Join me as I travel to East Hampton, New York, for an exhibition of Dominy furniture and a Southern expatriate supper
I recently spent the weekend at the East Hampton home of voracious and omnivorous collectors Glenn Purcell and Charles Keller. During the last several years, they have developed an obsession with furniture made in the 18th- and 19th centuries by East Hampton’s Dominy family of cabinetmakers. While their late 19th-century Shingle Style house is usually filled with chairs, stands, and a dining room table made by the family, at the time of my visit the furniture had relocated to the East Hampton Historical Society’s Clinton Academy Museum (easthamptonhistory.org) for an exhibition entitled Dominy: The Federal and Empire Periods, 1790-1840, New Discoveries.
Open from May 29th through June 27th, the exhibition was co-curated by Glenn and Charles and has already won the attention of The New York Times. Arranged against a backdrop of banners printed with pages from the hand-written Dominy ledgers, chairs, stands, beds, tables, mirrors and clocks demonstrate the family’s refined, and often restrained, approach to Federal and Empire styles.
The exhibition reflects the co-curators’ relentless pursuit of the Dominy family’s handiwork, often guided by ledgers that indicate names of buyers, the descendants of whom often still own the pieces. Having developed a connoisseur’s eye for the furniture, Glenn and Charles also hunted pieces down in the homes of unsuspecting owners, in Long Island antiques stores, and even in a local yard sale (East Hampton yard sales are different).
In between trips to the museum to install the exhibition during my weekend visit, Glenn and Charles took time to host a Southern expatriate style dinner (Glenn grew up in Newnan, Georgia, not far from my mother’s hometown of Milledgeville). While Glenn gave me a tour of East Hampton houses, Charles and my graphic designer Eric Mueller (who has ties to Tennessee) set a gorgeous table complete with plates ringed with the names of the thirteen colonies.
On the rims of these plates, reproductions of those used by George and Martha Washington’s family, Georgia sits right next to New Hampshire. Late 19th-century wine glasses of glittering cut glass–a favorite element in Southern table settings–share the tablecloth with 1920s Murano glasses that bespeak Northern sophistication.
In a second table setting (below)–so much to play with in these collectors’ house–Charles swapped the thirteen colonies plates for simple wedding band china, beloved in both the North and South. This table setting could have been at home anywhere up and down the Eastern seaboard, a fact which reveals a simple truth about historic Northern and Southern styles: they have more in common than you might think.
I recently had a meeting with my editor at Rizzoli to discuss the contents of my next book, Houses with Charm: Simple Southern Style. She kept asking me, “What makes this Southern?” I explained that while there are definite distinctions between the architecture of the two regions, the decorative arts of the South and the North have much more in common. What makes them different, perhaps, is the way we use them.
For example, the Southerner’s idea of perfection is thinly sliced Virginia ham served up with Henry Bain sauce, a Louisville, Kentucky favorite from the Pendennis Club. A bit like A-1 sauce, it is made with a base of English mango chutney (a reminder of the South’s Anglo-colonial roots) and sparked with a dash of Tabasco. While Southerners would choose iced tea with fresh mint as the ideal accompaniment for a salty ham luncheon, my Northern hosts preferred a rose sparkling wine in mid-20th century Murano glasses. But we all agreed that fresh peaches would be an ideal counterpoint–and table decoration–for a casual outdoor luncheon. Cheers!
McAlpine-designed dwelling inspired by West Indian architecture
“I always go for the really fine, extraordinary pieces like this 18th century Italian arm chair. The carving is a flawless expression of the time and place this piece represents. I also like the fact that this is the original finish. It looks old. If you leave the finish alone–and even the upholstery, if possible–the true quality of the piece comes through so beautifully.
This 18th century Swedish cabinet has very fine, champfered paneling. Its size, the texture of its worn paint, and detail gives it a lot of presence in any room. The chairs (also Swedish) are rococo in style, with beautifully carved cabriole legs. I love the color and texture of the old leather seats and painted wood. They go so beautifully against the pale gray cabinet.
The iron-frame orangerie window (French, 19th century) is one of a pair. I mirrored the other one with silver leaf. The 20th-century Lucite chair has wonderful, true lines, which is why it can mix well with pieces from another period. I love putting modern pieces with very simple lines next to older ones. Clear pieces like these play beautifully with the light–and almost disappear.
This delightful garden party peaked with the presentation of a cake 
meringues. Expecting them to taste like styrofoam (how could something that insanely perky looking actually taste good, too?), I did not discover how delectable they were until the end of the party. Since I couldn’t figure out how to sneak one of the trees home without anyone noticing, I had to make do with just a few unforgettable bites–the perfect sweet ending to a divine afternoon.
The Southern Cosmopolitan (Rizzoli: April ’09) takes a fresh look at styles shaping the South’s architecture and interior design today. A selection of luxurious houses from Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Atlanta, Natchez, Alexandria, and beyond celebrates the sophisticated side of Southern style with a mix of modern art, cherished antiques, and exotic textiles. Featured in tantalizing color photographs are select private residences decorated by leading tastemakers, including Thomas Jayne, Amelia Handegan, Nancy Braithwaite, and Hal Williamson.