The Sense of Beauty
In his book The Sense of Beauty, George Santayana says that to feel beauty is better than to understand how we feel it: “To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.” Our daily lives at Currey & Company are spent contemplating beauty in so many forms and we are always thrilled to see the products that result from this quest presented within alluring interiors. This month we share three show houses for which designers have chosen our products to illuminate their interiors, the creations they wrapped around them vivid indeed!
Beauty at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House
Michael Herold included our lighting in his foyer at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House. Take a tour of the space with him in the video below to understand his point of view as he designed it. He tapped our Havana Pendant/Semi-Flush Mount and our Whitley wall sconces, designed by Bunny Williams, to create a glow in the expansive room.
Michael specializes primarily in residential interior design, with project locations throughout the United States. He is an accomplished interior designer whose work is often published in top shelter publications for its beauty, including House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Traditional Home, The New York Times, NY Cottage & Gardensand Hamptons Cottage & Gardens. He is regarded as one of America’s top young interior designers by House Beautifulmagazine, and we can see why!
Southeastern Designer Showhouse and Gardens
For the Southeastern Designer Showhouse and Gardens in Atlanta, which just wrapped, our Jean-Louis chandelier crowned Dana Wolter’s upstairs sitting room. About the former bedroom, she says, “I wanted to create a warm, cozy space that drew you in to take a nap, read a book or watch a movie. While the wall color is dark—it’s called Zombie—I balanced its depth with a lighter rug and sectional.” Not quite as dramatic as the Jean-Louis but just as luminous, our Ruxley floor lamp lit an occasional table that exuded ethnic beauty.
Dana founded Dana Wolter Interiors, LLC, a luxury boutique interior design firm based in Mountain Brook, Alabama. Named a 2014 Traditional Home New Trad and a 2017 Finalist in ADAC’s and Veranda’s Southeast Designer and Architect of the Year Awards, she and her team create timeless, well-edited homes that are customized around each client’s personal definition of living well and beauty. Wolter’s work has been published in Southern Living, Traditional Home, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, House and Homeand Birmingham Home and Garden.
Julian Price Showhouse
Bunny Williams Home, whose founder is one of our illustrious designers here at Currey & Company, created the living room at the Julian Price Showhouse, which benefitted Preservation Greensboro and was sponsored by Southern Home Magazine. Our Ruxley floor lamp stood on the ready behind one of their Southern Belle sofas—on the ready in case a stint of reading is desired. The house that now holds this lovely living room is located in historic Fischer Park in Greensboro, N.C. Bunny notes that the Period Revival style home, designed by New York architect Charles Hartmann, is an architectural gem. As is her predilection, this space—though formal—was created to be welcoming; to encourage guests to help themselves and to be comfortable. Such beauty she achieves!
Aviva Stanoff’s Glittery Beauty at the UN
A fourth event that included one of our designers caught our eye this month. We have always known firsthand how smart Aviva Stanoff is—she’s designed some of our most popular products, after all. Proving so yet again, when the United Nations extended her an invite, she said “Yes, please!” Sharing her art with the people who carry out their duties in the Documents Building at the famed institution, she turned a hesitant group of professionals into art buddies faster than it took to spill four glasses of wine! “They wanted gloves; they threw glitter,” she explains. “In less than an hour I felt the magic of being interconnected with a beautifully global microcosm, right back in NYC where I got my start.”
This description of her endeavor brings to mind something Santayana said as he explored different aspects of beauty, which included those moments when aesthetics and ethics collide. In fact, she stunningly embodied his theory when he said, “it is that incommunicable and illusive excellence that haunts every beautiful thing.” She describes it as a magic that comes from connecting with others. We certainly appreciate the fairy dust she sprinkles on our corner of the design world, and we salute her and the designers who chose our products to brighten their remarkable spaces as we move into the swing of the summer markets.
Summer 2018 Markets
That’s right: it’s time for summer market season again! Will we be seeing you at any of our showrooms? Here are the details as to where you can find us and when:
From June 20 through 26, we will be celebrating Dallas Total Home & Gift Market at the World Trade Center, Suite 10000. Please do stop by.
From July 10 through 16, we will be making a splash during the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market that takes place at the Americas Mart Building 1, Suite 14F10. Come say hello.
From July 29 through August 2, we will be welcoming everyone during Las Vegas Market in Building C, Suite 398. Let us know you’ll be in town and we’ll have a cold glass of something wonderful ready for you!
This post by Saxon Henry, a content strategist and The Modern Salonnière.