DECORATING, FABRIC, FUN STUFF: SWAN HOUSE @ ATLANTA, GA (Cheri)

Mark and I both wanted to use this picture:

As blog "editor," I won!

The headlines are very cheery, albeit 90 years old.  The newspaper was laid on an ottoman in the parlor of the Swan House in Atlanta when we visited last week.

The Atlanta Historical Society bought the Swan House and Grounds for use as its headquarters over 50 years ago.  I had a particularly good time visiting the current exhibit about Ruby Ross Wood (also Goodnow), designer of the house's interior.  She was decorator Billy Baldwin's mentor, and described as on of the earliest "influencers."

I liked this picture of her, from a lineup of the Board of Consulting Editors of Arts & Decoration magazine, published from 1910 through 1942:

Apparently the "Ruby"-colored round glasses were her signature, as were bright-colored interiors:

All of the walls of the exhibit were either painted an intense, "Ruby" red, or covered with murals, such as what you see at the left in this picture:

I'm very partial to Asian influence in textiles, like this portion of the room's draperies:

While long, I enjoyed this funny description of her trying to find just the right fabric for her own home:

A couple of shots of cooking products that won't seem too unfamiliar to you:

We had seen an exhibit about Beatrix Potter's life at another museum the day before - which actually didn't do a lot for me - but I was happy to see this somewhat similar painting in the children's room:

and then there was this more-modern portrait in the large exterior dollhouse:

Catch the girls' "names"!

Finally, a family car to please anyone:

If you find yourself at the Swan House, or even simply in Atlanta, a visit to the Swan Coach House restaurant around the corner is a fantastic choice.  It was more expensive than I expected, but both a true ladies-who-lunch experience, and quintessentially Southern!

If you can't go to Atlanta, the first 2024 issue of Veranda magazine features Ruby Ross Wood and the Swan House exhibit on its last page.