The Danish rosewood table is from Maurice Beane Art & Design, the painting over the mantel is “Ophelia”by Finnish artist Anna Kaarina Nenonen, and the Carrera marble and steel occasional tables were custom made.
Name any artistic pursuit, and Geraldine Duskin has probably not only done it, but she has excelled at it. Born in England and educated in Canada, France and the United States, Duskin’s diverse resume includes time spent as a fine arts dealer, a model and an award-winning costume designer for theater and film. In 2016, she closed the brick-and-mortar location of Ghostprint Gallery, her 12-year-old gallery in downtown Richmond, to focus on her interior design business.
“With these different undertakings, it’s always been about creating a beautiful picture,” she says. “I don’t like the ordinary. I like the unusual, I like elegance, I like quality. I believe that less is more.”
Her keen eye for style prompted her friend, Rosie Messer, to enlist Duskin’s help in renovating her condo in Ginter Place, the former Richmond Memorial Hospital building on Westwood Avenue. Messer, a retired CEO of a senior living community in Augusta, Georgia, previously lived at One Monument Avenue for several years before renting the condo from her yoga instructor in 2018.
“I don’t like the ordinary. I like the unusual, I like elegance, I like quality. I believe that less is more.” —Geraldine Duskin
“I am at a stage in my life where the look and feel of my home is very important to me,” Messer says. “I wanted the condo to be a warm, inviting space that reflects who I am. That’s why I asked Geraldine to help — she gets to know you so that the design shows your personality.”
The condo’s original look was less than warm and inviting: simple navy walls with white trim made the already dark space look dreary and plain. The first task on Duskin’s list was to bring color and light into the condo, so she hired painter Palmer King to cover the walls and trim with bold, saturated hues such as Farrow & Ball’s Vardo and Benjamin Moore’s Terra Cotta Tile, Chestnut and Smoked Oyster. The trim was painted to match the walls in order to create a single, smooth surface so that the eye is not distracted and the art and decor can serve as focal points.
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Homeowner Rosie Messer relaxes on a chaise found at Revival Consignment. An assemblage by Kathleen Girdler Engler hangs over the bookshelves.
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A painting by Michael Steirnagle hangs over the dining room table. The candlesticks are vintage Daum; the steel and plastic chairs are from Knoll; the suede dining chairs are from La Diff; the torso-shaped sconce is by Spanish designer Arturo Alvarez.
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The sectional painting is by Margaret Wamsted Pickett; the vintage ’70s marble-and-glass Italian coffee table is by Marco Zanuso from Maurice Beane Art & Design.
Duskin brought in a selection of Midcentury and contemporary furnishings — a vintage ’70s glass and marble coffee table by Marco Zanuso from Maurice Beane Art & Design and a flokati rug from Geraldine Duskin Design — to give the space a clean, modern aesthetic. A pair of vintage chairs attributed to Milo Baughman from Dust Furniture, recovered in a Kravet turquoise velvet, pop against the custom bookshelves built by Steve Lowry, a Richmond-based cabinet maker, who also restored and lacquered the round dining room table from Class & Trash.
The elegant yet simple design is meant to showcase Messer’s collection of original artwork and decor. “I am blessed to have many talented friends whose work I have purchased over time,” she says. “Having their creations displayed in my home makes me feel like they are with me.”
Shortly after her mother died, Messer purchased a painting of a mother and child by Margaret Wamsted Pickett, a friend from Georgia. She owns several installation pieces by another artist friend, Kathleen Girdler Engler, including a mixed-media piece created in memory of Messer’s late father. Duskin brought in several pieces to add to Messer’s collection, including a large floral wall panel depicting an Old Dutch Master’s painting from The Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam to decorate the bedroom.
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The large floral panel, an accent from an Old Dutch Masters painting, is from MegaMedia in the Netherlands.
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The Danish rosewood dressing table is from Maurice Beane Art & Design; and the soft sculpture is by Lenore Davis.
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In the den, the walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Smoked Oyster; a drawing by Margaret Wamsted Pickett hangs over the sofa.
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The back wall in the kitchen is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chestnut; a mixed-media work in the kitchen is by Mona Dworkin.
For those considering a home redesign or renovation, Duskin advises homeowners to choose quality over quantity with furnishings and decor — having some “throwaway” things is fine, she says, but you should strive to have a few valuable, well-made items that will stand the test of time.
For Messer, finding a decorator who was sensitive to her vision (and budget) was critical. “I am so thankful for Geraldine because she has created my dream home,” she says. “This is the best place I’ve ever lived in my entire life, and I look forward to spending my retired years here.”
