Courtney Price

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Modern English

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Modern English Todhunter Earle Interiors, reviewed on CourtneyPrice.com

One of my favorite design books EVER, Modern English by Emily Todhunter and Katie Earl is a book to revisit often. The talented design duo share a diverse selection of projects that include contemporary townhomes, boutique hotels, restaurants, ski chalets, super yachts, country homes, grand heritage houses, private banks, contemporary new builds, and their own homes.  Their projects are numerous and varied- and because discretion is an integral part of their business, quite a few have never been photographed or published. Modern English is divided into three sections: country, town, and abroad.

Todhunter and Earle are known for unpretentious discreet interiors (where budget does not appear to be an issue). Their style exemplifies a hard to quantify Englishness to its very core. I am not referring to what one might consider typical English, with chintzy florals, their bar is waaaay higher. Their laser focus is on [Read more…] about Modern English

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

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facade of Chateau de Villette as seen on www.CourtneyPrice.com

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

You are not going to believe your eyes when you see the breathtaking mid-seventeenth-century chateau outside of Paris that I am about to show you…. 

Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor, written by Guillaume Picon and photographed by Bruno Ehrs, is one of the most beautiful books on French decorative arts and design that I have ever seen. The history of both the chateau and its owners is fascinating, and its thoughtful restorations have ensured a consistent place en vogue.

Original construction took place from 1663–69, with architecture attributed to Francois Mansart and his great-nephew, chief architect of Louis XV, Jules Hardouin-Mansart. At this time, new chateau styles were developing as practical or strategic military elements were no longer necessary- opening the way for Le Notre to design elaborate gardens and outdoor vistas.

The extravagant interiors reflect the then-new mindset of the Rococo era – designed with more permanence and elegance.  Bedchambers, previously ceremonial, were designed be private spaces of comfort in the eighteenth century. Tables were no longer brought to the bedchambers for dining. Stand-alone dining rooms were an eighteenth-century innovation, and in Chateau de Villette is the first formal dining room in a French chateau. [Read more…] about Chateau de Villette- The Splendor of French Decor

Monet: The Early Years

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monetgallery-1-kimbell

An unprecedented, international loan exhibition of one of the most famed artists of all time is at Fort Worth’s Kimbell Museum until January 29, 2017. This groundbreaking exhibition is the first ever devoted to the young genius of Claude Monet, featuring approximately 60 paintings from the first phase of the artist’s career, from his Normandy debut in [Read more…] about Monet: The Early Years

Shop Provence with Me

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Wine---
Today I have a nice surprise for you readers- a guest who will visually transport us to her small medieval village near the Roman town of Vaison-la-Romaine. She could be the most exciting French interior design resource you have come across in a while. Susannah Cameron is a devoted Francophile with a successful career in architecture and construction. Based in Provence she and her husband Hugh are uniquely positioned to offer exquisite French décor to the world with their online boutique Chez Pluie. She provides the decorative arts history to position her beautiful inventory into the rich context from which it comes. The back story makes all the difference, and can we ever learn enough? (<–The answer to that would be the one exception to the never say never quote.)  Please welcome Susannah- today she will school us on armoires, french glass bottles, wine, wine tables, and the love of all things Louis. So pour yourself a great glass of wine and enjoy Susannah’s decorative arts lesson: [Read more…] about Shop Provence with Me

First Retrospective of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

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Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris) Self-portrait 1790 Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Corridoio Vasariano, Florence (1905) www.CourtneyPrice.com http://wp.me/p2e5e8-4WI

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun,Self-portrait, 1790
Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Corridoio Vasariano, Florence (1905)

First Retrospective of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, France’s Last Great Royal Portraitist, Opens on February 15

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842) is one of the finest 18th-century French painters and among the most important of all women artists. An autodidact with exceptional skills as a portraitist, she achieved success in France and abroad during one of the most eventful, turbulent periods in European history. Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France is the first retrospective and only the second exhibition devoted to this artist in modern times. The 80 works on view at the Metropolitan Museum will be paintings and a few pastels from European and American public and private collections. [Read more…] about First Retrospective of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

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