Mr. Hadley's Finest Room

By now, we've all seen this iconic shot of Albert Hadley's sitting room in his New York apartment. The blue color framed by the gilt frame is just gorgeous and easy to replicate.  I was thinking about this image yesterday after looking at the blue walls in Steven Gambrel's room at Designer Visions.  I was also wondering about the rest of the room.  I like to see the whole picture and luckily, designer Thomas Jayne had posted a few more photos on a post for Interior Design magazine online.  Mr. Jayne has just published a book The Finest Rooms in which he saves Mr. Hadley's sitting room for last. 

You can just see a peek but the ceiling appears to be black.  I also love the trim along the crown and base moldings. 

It's really the artwork that makes this room so spectacular.

Albert Hadley is know for his touches of red.  Here the scone and daybed frame are painted to match the telephone table and the hallway.

In this old photo I found on The Peak of Chic, the room is set up with a table for reading or eating. The chairs are also black instead of white.

In another old photo of the room, this interesting chair sits by the window.  I love the upholstery and how the print picks up all the colors in the room.

Mr. Hadley in his signature turtleneck stands in his red hallways with a leopard runner. 

I implore Thomas Jayne to photograph the rest of Mr. Hadley's apartment becaue I'm sure the entire space is just as fine as his sitting room!

Photos from Elle Decor and Thomas Jayne

Albert Hadley Drawings for Sale!

At the end of March, I received a lovely email from Lizzie Bailey who works at Gerald Bland Antiques (and who also went to school with Laurie Reynolds! Small world!) informing me that they would soon be selling drawings by interior design legend Albert Hadley to coincide with the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse. Oh, and would I like to come in and preview them before they were sent to the framer? Would I?! I'm sure you can guess that I said yes!

My friend Kevin had just asked me if I wanted to go check out the Parish-Hadley books that were for sale so I returned the favor by inviting him to check out the drawings with me. We spent almost an hour and a half in awe of what we were looking at and pouring over each one. Some are just signed and dated while others denote the client and house or project. Some of those included in the sale include the initial sketch for the Astor Library on yellow ruled paper, rooms for The Duke and Duchess of York, The Paleys and even Carly Simon!

We loved looking at how detailed some of them are even though they are just a sketch. Albert Hadley is amazing! And what's also amazing is that his drawing of the "Office of an Executive Woman" (top) that he created while at Parsons is up for sale! While most are black and white drawings, there are a few beautiful color drawings that will probably be the most expensive items for sale. I'm not of the exact prices but the framed works will probably in the thousands while the unframed loose drawings should be under $1000. I've already put my name on one of them! Happy Birthday to me!

According to Lizzie, "The collaboration came about through Gerald Bland’s wife Mita Corsini Bland whose watercolor renderings will be featured in the forthcoming book Sister Parish Design: On Decorating by Susan Bartlett Crater and Libby Cameron. Due from St. Martin’s Press October 2009, the book includes a forward written by Mr. Hadley. When the authors, artist, and their husbands gathered over dinner this winter Mita asked Mr. Hadley if he still had all his sketches, which he did. Though initially Hadley wondered who would ever want to buy them, he did come around to the idea of offering his trove of drawings. Early feedback suggests that many people in fact are quite eager to own one!" I'd say so! The drawings will be on display to the public at Gerald Bland Antiques beginning on Thursday, April 16, 2009.

Gerald Bland Antiques

1262 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10128

tel. 212.987.8505

fax 212.987.8410

Meeting Mr. Hadley

Some of you might remember that I used to work across the street from the design legend Albert Hadley. One of the highlights of my day would be seeing him standing out front in the morning smoking his cigarette (see photo below). That would just make my day. I did get to meet him once at a party but at that time I was too shy to actually speak to him. My friend was supposed to set up an interview but she ended up leaving the company and I never followed up.

Fast forward a few years to when I was asking my friend and interior designer Grant K. Gibson what he would like to do or who he would like to meet when he was in New York this week and what did he reply..."meet Albert Hadley!" Luckily for both us, his friend Suzanne was able to make that happen yesterday!

We both of course nervous and excited and got out our Albert Hadley books by Adam Lewis to do our homework before the big event. At first, I thought that Mr. Hadley was going to think we were silly for wanting to meet him but then I remembered that when he was first starting out as a designer, he said he made it his business to meet every decorator he had ever read about so maybe he understood our desire to meet him and what it would mean to us.

At the appointed hour, we arrived via the little elevator and who should greet us at the door but Mr. Hadley himself! It is clear that he has never lost his Southern manners as he apologized for the state of place since they were moving things to the other side of the office. As he disappeared for a minute, Grant and I giggly like little school kids as we both realized the excitement of sitting in Albert Hadley's office and tried to take it all in before he returned.

Mr. Hadley wanted to know what we were doing in design first so after we briefly talked about ourselves, we asked him what he thought was the biggest difference in design today from when he started. He brought up Mrs. Parrish (above) who began decorating for her friends who did whatever she said. They sought her advice and respected her opinion. These days we all agreed, clients have definite opinions of their own and that they also have access to the internet where they can buy a sofa today instead of ordering the best quality custom option that will last them a lifetime. He suggested that part of designer's job should be to educate their clients.

His advice to young designers is to travel and not just see things but to learn. Don't just sit behind your desk on the computer, get out to experience things in person. Read books and educate yourself to the different periods and styles. Mr. Hadley remembered the time in the 1920's when designers like Jean-Michel Frank and others were collaborating whereas today, everyone seems to be doing their own thing.

We had to ask how he felt about the Kip's Bay Decorator Show House this year since it is in honor of him and he seems always so humble. He agreed that he's not one for a fuss but that it should be fun especially since many of the designers participating are his friends. One of his friends who happened to come up in conversation was Mario Buatta. He remembers telling Mario before one show house, "why don't you do something different!" But Mario replied that chintz was what people came to him for and expected. We all agreed that we feel bad that he gets a bad rap for his style and that it bothers us when we hear people they "hate" a design or style.

I try really hard on my blog to expose people to different types of design and that there is no right or wrong in design. Just because something is not your style, that doesn't mean that you can't appreciate how much time and effort went into it and if the client is happy, that's all that matters. I personally would not want to live in an all white space but when you hear a homeowner say that they work with color all day in their job and they just want to come home to a calm space, I can completely understand that logic and appreciate the space even more. If anyone takes anything away from today's post, I hope it's to always stay open minded. Perhaps that's what has kept Mr. Hadley going all these years!

While Mario Buatta may have one particular style, it's clear from the some of the photos posted here that Mr. Hadley likes to experiment. I especially love his own homes and how they look uniquely personal to him. He also doesn't get tied down by his possessions and will pass some of his own possessions on to clients.

If I can give any advice to young designers or just anyone who loves interior design, it would be to read Albert Hadley: The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer by Adam Lewis. Mr. Hadley is quoted heavily through out and it's wonderful to hear about his life in design in his own words.

In the book, he describes working for Mrs. Astor and creating the library for Vincent Astor's books, a room that Mr. Astor would have been proud of. He said is was his favorite room he ever designed. Albert Hadley doesn't just design rooms, he designs iconic rooms. I don't think he sets out to do that though. He sets out to do the best possible job, something we should all strive to do!

One thing I've noticed after going through many images of his work is that he uses a lot of red. In his hands, a bold color becomes almost a neutral and not at all too bright. Makes me want to paint something red in my apartment today!

Meeting Albert Hadley and reading about him is so very inspiring. He has achieved a lot since his birth in Tennessee but it is clear that he hasn't forgotten where he came from and those who have helped him along the way. When we mentioned the story in House Beautiful this month, he was quick to point out that Harry Heissmann had done all the work and actually brought him in so we could meet him as well.

Clearly, Albert Hadley made our day by agreeing to meet with us and we will forever remember our time spent in his presence. He is a huge inspiration to many designer, young and old, and I appreciate that he takes time out of his busy day to share his story and advice with others. It wasn't appropriate to take photos so Grant and I joked that no one is going to believe us since we don't have the evidence but sometimes the memory is better than any photo!

My favorite part of the day actually occurred later when I received a text message from a friend who works in the D&D building. She had been in the same elevator as Mr. Hadley and since she had met him many times before, she reintroduced herself and said, "I think you met my friend this morning." To which he replied, "Heather, yes. She's lovely. I had a great time meeting with them." That made my day, if not my year! Especially since I think that Mr. Hadley is beyond lovely! And I am very excited that the next time I see him, I will no longer be too shy to speak to him and I hope you won't be either!

Photos from House Beautiful and Albert Hadley by Adam Lewis

In Honor of Albert Hadley...

This has been a busy week and I have lots to write about but until I can post them all, I wanted tell you something exciting that I learned at a very chic dinner party I attended last night. This year's Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse will be held this Spring on 71st Street and will be in honor of the living legend of interior design Mr. Albert Hadley. We're not exactly sure if that means the designers chosen will be those who have had a working relationship with Mr. Hadley over the years or if the rooms will be paying homage to him but either way, it's very exciting and I can't wait to see what they come up with! Stay tuned for more details!

Decorating is not about making stage sets, it's not about making pretty pictures for the magazines; it's really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul. - Albert Hadley

Stalking Albert Hadley

I thought you might all get a kick out of this photo I took the other day to send to Patricia Gray, the fabulous Canadian interior designer who has a major crush on Albert Hadley. I've joked with her in the past about how I see him standing outside his office every morning smoking his signature Camel cigarettes and that I was going to take a photo of him for her and this week, I finally did it. My only advice to other would-be stalkers out there is that you should never wear your most wildly patterned and colorful dress while you are trying to covertly take someone's photo. If you look really closely, I definitely think Mr. Hadley has spotted the crazy girl across the street taking his photo. Should make for an interesting story when I do finally interview him. But it was worth it to make Patricia smile and I hope it makes you smile today too!