A Gracious & Welcoming Gathering Place
Dining Rooms Foster Celebration and Conversation
BY MEG McAULEY KAICHER
As the whirl of the holiday season begins, one is reminded of a dining room’s importance. A center of celebration in most households, the dining space fosters heart and soul.
The best events, whether to honor a holiday or to commemorate a singular life milestone, often revolve around a special meal held in one’s dining room. Ensuring that the levels of graciousness and comfort equate to the significance of the occassion is essential.
Diana Sawicki understands the value of this. Based in Westport for the past 16 years, this native Argentinean has shared her interior design flair with Fairfield County clients by solving design problems while achieving balanced, timeless settings. She clearly embraces her clients’ sensibilities as she brings into being their projects.
With the dining room so much a part of family living as well as sophisticated entertaining, Sawicki manages to produce a sumptuous setting while refraining from grandiosity. Functional elegance incorporates superb antiques alongside exquisite fabrics. By adding a stunning chandelier complemented by glorious floral arrangements, Sawicki stylishly emboldens the room without pretension.
The warmth of a classic fireplace presents an old-world feel often found in European dining chambers. Adding a chic twist with tailored tufted chairs invites lengthy conversation among guests.
Interesting European touches segue into the classic designs, incorporating that timeless sense of elegance and refinement so apparent in the best European houses.
The natural world plays a strong part in Sawicki’s dining room design as well, whether through the incorporation of natural lighting elements or through the use of botanical materials as deliberate complements.
No matter how formal, tailored or transitional one’s style, a welcoming dining room must engage all its guests and provide comfortable ease and gracious function. The best dining rooms engage all parties. Even the littlest group member may be included with elegance, as Greenwich interior designer Linda Ruderman realized some time ago when proffering one of her most clever inceptions. Ruderman designed a custom high chair to accompany the traditional dining room seating arrangement. It is a brilliant addition to any well-considered dining space.
Ruderman’s passion emerges through her work. All her design projects reflect the refined respect and extraordinary eye she uses to realize a client’s vision. Fortunate to have spent 12 years working closely with an exceptional top architect, her ability to subtly yet correctly apply concepts of scale and proportion are notable. This solid foundation of integrating architectural elements adds a sophistication and stature to the design she engenders. With a staff of eight now full time, Linda Ruderman Interiors (LRI) can tackle any project, regardless of size or complication. Two designers work under Linda, with two additional junior designers; a full-time CAD (computer-aided design) operator designs in house, rounded out by the financial department and support staff.
Whether for new construction or modest renovation, engaging LRI at a project’s inception enables a better result, as guidance can be integrated with other project professionals. The LRI team interfaces with modern technology in a forward-thinking way, enabling seamless project management, incorporating architectural and construction professionals in a communication flow that heightens their stellar reputations. It is this strong communication network that fosters exceptional projects throughout the United States. Projects in Palm Beach, Boston, Vail and Pacific Heights are realized as professionally and on target as local projects.
Symmetry provides an underlying grid upon which LRI builds beautiful layers of foundations, fabrics and furnishings. All the custom fabrics and trims she uses enhance the extraordinary pieces she sources from private furniture makers in England, Italy and France, alongside exceptional antiques.
Recognizing that varied multi-generational groups of friends or extended families often use dining environments for special gatherings, LRI understands the crucial characteristics enmeshed in these distinctive spaces.
Reproductions combined with antique pieces enhance an elegant dining space. Linda Ruderman designs many of her own furniture pieces.
Westport interior designer Suzanne Novik believes that dining rooms should “hug you” as they enhance the dining experience.
She has a penchant for round dining tables, as they encourage conversation and equanimity. Comfortably bringing guests together without a “head of table” often suits a dinner party best, providing a level of togetherness and amiability amongst dinner companions.
On a wonderful project called Lyons Plains, Novik was able to accommodate the client’s request for “no rug due to pets.”Novik’s solution was to design a diamond pattern with a faux classic inlay border that was translated by a fine artisan she contracted to produce the marvelous textural stain covering on hardwood flooring.
In this particular room, the client chose not to have a hanging chandelier. Rather, Suzanne found them a glorious antique flush mount, suiting their taste beautifully while adding subtle drama to the room.
Novik visually lowered the ceiling height of the grand room by drawing the eye down to a spectacular exotic hydrangea floral arrangement placed on the buffet, balancing the composition with elegant antique lamps on either side.
Antique fruit prints were chosen to complete the space, as they are said to stimulate appetite.
“After all, food nourishes the soul as well as the body,” says Novik. “Soothing elements like a warm fire or a softly lit atmosphere relax and pamper you while you eat.”
Complementing the dining room with artwork can intensify ambience while reflecting a comforting theme.
Zorya Fine Arts in Greenwich is dedicated to exhibiting and placing fine art. Often with the assistance of such gallery services, designers are able to bring forth a unique statement within a dining space, truly expressing a client’s philosophy while exhibiting part of a collection.
Whether contemporary global pieces such as those discovered at Zorya, or more traditional fine art pieces such as those in which Cavalier Galleries specialize, fine art showcased in a dining room makes sense, as it is often the key place where groups ruminate and converse.
The Curtain Exchange (TCE) concentrates on ready-made, but not mass-produced, window treatments. This fabulous shop provides myriad choices to the discerning client who wishes to streamline decision-making while customizing specifications. This Westport boutique provides luxurious, ready-to-hang custom curtains that are made to exacting standards. As the company mission states, TCE “boutique owners, designer and seamstresses all place an overwhelming emphasis on tradition and history, consistency and style” while providing a client immediate gratification. Amazing custom curtains are available to take home and try for 48 hours.
With the aggregate purchasing power of 32 stores nationwide, TCE can manage good pricing from its vendors along with frequent exclusivity. Often fabrics are sourced directly from the mill; they may be silks from India, Thailand or Italy; crewel fabric from Kashmir; fine linens from Holland and Turkey; soft cotton prints from the United Kingdom; or sheer material from Germany.
A fabric such as an extraordinary Indian silk that could be purchased by Scalamandre or Fortuny will be bought by TCE and taken to a specialty weaver where it is embroidered with a unique pattern overlay, thereby engendering exclusivity and customization. Along with the supple majestic textile foundation, clever options for headings and trims enhance the window treatment development. The three basic types of headings (pleated, rod pocket and grommet) are further broken down into subcategories. Rather than relying only on arbitrary labels like “ball gown” and “jester,” the available choice sequence is simply numbered for clients’ easy decision-making.
Recently, award-winning Greens Farms designer Lisa Krieger completed the dining room at The Chimneys, a grand space in the Georgian Revival Mansion on the hill above St. Mary’s-by-the-Sea in Black Rock, Connecticut.
Working closely with her associate Suzanne Branch Martin—owner of Willingham Antiques and Interiors in Cos Cob, Connecticut,—and decorative artist Topher Carnes—owner of Finishing Impressions based in Black Rock, Connecticut—Krieger applied her historic design expertise to re-interpret a classic English country house “eating chamber.”
With broad experience in both interior and landscape design, Krieger realized a fantastic restoration of a traditional early dining room. Invited to re-invigorate this key space as part of “Autumn at The Chimneys” Show House (produced by Franco Grimaldi’s The Room of Choice, which was open to the public September 30 – October 28, 2007, benefitting four charities: Dress for Success, Green Demolitions, Music & Arts Center for Humanity and UNESCO ) was a natural fit for Krieger, who has received much recognition for her work, including a Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation award.
To accentuate the many outstanding architectural features of the room, the background for the Chimneys’ dining room is a multi-hued palette based on antique pigments from the English company Farrow & Ball. The furnishings are fine 18th and 19th century English and American antiques provided by Thomas Schwenke, Inc. of Woodbury, Connecticut.
Sparkling china, silver and glassware combine for a breathtaking table arrangement; the mix of heirloom-quality antiques and modern pieces of classical design came from Greenwich antique dealer S. Wyler and Son, and Lux, Bond & Green of Westport.
“I’m very pleased with the result,” said Krieger of the room. “It was a joy to work on a house of such rare quality. Producing an authentic vision in tune with the house’s neo-classical elements was important to me and my team.”
Wisely, Krieger points out that “…many of the room’s elements are easily translated to a less elaborate home.”
The best dining room designs inspire comfort and conversation. Celebrate well within them.
Meg McAuley Kaicher, Capital Consulting Group, 201 Shore Road, Greenwich, CT 06830, 203-625-3375/cell 203-554-5300, megmk@optonline.net
