Here are more highlights from the 25th Anniversary of Rooms with A View, a mini designer showhouse, taking place last weekend at the Southport Congregational Church in Southport, CT.  If you’re reading about this fundraiser for the first time, it was developed by the church committee and its Chair Albert Hadley. Twelve talented and revered designers from Connecticut and New York each create small (6’x8’) “vignettes” for the community to enjoy, while supporting 18 local and regional charitable causes. If you missed Part 1, click here.  

“Shaken not Stirred” – Bond’s Sitting Room

“With the 25th Bond film due out shortly, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to imagine Bond’s sitting room as a sleek, black and white themed room with the iconic Carleton Hotel in Cannes as the centerpiece,” says Ken Gemes of Ken Gemes Interiors. 

“There’s an elegant metal bar equipped with martini glasses and a silver shaker that sits below vintage photos of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Light fixtures in polished nickel with brass accents and a gun barrel garden stool provide a sleeker look to contrast the classic details of quintessential ‘Bond.'”

Mad Lounge

“Our ‘Mad Lounge’ was inspired by the word vintage!  We set the stage for a Dapper Dan to come home to his swanky mid-century home, with authentic vintage pieces,” says Alexis Parent of Alexis Parent Interiors. “Included were a 1960’s Alexander Calder lithograph, as well as a 1975 lithograph from Canadian artist Jackson Beardy.  The icing on the cake was our late 1960’s Eames Lounge Chair, and a nod to my Cuban roots with Havana Club Rum and Cohiba Cigars on standby.  With a palette of retro oranges, browns, ochres and a black lacquer ceiling, we nailed mid-century cool.”

This vignette by Sister Parish is wrapped beautifully in its Sintra Fern fabric, part of the company’s Fall 2019 Collection.  Founded in 2000, Sister Parish is a textile company and heritage brand that began with the goal of resurrecting the prints and wallpapers that Mrs. Parish loved.  She began decorating during the Great Depression and later formed a partnership with Albert Hadley, which influenced American design for more than three decades. The fabric Sintra is inspired by the iconic Tree of Life motif and named for the exotic Portuguese city. Its foliate ornamentation is the perfect complement to Albert Hadley’s more geometric patterns.

Photos for “Shaken not Stirred” and “Mad Lounge” courtesy of Alan Barry Photography.