Bunny Mellon....a tastemaker, gardener extraordinaire and philanthropist (fascinating life.....read about it in this book that came out a few months ago) had many beautiful homes. Among them was her acreage in Antigua. Designed by Architect H. Page Cross and decorated by Billy Baldwin, this was Bunny's favorite house.
A portion of the original property came up for sale a few years ago and was purchased by current tastemaker, Tory Burch and is currently featured in the September issue of Vogue.
The property had been vacant for nearly 20 years before Burch decided to purchase it and bring it back to life.
Mellon did not lack the finances for perfection but she also wanted everything to seem unpretentious. Her wardrobe was custom made head to toe by Givenchy, even gardening clothes, but was at the same time also typically understated. She strived for a sense of imperfect perfection. She instructed that her interiors looks at though they were full of items "brought down from the attic" and instructed her gardeners to clean up fallen leaves but then scatter some under trees to make it look as if they had just fallen. She also instructed her staff that broken potato chips be removed from bowls before serving them Such was the life of Bunny Mellon.
Tory and her long time designer, Daniel Roumaldez respectfully restored the Antigua house with minor adjustments to make it their own while staying true to the original vision of Bunny Mellon, H Page Cross and Billy Baldwin. According to Tory the house did not require a major overhaul because, “how do you perfect someone’s taste when that person has perfect taste?”
A portion of the original property came up for sale a few years ago and was purchased by current tastemaker, Tory Burch and is currently featured in the September issue of Vogue.
The property had been vacant for nearly 20 years before Burch decided to purchase it and bring it back to life.
Mellon did not lack the finances for perfection but she also wanted everything to seem unpretentious. Her wardrobe was custom made head to toe by Givenchy, even gardening clothes, but was at the same time also typically understated. She strived for a sense of imperfect perfection. She instructed that her interiors looks at though they were full of items "brought down from the attic" and instructed her gardeners to clean up fallen leaves but then scatter some under trees to make it look as if they had just fallen. She also instructed her staff that broken potato chips be removed from bowls before serving them Such was the life of Bunny Mellon.
Tory and her long time designer, Daniel Roumaldez respectfully restored the Antigua house with minor adjustments to make it their own while staying true to the original vision of Bunny Mellon, H Page Cross and Billy Baldwin. According to Tory the house did not require a major overhaul because, “how do you perfect someone’s taste when that person has perfect taste?”
