William R. Eubanks Interior Design, Inc.
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Delightful Liaisons

William Eubanks combines 18th century France with a fresh, updated palette  for drop-dead-gorgeous results.
It requires a deft touch to ensure a period-inspired interior  steers clear of a museum room’s dull veneer, to recreate the most critical  details of a beloved era and yet imbue the entire mood with freshness and life.  In the hands of William Eubanks, this 18th century French interior in Palm  Beach, Florida, suffers only from an excess of perfection in the discerning  balance between then and now. 
 
With just six months to gut a four-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot  apartment and turn it into an exquisite, aristocratic two-bedroom haven for a  lover and collector of 18th century French art and antiques, Eubanks certainly  had his work cut out for him. But with a vast collection of period antiques -  both his own and his client’s - to choose from, a palette of luscious modern  fabrics that references the hand-loomed artistry of the past, access to fine  craftsmen in flooring, woodwork and wall finishes, and an encyclopedic knowledge  of architectural and interior detail, Eubanks’ real challenge was to pull these  elements together in a way that made the old seem new again. “Because we do a  lot of period design, we’ve truly made a study over the years of period detail  to make sure that if we are pursuing an 18th century boiserie room, it’s  correct. It’s so easy to be off, and you quickly see if the detail is not  correct or the proportion is not correct,” Eubanks says. “So we try from the  background up to make sure we get the essence of that. But we’re not trying to  be purists in any sense of the word. If we go too far with this, it becomes  staid or impersonal.” 

Instead, the key was to allow historic detail, such as the boiserie  paneling, Versailles marquetry flooring and soft wall glazing, to set the mood  for the antique pieces; to fill in functional gaps (such as coffee tables) with  new work using period-relevant elements; to bring in yards and yards of silk  textiles in an up-to-date color palette, and to interject the odd bit of  modernity here and there - overstuffed sofas, a pair of fully upholstered 1930s  chairs - to relax the rhythm of the past. 

The main salon, for example, is a rich illustration of what such  effort can yield. With ocean views on three sides, this residence is firmly  planted in the Gold Coast. Yet, with careful choices in color, the interior  seems right at home. Buttery yellows, coral salmons, robin’s egg blues - all are  colors compatible with both the geographic area and the historic arena. The  layout of furnishings, with two distinct seating arrangements, allows both an  intimate group of six and a party of 50 to feel equally at ease. Throughout most  of the apartment, yellow glazed walls keep the palette open and maintain  continuity, but with variations from room to room. Here, the walls are textured  with a soft ragging effect, coupled with a strie glaze on all the crown and base  molding trim. High ceilings give the correct overall proportion to the room,  allowing luxurious drapery in an over-scale Italianate pattern of gold shot with  salmon thread to frame the view. 

On either side of the room, anchoring an 18th century Aubusson  carpet, are two, mirror-imaged sofas in a soft, coral salmon fabric with golden  thread running through, very nearly the reverse of the drapery. Paired with one  sofa are two Louis XVI giltwood chairs, with their typical simple curves and  tapering lines, reupholstered with a hand-loomed silk leopard print. “Animal  prints were used in the 18th century, though they used the real thing,” Eubanks  says. “Here it revives and lifts the room with that little bit of the exotic.  This way the room doesn’t end up taking itself too seriously.” Paired with the  other sofa are two 1930s French fully upholstered chairs, bedecked in a more  contemporary floral silk. On one side, an 18th century specimen marble table of  Italian marble, lapis lazuli and onyx is commandeered into a coffee table, with  a bronze base fashioned by designer Robert Metzger. On the other, a George III-inspired table of ornately carved gold-painted wood and glass. From the lamps, of late 18th or early 19th century Chinese porcelain, to the couplet of tortoise shell and bronze dore perfumeries, no detail escapes scrutiny. And for those guests not facing the ocean view, a glorious Coromandel lacquer screen with a deep, dark chocolate background and splashes of the greens, melons and yellows that are integral to the rest of the room. In all, two areas of distinct  visual interest that work as a harmonious whole. 
 
Other elements throughout the apartment are equally meticulous. The  dining room boasts the boiserie walls, walnut marquetry floors, an Empire  chandelier, a Francois Boucher painting above a Louis XVI serving table, a  trumeau panel and Louis XV chairs carved as copies of originals found in Paris.  The master bedroom’s canopied bed draped in a cocoon of silk damask takes center  stage with its intricate folds and swags. For this Palm Beach resident who loves  the period, 18th century France is just a front-door  away.



As Seen In:

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Written  by Jennifer Lea Reed    
Photographed by Kim Sargent

© 2019 William R. Eubanks Interior Design, Inc.
  • Classical & Traditional
  • William R Eubanks
  • Modern & Transitional
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