In 1791, George Washington reputedly attended some sort of gathering in the sunny 17-by-30-foot ballroom that is now Aldous Bertram’s Charleston apartment. Then again, perhaps not. “I’m rather in love with that fact, but it’s not exactly a fact,” the tall and sprightly British-born decorator, artist, and author gingerly allows.
What has endured since that time, to Bertram’s delight, is the room’s neoclassical character, namely the recessed paneling, which he describes as “nice, naive, earlyish-pattern-book Colonial.” He’s also fond of the much later pressed-tin ceiling, adorned with rosettes and a central medallion, like that in a nearby church. “I think I could be happy here for ages.”
So says a man whose recent ports of call have included Palm Beach and the Bahamas, both periods spent working for designer Amanda…
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Architectural Digest (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024