Our Christmas decorating project at the Vanderbilt Mansion, Eagles Nest is complete! It was our second year working on this wonderful project and we were thrilled to be invited back. Our El Morocco room was such a hit last year, that we were asked to re-create it again this year. This room will once again host the mansion's holiday dinner on December 8th, 2012. We were interviewed by the Vanderbilt staff for their press release and this is what they had to say.
"Mary Schlotter and her daughter, Krishtia Lindgren, who operate the design firm Harbor Homestead & Co. in Centerport, have recreated a piece of the famous Manhattan nightclub El Morocco in the Northport Porch. The Vanderbilts socialized with their famous friends at El Morocco in the 1930s and 1940s.
Schlotter –one of the designers invited to decorate The White House in 2009 and 2010 – made Art Deco white-paper palm trees and decorated them with silver ornament balls. Using the nightclub‘s navy, white and silver colors, she created an El Morocco banquette and reproduced the club‘s sign and distinctive lettering. Seated at the banquette are William K. Vanderbilt II and his wife, Rosamund – in a life-size enlargement of a vintage newspaper photo of them, taken in El Morocco.
Schlotter smiled and said, "When people attend the museum‘s annual holiday dinner, they can dine with the Vanderbilts." To complete the atmosphere, Schlotter‘s selection of Christmas songs from the 1930s and '40s plays during tours."
See this blog post for details on the El Morocco room
Christmas At The Vanderbilt Part II
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We made these 8' tall white palms and the El Morocco sign,
Both reminiscent of the original nightclub's decor. |
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| Willie K. & Rosamond Vanderbilt sit at their navy & white striped zebra banquette. |
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| The table is set with vintage champagne glasses, a milk glass ash tray, silver mint-julep cup, a jewel-encrusted cigarette holder and a vintage beaded evening bag and gloves. Of course, Willie K. has given Rosamond a trinket from Tiffany's, her favorite. |
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| Palm fronds adorn the massive iron sconces that flank the doorway to the room. |
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The El Morocco tree was decorated with vintage black and white photos of celebrities that frequented the nightspot back in the day such as:
Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart. |
The second room we decorated this year was the Lancaster Room. This room will be used to serve dessert at the holiday dinner. The primary component of the decorating here was vintage Summer 2012 dried hydrangea's. We saved tons of them and used them everywhere in the room. They were used in the mantle, tree topper and wreaths and adorned with chocolate brown and Tiffany blue decorations. Some vintage some new. Here are the photos:
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| The ornately carved door leading to the Lancaster Room |
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The Lancaster Room Tree
Decorated with Tiffany boxes (Mrs. Vanderbilt's favorite), handmade paper cones filled with dried hydrangea, berries and pears and chocolate and Tiffany blue vintage-inspired ornaments |
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| Handmade hydrangea wreaths hung with taffeta ribbon grace the 4 French doors in the room. |
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| The gorgeous chocolate brown marble fireplace is topped with a hydrangea garland dripping with ribbons, ornaments and berries. |
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| The copper, chocolate brown and aqua blue tones are a nod to the colors in the hydrangea's and the drape's in the room. |
The spectacular results charm hundreds of visitors between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The Vanderbilt offers its very popular twilight mansion tours, scheduled this year on the evenings of Wednesday-Friday, December 26-28, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission: $10 for adults, $9 for students and seniors (62 and older), and $5 for children 12 and under. Hot chocolate and cookies are included.
Holiday season hours: Open 12:00-4:00 on December 22-23 and 26-30. Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
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