06 December 2011

A Tree House in Vogue

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 " A most beautiful house, totally welcoming, totally easy." Penelope Tree said of her parents Barbados home in VOGUE, 1968- the July issue.

What more could you ask of a house? In today's world, the description seems apt- more than ever a house should be complete and total haven. The Tree house, called Heron Bay, was built in 1947 by her parents Ronald & Marietta Tree, designed by architect Geoffrey Jellicoe and modeled on Palladio’s Villa Maser in the Veneto.



 The Dining Room- located along the front steps of the house -the steps leading to the Living Room. The Living Room is the only room on the upper level of the house. From the Dining Room, the bedrooms stretch out along arching arcades.


 Tree House


this photograph from Country Life here


"The house looks like it has been there forever, since before time began. It is my dream house, the most beautiful place I have ever seen."Penelope Tree
The house like most houses in Barbados was built of coral- and since it weathers differently over time- Penelope Tree felt the house seemed eternal-"as though if a tidal wave were to cover it, it would be at rest again."


 Penelope and her father Ronald Tree


 Another view of the open air Dining Room with flowers, leaves and berries scattered over the table


The Living Room with its coral walls- in patches of blue, pink and white is in all white with a few vibrant accents of  yellow, pink and blue. This is the room where the family & visiting friends congregated most often. The Italian painted pieces were all copies of furniture in the Palazzo Rezzonico- a museum of 17th century furniture in Venice. The screen- a stage set found in Venice by Lord Litchfield. Many of the other pieces of  furniture in the house were made on the island.



The Living Room




 The Morning Room
for reading and writing letters


The Morning Room,again, is in mostly all white, with accents of powerful pink, the furniture is all slipcovers- a pair of chairs in the iconic Fern print one of Elsie de Wolfe's favorites, still available. Scalamandre makes the document in a printed linen and a versatile solution dyed acrylic.



Penelope on the beach



 Marietta Tree in the courtyard with her constant companion-the parasol.




The Main Bedroom, at left & another view of the courtyard with the arcade leading to one of the wings of the house.




  photographs of Penelope Tree & the house by Patrick Litchfield- She was just 18 at the time.
a Portuguese chandelier hangs in the trees above chairs made on the island


In 1961,  Ronald Tree opened the Sandy Lane Hotel ( more here) and his friends descended on & loved the island- making it  the most celebrated destination of the 60's and the 70's. Tree also established the National Trust  in Barbados.


Today's TREE here
Today Barbados, read more here & here

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28 comments:

  1. How true, that a house should be a complete and total haven. When the world is crazy, there are so many aspects of our home lives that we can control. The light, the temperature, the sounds and music, the happy atmosphere, the scents, books, art, pets, the feel of the sheets, the food we eat and who we invite into our "world" to share it all with.

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  2. J&G, Yes, I agree. this post follows on the heels of the H&G Comfort post what is comfort from 1967. how things change and stay the same. We should all value house and home more than ever. I do. PgT

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  3. Having stayed in many a family home, it is always moving to see how we have evolved as a human race, but style truly begins and evolves from one's origins or one's home. That room with the pink chair is just so utterly feminine and lady like. I think I need a pink chair!
    pve

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  4. Patricia, I am sure I do too, but I'll surprise myself if I do- though it wouldn't be the first time. pgt

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  5. Loved seeing this again after so, so many years. P.Tree was my idol back then and seeing this article reminded me of the time in the sixties when I'd discovered Vogue for the very first time. What a moment that was! I'm sure I whiled away the hours dreaming of what it would be like to live in such a glorious house.
    Hope you're enjoying the season. Best wishes,
    Catherine

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  6. I've loved this house since I first saw it Desmond Guinness's book on Palladio when I was in high school. Thanks for the link to CL.

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  7. Heron Bay is one of my all-time favorite houses. I love how the classical theme was adapted for the tropics. I know Colefax & Fowler decorated the billionaire Bamfords home in the Cotswolds, but no nothing of the current decoration of this Barbados house at the beach.
    __ The Devoted Classicist

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  8. How thrilled I am to see this spread again, long lost from my clipping files. I swooned when I first saw it at age 15 in my aunt's vogue (thank god for glamorous aunts), and I swoon again now. it was featured years later in AD under the new owners. Nice but not the same. It is one of my favorite fantasy houses.

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  9. Don't we all need a morning room?

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  10. Thank you for posting these pictures! Ive been scouring the net over the last few months hoping to find just a scrap of a picture of Heron Bay. It also appeared in this original state in the late 70s or maybe it was the early 80s, but it was British House & Garden... I gave my copy to a friend. You are way too cool Little Augury!!

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  11. Catherine, and only 18 at the time. She virtually wrote the article, so vital still and what a crazy life that must have been at the time. Yes, I think we all did a LOT of fantasizing with Vogue.

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  12. QR, The house is amazing- I have found a good copy of the DG Palladio book there are some copies out there for amazingly inexpensive prices. Thanks for mentioning it. pgt

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  13. John, The house is exquisite and the rooms from the article are still just lovely. I will check into the current decoration- Would like to know more too.PGT

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  14. DED, Do you know how many times the house might have changed hands, and would love to see the AD interiors you mention too. As I mentioned here- it seems Vogue gave many of us many hours of fantasy in our youth. pgt

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  15. Emily, no kidding- I have one, but alas I can it the den!

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  16. Topsy, oh how often we wish we were not such good friends as to loan out our precious tearsheets. I am so grateful for the scanner.Would love to compile the pictures of all the interiors of Heron Bay-after the Trees, it seems there were several. pgt

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  17. Gaye! Thank you, I have been wanting to see this since I re-read Nancy Lancaster's book..I wondered what his place look like after their divorce....this did not disappoint! Don't you love that whole Palladian-carbib style like Messel, or Jellicoe, here. This was great fun...loved the red and white table with those n. Italian painted armchairs...the high ceilings, rush matting, stripes,ferns,arcades and splashes of coral like pink gin fizzes.

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  18. Penelope Tree became a "Super-Star"she was my idol! What an incredible house!!!!! Love your post.

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  19. Thanks Gaye, for another treat. It's a house that made an impression
    and like others who've commented, one always wanted to see more of
    it.

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  20. A beautiful space — I'm ready to move in today.

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  21. Walking by this house on the beach in Barbados was the first time I ever saw chandeliers in trees. Just perfection. Never forgot it. Lovely to see more!!

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  22. This is fabulous. Thank you. I love everything about it and it was great "catching up" with Penelope Tree. Curtis

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  23. Philip, Elizabeth, Linnea, Toby Worthington, Mark Curtis, I'm glad you like the post.

    Barbara- I am going to add this picture to the post- it was a small one in the original.

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  24. You come up with such amazing places on this blog. I didn't know about Heron Bay - fascinating to see how it is similar to and different from Nancy Lancaster's style. Neither did I know that Penelope Tree's father was the Ronald Tree who was previously married to Nancy Lancaster - interesting link between the 'English country house style' set and the 'swinging London' set.

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  25. I just received the book by Guinness about Palladio-an guide to Palladio in Italy, England,Ireland, North America & the West Indies. A wonderful suggestion QR.

    Emile, thank you-especially coming from you, the book mentioned above is a must have for everyone seeking to link the grand design of Palladio, as it relates to the English country house style set! pgt

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  26. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/fashion/Penelope-Tree-Beguiling-the-Camera-Again.html

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