Your Family Decorator: Sometimes, a Seaside View Requires No Water at All

By Carleton Varney
Thursday, September 18, 2008

Artist Sybil Nestor paints seaside scenes on the glass of window frames and sometimes incorporates real sand and seashells into her work. Photo courtesy of Sybil Nestor

Every so often – and maybe that should be "more often" than "not so often" – I spend a day, or at least an afternoon, at an outdoor fair, whether it's a fine art sale or a crafts event. During the winter season, South Florida's calendar is packed with these fairs, and the same is true up north during the spring and summer months.

Rhinebeck, N.Y., for example, hosts an outdoor antiques fair as well as a crafts fair each summer at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. By "outdoor," I mean some of the booths are outdoors, while others are housed in buildings where livestock are sometimes shown. This past summer – alas, can summer truly be past? – I spent an afternoon of art-discovery at the Southampton, N.Y., outdoor art sale, where local artists and some artists from out of state displayed their talents and sold their works.

Some of the local artists were experimentalists, newcomers searching for a way to show their work to the public. Remember, not every new young artist can find representation in a gallery, nor can he or she always find a dealer. Are artists made overnight? Sometimes, yes – but oftentimes, no. Still, I do enjoy looking at the works of young artists, and on occasion I buy a piece or two.

At Southampton, my discovery was Sybil Nestor and her window-painted pieces. Nestor paints on glass, specifically on the panels in old glass windows. She paints the scenes all of us dream of. If there is a picture I'd like to see when I look out a window, I would chose her images of a beach and palm trees.

Some of her pieces even have actual sand and real seashells incorporated into them, and I would refer to those as wall hangings. The sand and shells come from both of the Florida coasts – east and west – but Nestor actually resides in the middle of the Sunshine State in Ocala during the winter. At other times, she lives on Long Island in New York.

Nestor's painted beaches without palm branches sell for $100 each, while those with palms, sand and the works go for $150. Each of Nestor's pieces is painted in oil and is moisture-proof, making it a perfect decorative piece for a bathroom wall.

Nestor began her art craft 30 years ago, when so many decorators were filling the panels of discarded mullioned windows with mirrors. I know you have seen many wall hangings of old windows where the glass panels have been replaced with sheet mirror. These wall hangings can be very attractive and very decorative when appropriately hung in the right settings.

From October to May, Nestor and her husband, Bill, take their show to the road. "We are like gypsies and arrive at the shows all across the state of Florida," she says. "We are in Palm Beach (County) the first weekend in May. At Thanksgiving, we are in Delray at the Pineapple Grove Art show."

They have sold their works to actors, socialites and decorators. Some of their works have been hung on motor yachts and sailing craft, and some have been sent to far away places – Australia and Poland, to name only two.

If you wish to see some of Nestor's works, log onto www.sybilnestor.com, where you can see the couple's show schedule for this coming season. The Nestors don't ship, so you'll have to wait until their gypsy wagon arrives on the East Coast.

Here is a decorating idea that you might want to try with Nestor's works. The beach-and-palm-tree windows can be used as headboards behind two twin beds in a Florida guest room, where the guests will always enjoy the view from the windows. Some of the windows are 36 inches wide – perfect for a twin bed!

I purchased one of the painted window frames and hung it on a wall of the windowless bathroom in my New York apartment. Mine depicts a beach with sand, shells and a heavenly blue sky. When I'm brushing my teeth, I can always know that the white sands of Palm Beach are calling me!

Interior designer, author and columnist Carleton Varney is the president and owner of Dorothy Draper & Co. in New York City, one of the oldest established interior design firms in the United States. Varney's worldwide roster of clients includes many in Palm Beach. He welcomes comments, suggestions and decorating questions from readers. E-mail him at cvarney@

dorothydraper.com or write to him at Carleton Varney, c/o Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News, 265 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach 33480.