Venetian Splendor in New York

Venice with the sparkle of sun-dappled waters reflecting across her awe-inspiring architecture has always been one of our favorite destinations. Behind the lacey gothic windows of the Grand Canal lay many of the world’s most incredible interiors. However when a trip to Italy isn’t on the schedule a heavy dose of Venetian splendor can be had right in the heart of New York City.


Down a quiet hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art lies a lavish bedroom removed in its entirety from the Sagredo Palace in Venice. This dramatic interior dating from 1718 is among the finest of its kind and instantly immerses you in the opulence of eighteenth century Venice. The elaborate stuccowork of the ceiling is awash with life-like winged figures soaring around the mural and down the cornice. The bed itself sits like a throne in a raised alcove crowned by an oval gilded dome. With soft light seeping through the frosted glass windows you could just imagine yourself waking as dawn breaks over the Venetian lagoon. If you decide you’d like to make that particular fantasy a reality it just so happens that back in Venice the Sagredo Palace, sans said bedroom of course, is now a luxury hotel.

Beauport Glass Display

Our recent art glass storage project reminded me of the ingenious glass displays created by interior designer Henry Davis Sleeper at Beauport, his fascinating home in Gloucester, Massachusetts.


The house itself is an architectural wonder filled with curiosities and incorporating salvaged historical architectural elements. Here in the Central Hall is a breathtaking collection of amber glass viewed through a graceful arched window. The window, which actually looks into the pantry, has been backed with frosted glass to allow light from the pantry skylight to naturally illuminate the honey-hued glass items. Just below the pantry skylight are two brilliantly designed mirrors on cranks allowing for the maximum amount of natural light to be focused directly into the display case.

Photo via Beauport website.

Antique Window Glass

With our love for all things old, unique, and beautiful it will come as no surprise that we at Knickerbocker are completely enamored by old window glass. These ancient handmade panes are awash with swirling imperfections capable of softening any view into a mesmerizing impressionist painting. The view pictured here of course isn’t just any view. In fact we shot this image at the Capitoline Museums in Rome where the entire complex; including that dreamy balcony just beyond the doors; was designed over 400 years ago by none other than Michelangelo himself.

Victorian Eclectic at the Met

Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage is a fantastic exhibit now on view through May 9th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The charmingly surreal fantasies on display are not the work of any famous artist, but were in fact created by Victorian English aristocrats long before collage was considered a serious art form.

Originally created to adorn the pages of personal albums and scrapbooks; these unique works of art combine drawing, watercolor painting, and photography to create amusing and often surreal pictures. Heads of friends and family were carefully clipped from photographs and applied to animal bodies, floating soap bubbles, playing cards, or even stuffed into pickle jars.

Viewing these works of wit and whimsy it’s easy to imagine Lewis Carol finding inspiration in these images created in the same years as his much beloved works Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.