OK so we know it doesn't actually exist but we'd like a Dalston Rose Pashley bike this Christmas
O N T O D A Y ‘ S M O O D B O A R D
'Where the Wild Roses Grow', Nick Cave photographed against Ralph Lauren wallpaper by David Ellis
Filed under House of Hackney
T H E D E C A D E N C E O F D U Q U E T T E
We saw this photo from Vogue Living last week of legendary American artist Tony Duquette and it blew our minds. The dirty lilac walls we have been referencing recently and the painted ceiling contrast so beautifully with the extravagantly patterned interior of animal print and colourful furnishings (we have leopard print embedded in our our brains at the moment). It was great to discover that there were houses of this look. Duquette took maximalism to a whole new level, as illustrated in the aptly named book of his work ‘More is More’.
Tony Duquette's Beverley Hills home Dawnbridge
Duquette was an artist across many forms, a man of exquisite taste with a penchant for the fun and fancy and with work ranging from interior design to jewellery to stage and film costumes. He carved out an incredibly successful career as an arbiter of style alongside his wife Elizabeth Johnstone- affectionately known as Beegle for her personality traits of both bee and eagle- becoming an established designer and carrying out work for a number of notable figures of the era such as Lady Elsie de Wolfe Mendl, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Vincente Minnelli and Fred Astaire amongst many others.
Elizabeth and Tony in their home, the Duquette Studio
Elizabeth Johnstone dressing a Costume Ball guest in a Duquette mask
Throughout his diverse career it is perhaps his interiors for which he is most known for. The opulence he created has remained a design classic recognised internationally as well as a great source of inspiration and imitation to many over sixty year on. Duquette made the fantastically fabulous and full-on look desired by people everywhere, mixing old and new in a way that has never since been achieved. The home he built for himself and his wife in Los Angeles after their marriage in 1949 was named Dawnbridge and particularly demonstrates the Duquettes’ taste for decadence. 18th century painted panels sit alongside flourishing glass chandeliers- Duquette’s own designs- printed upholstered furniture and ornaments of all shapes and sizes.
The Duquette's home in Dawnbridge with the 18th century wall covered paintings
The drawing room with the antique furniture
Leopard print carpet in the bedroom
Glowing gold
Green features extensively in his designs with live plants and palms sitting alongside a sea of turquoise and emerald in velvet, silk and on the walls; a scene of utter lavishness.
Print and colours
The colour heavily borrows from the outside of their home which was built on a steep ravine in the Californian Hills. This truly unique home was made up of ornate wooden pavilions are surrounded by yet more trees, shrubs and various plant.
The exterior of' Dawnbridge
Despite Tony Duquette’s demise in 1999 aged 85, his extraordinary creations continue to evoke much admiration. His life and designs have been feted across the world with many exhibitions, book and collections dedicated to the man himself. His jewellery and costume designs remain desirable collectors’ items and many of the homes he designed still carry his work on their walls. The Venice Palazzo which was once home to another of life’s great eccentrics Dodie Rosekran, is a wonderfully extravagant example of how Duquette’s work will always remain truly desirable, unique and relevant. A real icon of interior design and ambassador of More is More, they don’t make them like Duquette anymore. We can’t keep our eyes away.
Dodie Rosekran's Palazzo in Venice
The Palazzo with the Duquette chandelier and coral detail
Filed under House of Hackney
W A N T T O J O I N T H E C I R C U S ?
The team behind House of Hackney is organising CIRCUS, a brand new Christmas festival of British design and fashion. Showcasing the best in young and emerging talent during five days this December, CIRCUS is the alternative shopping destination to the corporate retail environment of Oxford Circus. If you’re a label and want your own pop-up shop this Christmas, contact poppy@houseofhackney.com for more information, also check out our website which will have more details coming soon.
Filed under House of Hackney
O N T O D A Y ‘ S M O O D B O A R D
These gorgeous carpet boots are our dream shoe
Filed under House of Hackney
D A R K R O M A N C E
Ellen Rogers is well known for her dark yet whimsical images and has amassed a legion of followers for her distinctive photographic style. House of Hackey’s Dalston Rose, Hackney Empire and Queen Bee rooms provided the perfect setting for these images shot for Material Girl magazine. We love.
Queen Bee room
Hackney Empire room
Dalston Rose room
Filed under House of Hackney
D O W N W I T H D O W N T O N
If you’re as obsessed with Downton Abbey as we are then you might have stared open-mouthed at the incredible decor of the many rooms of Highclere Castle in Berkshire, where the series is filmed. We love the opulent apple green Baroque walls, the carved leather hangings that adorn the Great Saloon and the beautiful antique furniture. Our lovely lampshade manufacturer also makes the lampshades for the television series which you can see in the images below.
The Library
Tassel lampshades
The Drawing Room
Filed under House of Hackney
A H O M E F R O M H O M E
Hackney Empire in Liberty
Our Hackney Empire and Dalston Rose collections feel right at home in the Liberty Home department. Available to order in store is our furniture which includes our chaise longue, buttoned-back sofa, ottoman and conversation chair. You can also buy our new Dalston Rose and Hackney Empire lamps which come with our mahogany Barley Twist lampstands as well as our cushions, wallpaper and fabric. If you don’t get a chance to see the display in Liberty then do visit their website where you can buy our large velvet Hackney Empire cushions online.
Dalston Rose ombre cushions
Dalston Rose ombre lampshades and cushions
Filed under House of Hackney
T H E J O Y O F T O I L E
By Glen Luchford
Toile de Jouy continues to inspire us despite its introduction century over two hundred years ago. The print typically depicts a pastoral scene with figures, flowers, fruits and birds making up a vignette usually in red or blue which is in turn repeated onto a cotton base. It originates from Jouy en Josas in north central France, a neighbouring town of Versailles which was home to many aristocratic families during the late 18th, many of whom personally served the French kings Louis XIV and Louis XV respectively.
The print was the creation of German born Chritsophe-Phillipe Oberkampf who opened his first factory in Jouy en Josas in 1759 and in turn produced the first Toile de Jouy. It has since become a design classic, adorning every surface from tea cups to T-shirts.
Toile du Jouy gained huge popularity over the years and has more recently experienced a resurgence with designers in both fashion and interiors drawing inspiration from the print.
The American interior designer Sheila Bridges has updated the Toile de Jouy by replacing the quaint rural scenes with those of everyday New York life. Characters dancing, playing basketball and carrying boomboxes make up this vibrant print which come in modern shades of yellow, robin’s egg, pistachio and cherry.
Harlem Toile de Jouy print
Paris based designer Manuel Canovas has produced a series of traditional printed wallpapers in acid tones and bright colours such as this bubblegum pink print below.
Toile print by Manuel Canovas
Timorous Beasties is the Scottish textiles and wallpaper label who have taken the concept of old fashioned toile and given it a twist. They have created an urban collection of toiles which reveal subverted scenes of modern day debauchery. Entitled London, Glasgow and Edinburgh, the prints touch on social and political themes in a most decorative way.
London wallpaper by Timorous Beasties
Edinburgh Toile
Another designer updating the Toile de Jouy is London based artist and designer Julie Verhoeven. Having established a diverse career in the arts ranging from moving image to fashion illustration, she collaborated with renowned illustrator Peter Saville last year on a range of wallpaper entitled ‘Forget Me Not’. Starting with the traditional toile, their design took a more sexual and perversive stance with their prints showing images of Japanese bondage and pornography.
Julie Verhoeven wallpaper
The beauty of Toile de Jouy is in the details. From afar it can appear chintzy and rather old fashioned but as many new designers are proving, the detail reveals very modern ideas.
Filed under House of Hackney
L I V I N G I N A M A T E R I A L W O R L D
We at House of Hackney love hydrangeas, as captured so perfectly in Mulberry’s Spring Summer campaign shot by HoH favourite Tim Walker. They represent the quintessential English garden with their joyful pom-pom heads which flower in all shades of pastel.
Mulberry campaign ss2011
This week saw Madonna publicly voicing her dislike for hydrangeas when a reporter overheard her blast the flowers during a press conference. Once upon a time Madonna was living out the ultimate British lifestyle having married Hertfordshire born film director Guy Ritchie and regularly sporting his n’ hers tweed. Basing their family home in Ashcombe in Wiltshire where the legendary photographer Cecil Beaton once resided, their home was the picture of heritage and tradition with rose printed sofas, period chaises and terracotta tiled floors. Vogue Living captured the beautiful interiors and gardens in an editorial from their book published in 2007.
Madonna's home in Wiltshire
Painted sheep and the interior of Ashcombe House
Filed under House of Hackney
