Dear Readers,

I regret to say that my server lost all of the stories posted on my blog after October 2011. I promise to post more, even more beautiful stories to make up for this sad loss.

Yours faithfully,

Susan Sully

I recently gave a lecture on my book The Southern Cosmopolitan for the Cincinnati Art & Antiques Festival. Beforehand, I prowled the aisles of the  show with show manager Charlie Miller, scanning for objects expressing the South’s enduring passion for the past, fascination with the foreign, and trend-savvy tastes to include in my lecture. While the region is widely recognized as one beguiled by history, outsiders–and even many Southerners–don’t always think of it as a place with exotic tastes or cutting edge style. That’s why I particularly enjoyed selecting items that illustrate these lesser known aspects of Southern style.

Roseate Spoonbill, John Jay Audubon, from Arader Gallery

The popularity of the Birds of America engravings by French-American John Jay Audubon (1785-1851) in cultivated homes on both sides of the Atlantic is a perfect example of both  the allure of the exotic and the power of fashion in and beyond the South. Although Audubon created the original drawings for his famous work in America, he had to go to England–where the American birds had New World cachet–to find a market (and an engraver). It was only after they became the height of style in England (even King George IV collected them) that they won popularity back in America, where they soon graced Georgian-style drawing rooms like this one in Charleston, South Carolina, featured in my book Charleston: Architecture and Interiors.

Branford-Horry House, Charleston, 1755

While living in New Orleans, Louisiana, I encountered this wonderful selection of Audubon engravings in the center hall of a Garden District Greek Revival house featured in The Southern Cosmopolitan.

The Cincinnati Antiques Festival stall of Arader Galleries [www.aradergalleries.com] featured several original engravings from the 1827-38 Havell Edition of Birds of America, including the Roseate Spoonbill above and this wonderfully vibrant Purple Heron with its young. I found myself longing to hang the latter in a room decorated in shades of lapis lazuli and taupe.

Purple Heron, John Jay Audubon, from Arader Galleries

Although I have yet to encounter Palissy ware in a Southern home, this fanciful French pottery has enjoyed popularity off and on since the 16th century, when it was developed by French Huguenot potter Bernard Palissy. Robust and naturalistic, Palissy’s designs depicted snakes, lizards, fish, crustaceans, and water flora in vibrant color and high relief. The potter’s techniques were lost to the ages, but rediscovered by a new generation of French potters in the 19th century. These exotic, not-for-the-faint-of-heart objects began to grace the mantels and tables of polite society once again, and popularity spread to England, where earthenware pottery was also in fashion. Mintons Ltd launched a line of it at the Great Exhibition of 1851 under the name Palissy ware, which soon became known as Victorian majolica.

Platter, c. 1860, Victor Barbizet

A Pallisy ware platter like the above by Victor Barbizet (c. 1860) would be right at home in a sugar plantation alongside a steamy Louisiana bayou seething with snakes and turtles–especially if it’s owners were of French descent. It was one of several that held me in thrall when I entered the stall of French dealers Philippe Meunier and Jean Alonso-Defrocourt [contact: majolica75@wanadoo.fr or 917-334-7982].

This very rare piece by Joseph Landais, measuring 7 x 3-1/2 inches, is small but commanding. Although its style is rustic, its purpose is the same as the more refined figures designed by Sevres, Meissen, Darby, and Chelsea in the eighteenth century, all of which found their way into refined Southern homes.

Kandler-Meissen, German 18th century porcelain

Chelsea, English 18th century porcelain

Intended to amuse, and impress even the most jaded 19th-century Southern cosmopolitans, they still have the same power to fascinate and delight today.

New Orleans-based architect Ken Tate (kentatearchitect.com) combines a love of traditional architecture with the understanding that a building is not just a place but also a poem–a thing that reveals itself slowly, and in doing so invites those who experience it to experience themselves more deeply as well. I immediately recognized Tate as a kindred spirit when I discovered his work while writing The Southern Cosmopolitan, in which one of his houses is included. I was more than delighted when he returned the favor by asking me to write the introduction to his new book, A Classical  Journey: The Houses of Ken Tate (released this Spring by Images Publishing, imagespublishinggroup.com).

Combining profiles of nine estates, the book begins with a forward by Tate entitled House as Poem, in which he writes, “All good houses are poems and all good poems convey truth in some manner. Like all good poems, good houses are transcendent. They point to something else–beauty, truth, love, even the divine.”

However lofty these ideas may sound, I find that they resonate throughout all the houses featured in the book. Perhaps this is because Tate brings an intuitive, emotional, sensuous, and even playful approach to interpreting traditional styles–and asks us to do the same. He does what feels right, even if it means bending the rules and breaking the cannons. In a single house, he might combine elements that span several centuries of style instead of adhering rigidly to one period. This allows him to create a new house that tells an old story about how generations of inhabitants might have lived in it and changed it to suit their tastes or whims. A house Tate designed for a client in Mississippi describes one such narrative.

Weaving his story, Ken explains: “The original structure was built by Norman French farmers during the late Renaissance…

Then their eighteenth-century descendants remodeled it in the neoclassical style…

In the late-nineteenth century, another generation restored the house and its gardens [in the picturesque style of Gertrude Jeckyll]. Once I knew this story, it informed the rest of the design.

In an estate in the Kentucky horse country, Tate plays tricks with time in a different way. In four different buildings, he explores the different ways the pediment-over-portico form has found expression from its ancient roots through various neoclassical iterations.

The first building you see when you approach the estate is a Jeffersonian-style house inspired by Palladian architecture. Brick pediments crown the central building and symmetrical wings and a freestanding portico shelters the entrance.

While this building only hints at the Greek and Roman temples that inspired Andrea Palladio and generations of neoclassical architects, the robust form and proportions of the garden pavilion’s pediment-over-portico offer a much purer expression of classic Roman roots.

If I had to select my favorite building on the estate, I would choose the folly-like fieldstone barn with a rustic cupola and a classical portico. “I wanted to use the temple form again, but had to find a compatible way to do so with such a lowly structure,” Tate explains. “I found myself thinking of St. Paul’s Covent Garden designed by Inigo Jones. Following his patron the Earl of Bedford’s desire for barn-like simplicity, he designed a massive portico employing Tuscan columns–the lowest and plainest order–to support a pediment with primitive timber outlookers…and boasted that the church was the handsomest barn in England.”

A Classical Journey goes beyond neoclassical architecture, including houses in a variety of styles including a courtyard dwelling in Jackson, Mississippi, that captures the mystery and rough-hewn craftsmanship of Spanish estancias.

Another house integrates two styles of architecture–the Norman vernacular of France and the classically inspired design of the Mediterranean villas of Italy and Spain.

In contrast to the introverted walls and windows of the house’s public face, intended to provide privacy in a tightly-knit suburban streetscape, the rear facade includes a Mediterranean Renaissance-style loggia that reaches out to the landscape and invites it in.

Throughout the book, Tate combines images of exteriors, interiors, and architectural details that reveal his fascination with and understanding of the language of traditional architecture–the materials, the craftsmanship, the design details, and the way these come together to create something that speaks–like a poem–to the mind, the senses, and the soul.

A Classical Journey: The Houses of Ken Tate Architect can be found or ordered at your local bookstore, at amazon.com, and other online book resources.

If you’re tired of winter’s chill up North, March is the perfect time to head down to Asheville to steal a march on spring. And if spring seems to be coming too-much-too-soon down South (particularly for New Orleaneans, who will be needing fresh air to recover from Mardi Gras and the 85 degree/99 % humidity “spring” weather), Asheville is waiting for you. No matter where you’re coming from, here are my cool picks and hot tips on what to do in Asheville this March.

Let me begin with a subject near and dear to my heart — the art on display until March 26th at Blue Spiral Gallery (bluespiral1.com) in the annual NewX3 exhibition introducing artists never before shown at the gallery. Naturally, my favorite artist whose work is displayed is my husband Thomas Sully (thomassully.com).

Sully consciously quotes the dramatic light of late-19th century Luminism and updates aspects of the Romantic sublime, as seen in Elegy (above) and Peach Knob Snag (below), a scene visible from our porch.

In the Buxton series (below), Sully uses an atmospheric, Tonalist palette to capture the otherworldy variations of texture and color in the maritime forests on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I love walking around the streets of downtown Asheville at night, particularly the always-hopping sidewalks of Lexington Avenue, Wall Street, and Battery Park (many of Asheville’s founding fathers came from New York City) where a diversity of delicious food is available at great restaurants by night and a collection of locally-owned boutiques (there is only one chain store downtown) open by day. Perhaps my favorite place to enjoy a stroll is the Grove Arcade on Battery Battery Park at Page Street (grovearcade.com).

Two of my favorite Grove Arcade restaurants, both of which offer sidewalk dining for lunch and dinner, are Modesto (modestonc.com) and Chorizo (828-350-1332). After dinner, stop into the Battery Park Book Exchange (batteryparkbookexchange.com) in a corner of the arcade to browse through thousands of used and rare books in fifteen categories. Comfortable leather chairs invite relaxed perusing and on Friday and Saturday night, Classical guitar stylist James Barr (jamesbarrproductions.com) plays accoustic guitar in a range of genres from Bach and Broadway to the Beatles.

Barr’s music is accompanied by champagne, sparkling wines, and fine wines from the Champagne Bar located in the bookstore. Please note that Barr is available for weddings and private parties (he played at Life magazine’s 50th anniversary bash in Radio City Music Hall!). Believe me, there is nothing like this experience for oenophiles, bibliophiles, and guitar-ophiles anywhere else in the nation. Trust Asheville to come up with another original idea. One of my favorite bumper stickers here exhorts readers to Keep Asheville Weird.

Before dinner, or better yet, during your afternoon perambulation, go inside the Grove Arcade–a dizzying two-story atrium with spiral stairs leading to a mezzanine level, the total effect of which reminds me of a diminutive Grand Central Station…without the trains, of course. There are wonderful shops in the Great Hall selling anything from locally spun yarns and Blue Ridge Mountains crafts to couture clothing and shoes at The Jazzy Giraffe (thejazzygiraffe.com).

It’s hard to list all the places to visit when you come to Asheville, but these are a few of my favorite downtown picks. One of the things that makes Asheville so great to visit and to live in is its vibrant downtown of restored buildings that recall the city’s history–particularly its zenith as a Jazz Age destination, as demonstrated by a dazzling array of Art Deco architecture. So, please take my advice and head for the hills this spring!

And if you’re looking for a tour guide for your group–let me know. I might just be available!

I recently visited Savannah after finishing a photo-shoot on nearby Spring Island for the book I am co-authoring with architect Jim Strickland and his firm Historical Concepts (www.historicalconcepts.com) entitled Architecture of Place. On a steamy Indian Summer day, graphic designer Eric Mueller and I took to the streets of Savannah for a whirlwind visit. Our first stop was Arcanum (912-236-6000), a decorative arts shop (featured in August’s Southern Living) filled choc-a-bloc with antique and modern furniture and accessories.

The shop, run by Phillip Hunter and Sim Harvey, instantly stimulates the desire to decorate, whether on a grand scale or a tabletop one. Fortunately, Sim and Phillip are on-hand to offer a full range of decorating services. For those seeking to freshen up their tablescapes, contemporary bubble vases and traditional julep cups provide the perfect items for a “something old, something new” approach to accessorizing.

If you’re looking for a chic piece of furniture to add a touch of sophistication to your interior, Phillip and Sim recommend a martini table just large enough to hold two cocktails. The shop offers a selection of these, including one designed by Phillip featuring a Greek key motif in a modern mode.

On the massive end of the scale, a Directoire armoire promises to add style and storage to any room.

Eric’s pick of the inventory was a pair of 16th century drawings boasting the largest price tag in the store.

My choice was perhaps the most eccentric item in the shop–an ivory knife with a fox paw handle both creepy and fabulous at the same time. Please don’t spray paint my faux-fur coat PETA…this implement was made a long time ago. And I didn’t actually buy it.

Whether your tastes run from the antique to the au courant and your budget from the petite to the grand, Arcanum has everything you need to satisfy your decorative taste. So head to Savannah and start shopping!

Coming next…a tour of Savannah College of Art and Design buildings in Savannah–a study in creative and successful architectural repurposing.