I found a stash of old House & Garden Magazines at the Book Thing the other day, and I found a series of quotes from Billy Baldwin on the back page. I have a particular fondness for BB because he’s from Baltimore, and the house where he was raised is just a few blocks from where I live now.
![BB 021[2]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5S6kOj5boODqO6omeQFXKafiqJ_l2BSlN29zpzcbg-zigfhbDbAIM47bA_K02_08ylvF3khUFC3NiUMV-ZzFbtjXeZmhQuHi55o7LVUdrOg51ehyphenhyphen37mggZns2G72dQ-__ljZG8YtuWQ/s1600-h/BB%252520021%25255B2%25255D%25255B8%25255D.jpg "BB 021[2]")
From H&G, January 1998: Quotes from a past master: Billy Baldwin, whose work and words from the ‘30s to the ‘70s are an inspiration today.
If there’s one thing decorating is, it’s personal. Nothing is interesting unless it is personal.
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If both the expensive and the inexpensive are, in their own ways, first class, they can be perfectly harmonious.
![billy baldwin roundup design sponge[2]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpRdlYwY4meBrNXHNErM1jcgNfN6Gz_GNxhignjrIsstr7ExWt2OfTelCOr0TNkAyJuhlNBJ1_tCGTKJVLrhtTyojIPUznpmWS6M2rOwtQE3af35sr0ct2S81LsjqK9QN-14uGzP0_ko/s1600-h/billy%252520baldwin%252520roundup%252520design%252520sponge%25255B2%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg "billy baldwin roundup design sponge[2]")
There is nothing quite so boring as false refinement, or so vulgar as misplaced elegance.
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If you fall in love with something, that’s all that matters. Your love protects you from all upsets.
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Next to sustainability, restraint is the most important quality.
![baldwin roundup design sponge[3]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHJiUxuDp1ucpCT4XVDTnAG2F_SfpEYDNtf8H8GxqwdohKqz1rzh5vS4HJhZUXGtA3xuvzHI_LXls0ZM2B3kbyZwHxx4IYgv8_VqWVMKUg0jfmLseXPeQHkmUcdL_SM6vGeRpbY7A2go/s1600-h/baldwin%252520roundup%252520design%252520sponge%25255B3%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "baldwin roundup design sponge[3]")
To get a room that sizzles with personality, you’ve got to take risks. A person with real flair is a gambler at heart.
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Charm is augmented by a sense of non-permanence.I’d love to see less and less studied decoration and more and more things chosen because you love them. That’s the whole point, really.
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Which is your favourite quote?
"Be faithful to your own tastes because nothing you really like is ever out of style."
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind that I added one!
*** MEG (!), my dsrling little beloved BB was "my first!"... (Grins!)...
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I don't even remember how I GOT his book BILLY BALDWIN DECORATES, but I DO remember it was in about 1972 or '73, we were living in Germany, and I read his book sooooo many times my husband was rather puzzled(!)... annnd, I have continued to, occassionally throughout all these years, pulled out that now-rather-raggedy book (for which the paper cover has been lonnnng gone!) and looked thru it again, noticed HOW many DIFFERENT colored highlighters I've used at different times, and smiled...
I could probably quote about 1/2 of his book & remember MOST of his "fun" stories, and fondly remember some of his tales of "certain clients"... the one thing he wrote that I've remembered, BY HEART, was "There is nothing quite so boring as false refinement, or so vulgar as misplaced elegance"... To THAT I must add my "AMEN"!!!
My mind's going over soooo many parts of the book (it was simply ENCHANTING to me... and funny at times, and I CERTAINLY learned alot!)...
If anyone has N*O*T read this, may I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT???? A SUPER READ!!!
Happiest of Holidays to you & your family,
Linda in AZ *
bellesmom1234@comcast.net
Wow...love that last quote. Imagine homes truly reflective of the lives of those that dwell in them. Might be the cure for the common, the mass produced. Wonderful pearls of wisdom! Thank you! Trish
ReplyDeleteSuch wisdom... style and taste in one person... extraordinary really... The 'personal' quote is the one that rngs true for me... xv
ReplyDelete"If both the expensive and the inexpensive are, in their own ways, first class, they can be perfectly harmonious."
ReplyDeletewhich is really a way of saying this too:
"If there’s one thing decorating is, it’s personal. Nothing is interesting unless it is personal."
BB was the master--those quotes are still current. Once again, thank you for my wonderful books. They are sitting on my desk and get perused at least once a day. Be well. Mary
ReplyDeleteHave I shared this before, not at all sure, but my favorite BB quotation in paraphrase was the long-ago published retelling of his employment interview w/ RRW. She sent him around the corner to Kresge, and told him to bring back the 10 best items he could find. You see how the inexpensive resonates perfectly with BB's philosophy about how expensive/inexpensive can coexist seamlessly.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved this story of being sent on safari to Kresge on an employment interview, seriously good.
-Flo
All needlepoint worthy.
ReplyDeleteA lot of good quotes but one of my favorites is "love to see less and less studied decoration and more and more things chosen because you love them."
ReplyDeleteI enjoy looking at the work of lots of interior designers but many of them are just a mish mash of each other. The designers that grab me the most have their own style. I may or may not like it but at least these designers are not carbon copies of others.
Thanks for the great Baldwin quotes!
~ Julia
Dear Auntie Meg:
ReplyDeleteI agree w/all of the statements, except this one: "Next to sustainability, restraint is the most important quality."
You know that we have a huge difference in how we view Christmas tree decorating. You would err on the "restraint" (Less is More) side, whereas I go for "Only More is More!"
So I'm not sure Billy was right on that one!! LOL
-- Miss M. A.
Went to Kresges!! what did he bring back to the interview ??? that's what i want to know. would he have pulled the items from a paper bag?? Now I challenge folks to go to the tractor supply store with the same mission. I have seen shelter dec shws use tomato cages and invert them for a xmas tree base!!!
ReplyDeleteI love them all, but the last one is my mantra!
ReplyDeleteAll are excellent I love the last best though!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
this is really inspiring!:D
ReplyDelete