence Toile [by Quadrille] . . . covers the daybed next to a 19th-century English campaign chest."
Maine vacation home built in 1905 as hotel for "rusticators."
Interior design by homeowners John Knott and John Fondas.
Photography by Bjorn Wallander.
House Beautiful (April 2013).

"The patriotic theme sprang from Fondas's collection of Washington memorabilia and American flags." Independence Toile by Quadrille. 
Maine vacation home built in 1905 as hotel for "rusticators."
Interior design by homeowners John Knott and John Fondas.
Photography by Bjorn Wallander.
House Beautiful (April 2013).

"A 19th-century sunburst clock hangs over a demilune sideboard. The antique wallpaper, by the French company Zuber, illustrates Revolutionary War scenes, including the defeat of General Cornwallis, a battle in which the client’s ancestors fought." 
Interior design by Mario Buatta. 
Photography by Gordon Beall.
Text by Aileen Mehle.
"East Coast English" 

"A bust of Thomas Jefferson by Sculpture House Casting surveys the living room. The 19th-century chandelier was found in Denmark, and the Louis XVI fauteuils in the center are upholstered in a brown velvet by Old World Weavers from Stark. Between the windows, a 19th-century bas-relief of George Washington hangs above a circa-1805 New York Pembroke table."
Hillstead, the Federal-era home in Claverack, New York that belongs to designer Bruce Shostak and Craig Fitt. 
Interior design by Bruce Shostak.
Renovation consultant: Jeremian Rusconi.
Photography by William Waldron.
Styled by Howard Christian.
"An Elegant Federal Style Country House" written and produced by Mitchell Owens.

"For the entrance hall of a Pennsylvania farmhouse, designer Jeffrey Bilhuber chose a regal blue based on a color he had seen at Mount Vernon, a 1920s settee is covered in Le Gracieux's Kirachi."
Interior design by Jeffrey Bilhuber.
Photography by Julian Wass.

 Mount Vernon playhouse created by Susie Hilfiger for Tomes Higgins Designer Showhouse.
Architect: Allan Greenberg.
Photography by Paul Whicheloe.
House Beautiful (March 2000).

Mount Vernon playhouse created by Susie Hilfiger for Tomes Higgins Designer Showhouse.
Architect: Allan Greenberg.
Photography by Paul Whicheloe.
House Beautiful (March 2000).

"Aerial view of the bowling green side of the Mount Vernon mansion. Study the facade closely and you'll notice it's not perfectly symmetrical."
Mount Vernon, George Washington's mansion overlooking the Potomac River.
Photo via Mount Vernon website: Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

Mount Vernon Estate of Colours Collection Fan Deck offered by Mount Vernon and Fine Paints of Europe.
"The Mount Vernon Estate of Colours collection was created from the rich legacy of color of one of America's most historic and beloved homes. . . . Mount Vernon and Fine Paints of Europe are honored to offer these colors for use in American homes today. Washington's diaries and letters reveal intricate details regarding his hand-on approach and passion for beautifying his home. George Washington, who inspired a nation, was himself inspired by beauty, design, and bright, bold color."

"Liberty, 1869, by Constantino Brumidi, who was responsible for much of the Capitol Building's decorative paining, is in the Palm Room. Sometimes referred to as the West Garden Room, it offers access to the West Wing and to the Rose Garden."
Palm Room of the White House.
Photography by Derry Moore.
Architectural Digest (March 2008).

"The vegetable garden and its iconic pavilion welcome the morning's first sun. This elevated terrace with a southern exposure maximizes summer warmth and minimizes damaging frosts."
Thomas Jefferson's experimental garden at Monticello, his home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Photography by Robbie Caponetto.
Southern Living (September 2012).

The tearoom at Monticello.
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

"A setting by Charlotte Moss, featuring silver Jefferson cups."
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

"Pewter Jefferson Cup" offered by The Monticello Shop.
"In 1810, when [Thomas] Jefferson commissioned a silversmith to make eight cups of his own design, he probably never imagined how popular they would become. Exquisitely simple, extremely versatile, they are as suitable for serving a festive punch as they are for holding cuff links or paper clips. Gift boxed."
Also available in sterling silver with gold-washed interior (like the originals).
Photo via The Monticello Shop website.

"The newly painted and restored dining room at Monticello."
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

"An archway leading from the dining room to the tearoom."
Monticello.
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

"Circa-1790 shield-back chairs surround the dining room table."
Monticello.
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

Notice the pediment over the French door. It is similar to the Monticello pediment pictured above. " 'I have always said that Thomas Jefferson was America's first interior designer,' notes Frank Babb Randolph. The gentlemanly Georgetown decorator spent his boyhood visiting his father's U.S. Senate office in the neoclassical halls of Congress, and has made pilgrimages to Jefferson's Monticello all his life. He says his own designs are informed by six decades of absorbing the architecture of the region."  

"A pair of 1790s Zuber screens introduces an Old World landscape into the drawing room. Caryatid console, John Rosselli Antiques."
Frank Babb Randolph's townhouse in Georgetown, an historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C.  
Interior design by Frank Babb Randolph.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.

"It's not surprising that . . . [Frank Babb Randolph and architect Christian Zapatka] used Monticello's Palladian approach to solve some of the house's design challenges. Built in 1959 - a time, says Zapatka, 'when there was a real fervor for Federal architecture in Georgetown' - the structure had 13-foot ceilings and lots of bright windows, but 'anemic trim. It lacked gravitas.' The solution was to borrow some of Monticello's detailing, like classical crown moldings, baseboards, and niches (which replace bookshelves). The pair even recreated the grand pediment in Jefferson's salon; it caps the center pair of towering French doors in the drawing room [see photos above]."
Frank Babb Randolph's townhouse in Georgetown, an historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C.  
Interior design by Frank Babb Randolph.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.

The arches in this room remind me of the Jeffersonian niches in the Frank Babb Randolph home above.

"Openings from room to room are most graceful when they accomplish two things. An opening should share a strong relationship with other openings within the space. And the view beyond the opening should be interesting and framed well." - Mary Douglas Drysdale.
Interior design by Mary Douglas Drysdale.

"My affinity for columns goes back a long way. My father went to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for both undergraduate and law schools so I grew up in the shadow of Thomas Jefferson with his remarkable classical sense and Palladian perspective that he brought to this country. There is a very specific way to use columns, from choosing the right capitol to the right dimension of the shaft. When done correctly, columns lend majesty and open up the space. The modernist approach is to take out all the walls but a classic practitioner can define the space in a very graceful way via the use of the appropriate column selection." - Mary Douglas Drysdale to Veranda.
Mary Douglas Drysdale has used Chadsworth's Columns for projects.
"Well-Advised: Mary Douglas Drysdale" by Catherine Lee Davis.

"Columns and a stenciled motif at the crown molding provide architectural impact. The pedestal table from Barbara Barry Realized by Henredon doubles as a dining table."
1890s Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C.) row house of Karen and Winfield Sealander.
Architectural and interior design by Mary Douglas Drysdale.
Photography by Ron Blunt.
"Before and After: Capitol Hill Renovation" written and produced by Amy Elbert.
Traditional Home (March 2012). 

"Monticello's West Front, the facade made famous on the U.S. nickel."
Photography by Mary Porter.
"Monticello's Bright Past" by Mitchell Owens.
Elle Decor (July - August 2010).

"For the pool house, [Follin] Smith wanted 'something that could double as a lifeguard stand and a cocktail spot - or a dance pavilion for a hoard.' Channeling Thomas Jefferson, [John] Mayfield designed a grand structure, part Monticello and part Jefferson's barn at Bremo, with a proud pediment addressing the lawn."
Pennsylvania farm owned by Follin Smith and her family.
Interior design by Richard Keith Langham.
Architect: John Mayfield.
Photography by Francesco Lagnese.
"Rustic Design Ideas: Richard Keith Langham's Country House" by Kate Bolick.
Veranda.

"Built in the early 1890s, the Pillars was one of about a dozen grand villas that went up around this time as the popularity of Hot Springs' Homestead Resort [in Virginia] peaked with the monied set. The resort dates back to 1766 and lists Thomas Jefferson among its guests. The Pillars, a three-story Greek revival manse, was built on a hill overlooking the Homestead for the resort's then-manager." Guests at The Pillars, which is now the home of Bill and Susanne Pritchard, have included Thomas Edison and President Grover Cleveland.
Interior designer: Amelia Handegan.
Renovation architect: Allan Greenberg.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.

"Hand-stenciled patterns on the pine floor add a fanciful element to the entry hall. Stenciling work, Kristen Bunting. Sisal runner, Stark. Eglomise mirror, Amelia T. Handegan Inc. 19th-c. Regency table. 19th-c. jars."
The Pillars: the Hot Springs, Virginia, home of Bill and Susanne Pritchard.
Interior designer: Amelia Handegan.
Renovation architect: Allan Greenberg.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.

President Thomas Jefferson, who suffered from rheumatism, visited the hot springs at The Homestead in August 1818. "The Omni Homestead Archives contain the original guest books documenting Jefferson's 22-day visit, during which he found great relief in the warm mineral spring waters."
The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia.

"George Washington, whose vision shaped the White House, insisted that it be 'for the ages.' "

"President Truman, a self-described 'architectural nut,' replaced awnings on the South Portico with a balcony. The South Lawn plays host to the annual Easter Egg Roll, an event begun by President Hayes in 1878."
Photography by Derry Moore.
Architectural Digest (March 2008).
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President's Day
President's Day
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