Lady Baillie in Nassau

Lady Olive Baillie is back in the news...well, kind of. Her noted collection of Meissen porcelain, which was later augmented by her son, Sir Gawaine Baillie, is being auctioned off at Sotheby's London on May 1.  Of course, you probably already know that Baillie, an American-born heiress who was a member of the Whitney family, famously restored and decorated Leeds Castle with the help of Armand-Albert Rateau and later Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen. And her home in Nassau, Bahamas is still written about today, due in no small part to Boudin's exuberant if not slightly bizarre approach to tropical decor.

I found a brief 1954 House & Garden article about life in the Bahamas that included numerous photos of Baillie's Nassau home. Unfortunately, the photo quality isn't great,but it still gives you an idea of what the house looked like both inside and out. (I admit that I find the home's dining room to be strangely appealing. Is it the ceramic tile stove? The painted chairs?) For additional photos of the house, make sure to read James Archer Abbott's terrific book, Jansen, which features quite a few photos of Lady Baillie's Nassau home.

The home's entry hall with marble floor.

My favorite room in the house: the dining room.

The living room with its white bamboo-adorned walls.

Based on the curtain valances and floor, this appears to be part of the dining room.

The terrace with its green wrought-iron furniture.


All photos from House & Garden, December 1954.