I’ve been immersing myself in a lot of Billy Baldwin lately (and no, I’m not talking brother of Alec & Stephen here), hoping that some of his genius will rub off through the pages of decades-old books, Pinterest posts, and articles from various prestigious news sources. And, while the jury is still out on the effectiveness of all this, I did want to share a very important discovery with you here: Billy is undeniably a California dude at heart – fellow Californians, bust out those champagne glasses and get ready to claim him as our own!
“Huh?” you say. “You do know, don’t you, that his most famous creations were for the likes of Cole Porter, Jackie O, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and others who would have likely shuddered at the thought of making their domiciles anywhere other than east of the Hudson River? And that gorgeous apartment of his…parked right smack on East 61st Street.”
Well, I would reply, take a look at THIS:
And THIS:
And THESE:
You know what I see a lot of?
-Bright, airy spaces
-Wicker & rattan
-White sofas galore
-An uncluttered, yet layered aesthetic
-Colorful, bold artwork contrasted against neutral furnishings
Now, tell me if that doesn’t sing sand, surf, palm trees, and general good ol’ California living to you.
Need further proof? Okay, how about a shot of Billy himself channeling his inner (albeit preppy) surfer:
Or check out these fabulous rattan chairs he designed:
So crisp, so clean…so FUN…so…California.
Okay, so maybe I’m just a wee bit jealous that New York has really been given the bragging rights in all things Billy…so I’ll concede that…in the end…it doesn’t really matter at all anyway because he’s a GENIUS…California or not.
And he has great advice to live by in your design life whether you’re in LA, SF, Dallas, Chicago, NYC or anywhere in between. Here are some favorite quotes (which, by the way, merely scratch the surface of this deep well):
• If you can tell I did a house, I didn’t. The essence of the relationship between client and decorator must be we.
• The final judge in decorating, as any wise decorator knows, is not the ‘logic of the mind, but the logic of the eye.’
• Probably the main reasons some people persist in confusing good taste with great expense is that they long for luxury, but they misunderstand the meaning of the word. They confuse it with grandeur.
• Nothing is interesting unless it is personal.
• The first rule of decoration is that you can break almost all the other rules.
• The advocates of moderation, caution, and safety-first certainly have their place in life, but in decorating they are a total bore.
• In a house that steers clear of the happy medium, even casual visitors can sense that something good is going on. They may rave, they may applaud, they may laugh, they may be shocked. But they’ll never, ever yawn.
• Stick to the things you really love. An honest room is always up to date.
• If I find that something I am doing is becoming a trend, I run from it like the plague.
• A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart.
And with all this in mind, all you have to do is take one look at his own NYC apartment (photographed here in 1973!) and you can see why today’s designers across the board continue to refer to him for inspiration and guidance.
(Psst, white slipcovers and rattan again…I’m just saying.)
Want more Billy? Check out my Pinterest collection…and head to the bookstore to grab either of his two fabulous books (Billy Baldwin Decorates and Billy Baldwin Remembers), which will keep you inspired…and chuckling away to boot.
Got anything Billy you want to share here? Love to hear it all if you do!
Photos one through five taken from my copy of Billy Baldwin Decorates. The others are from here, here, and here.