In 1998 designer Polly Fawcett and her former husband sold their home. The seven-bedroom 13,077-square-feet La Loma, one of the great historic mansions in Palm Beach, was designed in 1929 by John Volk and Gustav Maass. The Mediterranean-style house boasted a double staircase with wrought-iron railings, seven bedrooms, arched windows with leaded glass, a regal fireplace in the living room, a coffered ceiling, and Cuban floor tiles. It was grand, but tempered with comfort.
Since then, after a series of downsizing moves, Fawcett has happily landed in a pint-sized 300-square-feet studio in Brooklyn Heights, where she’s near her daughter’s growing family. Fawcett grew up around women who designed: her mother, Claire Ellingwood Osborn, started her own design firm in 1953, and Fawcett joined in 1989. “My sisters and I grew up surrounded by beautiful things and loving parents,” Fawcett says. “My mother created beauty wherever she lived.” Fawcett has the same talent as her epic downsizing illustrates.
The trick to downsizing, according to Fawcett, is to only take your favorite things (no Kondo-ing necessary). The Staffordshire dogs were part of her mother’s vast collection, and they remain among her treasures today.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
Prewar apartments typically come with a graceful entry hall and foyer, instead of landing you smack in the middle of a room. Here, Fawcett has maxed out the charm of a tiny alcove between the entrance hall and living room with a needlepoint hunting scene in a gilt gold frame, hung over a family heirloom gilt console. Right now they’re paired with two branches leftover from Christmas, until she finds the right sconces.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
A pair of Brunschwig & Fils curtains flank Bibliotheque wallpaper on a paneled screen, giving the impression that the space is much larger than it is. The painted portrait of Fawcett is by her sister Susannah Talley, also a decorator.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
The sitting area of the studio features a family sofa with “The Orchard” by Herbert Barnett found in Child's gallery, hanging above. This doubles as a dining area for dinner parties where Fawcett serves her famous stew. The Portuguese needlepoint rug was found at a consignment shop in Manchester, Massachusetts, 20 years ago.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
Every surface is used for hanging art, including a closet door featuring Marguerite Kirmse's signed and hand painted, The Fox and The Hound.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
The bed is fully accessorized as if it still lived in a separate room. In fact, it is less than a hop, skip, and a jump from the kitchen.
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
Fawcett covered the kitchen cabinets with Clarence House’s “La Cucina” wallpaper, “which sadly has been discontinued,” she says. (“I’m saving every scrap!”) Size doesn’t matter here when Fawcett decides to entertain. “I have my Creuset for the stews,” she says, “and I can serve around six people comfortably.”
Photo by Wendy Goodman.
