Francine Gardner - Art de Vivre: Showtime Television

Last year, I had attended the first joint showhouse event that Metropolitan Home and Showtime Television cosponsored and I was incredibly impressed by the caliber of the the designers' work. So, when Metropolitan Home asked me nearly three months ago to participate in the 2009 showhouse, I'm sure you can imagine how honored I felt.

This year the Showhouse is venued in two TriBeCa penthouses atop a recently completed warehouse-to-condominium conversion known as the "TriBeCa Summit" at 415 Greenwich Street between Hubert and Laight Streets.

Having never participated in a designer showhouse before, the task seemed almost monumentally overwhelming, but how could I possibly resist such an opportunity? Right, I couldn't. Besides, logistically, it ought to be easy, after all, the space is practically around the corner from my showroom and office on Franklin Street.

The two penthouses and outdoor spaces were divided up between 14 architects and designers each of whom were allocated specific space to convert into living areas inspired by Showtime's edgy award winning serial shows (United States of Tara, Californication, Nurse Jackie, The Tudors, Dexter and Weeds)

Straws were drawn as to which space each designer would be assigned and Oh God... I drew the reed for two narrow duplexed mostly glass hallways, a massive steel staircase and one small maid's bedroom (or office space). Suddenly I was terrified and at a complete loss with what I could do in the space. For a few minutes it seemed to me I had two options. One: Cry, thank Met Home profusely for the opportunity but politely decline and run out of there as fast as my feet could carry me, or, Two: Cry, cry some more and then knuckle down and do it! Since I have always lived my life guided by the idea that when you're handed lemons, you're always far better off making the best lemonade you can, Option Two it was.

My design team (Estera and Greg) and I struggled for days coming up with ideas and strategies to convert what is basically null space into a genuine living environment reflecting Tara and her various personalities. We were having a really tough time conceptualizing the space and end result. Then I suddenly remembered a stunning painting by the Spanish artist Zush that my mother-in-law had purchased in Ibiza back in the 1970s when she had a house in the old town accross an alley from the then leading Ibiza gallery of Ibiza expat legend Ivan Spence. The painting is a five foot diameter round canvas covered with several hundred eyes staring out at the observer. My brother-in-law, who now owns the painting, was gracious enough to lend it to me for the show; once that fell in place as my cornerstone, I was off and running. I embraced the space rather than be limited by its obvious drawbacks, however I also needed some wall space to anchor the painting and other artwork as well so as to create the feel of a living space rather than a transitional space.

My character, Tara, is a wife and mother who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder ("MPD"). Her alters are Alice, a very proper and stable housewife; T, an out of control pot-smoking teen strumpet. Buck, Tara's only male alter, is a "red-neck" beer-sucking and chain-smoking biker type. Tara's fourth alter, "Gimme" is an elusive animalistic beast/human defying accurate description.

Our final concept was to create a duplex apartment with a steel silhouette archway of Tara defining the entrance to the space. A lounge room, a dining/entertaining room and a cocoon-like retreat room where Tara can escape from her alternate personalities.

B E F O R E & A F T E R

First Floor

Lounge Room / Before

Space challenge: Long narrow hallway,
no wall space,

Lounge Room / After

Our approach to the space: Design a steel entry archway
to define, personalize and delineate the space.
Build walls to cover entry closet doors and rear
powder room doors to hang art, rich dark paint,
custom bamboo silk rugs to add texture and luxury,
cool fabrics to give the illusion of space.

A daybed, a foot-stool and a sofa upholstered in
silk velvet was designed specifically for the space.

Silvery semi-sheer curtains filter strong sunlight
light and obscure a bland view of the central light well

From my showroom, Interieurs,
Jose Esteves' "Peace Bird"

Lounge Space / Before

A very uninteresting hallway; we built a wall over the
powder room door at the end of the space to create a
focal point where the Zush painting would later hang.

This space was designed with Tara and Alice in mind

with a hint of Buck and Gimme.

Obstructive Stairway / Before

An oasis for Alice to read or rest.

Entrance Hall / Before:

A view towards the entrance of my workspace.

Same view leading toward
Richard Mishaan's "Tudor's Pad".

Entrance way leading into Tara's Duplex
from Mishaan's Tudor's space

Second Floor

Dining and Entertaining Area
Challenges: Access hallway to two other rooms. Unattractive windows and view.

Before:

Usage of strong punches of color and dominant
industrial pieces. Custom designed rug by
Liora Manne. Oversized "Belle-Ile" glam chandelier from Pouenat
for Interieurs. This space reflects all of Tara's alters;
The rough, the precious and the funky.

Ice cream party for T

Steel Wave bench I designed specifically for the space.

Buck in a box

Alice's wardrobe.

Credit: Metropolitan Home / Photographer: Antoine Bootz

We designed this crystal waterfall chandelier
incorporating Swarovski crystals (Swarovski
had to chase down a very well-known touring
pop star to recover the crystals for us)

Before: A room with (not much of) a view