Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1172264
Opposite page clockwise: In the TV room, Fine's collection of Indian miniatures and portraits framed in camel bone, discovered in New Delhi. Lisa Fine Textiles Malula covers the walls, sofa, and sconce shade. GoGo, a Bedlington terrier, sleeps on the sofa. The agra rug is from Abrash Rug Gallery. Ceramic stool from Ceylon et Cie. In the master bedroom, walls and headboard are upholstered in Pandora and lampshades in Jaisalmer, both by Lisa Fine Textiles. Pinwheel night tables from the Dorothy Draper Collection by Carleton Varney for Kindel. The painting is by the Iranian artist Afsoon. Antique French chair upholstered in ikat velvet from Istanbul market. The lacquer screen was in Fine's childhood home and brought from China in the 1950s by her uncle. GoGo sits on a sofa covered in Lisa Fine Textiles from James showroom. Above: In the living area, leather table designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber. Ottoman from Hollywood at Home, Los Angeles. Broken Chinese export and coral sculpture, found at Fremontier Antiquaires on Paris' Left Bank. wallpaper. The walls are filled with Fine's collection of exquisite Indian miniatures and portraits, all framed in camel bone. Many were found in New Delhi and cost as little as $5, she says. In her bedroom, where the walls are covered in her own Pasha linen, Fine has hung paintings of Mother Teresa and Gandhi by Calcutta artist Sunita Kumar, who was a dear friend of Mother Teresa's. Almost everything in the apartment is layered with personal sentiment and historical references. A black- lacquered screen, which came from her childhood home in Mississippi, was shipped from China in the 1950s by her uncle. A collage that hangs in a bedroom was painted by Iranian artist Afsoon and depicts a scene from the Shahnameh, an ancient, epic Persian poem of 50,000 couplets. One of Fine's favorite pieces is a naturally formed sculpture made from coral and shards of blue-and- white Chinese export porcelain, discovered at the bottom of the ocean 300 years after a Dutch East India Company ship was lost at sea. This was one of hundreds of salvaged export porcelains originally bought at auction in 1984 by Dallas collector Betty Gertz and architect Axel Vervoordt. It made its way around the world to Fremontier Antiquaires on Paris' Left Bank, which is where Fine purchased it. Looking around the apartment, Fine is reminded of good friends, many of them celebrated designers in their own right. Jeffrey Bilhuber designed the large leather–and- lacquer coffee table in the living area as extra seating and to hold her books. Richard Keith Langham found the rare set of Frances Elkins Loop chairs, now in her dining area, at the shoe department at Gus Mayer in Birmingham, Alabama. And, while visiting from New York some years ago, Tom Scheerer insisted that Fine purchase the monumental 19th- century Chinese pagoda from Nick Brock Antiques that now holds court against a wall in the living room. "This is really the message in my book," Fine says. "It's not so much about decorating. It's the personalities that are so inspiring, and how interiors can reflect personal passions and interests. Fill your house with things you love — that's what makes it your own." 69