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Geoff Howell

@detailsdiary

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Design director, Artist, NYC. INFJ. Vegan. Most photos by me of things i love, art, architecture, design, color, 19th century stuff, nature, me...

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Pal @lizgrdnr took this pic of a page in a favorite book of hers called “the Bed” by Alecia Beldegreen and forwarded it to me. Wonderful Liz and I are working on a very exciting project soon to be revealed and she was excited to find this connection. This was my bedroom in 1990 when I shared an apartment on West 73rd St. It was a one bedroom and my roommate and I treated the place as two studio apartments with a shared bathroom and kitchen. it would be a few years before I rented my first office and was able to stop working out of my apartment.
So, this was my world back then. The color of the walls has been a lifetime favorite and I used virtually the same color in my hall upstate. I also drew on the walls with charcoal to add some flourishes here and there which I haven’t done upstate…yet… I haven’t seen this photo in many years and it’s nice to see that I still have so many of these things.
Alecia was the creative director at Brides Magazine and we worked on a lot of projects together for the magazine in the wonderful and heady publishing era of the 80’s, ending with her marriage and wedding, which I designed in fairy tale fashion…it was such a dream project, full of love in every detail. I still have a hard time believing that a woman with all the greatest connections in the world wanted me to create that fantasy for her. Blessed. Re: the bed itself, I had started working with @dporthaultparis a few years before this and was luxuriating in some gorgeous sale finds! #homedecor #interiordesign #apartmentlife #dporthaultsheets #thebed by @detailsdiary

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14 days ago

One day when I was around eight, my mother told my sister and I that the following day we were going on an adventure so we had to get up early and look our best! Our parents had a wonderful sense of creating this sense of antici…..pation and mystery with us. We piled in our sky blue Mercury Marquis at the crack of dawn and maybe halfway to New York and after merciless pestering and questioning, our parents gave in and announced we were going to the World’s Fair. I’m surprised we didn’t blast through the car roof, we were soooooooooo excited!!!!! Oddly I have very few memories of that day, but the ones I do have are crystal clear. I remember my mother wore a nubby beige wool knit suit with a pencil skirt and a fitted jacket with 3/4 length sleeves with a brown leather bag and shoes and gold jewelry. Yes, I’m gay.
I remember the entire experience of seeing the Pieta…the moving sidewalk, the vast plexiglass fingerprint smudged wall in front of it and the enormous black void of the theater that enclosed it.
I remember thinking the village of nations was tacky,
I remember being tired at the end of the day, But most of all I remember standing at the base of this 43’ tall statue of an insanely muscular practically nude aggressively athletic man (the Rocket Thrower, by Donald De Lue) and my dad calling it “magnificent” and me agreeing, and also thinking that was unusual of my dad, partially because he was waxing poetic about a naked guy, and expressing love for art.
Standing there alone yesterday for the first time in 62 years, when that spot in my memory was awash with humanity, and I was a but a boy in my long gone parent’s shadow was beyond poignant. I’ve included the unisphere, the amazing park benches and another sculpture…the woman’s torso. So 1964!!! #1964worldsfair #therocketthrower #childhoodmemories #donalddelue #newyorkcityhistory by @detailsdiary

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16 days ago

Sitting here having my breakfast with the light streaming across this chair. As some of you may remember, I grew up Catholic and when I was little, the nuns were still enveloped in clouds of the blackest black fabric and the whitest cardboard hard starched collars and headpieces.
My teachers were nuns and my great aunt belonged to the same order…Sisters of Mercy. All teachers. Leonilda, Clotillde, Assisium, …the spirits of saints of the Middle Ages alive and well in the 20th century. I had a recurring dream for years as a child in which I would walk whisper quietly into my great grandfather’s moonlit bedroom, and stand at the foot of his bed and watch him sleep. My gaze would drift to the left and sitting in a chair very much like this one was this faceless black shadow of a form, somewhere hovering between a witch, a nun and Death, and despite the ominous appearance, the being emanated benevolence and kindness. I was never afraid, but felt comforted and blessed. The dream was always the same, and at some point it stopped, but I can replay it in my mind just as clearly in my waking hours. #dream #eastlake #homedecor #kitchendesign #childhood by @detailsdiary

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21 days ago

I’ve had lots of fun over the years collecting white metal/spelter/pot metal sculptures of fanciful warriors for my study.
This zinc and tin alloy melts at a low temperature and takes details beautifully and is cheap to produce.
After cast iron it was the go-to decorative metal in the 19th century. Common uses included gasoliers, furniture appliqués, candelabra, clock cases, lamp bases, sculptures…even small tables…it breaks easily, and it’s super difficult to repair. What I love most about it is the behind the scenes…the skill of the artists who made the original sculptures from which the molds were made, and I also love that, compared to bronze, it’s still often affordable. Some of my statues are of brawny axe wielding Vikings, but many other of the figures are of 16th century german mercenaries called Landsknecht, a very popular motif in the 19th century romanticization of the Renaissance. Interestingly, this very group of mercenaries, when unpaid by the government that hired them, and on the brink of starvation, attacked Rome and brought the actual Italian High Renaissance to an end in 1527.
#spelter #antiquelighting #interiordesign #homedecor #warrior by @detailsdiary

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25 days ago

Just a nice shot of my front hall lit only by the porch light.
I remember being so thrilled when I first walked through that door 22 years ago…this was the last house of 30 that I had looked at that day. All just points on a map that my realtor and I had plotted, asked on my parameters, so we could drive by and see which ones I wanted to explore further.
This one was the only one that made the cut, and I made an offer the next day. Yes, it needed a lot of work to remove drooped ceilings, asbestos siding, plywood and wall to wall carpet covered floors, plastic bathroom tiles and 50’s den paneling, but I was immediately enthralled by the potential and so grateful that all of the original fabric of the place was largely intact under those added layers. Ever evolving, it’s a constant source of inspiration to me and I am forever grateful for every square inch, and to be part of its rich history. #chiaroscuro #nightphoto #oldhouselove #homesweethome #stairhall by @detailsdiary

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a month ago

Late afternoon sun throws the shadow of tradescantia across the old cupboard door…
I love how the velvet upholstery picks up the light from the north facing window. On the table sits a carved mahogany lamp that I’ve had for maybe 30 years, a find at the 26th St. Flea Market. The shade I found years later, leaded frosted seeded glass with wonderful cast lead swags of flowers.
The large white vase was something that enchanted me as a child, as it was sort of the mascot of an antique shop my elementary school bus would pass. It was not for sale until the elderly shop keepers were liquidating and I was able to buy it at last in my freshman year of college.
The little stool under the drop leafed table was something I bought in Bath, while in England with my mom in 1988.
I remember carrying it around all day, as well as on the train back to London, until I managed to somehow get it into my duffle bag and home. In the planter is a green oxalis and all over the floor are the spent flowers that it so joyfully produces nonstop! #plantdad #chiaroscuro #americanempire #antiquedurniture #interiordesign by @detailsdiary

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a month ago

I went out to feed my fish this morning and was thinking about how life and beauty go on, thankfully, even when an angel of kindness, generosity, acceptance, bright spirit and love has left us. Dolly Parton has been a solid rock in the turbulence of our times for my entire life and it hit me hard when I heard of her death. She was always just goodness personified. I binge watched and sobbed over so many videos of her interviews and messages on Tuesday night. She had such a tremendous ability to respond to any question with warmth, a sense of humor, dignity and respect for everyone, consistently. May a part of her brilliant soul continue to nourish us all. A star on earth, a star in the heavens above. Rest in peace, Saint Dolly, and thank you for all you have done. by @detailsdiary

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a month ago

Round and round he goes, where he stops, nobody knows…
But at least he’s made it another year!
Happy birthday to me! So grateful to all of my friends here and much love to you all! by @detailsdiary

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2 months ago

Wow…it happened again…and so fast! I noticed this bud forming and took this picture on July 27th. 7 days later, full bloom. Amazing how quickly they form and also how quickly they deflate. Truly miraculous. This bloom faces the direct opposite of the first one…so interesting. Let’s hope she’s on a roll with more blooms to come…they are truly a wonder!!
#plantdad #greenthumb #nightbloomingcereus by @detailsdiary

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2 months ago

While in Boston a few weeks ago, pal @rickoutsidemarblehead took me to see the library…it was so exciting to see the John Singer Sargent murals, of the world’s religions, in their restored state, as well as other glorious series of murals by other artists (Edwin Austin Abbey and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes) that I haven’t seen in decades. It’s amazing to see Sargent’s work looking like the very best of the golden age of American illustrators versus any of his portrait work. The bronze doors are by Augustus Saint Gaudens. The bronze swashbuckler is Sir Henry Vane, 5th governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636. He was 23.
All so gorgeous. #augustussaintgaudens #johnsingersargent #bostonpubliclibrary taken in Boston Public Library by @detailsdiary

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2 months ago

Another spot I visited on the trip was Hammond Castle…it’s across the bay from the Sleeper-McCann house.
Built by a prolific inventor, with over 500 patents to his name, he was pals of neighbor Henry Sleeper, and a few other handsome men. The glass encrusted chest was a gift to him from Henry.
Parts of the castle are gorgeous, you even enter across a draw bridge…others not so much, but if you’re in the neighborhood, it’s worth a visit. Our tour guide was very theatrical and given to hyperbole, but entertaining at least. As I was leaving, I overheard another guide dispensing similar tales about the unproven provenance of some objects in the collection, in my mind taking all of the fun out of the stories, so it must be a theme there. Parts of the castle are original to European castles, and Mr. Hammond was inspired by his time at school in England to reproduce the mood of some of those.
He did have a very lovely life sized nude bronze cast of himself, as a gift to his wife, to stand in the pool, included modestly from the waist up in this series, though someone saw fit to add a fig leaf so it wouldn’t scandalize anyone anyway…🙄
You can give yourself a tour there, and accordingly, they assume people will jump on beds and generally wreak havoc so things in the private quarters are roped off and idiot proofed making taking good pictures in most rooms impossible, but still fun to see. #historichouse #hammondcastle #gloucester #massachusetts taken in Hammond Castle Museum by @detailsdiary

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2 months ago

Some shots of the exterior and grounds, a masterwork in scale! The undulating hill to the ocean was amazing, both to see and to walk the very long length of it, where it ends at a cliff overlooking the sea. Surprisingly, I only saw one small fountain in the extensive garden.
I have also included some pics of the amazing bathrooms…the one with the reverse-painted glass tiles is stunning, and the use of various marbles in all of them is so well done. The last few shots are of the large rooms where the attic would be. The wood work is all so perfect. As a side note, Mr. Crane was very philanthropic with his employees in the bathroom fixtures business and provided many generous benefits. When things got rough during the Great Depression he had to let 1000 people go and was tremendously upset by that, so much so that his empathy led to his early death shortly thereafter. As I recall it was around ten percent of his workforce, but he made sure all had pensions and insurance. Noblesse oblige is a great attribute to have. #craneestate #castle hill and thanks “lost loyalist” for your posts that inspired my visit! #bathroomdesign by @detailsdiary

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2 months ago