I've been waiting for the perfect moment to put up this post and with the turn of season, it's finally here. Call me a school girl (and a history buff) at heart, but every fall, I get a bit nostalgic about my alma mater, University of Virginia, the historic town where it's located, Charlottesville, and it's notable founder and architect, Thomas Jefferson. So when I spotted these images in a recent issue of Elle Decor showcasing the newly refinished dining room of TJ's primary residence, Monticello...well, I was excited to say the least. The vivid color shift from a cool, Wedgewood-blue dating back to 1936 to an enlivened marigold yellow gives this colonial dining room warmth, energy and a rich Southern spirit. Makes you want to sit right down at the table and enjoy a long, lovely meal, doesn't it? After a bit of paint studying, historians concluded that the dining room was painted a chrome yellow shade around 1815, just a few years after the bright color had been created in France. It seems only fitting, Jefferson being as passionate and worldly as he was, to return to a stunning shade of yellow.
the dining room pre-redesign
tableware from Monticello's collection mixed with contemporary pieces,
tablecloth from Ralph Lauren Home
view from the dining into the tearoom
(if you're a Virginia grad, you'll notice the Jefferson cups on the table)
the tearoom
No comments:
Post a Comment