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"More is more" for Hutton Wilkinson, longtime Tony Duquette collaborator and our guide through the fabled Beverly Hills estate.
When interior designer Hutton Wilkinson took over the Beverly Hills home of his friend, mentor, and 30-year-long creative collaborator, Tony Duquette, he did so to preserve its place in history. But over the years, Wilkinson’s own flair for collecting and decoration has breathed new life into the famed “Dawnridge” estate, where many of Duquette’s highly collectable designs now mingle with pieces that Wilkinson and his wife have collected during their many shopping trips abroad. Wilkinson has also done his part to keep Dawnridge’s vibrant social scene thriving, hosting parties and sharing the property with admirers of Duquette’s work. With an affinity for the exotic—Chinoiserie, animal prints, crystal-strewn chandeliers, sculptures of Indian deities and the like appear frequently—and over-the-top luxe, the place feels both far flung and distinctly Old Hollywood, and we’re willing to bet that’s just the way Wilkinson likes it.
“The Dawnridge style is basically maximalist decoration—our theory being more is more.
As a kid, it was basically my dream house. And that’s without ever having seen it. I always wanted a big, one-room house with tall windows and a balcony overlooking it. I believe completely in creative visualization. So when I learned about Tony Duquette when I was in seventh grade, I had no idea that house existed. But then I saw it—there it was, that wonderful pavilion dream house. And it still has that quality for me. I just sit in that big room and smile.
I redecorated it completely after Tony died—we had the largest house sale in American history, and we sold all the 17th, 18th, and 19th century antiques. So it’s completely redecorated with great, great sympathy and understanding. I’ve re-done it as a tribute to Tony and Elizabeth using only things made by them.
I didn’t feel burdened by taking care of the property; it was my duty. They were my mentors. When I saw Tony’s work when I was little, nothing about it was unusual to me. We all had the same outlook, taste, aesthetic. Tony Duquette was the first-ever American to show at the Louvre; he was an American design icon. That house, being the only one that he actually built from scratch—he had a lot of houses—it just needed to be preserved.
Elements like light and plants play an enormous role at Dawnridge. Tony always said that “no room was complete without something alive in it,” whether it’s a little goldfish, dog, candle, or a flame. So we have as many of those things in the room as we can possibly get. I don’t take credit for the garden—Tony used to paint with plants. He’d use light green leaves over here, dark green leaves over there. Every piece was greater than the sum of its parts.
I’ve never had an issue choosing things for the house because Tony was very classic in his taste and so am I. I mean, if it’s beautiful, it works. It’s beauty, not luxury that we value. We never buy just one of something—it’s got to be 2, 4, 6, or 8. Symmetry is vitally important. I think it’s nature. We all have two eyes on each side of the nose and two ears on each side of the head. If you split us down the middle, we’re all kind of exactly equal. It’s part of life, I think.
Of Tony’s pieces in the house, the most valuable is probably the cabinet that he made for Elsie de Wolfe in 1941. The least expensive thing would be…the toaster! Kitchens were never our thing [laughs]. But possibly the least expensive thing is the thing I cherish the most— it’s a rope that’s used to keep people from going upstairs to Tony’s studio. I found it and put it there, and I just love that rope.
We’ve been around the world seven or eight times shopping for new pieces, and every time we’d go, we’d bring back six to eight 40-foot containers of stuff. Burma, back in the days when nobody went there, was the most miserable place to bring things back from. They didn’t know how to ship, and we didn’t receive anything that we bought. In Bali and Thailand there are fabulous things. We love India with a passion. And we got the most beautiful things from Bolivia. Again, if it’s beautiful, we like it. If it’s interesting, we like it.
Each room has a name. We have the Monkey room, the Green room, the Big room, and we have the Library. It’s all organized, but we move things around. Tony called it a game of chance, you move things from table to table and rearrange them. No one likes to sit around with the same stuff all the time. It’s not all out. There’s just so much stuff. It’s getting to the point where we don’t think we can fit any more in, but you never can tell!”
Rare works surface in our Objects by Design (September 10-24, 2014), an auction comprised of mid-century collectibles including those from Hermès, Cartier and Mr. Duquette himself.
Inspired to outfit your own abode? Peruse our latest selection of museum-worthy contemporary art, design, jewelry, and more. To learn more about the iconic designer, follow Tony Duquette and receive updates when new works become available.
Photographs by Emily Johnston for Paddle8.
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