Designer and taste-maker Mark D. Sikes is well known for his love affair with blue and white, which we at This is Glamorous most definitely share with him. But occasionally a new colour creeps into the mix and we experience yet another dimension to this very creative talent.
In his showcase design for the vestibule of The Greystone Mansion in California, we can see a wonderful green added to his signature colour combination of blue and white and what a spring-fresh look this creates. He has cleverly divided the hallway into two distinct yet connected spaces and decked them both in a confection of aquas, greens, blues and whites—colours which set off the black and white floor to perfection. Skirted tables, hand-painted screens with bamboo frames, trellis wallpaper, blue and white china, potted plants, rattan furniture and velvet cushions all feature in a design with a definite nod to Hollywood Regency overlaid with the delicacy of Chinoiserie.
The mix is dizzying and in the hands of a lesser designer might look busy and overwhelming. But Mark D. Sikes is one of those rarities under whose steady, gracious touch a myriad of styles, periods, fabrics, textures and elements fall into place beautifully so that the overall tableau is perfectly balanced and nuanced. It’s a design that is fitting for one of the great houses of America which was designed by the Architect Gordon B. Kaufman for the Doheny family in the roaring and glamorous 1920’s. I can only imagine that they would approve wholeheartedly . . . —Louise
