A Glimpse Into The Neocon Lap Of Luxury

This month’s issue of Philadelphia Magazine (a publication about those area “trend setters” and “go-getters,” the “beautiful people” about whose every moment we’re supposed to obsess, for the uninitiated) gives us a revealing look into the home of one Edward Snider, the chairman of Comcast-Spectacor and deep-pocketed contributor to Freedom’s Watch.

The magazine did not publish an online version of their pictorial into the home of Snider which he shares with wife Christine, so I scanned the six-page article and published it to a site which can be accessed from here. As you can see, I’ve numbered each page and I’ll do my best to reference the writeups to each appropriate page number and photo (the writeups will also appear with the photo, but it would probably be easier if they appeared here so you could read them and then look at the photos – and by the way, the article refers to the Snider abode as “the White House”…in our nightmares, people).

Got all that? Good. Let’s begin, shall we?

In the first photo, the comely Christine poses comfortably, and the writeup (referencing pics 1 and 2) tells us…

When eco-savvy Rydal, PA architect Paul Macht dreamed up the Sniders’ Gladwyne, PA dwelling, “The idea was simple, elegant – modern, but not showy – very minimal and Zen,” he says. The front-facing sitting room, conceptualized as a nighttime space, overlooks a reflecting pond whose surface makes the ceiling shimmer in evening. Seated on a pristine Minotti loveseat, Christine Snider faces a white lacquer coffee table, also by Minotti.

(By the way, I should note that I definitely am not a home design expert, which impacts my ability to snark on the furnishings. However, I’ll try to compensate in other ways.)

And speaking of Zen, I’m sure Ed believes fully in Little Tommy Friedman and his “Suck. On. This.” profundity here concerning dark-skinned people we’re not supposed to like.

Update: Why did I know the video from the Eschaton link wouldn't work (no bad on Duncan, though; how about the "bubble" between your ears, you numbskull)...



The article also provides the following background on Christine, by the way…

Christine Snider could have her pick of interior designers. As a former pop star and lyricist for Michael Jackson, as the entrepreneur behind Realwomenjewelry.com, and, as of 2004, as the jet-setting wife of (affluent Ed) Snider, she doesn’t have to do her own decorating. But the Belgian-born beauty is DIY at heart. “When I was starting out as a singer in Paris, I did my apartment piece by piece,” she says. Now that she’s Mrs. Snider, she applies the same method to the couple’s 7,000-square-foot gated home overlooking the Philadelphia Country Club. Christine sources antiques in L.A. She stocks up on Fendi Casa in Miami. She keeps an eye out for accessories in Paris, Turks and Caicos – and believe it or not, King of Prussia. The result: a gently contemporary, covetably outfitted bastion of whitewashed SoCal chic – right in the middle of the Main Line.

(Note to the editors at Philadelphia Magazine: I don’t think “covetably” is an actual word.)

Otherwise, too dreamy!!!

Back to the Snider manse…

3

(Above) The home’s largest, most ornate La Murrina Venetian chandelier – one of about a half-dozen throughout the residence – adorns the sunken family room. “Modern white furniture can be so cold, so plastic-feeing,” says Christine. “I mix white pieces with darker natural finishes, like this espresso-stained bamboo table and armchairs from Belgium.”

Personally, when I think of Ed and his war cheerleading, these are the “white pieces” that come to mind (before they’re covered with American flags, that is).

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(Right) For the sunroom, Macht used Massangis Jaune limestone for the floors, and laid out rift-swan red oak ceilings in reverse board and batten. The dining chairs and sectional are by Fendi Casa. The glass-topped dining table is Christine’s own design.

Yep, I can almost picture Ed seated at the table writing a personal check to Carl Forti, Ari Fleischer, and the rest of Ed’s playmates.

5

(Above) Overlooking the family room, a sunlit dining room leads to the entry hall and kitchen. Here, Christine combined a tactile, casual sisal rug, a glossy chocolate-tone bamboo table, and an 18th-century Japanese screen from L.A. Asian antiques dealer Charles Jacobsen. A simple, natural bouquet of white tulips provides a serene and effortless centerpiece.

No doubt this is the room where Ed, in a particularly spiteful move, decided that the Sixers should not produce a video tribute to former star Allen Iverson when he returned to Philadelphia with his new team, the Denver Nuggets, on Wednesday March 19th (here…and white lilies might be more appropriate than tulips given all of those in our military who have sacrificed in the name of Ed’s fantasies of establishing something like a Zionist dominion).

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(Opposite top, from left to right) An inky turn-of-the-century landscape by Hippolyte Camille Delpy plays against a Fendi console outfitted with Spy Bag pulls. The entryway’s moat-like reflecting pool has clever grass-and-concrete checkerboard edging. Christine transformed the powder room from stark white to spa-like by adding a curved honey-blond wood vanity and small and square frosted-glass windows. (Opposite, bottom) In the entryway living room are a white leather couch from Roche-Bobois, an antique Japanese carp screen from Charles Jacobsen, red-theme jars from Turks and Caicos, a rare terra-cotta sculpture from Sotheby’s, and a wispy faux-coral cutout (at far left) from…Pottery Barn, that cost $24.

Yeah, I think she got taken on the faux-coral cutout (as if I would know). Kind of makes me wonder why she and Ed wouldn’t instead just pay someone during a holiday romp to the Caribbean to go diving and get a REAL-coral cutout instead (too “nouveau riche” I guess).

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, a look into a Lifestyle Of The Rich And Famous War Mongerer.

I have not one negative word to say about Christine Snider, I want to emphasize. But as far as Ed is concerned, as the song goes, “all the money you make will never buy back your soul.”