"Villa Contenta, a house in the Bahamas once owned by fabric designer Laura Ashley, was not living up to its blissful name. A section of the roof was on the verge of collapse by the time Manhattan-based interior designer Andrew Raquet first saw the Georgian-style beachfront residence on Lyford Cay. Exterior lanterns, Charles Edwards."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
" 'Architecturally, it's an important house, but probably twenty qualified buyers had turned it down,' says Raquet. 'The windows wouldn't open, and the French doors wouldn't close. The plumbing and electricity were kaput.' He toured the house with its Connecticut owners soon after they closed on the circa 1960 property. Within days, recalls the wife, 'The roof of one wing practically gave way.'
Star fixtures, Charles Edwards. Vintage rattan chairs. Consoles, McLain Wiesand. Mirrors, Mirror Fair."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Raquet didn't hear from the couple for six months--they were knee-deep in renovations. 'We wanted to restore the house's dignity and beauty,' says the wife. She adds with a laugh, 'We fancied ourselves young and energetic. We're certainly much older now!' They even chipped away at layers of paint on the exterior to find the original color, a soft lime green that they matched and used to repaint the house."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"If the owners brought the structure back to life, Raquet injected the interiors with an unexpected, imaginative vivacity while respecting its British character. The living room, library and master suite may present a riot of patterns--overscaled botanical upholstery and rugs, pointillistic wallpaper, Escher-like mosaic tile--but their neutral tones produce just the right amount of decorum."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"In the library, Raquet designed two facing sofas rather than worry about creating multiple seating areas. 'I used to be of the mind-set that you wanted as many places to sit as possible for an endless number of parties,' he says. 'Over time, I saw the way people really live, and one large seating group tends to work best.'
Custom sofa, antique wingchair and curtains in Braquenié cotton. Pillows, Dransfield and Ross. Coffee table, Andrew Raquet Collection. Vintage bench in Quadrille fabric. Desk by English Georgian. Desk lamp, John Salibello Antiques. Console lamps, Bamboo Bamboo. Chandelier, Hélène Aumont. Rug, Thistle Hill Weavers. Bust and card table with chairs, all antiques. Art, Maxwell Taylor."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Raquet makes bolder color plays elsewhere. The formal dining room resists predictable tropical decor with an antique Swedish blue glass chandelier but acknowledges the island locale with chairs in a lively coral print and hand-painted canvas murals splashed with sea views and palm trees.
Chairs, Andrew Raquet Collection, in Quadrille fabric. Table, Barry Cotton Antiques. Mural, Stark. Chandelier, Evergreen Antiques. Sconce, Hinson Lighting."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Just beyond the welcoming black-and-white entrance hall is the brightly hued solarium. A mirrored trellis design amplifies the upbeat mix: a banquette and sofa in graphic sea blue and green fabric and festive folk art by the late Bahamian painter Amos Ferguson.
Banquette and sofa, Andrew Raquet Collection, in Alan Campbell linen. Chair, table and stools, Bamboo Bamboo. Art, Amos Ferguson."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
" 'I had originally imagined an English sort of Bermuda house with acres of chintz,' says the wife. 'But Andrew has such a great sense of play between the formal and the informal. That's what gives the house its energy.' "
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Raquet did not hesitate to mix high and low. The owners had inherited a number of Laura Ashley's furnishings, including a French card table with Italian chairs and a bust, all antiques now in the library. Also lending historical cachet are six framed maps by seventeenth-century cartographer Andreas Cellarius.
For the curtains, Raquet used five fabrics sewn together to create the stripes. Coffee table and metal end tables, Andrew Raquet Collection. Custom sofa in Holland and Sherry fabric. Pillows in Lee Jofa silk ikat and Rose Cumming leopard. Custom chairs in China Seas fabric. Antique maps, W. Graham Arader III Gallery. Lamps, Maison Meilleur. Curtains in Malabar fabrics. Custom carpet, Stark."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"But these favored objects share the house with everyday things such as rattan baskets and ceramic garden stools. 'They help keep the interior a little bit more low-key,' Raquet explains. 'The architecture of the house is truly refined. There's nothing casual about it. So it's important to offset that seriousness.' "
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Fearless pattern unifies the bedroom.
Custom daybed, by English Georgian, in Donghia cotton. Floor lamp, Maison Meilleur. Art, David James, Christie's. Wallcovering, Bennison. Bed, Michael Taylor Designs. Nightstands, Andrew Raquet Collection. Desk, Julia Gray. Vintage lamps and chair. Étagère, Bamboo Bamboo. Custom rug, Stark."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
"Wallcovering, China Seas. Chair, Andrew Raquet Collection, and daybed, both in China Seas linen. Tile, Waterworks. Vintage Chinese stool. Settee and chairs, Brown Jordan, in China Seas fabric. Vintage planters. Sculptures, Artistic Statuary. Pavilion by Andrew Raquet. Chaises, Brown Jordan."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"Well-Lived: Lyford Cay Villa" by Degen Pener.
Here are some photos of Andrew Raquet's work that appeared in Architectural Digest:
"The Chinese Chippendale–style furniture on the porch and adjacent terrace is original to textile impresario John Knott's Bahamian cottage."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"China Seas wallpaper turns the bedroom corridor into a trompe l'oeil birdcage at a traditional Bahamian cottage. The light fixture is by Vaughan."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"In a traditional Bahamian cottage, shell trees once owned by noted Nassau hostess Olive Baillie are displayed under bell jars in the entrance hall, alongside gouaches of Naples from Sutter Antiques."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"In the dining room of a cottage in the Bahamas, Baker chairs surround a painted 19th-century table from Bamboo-Bamboo."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"At a traditional cottage in the Bahamas, the bar can be concealed behind louvered doors."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"The blue master bedroom of a cottage in the Bahamas took shape around an Alan Campbell wallpaper; the fan is by Hunter, the headboard is by Avery Boardman, and the bed linens are by Matouk and D. Porthault."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
"Madagascar cloth from Quadrille lines the living room walls of a home in the Bahamas. An Alan Campbell fabric dresses the window; the vintage chairs and love seat are from 20th Century Gallery. The faux-bamboo screen was designed by Raquet, and the shell wall brackets are by Currey and Co."
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
Lyford Cay, Bahamas, home of John Knott and John Fondas.
Interior design by Andrew Raquet Interior Design.
Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
"Bolder and Brighter"
Architectural Digest (July 2011).
Here are photos of a Brookville, New York, house that Andrew Raquet designed. These pictures appeared in House Beautiful (September 2010):
"A four-foot-high pagoda in the dining room of a Brookville, New York, house 'is just here to make people smile,' says designer Andrew Raquet. The silver tea-leaf wallpaper is from Gracie."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
"The striped wool Venetian carpet from Thistle Hill Weavers 'keeps the room from being too precious.' Chairs are covered in Alan Campbell's Meloire Reverse."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
"The slipper chair is covered in Fleuret Jaspé from Prelle; fretwork chair seat cushion is Tigre Velours Soie by Clarence House. Striped curtains are made of Jim Thompson Maldive silks in silver, gold, and ivory. The custom silk rug is from Tai Ping Carpets. Coffee table from the Andrew Raquet Collection. Vintage gold-leaf mirror."Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
"Raquet designed a generous banquette for the living room, where his clients frequently entertain. It's covered in Concord in Alabaster by Nancy Corzine, as is the sofa."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
"An antiqued mirror makes the fireplace a glamorous focal point in the living room, and it reflects the Mark Sheinkman painting above the corner banquette and a sliver of the dining room's scenic silver-leaf wallpaper. Antique bergères are covered in Lee Jofa's Crescendo Suede. Mirror-topped chrome table from the Andrew Raquet Collection."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
"Lavender, lavender, and more lavender: The client's favorite color made the master bedroom her exuberant dream come true. Cheverny by Manuel Canovas covers the headboard and outer layer of the bed curtain, lined in Lane Stripe by Quadrille. The silvery moiré wallcovering is by Robert Crowder. Faux-marbre painting on bedside table by Mary Kuzma Finishing. Leontine Linens."
Interior design by Andrew Raquet.
Photography by Jose Picayo.
"Glamorous Decorating Ideas Using the Color Gray" by Emily Evans Eerdmans.
House Beautiful (September 2010).
0 comments:
Post a Comment