Exuding the Elegance of the Era
Martyn shares what inspirated the Greystone bedroom and wonders why Jeffrey would turn down doing a room.
Greystone manor is one of the most important estates in America and undoubtedly the most famous home in California. Once the most extravagant estate in Beverly Hills, Greystone was the cutting edge in modernity with state of the art kitchens, electricity, heating and cooling systems, a bowling alley, theater, and shooting range. In the early 1920s when the house was built it was the epitome of fine taste and modern luxury yet styled upon a great English country manor.
Knowing the history and the glamorous and colorful past of this once-great estate was all I needed to know to immediately jump at the chance of joining in with Luxe magazine and their show house project there. I rarely do show houses but this one is the most prestigious and important on the west coast. All the right people will come to see it and as an advertising tool it's extremely powerful.
I was lucky enough to wrangle myself the best room in the mansion, Mr. Doheney's bedroom suite, a beautifully proportioned set of rooms that exude the elegance of the era. Now the top designers in America are clambering for the different rooms and spaces in the mansion.
Kathryn Ireland lands the gun room kitchen originally used to prepare game, while Mary takes the grand hallways. Jeffrey for some crazy reason decides not to be involved, a mistake, of course, that he appears to regret later. . .
Now apart from designing these spaces to wow the visitors, we actually have another reason to create exceptional design spaces because Luxe magazine, now an internationally acclaimed magazine with worldwide distribution, will be doing an issue dedicated to the mansion. Who will get the cover? Who will get a double page spread?
. . .As Mary says "your only as good as your last publication," so this spread is vitally important to establish status within the industry and power status in the issue! As the design dramas unfold and decorative magic is created the under cover tensions of who will get the best exposure bubbles to a boiling point!
I love this episode, the design is good, the dramas are, well, dramatic and the results are mouth watering. This episode is Million Dollar Decorating at its best. Hope you'll enjoy, and hope you'll agree with the final magazine layouts and choices!
Live, love, and decorate a show house!
