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!

Famous Homes: Filoli

For this installation of Famous Homes, we need look no further than our own backyard. Here in Northern California, we have a beautiful country house located in Woodside, nestled between the San Jose and San Francisco metro areas.

Known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, the home sits among 16 acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654-acre estate. Designed for William Bowers Bourn II, the owner of one of California's wealthiest gold mines and president of the Spring Valley Water Company, which provided water to San Francisco, and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn, this impressive residence was crafted by San Francisco architect Willis Polk. Spanning 54,256 square feet, the house features 56 rooms, including a ballroom, a reception room, a dining room, cozy family spaces, and servants' quarters. The structure was built between 1915 and 1917 and the estate's name is an acronym created by combining the first two letters of the key phrases from William Bourn's credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."

From 1917 to 1936, the Bourns used Filoli as a country house when they wanted to getaway from their main residence in San Francisco. After William and Agnes Bourn's deaths in 1936, the house was sold. Thankfully the next owners also came from wealth: Mr. William P. Roth and Mrs. Lurline Matson Roth (heiress to the Matson Navigation Company) were able to properly care for the property. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated Filoli in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the estate is now both a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The estate operates as Filoli Center, and you can visit the house and gardens throughout the year.

Filoli Reception Room circa 1936

Filoli Reception Room now

Filoli Library

Filoli Dining Room

Filoli Kitchen

Filoli Ballroom circa 1927

Filoli Ballroom now

Filoli has appeared on both the big and small screens: it was an exterior location for scenes in Warren Beatty's 1978 film "Heaven Can Wait," it served as the Stanhope residence in the 1997 film "George of the Jungle" starring Brendan Fraser and, despite the fact that the show was set in Denver, Colorado, it was the home of the Carrington family on the 1980s ABC television series "Dynasty."

Just last year, in 2023, it hosted President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping for informal talks during the 2023 APEC summit in San Francisco.

Meeting in the Ballroom
Photo: Brendan Smialowski AFP|Getty

During the winter holidays, Filoli is the location of a spectacular outdoor light display while the interiors are dressed for Christmas.

Wattles Mansion Showcase House, Los Angeles 2017

I am eagerly awaiting the opening of the San Francisco Decorator's Showcase in a few weeks--and regular readers know I always post photos--but in the meantime, here are some images of the second annual Wattles Mansion Showcase House in Los Angeles, which was just held in the historic Wattles Mansion.

The website of the production company responsible for the Showcase says:

About Wattles Mansion:

This year the City of Los Angeles will allow a Designer Showcase to be presented in one of the historic homes owned by the city. Wattles Mansion, a 1908 Mission Revival built by the firm of Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey (Rose Bowl, Huntington Library & Ambassador Hotel). The house has been recognized as “the only remaining intact example of the once plentiful Hollywood estates from the period preceding the film industry”. Gurdon Wattles, originally from Omaha Nebraska, was responsible for bankrolling much of early Hollywood and the movie studios.

About the showcase:

In the spring of 2017 (March 24th-April 16th), REITZHAUS will team with acclaimed interior designers for this event for the second year. The theme for the showcase, ‘Historic Hollywood; The New Classics’. We look to this historic Los Angeles home and how it would be deigned and lived in today, while keeping all of the homes original historic features. This creative process will be a unique endeavor. Wattles Mansion and Gardens benefits from this event with restoration and donations provided by talented designers.

And the designers lived up to the brief with interesting, eclectic, and modern furnishings and finishes in this historic home.

Designer David Dalton created a marvelous, welcoming entry to the mansion. This foyer sets a tone both modern and antique, befitting the stature of the building.

Because it is an historic site, the original kitchen in the mansion cannot be removed and renovated, but a design team from Williams-Sonoma Home gave the kitchen and butler's pantry a funky, cool modern edge with dark grey paint and interesting accessories that support the original era of the house.

Here is a BEFORE image of the lilving room. Clearly the spacious room has good bones. But the design duo of Woodson and Rummerfield got a hold of it...

...and hung art salon-style (including a large painting, center, of Norman Talmadge that was found deep in the basement of the house!), and furnished the room with pieces that evoke different times and locales. It feels collected and curated over time which is the goal of good interior design!

This BEFORE picture of the dinign room shows elements typical to a Mission Revival home like the coffered ceiling and the Arts and Crafts lighting.

But Patrick Dragonette lined the walls with purple velvet, and added modern art and a stunning chandelier to create a sultry, sexy dining room perfect for dinner parties by candle light.

Fernando Diaz showed great respect for the library by keeping the walnut paneling and bookcases as well as the original ceiling painting intact. His choice of furniture--and lighting fixture!--is a fitting compliment to the room.

The large second floor landing is a luxurious spot to sit thanks to designer Jessica Brende.

Nicole Gordon added lots of art, not only on the walls but also in the form of art pieces like the Chuck Moffit coffee table to this light and airy sitting room.

The Jonathan Winslow and Fariba Cohen-designed game room feels casual and inviting.

Connecting the game room and sitting room is a gorgeous bar area created by Nicole Gordon (who also did the sitting room). I love the wallpaper she used (Tiger and Magpie by Krane) and the ethnic, dramatic feel of the entire space. The doors on the casework are lovely and the best part is the carved wooden  jungle cat console table under the window!

The master bedroom by Kym Rodger is particularly stunning. I adore how all the eclectic elements come together in a surprising way to create a truly unique feel and vision.

The Ladies' Lounge by Kelley Jackson brings an expected feminine color, pink, together with the Mission style of the home... and it works!

For every Ladie's Lounge, there must a Gentleman's Lounge, and this one designed by Mae Brunken and Melinda Ritz is pretty cool. The retro elements are superb--I love the Art Deco blue glass mirror--especially the neon "Haircuts and Shaves" sign! It feels like an old fashioned apothecary or barber shop.

And the grounds got some sprucing up with a new landscape design by Anna Hoffman.

You can learn more about Wattles Mansion here. For information about visiting or renting Wattles Mansion, click here.

If you are in the Los Angeles area next year, keep an eye out for a possible third annual Wattles Mansion Showcase by visiting this site.

And stand by for coverage of the San Francisco Decorator's Showcase, coming soon.
In the meantime happy designing!