Thursday, July 26, 2012

ANTHONY BARATTA

When it comes to describe the design genius of Anthony Baratta many things comes to mind. One of those things is Classic, Tradition, Preppy design. When I spoke of Preppy the other day I described it as a style that can be two ways.  Perhaps it should be described as .....Dual Personality Design Disorder or  DPDD for short!!   Honestly, that is how I see Preppy design. What do I mean by that?  Well let me tell you. When I recently visited Anthony Baratta's website my jaw literally dropped and I made a kind of exhaling noise- no really I did!!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  His designs are a feast for the eyes.  And since I love all that is preppy I LOVE his designs.
Like the other day when I was discussing Preppy Design, I was discussing what Preppy means to me.  And it couldn't be more evident than with Mr Baratta's designs.  I talked before about how Preppy can be that South Beach vibe or the more traditional English Country style.  To me Preppy is so DPDD.  Preppy can be bright, fun, youthful.  Or Preppy can be Traditional, Classic and Warm.  Mr Baratta is able to walk the tightrope between these two worlds flawlessly.  Let me show you:



When one thinks of the quintessetial English Prep style the above pic is it.  Where do I even start?  The classic panelling of the walls, the plaid of the traditional Wing Chair, the Horse Prints, the Hundi Lantern.... I could go on and on.  I love, love this hallway.




I love this room.  The trim alone makes me giddy!  I feel like putting on my Ralph Lauren Golf shirt, popping the collar and dropping myself into this pic!!















Just look at all of that detail!  Such a pretty room.













The previous 3 pics with all of the blue and pink has been one of my favourite country homes for years.  I remember these pics in a magazine ( I am trying to remember if it is Traditional Home or Veranda).  I think I will have to pull out my old mags because I know I have this one somewhere!!  This lovely home is such a case study in the use of soft pastel colours but done in such a way that it isn't too sweet!  Know what I mean?




This room is where those who love plaid die and go to heaven!!  Who would have thought to cover the entire ceiling in that great plaid.  What a job that must have been!!  Those Rafters!!







This particular bedroom isn't Preppy per se, but, I just had to share it with you all.  I don't know what I like best; the rafters, all that toile or that friggin' amazing window!  If you love tradition, then this room is for you .





The next set of pics fits into that 'Southbeach Preppy".  Great classical details with juicy colours:

















This house is such a happy place.  It may not be for everyone, buy boy is it happy and full of life!
And really one could only do this house in this style in a "warm" climate.  Why is that?  Well.......it all has to do with the quality of light.  That means that the light itself affects the colours that we see.  Warmer climates really do lend themselves to saturated, juicy colours.  Colours that are deep and bright really "shine" in warmer climates.  Those of us in more Northerly climes tend to go for more "toned down" colours.  Because really, those lovely juicy colours really do look best in more "tropical climates".  Does that mean that you shouldn't use these colours if you live in the North- absolutely not!  What I am saying is that they really do "shine" best in Southerly climes.  Personally, if this bedroom were in a Northerly house, can you imagine how you would feel about it in the middle of winter with snow on the ground?  Since in the North light tends towards a bluer cast, these colours would look best in brighter, more intense yellower light- like in the tropics.



These next set of pics are what I call Preppy Deco:














Mr. Baratta is so seamlessly able to reinterpret Art Deco in a modern way.  By using Preppy colours, motifs and Art Deco lines, he so flawlessly reinvents Deco for now.  And again, this particular home is a fun, happy and lively place to live.






One last pic I wanted to share with you is this Contemporary Interior.  It isn't "preppy" per se but I wanted to share it with you anyways.  I love the clean contemporary lines, the bright open feel and best of all the use of juicy colour.  It really is a lovely, bright modern interior.






So I guess you can see that Preppy can be interpreted many ways.  What Preppy is to one may be totally different to another.  And I wanted to share with you the amazing talent of Anthony Baratta to showcase this point.

Have a great day everyone.
Megan

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