"The Prince of Chintz," Mario Buatta dead at 82

He did Mariahs mansion in the sky

R1, that's pretty much all I know him from and what I was going to post when I opened this thread. I know it wasn't everyone's taste, but to me it looks glamorous and comfortable. I'd be happy living there.

If you watch Bravo's "Southern Charm," he did Pat Altschul's house. Also did her NYC apartment. They were buds.

The NYTimes outed him as a Trump supporter. And as an asshole to the "little people." Also, a hoarder who lived in a filthy but chic pigsty. And would go see Peggy Lee in concert for 40 days in a row. Left unsaid was that he was a closet case. No thanks.

He WAS the 80s in New York.

I love his rooms. Too bad he supported trump. Maybe in part to please his uber rich clients. All that chintz doesn't come cheap, you need a boatload of tax scams and tax cuts to afford it.

He never had an assistant and was three years behind in his billing when he died.

Supposedly, he was famous for his "sense of humor," but none of his antics sound remotely funny. Have seen no sign of a partner in his life and his only survivor was a brother. Most likely gay but homophobic, like Lindsay Graham.

Better late than never for a thread about Buatta's death, I suppose.

He really WAS 80s midbrow design, together with Laura Ashley. Their style will always remind me of my youth, and I'll probably always have a secret weakness for it.

From my current POV, there's just a little too much in everything he designed. 20% less (fewer objects, fewer patterns), and it would be perfect.

Sounds like a nasty piece of work. Like his rooms but not a good man.

Someone should write a bio about him titled "Overstuffed."

I liked his work, sorry to hear

When the last eldergay finally dies will chintz disappear from the earth forever? Please say yes

Fucking Trumptard. Anyone who supports Trump supports racism and homophobia. And stupidity.

Obviously a self-loathing homosexual.

Of humble origins in Staten Island

Love this one

A few years old, but more bad press:

Ok sorry this one

R18 that co7ch would hide a multitude of spills

R17, thanks for posting the article, most illuminating. Buatta's really emerging as a jerk in his after-death life.

I'll bet his sofa is haunted.

Queen of Velveteen

I guess those cheap round particle board tables draped in fabric and topped with glass and knick knacks will forever be his legacy. Gotta admit, everybody had one but how tacky they look now.

Always liked how he'd shirr chintz tubes on hanging chandeliers. Very smart.

NYSD loved the old right winger, of course.

That room at r18 looks like the third ring of Hell. Ugh.

Nasty old queen. I worked at a high-end antique store once upon a time (yes, I was the proverbial shop bottom) and he was horrible to deal with. Always had some cutting comment for me but was "just kidding." He called once to say he was coming in to look at something, so the owner sent me on an errand so I wouldn't have to deal with him. He came in and asked, "But where is that boy?"

[27]: I worked for a Italo-American Countess and her German-Jewish mother, also a countess courtesy of the dead fascist husband/father. I was the "ragazzo" and the young art history major I worked with was the "ragazza". Mario never came in in the 2 years I worked there, but similar types did. Remember a real queen decorator, Terry della Stuffa, from Rio who came in with other queens to buy a lot of 17th Italian furniture. I mean who could use that shit as furniture?

R27, any more stories? I bet you've got tons.

His interiors look dated now and have not withstood the test of time.

In the world of big name decorators, Billy Baldwin's work has aged much more gracefully.

Being a rabid Trump supporter says it all. Nasty queen who got for himself and never gave back.

R29, I don't really have many "name" stories to share but, in general, decorators are all pieces of work. They've somehow conflated picking furniture, fabrics and paint colors with curing cancer, if you wanted to rate their self importance levels. Like Buatta, most decorators don't charge for their time; they just mark up the price of everything they can sell their clients by 50-100%. This includes the work of tradesman and contractors. We never had price tags on any of the items in the store because God forbid a client should come in and see that a small side table was going for $12,500 when they would later be billed $25,000 for it. And that is a very small example. One of the famed dragon lady decorators some years ago said she would find it a "struggle" to decorate a house for $1,000,000 and of course, that wouldn't include art. I can guarantee you that she was making hundreds of thousands of dollars off a deal like that, but that wasn't enough for her. And she had a wealthy tycoon for a husband, too. Decorators love to take clients on buying trips because they can fly first class and stay in fabulous hotels, all on the client's dime, and buy precious little ornaments from the Paris flea market or antique rugs from a British auction house that have "provenance." Not that I have sympathy for the clients who were being taken for a ride. Most were deeply unhappy people with too much money who thought creating a perfect home would give them a perfect life. There's a reason why homes would usually hit the market as soon as the photo spread about the place was published in AD.