The Green Room at Dawnridge—originally a one-car garage that Duquette turned into a dining room; all photographs by Tim Street-Porter, from Tony Duquette's Dawnridge, courtesy of Abrams © 2018 Tim Street-Porter
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Interiors Icon Tony Duquette
We are unabashed maximalists. If you subscribe to our world view, where leopard is a neutral, then here's an interior designer you need to know: Tony Duquette. He is, in a word, an icon. His vibrant, magical spaces for everyone, from Elizabeth Arden to J. Paul Getty, were all dizzying spectacles, in the best way. His own home in Beverly Hills, named Dawnridge, was equally fearless—every room, every surface was an opulent mix of colors, patterns and textures. Vogue's Hamish Bowles described it as Venice-meets-Shangri-La.
While Duquette sadly passed in 1999, his spirit lives on in the estate, now owned by fellow interior designer (and protégé) Hutton Wilkinson—you can soak it all up in the Abrams book, Tony Duquette's Dawnridge, by Wilkinson. Below, a quick tour and inspiring bon mots from the maximalist master.
"I want everything to have spontaneity, to move and laugh."
"A sofa should never look like a sofa, but rather should look like a pile of rich stuffs and carpets, piled high on the prow of a pirate's ship."
"We don't eat by candlelight because it's romantic, but because it takes us back to the cave where we used to sit around an open fire and tell stories."
"Beauty, not luxury, is what I value."
"Decorating is not a surface performance. It's a spiritual impulse, inborn and primordial."
3 Quick Tips
1. Use mirrors to reflect light and expand vistas.
2. Consider the floor a fifth wall and the ceiling, the sixth. Duquette often incorporated antique Oriental rugs and preferred his ceilings painted, draped and decorated.
3. The repetition of pattern creates an effect. One coral branch on a table is nothing—but a dozen or more is design. Have we mentioned more-is-more is the mantra chez Duquette?
2. Consider the floor a fifth wall and the ceiling, the sixth. Duquette often incorporated antique Oriental rugs and preferred his ceilings painted, draped and decorated.
3. The repetition of pattern creates an effect. One coral branch on a table is nothing—but a dozen or more is design. Have we mentioned more-is-more is the mantra chez Duquette?
Left: The Middle Terrance, shaded by pine and eucalyptus trees and featuring carved wooden Indonesian statues, bronze Garuda birds from Thailand and numerous Southeast Asian birdcages and spirit houses; right: another view of the Green Room with a Lucite, iron and coral branch chandelier designed by Wilkinson
The Drawing Room at Casa La Condesa, the addition next door Wilkinson created in 2011; the Venetian mural in the back is by Los Angeles artist Scarlett Abbott
Left: Another angle into the Green Room; right: A sleeping alcove, with Tony Duquette figural lamps on the table
The Monkey Room, named after the frieze of papier-mâché masks that frame the embroidered ceiling
Left: Another view of Casa La Condesa's Drawing Room, which includes sofas designed by Duquette; right: the staircase, carpeted in his signature leopard print, leading down to the summer and guest bedrooms at Dawnridge
Illustration by Juan Bastos
