……………….The “GREEN ROOM” is called such because the walls are covered in DARK GREEN VELVET………..When I first bought the house the room was typical knotty pine…..not exactly my taste… Since it was the first room you walked into, after entering the front door, I wanted something a little cozier. I first painted the walls forest green, but I still saw all the veins and knots in the wood and it wasn’t the look I wanted….so I asked my decorator friend, Burt Wayne, if I could cover the walls in velvet, and he said yes…great! I ordered the velvet from one of my resources, and Burt arranged the work to be done. I also had portieres [drapes] made for each doorway and the window in the same green velvet, and they hang from gold leaf carved wooden rods with pineapple finals. The backdrop of the room was ready……What do I fill it with. Burt and I decided on the banquet, and had it covered with the jacquard tapestry forest leaf pattern. The bronze wall sconces with green silk shades came next……..Then it happened!!!….I got a call from Anna Wintour’s office….In 1984 she had become the editor of House & Garden, which she renamed “HG”. They wanted to come and photograph my home!!!!!???? I didn’t have much furniture…what to do…what to say??? I called Burt Wayne, and he said no problem we will fill the house with furniture in one day???? He came over to look at the rooms and we decided which rooms we should concentrate on. My master bedroom, the sunporch and the Green room were the most complete so we would work on those. He said they will only photograph three or four rooms at the most. So off we went to NYC, Burt, John and I. We went to several antique stores and we selected tables, chairs, lamps….everything we would need to fill a room….from objects of art to pillows for the banquet and books for the shelves!!! All of this was ordered on spec, meaning we would look at it in the house and select what I wanted to buy….if anything!…. On a specific day trucks from the different stores arrived with everything we selected. We began to stage the rooms. I already had the silver tray table in the Green Room. Jac and I had purchased it on one of our excursions. The rooms looked good, though they were a paired down version of what they are today. The photographer, Roberto Gili did an incredible job of shooting and lighting the rooms to make them look beautiful. I had ordered dozens of roses from a discount store called “ROSA ROSA” and filled the sunporch with them. Burt was right, they shot the three rooms [they really didn’t have much choice since they were the only rooms ready!], the sunporch, the master bedroom and the Green Room. The rest of the photos were done outside in the gardens and the water scape….It was the beginning of August and the gardens were lush. After the shoot everything had to be returned…..sort of like Cinderella’s golden carriage turning back into a pumpkin……However, there were pieces I did fall in love with and decided to keep. It was funny, because I probably wouldn’t have picked them on my own, but Burt and John knew what would look good in the room. So today when I look at the desk that turns into a backgammon table when the top is removed, and the two tapestry chairs flanking it, the golden yellow chair, the books and tapestry pillows and many other things I kept…..I remember John, Burt and I scurrying around NYC in a whirl picking all sorts of things to be sent to the house. I had no idea this could even be done, but that’s why they were master decorators and knew the ins and outs of the business.
