Famous Homes: The Mercer-Williams House

Nestled at the southwest corner of Monterey Square in historic Savannah, Georgia, the Mercer-Williams House is one of the city’s most iconic and intriguing residences. Known equally for its grand Italianate architecture and its shadowy past, the home has captured the imagination of visitors for decades—especially since becoming central to the bestselling book and film "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Construction on the Mercer-Williams House began in 1860, commissioned by General Hugh W. Mercer, the great-grandfather of famed songwriter Johnny Mercer. The design was crafted by New York architect John S. Norris, whose influence is seen in many of Savannah’s prominent buildings. However, the Civil War interrupted its progress, and the home remained unfinished for years. It wasn’t completed until 1868—ironically, not for General Mercer, but for a new owner who purchased the property after the war.

The result was a striking 7,000-square-foot red brick mansion, complete with arched windows, a wrought-iron balcony, and a lush courtyard—making it a quintessential example of 19th-century Southern elegance.

Fast forward to the 1960s, when Savannah preservationist and antiques dealer Jim Williams purchased the home and spent two years restoring it, and filling it with 18th and 19th century Regency and Empire furniture, 18th and 19th century portraiture by Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Hudson, and a wide collection of Chinese export porcelain. Williams became a key figure in the city’s preservation movement, but his legacy took a darker turn in 1981.

In that year, Williams was arrested for the shooting death of Danny Hansford, a local employee and lover. The incident occurred inside the Mercer-Williams House, setting off a sensational legal saga. Williams was tried four times for Hansford's murder--an almost unheard-of number of trials for a single case in the U.S.--and was ultimately acquitted in 1989.

The murder and the complex character of Jim Williams became the heart of John Berendt’s 1994 nonfiction novel MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL. The book was a massive success, painting a vivid portrait of Savannah’s eccentric charm and shadowy secrets. In 1997, Clint Eastwood directed the film adaptation, which starred Kevin Spacey as Williams and brought the Mercer-Williams House--as well as Savannah and The Lady Chablis--to an international audience. Though filming was restricted to exterior shots and the carriage house, the home's façade became instantly recognizable to fans of the story.

Today, the Mercer-Williams House is open for guided tours, though not all rooms are accessible to the public. Visitors can view the opulent furnishings, historic artifacts, and the lavish interior restoration completed by Williams himself. The home remains privately owned by Williams’s niece and the greater Williams family. You can find more information about visiting the house at the Mercer-Williams Museum website.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of staying in the Wedding Cake Mansion on Monterey Square in Savannah, just across from the Mercer-Williams house. I was excited to tour the home but was disappointed to discover that photos are forbidden. These pictures below are from the Mercer-Williams Museum website.

Happy designing!

Know Your Sofas: The Terrazza

I love the sofa we are examining for this installation of Know Your Sofas.

Made in 1973 for leather furniture manufacturer de Sede, the designer Ubald Klug conceived of it as a heap of sand that had been sat upon. But Klug's onetime collaborator Willi Glaeser said, "He had the idea to produce a kind of mountain. In the Alps the cows walk around leaving horizontal terraces. You see these patterns in this sofa." Hence the nickname for this sofa: "The Terrazza," or terrace...to me, they have always resembled isobars. But the manufacturer of the sofa refers to it by its product name: the DS-1025.

Interior design by Claude Missir

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler

Interior design by Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Interior design by Yves Behar

It has an irresistible 1970s glamour about it. Mick Jagger was photographed lounging on a Terrazza, conjuring up images of Studio54-esque lollying and orgying. And like most famous pieces of furniture, it has taken its turn on the silver screen. It shows up in the 1976 sci-fi film "Logan's Run" with Michael York and Jenny Agutter. (Previously featured in film and television: the Elda chair and the Ribbon chair.)

While originals sell for steep prices at auction, you can buy a new Terrazza from de Sede in a wide variety of colors.

Happy designing!

Famous Homes: Villa Necchi Campiglio

If you saw director Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film "Io Sono Amore" ("I Am Love") starring Tilda Swinton (Guadagnino also directed the phenomenal "Call Me By Your Name" in 2017), you have seen our next home in our continuing Famous Homes series (previously here).

The Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan was designed by Piero Portaluppi and built between 1932 and 1935 for sisters Gigina and Nedda Necchi (heiresses to a sewing machine empire), and Gigina’s husband, Angelo Campiglio. The design of the house represented the world's expanding interest in Modernism. Keep in mind that the Modernist Bauhaus school closed in 1933 because of Nazi opposition, but on the other side of the coin, the Villa Necchi Campiglio was designed and built during the height of Italy's rising Fascism which of course greatly influenced architecture. The dedication to clean lines and severity led to unadorned monuments, like the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana on the outskirts of Rome, and the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. In fact, in 1943, the Villa became a headquarters for the Fascist Republican Party, while the family repaired to the countryside.

After the war, the family decided to refurbish the house and employed Tomaso Buzzi to bring in furniture and furnishings that reflected a resurgent interest in antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. Unfortunately, this developed a schism in the spirit of the house. One of my design mottoes, seen to the right, is "Contrast brings interest," but contrast used judiciously and not haphazard. The Villa Necchi Campiglio does not feel like fertile ground for the kind of overwrought lighting fixtures and large, ornate fireplace surrounds that still burden the house. But one can still see the bones of the house in the marvelous steel doors, the geometric panels on the staircase, and the restrained use of inlaid rosewood. And a few pieces of original furniture by modernist designer Guglielmo Ulrich are peppered about.

Villa Necchi Campiglio has been open to the public as a museum since 2008. Gigina, who lived longer than her sister and husband and never had any children, died in 2001 at age 99 and bequeathed the house to Italy’s national trust for restoring and preserving historical buildings. The house is open for tours...if you are going to be in Milan, click here for information about the house and how to visit it!

And as I mentioned above, the film "I Am Love" was set at the Villa.

Happy designing!

Fiorito Interior Design On Film!

I am very pleased to debut a new promotional film for Fiorito Interior Design! Meet me, and learn about my business and my design process.

If you'd like to schedule a free one-hour initial meeting to discuss a project, please email me or give me a call. I'd love to help!
Happy designing!

Coming Soon: FID On Film!

I've recently been working on something very exciting for the Fiorito Interior Design brand! Here's a little sneak peek of what is in store.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
In the meantime, happy designing!

Know Your Chairs: The Elda

For this installation of Know Your Chairs, I want to share with you a marvelous chair I have loved for decades.

Created in 1963 by Italian artist and product/furniture designer Joe Colombo, the Elda chair is a classic known only to a few. Not as popular as other pieces of furniture from the Mid Century, such as the Barcelona chair or the Tulip chair, the Elda is both puzzling and inviting. A hard shell of fiberglass (one of the first such pieces of furniture to incorporate the material) on the outside protects a soft leathered inside, shaped and contoured into puffy rectangular tubes. While Colombo took his cue for the exterior from the hull of boats, there is something almost organic about the interior upholstery configuration, like intestines.

Designer Joe Colombo with sketches for his Elda chair

Even now, the chair's object-oriented quality makes it a fascinating addition to an interior plan. It looks retro, it looks modern, it looks soft and cushy, it looks shiny and sleek. Originals are highly sought after and can cost up to $10,000. Considering that the Elda is on display at both the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan and at the Louvre in Paris, it is small wonder the chair can be so pricey.

Here is the Elda chair in a luxuriously minimalist living room by Portuguese interior designer Cristina Jorge de Carvalho.

This next image is from the home of vintage furniture collector Catherine Bujold...and it segues nicely into my next point:

The Elda chair was featured heavily on an English science fiction television show from the 70s called "Space: 1999" starring Martin Landau. It took place in the future when mankind had established a colony on the moon, Moonbase Alpha. The set designer utilized lots of great 60s and 70s Italian furniture and lighting since it all appeared so futuristic at the time... and it still does. Below are some screen shots of the chair in various episodes.

And more recently, the Elda was featured in "The Hunger Games," again, for the reason that the chair looks like it has yet to be invented!

Thankfully the Elda is still in production through Italian furniture manufacturer Longhi. I'd love to have one in my own home. If you'd love one too, give me a call!

Happy designing!