The Luxury of Not Caring

Yesterday's post left me craving more Denning & Fourcade. Unfortunately, Fourcade died of AIDS in the early 90s and the firm closed after Denning's death in 2005, but given their popularity in the 80s, you'd expect copious photographs of their work to be floating about. At the very least, you'd expect there to be some sort of compilation of their interiors, right? No such luck.

As if it isn't apparent from the images, the duo was known for their opulent interiors. What interests me isn't that they used the very finest antiques and fabrics (what do you expect when the Wrightsmans are your clients?), but just how alarmingly comfortable and undone their luxury was.

In a nutshell, it captures the aristocratic luxury of not caring, a nonchalant approach to living with beautiful objects but not isolating them on a pedestal to create a disarming sense of preciousness that puts one ill at ease. And really, isn't that a philosophy that everyone can embrace?

1. Left: A guest bedroom in the New York residence of Vincent Fourcade, from Beds by Diane von Furstenberg.
2. Right: Master bedroom from Denning & Fourcade's Paris residence. Photo Credit: ArchitecturalDigest.com.


3. The living room from Denning & Fourcade's Paris residence, decorated in the 1980s. Photo credit: ArchitecturalDigest.com.


4. The dining room (left) and living room (right) from the apartment of Henry Kravis and Carolyne Roehm, decorated in 1985, and parodied in the movie Bonfire of the Vanities. Photo credit: ArchitecturalDigest.com

Red Room

In discussion of red rooms, especially amongst bloggers, Diana Vreeland's receives raving accolades time and again. It's not an understatement to say that she was wholeheartedly committed to the red thing (Google Image search "Diana Vreeland red" to see what I mean), and I appreciate this commitment, but sometimes I wonder if a love and admiration for Vreeland blinds us to the fact that her red room is a little much to stomach.

For me, the absolute apex, pinnacle, PEAK of red rooms is Denning and Fourcade's for Oscar de la Renta. Why, no—HOW—does it escape discussions of the color red?!?! It's gorgeous, succulent, luxurious, plush, cool, everything a red room should be. And it doesn't make me think of matadors, tomato sauce, or the hot desert sun (oh Diana, don't worry, I still love you) which is always good.

House & Garden, December 1985. By John Richardson, Photos by Oberto Gili.

 
The whole apartment is heavenly, definitely one of the reasons that Denning & Fourcade are at the top of my list of all time favorite design teams.