Entertaining with Hutton Wilkinson.

It's no secret that I obsessively follow the goings ons of Hutton Wilkinson. I saw him speak at an ASID event in Houston a few years ago and simply haven't gotten enough since. Hutton is the longtime business partner of Tony Duquettes and continues to keep Duquettes style and designs alive. He oozes taste and fun and accessibility and the love of all things fabulous and over the top. 

Recently Veranda featured Hutton at Duquette's former residence, Dawnridge in Beverly Hills, showing us how to add some style and zhush to our dinner parties. My attraction to Hutton is primarily based on him having such a strong personal style. He was open and friendly, willing to share any personal story, advice etc without an ounce of pretension. I mean check out his style and that table, nevermind the setting. I'm swooning.

“Tony had such a highly personal and individual style, and people are starving for individuality these days.”
— Hutton Wilkinson

Hutton purchased Dawnridge to keep it from meeting the wrecking ball. Tony Duquette handmade the garden pagodas and 28 foot Phoenix sculpture.

"Duquette was well known for his ability to put on a dazzling show with nontraditional materials salvaged from unlikely sources, such as the jade- colored Chinese fretwork screen made out of plastic building materials. He famously mixed high and low, the costly and the found, the rare and the common."
 

“Tony was a visionary, nothing was too precious to him. He always said, ‘Beauty, not luxury, is what I value.’”
— Hutton Wilkinson

 "In the Wilkinson/Duquette universe, there are certain rules for entertaining. Foremost, no white napkins allowed. Using a vast collection of china, flatware and figurines inherited from the Duquettes, Wilkinson adds his own newer pieces to create fantastically colored landscapes for the table. Coral red mixes happily with jade green, cerulean blue and, of course, gold—lots and lots of gold."

“I live on old movies, they teach us how to sit and act at the table, and they do so in those beautifully decorated rooms! People don’t entertain like they used to, but everyone should remember that it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just order wonderful takeout, dress up a little and set a marvelous table, and no one will know the difference.”
— Hutton Wilkinson

Read the full article from Veranda here. 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love contact me to learn more about Jamie House Design interior design services.

Friday Back When. It's a quiz.

This Friday Back When post is a little bit different. It's a quiz! I found this funny quiz in a cool new/old decorating book I found on Etsy. It's The Complete Family Interior Decorating Book from 1972. It was a subscription plan, purchased in chapters and put in a binder. It's cute. Images of your "style" follow the quiz. I hope you share your answers! I'll share mine at the end of the post:) Keep track of how many # 1, 2 and 3 answers you get.

What do you like?

Your favorite time of day is...

  1. Early morning, when sunlight sparkles and the air is crystal-clear.
  2. Late afternoon, when shadows lengthen and the dusk is a promise.
  3. Any time after 8:00 PM.

Your favorite colors are...

  1. Crisp, clean primary colors and the warm earth tones.
  2. Lively but soft blues, greens, gold - more spirited than pastels.
  3. Black, white and beige - and off-beat brights like coral and lime.

In fabrics you like the look and feel of...

  1. Linens, tweeds, rustic woolens, anything hand woven.
  2. Silks and satins, damasks and chintz; anything smooth to the touch.
  3. Boldly textured materials and, conversely, sleek shiny surfaces.

When you plan a party to celebrate something special, it's likely to be...

  1. A relaxed back-yard barbecue for family, friends and neighbors.
  2. A festive, sit-down dinner for six or eight people.
  3. A simple midnight supper after an evening at the ballet.

For a big evening "on the town" you feel most comfortable in...

  1. Your knitted cashmere dress that looks like a long sweater.
  2. A street-length dress and jacket in tone-on-tone brocade.
  3. Long, halter-topped culottes you made from an Indian bedspread.

This is your look.

If most of your answers are #1, you're a warm and friendly person with a penchant for a country look. Your life style is relaxed and informal; you entertain easily and often. Fortunately, the sturdy Early American and country French furniture you love holds up well under a steady stream of company.

A majority of #2 answers indicates that you're attracted to the formality and order of the traditional look. You're a meticulous housekeeper and a gracious hostess, and take pride in your attractive, well-kept home. You admire the polished grace of good period furniture and plan someday to collect antiques.

If most of your answers turned out to be #3, you're a trend-setting innovator; a contemporary environment is your natural habitat. You're highly original about everything you do and have great fashion flare that spills over into the decorating area. You find avant garde furniture exciting; abhor any useless clutter.

If your answers were too varied to place you in any one category, you're an eclectic, and go your own way. Your interests are wide-ranging and you're "into" all the arts. Your own artistic streak makes you appreciate good design of any period; you have a ball mixing decorating moods and styles to suit yourself.

 

So how'd you do? I am Eclectic. No big surprise there. The picture they have for eclectic is kind of lame, but then it was a different time.