After spending a lovely few days at a friend’s house in Bridgehampton, I am eagerly anticipating my next trip out to the Hamptons.  I have spent a lot of time in the Hamptons over the years: share homes in Westhampton and Southampton; working on projects in Amagansett, East Hampton, Watermill, and Southampton; antiquing all over; and it is still hard to pick a “favorite Hampton”.  I enjoy each town for different reasons.  My friend’s home in Bridgehampton is a beautiful original cottage with a spectacular garden, pool house, and period furniture.  Running, walking, or biking the back roads in the Hamptons is the best way to see all of the beautiful homes and landscaping.  You will see a mix of modest cottages and rambling mega-homes all perfectly situated behind privet hedges.  I have added a few of my favorite published homes as well as my favorite places to stay.  Make your way out east and see for yourself!

A cottage in Southampton designed by Timothy Whealon below:

The lucite table gives the dining room a light, airy, modern feeling.

I love painted floors and this brown and white diamond pattern works beautifully with the cabinetry.

A cottage in Southampton by Chiqui and Nena Woolworth below:

The colors and patterns in this home are right up my alley.

Cottage designed by Emma Pilkington below:

Though this room has a neutral vibe, the sofa, club chair, and drapes are all patterned fabrics.  The stair rail, lamp, cocktail table, and ikat throw pillows ground the room with their deep chocolate color.

Plum silk ikat club chairs, olive green and plum muriel brandolini fabric for the drapes, pale blue walls, teal side table, and acid yellow pillows all work well together to create an interesting yet soothing room.

Keep it simple with a few statement pieces: an otherwise simple room is dressed up with a shell chandelier and mirrored center table.

Privet hedge, pool, and bright green grass- nothing better!

Home designed by David Lawrence below:

Bold blue and white with crisp clean lines and painted white woodwork keeps this beach house camera ready.

Home designed by Markham Roberts below:

A large living room with multiple seating areas is ideal.  Family can all be together while having their own space.  This is also a great set up for entertaining.

The grasscloth on the walls and the white bead board make this entrance hall soothing and inviting.  The built-in bookcase breaks up the long hall.  They suspended it to create the feeling of a wider hall.

A traditional and cozy bedroom in cool blue and whites.

I love built-in seating and this particular spot is the perfect place to curl up and read while taking in the view.

Plan a trip and stay at one of my favorite inns:

Amagansett:

The Reform Club:

Recently opened and just written up in Town and Country this is a spot I am dying to try. A renovation of a run-down shingle-covered bed and breakfast, opened last summer in the discreet East Hampton hamlet of Amagansett, where the neighbors include Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul McCartney, and Jerry Seinfeld. The look in the seven suites and three cottages is breezy and low-key: white wood paneling, taupe sofas, linen-covered headboards, embroidered bedspreads. Each suite and cottage has different contemporary art—a headless, one-armed woman makes frequent appearances in prints and paintings—a coffee table piled high with art and history tomes, iPod dock, and, best of all, a working fireplace. Voluminous bathrooms with mosaic floors (ours had his and hers walk-in showers) and Kiehl’s products are another highlight. Unless you’re at the beach or browsing East Hampton’s pricey boutiques (be driven to either in the hotel’s SUV, or borrow a bike), you’ll be tempted to stay in your own quarters, which include a terrace in most cases. Spring for a one-bedroom cottage and have your very own house in the Hamptons.

Website:  http://reformclubinn.com/main.html

East Hampton:

1770 House East Hampton:

Located at the beginning of Main Street this Inn offers charm and delicious food all within walking distance of town center. Originally built as a home, the Inn dates back to 1663.  However, it was not until 1770 when the home was converted into an inn that it gained its name.  The inn has retained much of its original architecture and colonial charm.  The steep wooden staircase, exposed wooden beams, and book lined lounge with antique fireplace are only a few elements that make this Inn warm and inviting.  With just 6 rooms and a private carriage house ( all equipped with flat screen TVs, Frette bed linens and some with fireplaces) this small Inn has an intimate and private feeling.  The restaurant is one of my favorites in town ( along with Nick and Toni’s and Della Femina) offering up many local foods and a fabulous wine list.

Website: http://www.1770house.com/

The Hedges Inn:

Recently refreshed with a multimillion-dollar renovation ( 2008) and a fabulous location ( steps from town center) this Inn is a great pick.  Beadboard wainscoting, beachy pastel hues, antique reproduction furniture, and flat-screen TVs outfit the 12 rooms, which also have marble-clad bathrooms.  There’s no restaurant or pool, but East Hampton’s restaurants are a ten-minute walk away, and guests receive parking permits to nearby East Hampton Village Beaches (along with beach chairs and towels) as well as passes to the East Hampton Gym.

Website: http://www.thehedgesinn.com/

Mill House Inn:

This Inn is a 19th century house with iPod decks and flat screen TVs with 11 individually decorated rooms.  They do a fabulous job of mixing the old with the new, bathrooms are recently updated and 5 rooms are dog friendly.  Located a few steps from the center of town but maintaining a calm quiet this is a wonderful choice for your getaway weekend.

Website: http://www.millhouseinn.com/

xo,

S

Summer is my favorite season and that is due, in large part, to all of the summer days and nights spent in Newport, RI. The seaside town is set amidst historic buildings, cobble stone streets, and some of the nations best known ( and impeccably preserved) mansions.  You can charter a motor or sail boat to take in the spectacular coast line or hop on a bike or walk the city to get a feel for it’s charming streets.

1. Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong on the set of High Society filmed in Newport. A must see!

2. Dinner and dancing at The Sky Bar on the top floor of The Clark Cooke House. After 11:30 pm the tables are cleared and the DJ starts spinning, finish up the evening with a rendition of “God Bless America”.  The heirloom tomato salad and lobster ravioli are my favorite dishes.  Make sure to save room for their famous “Snowball in Hell” for dessert (a chocolate brownie, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and shaved coconut lit on fire).

3. Surfing at Bailey’s as photographed by Slim Aarons

4. Newport to Bermuda Race June 2010

1. Grab a cocktail ( preferably a dark n’ stormy) and watch the sun set on the lawn of The New York Yacht Club.  On a side note, I was married here and it is one of my favorite locations.

2. Images 2,3,6, and 7 are various levels of The Clark Cooke House ( the Sky Bar is the top) which in my opinion, is the best restaurant in town for dinner.

4. The Newport Bridge at Sunset

5. The Black Pearl is located right next to the Cooke House on Bannisters Wharf and is the perfect spot for lunch or go to the annex for a hot dog and clam chowder.

7. The Boom Boom Room is the night club in the basement of The Clark Cooke House.

1. and 2. The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Berwind made his fortune in the Pennsylvania coal industry. In 1898, the Berwinds engaged Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French chateau d’Asnieres (c.1750) outside Paris. Construction of The Elms was completed in 1901 at a cost reported at approximately $1.4 million. The interiors and furnishings were designed by Allard and Sons of Paris and were the setting for the Berwinds’ collection of Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades. The elaborate Classical Revival gardens on the grounds were developed between 1907 and 1914. They include terraces displaying marble and bronze sculpture, a park of fine specimen trees and a lavish lower garden featuring marble pavilions, fountains, a sunken garden and carriage house and garage. These gardens were recently restored.

Mrs. Berwind died in 1922, and Mr. Berwind invited his sister, Julia, to become his hostess at his New York and Newport houses. Mr. Berwind died in 1936 and Miss Julia continued to summer at The Elms until her death in 1961, at which time the house and most of its contents were sold at public auction. The Preservation Society of Newport County purchased The Elms in 1962 and opened the house to the public. In 1996, The Elms was designated a National Historic Landmark.

3. The Tea House at Marble House. Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, a summer house, or “cottage”, as Newporters called them in remembrance of the modest houses of the early 19th century. But Marble House was much more; it was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport’s subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces.

Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family’s fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. His older brother was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers. Alva Vanderbilt was a leading hostess in Newport society, and envisioned Marble House as her “temple to the arts” in America. It was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present. The Vanderbilts had 3 children: Consuelo, who became the 9th Duchess of Marlborough; William K., Jr., a prominent figure in pioneering the sport of auto racing in America; and Harold, one of the finest yachtsmen of his era who successfully defended the America’s Cup three times. The Vanderbilts divorced in 1895 and Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House, and had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women’s right to vote. She sold the house to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate.  In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark

4. The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century. The Commodore’s grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, became Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in 1885, and purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport during that same year. In 1893, he commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters.

The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother’s death in 1934. An ardent supporter of The Preservation Society of Newport County, she opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Society. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.

5. and 6. Doris Duke’s Rough Point. Frederick W. Vanderbilt built this vast English Manorial house in 1889 on a dramatic, windswept promontory on Newport’s Cliff Walk, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. In 1922, James B. Duke, the founder of fortunes in electric power and tobacco, and benefactor of Duke University, purchased Rough Point. In 1925, James Duke died, leaving his enormous financial legacy to twelve-year-old Doris, his only child. Rough Point became one of Doris’s several very private retreats.

Doris Duke had a keen eye as a collector and followed this passion throughout her life. Representative artists within the collection include Renoir, Van Dyck, and Joshua Reynolds as well as artisans of the Ming Dynasty. Upon her death in 1993, she bequeathed the estate to the Newport Restoration Foundation, the organization she founded to help preserve Newport Rhode Island’s architectural heritage.

7. The Tennis Hall of Fame

Places To Stay:

1. The Inn at Castle Hill overlooks the mouth of Newport Harbor and Jamestown.

To reserve a room: http://www.castlehillinn.com/

2. The Chanler Hotel is perched right above 1st Beach at the beginning of the Cliff Walk.

To reserve a room: http://www.thechanler.com/

3. The Hotel Viking is the perfect spot to be right in the center of town.  From here it is an easy walk to tour the mansions, browse antiques on Spring Street, or walk down to dinner on Thames Street.

To reserve a room: http://www.hotelviking.com/

Real Estate: Below are a selection of beautiful homes that are currently for sale in Newport. Visit  www.liladelman.com or www.gustavewhite.com for details.

If you want to see more of Newport and read about the architects and the people whose homes they designed go to amazon for the following books:

www.amazon.com

xo,

S

I was referred to this article in Garden & Gun ( don’t you just love the name of this magazine?) by one of my cousins and I had to get this out there.

If you’re looking for an original piece of Kentucky Thoroughbred history, chances are George Gatewood of Longwood Antique Woods has it. Based in Lexington, Gatewood specializes in reclaiming horse barns slated for demolition or no longer in use. But these aren’t just any old horse barns. Gatewood’s collection includes such finds as original stall doors from Faraway Farm, the birthplace of Triple Crown winner War Admiral, and hoof-worn paving bricks from Hamburg Place, the stomping grounds of multiple Kentucky Derby winners since its founding in 1898.

Gatewood’s mission began when he watched a bulldozer barrel through his family’s 200-year-old farmhouse in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, to make room for an industrial park. “It was just awful to watch,” he says. Since then, his team has meticulously pulled some two million nails from 500 structures, preserving wood and other materials that otherwise would have been lost to history.

For do-it-yourselfers, Gatewood will ship the materials directly to you, or his team can also install antique flooring, beams, and mantels, or even create one-of-a-kind furniture. “These barns are not being used,” he says. “They will expire and fall back into the earth. It’s nice to know you can sacrifice those buildings and someone will honor them for a long time to come.”

You can see the magazine and the above article on Garden & Gun’s website: www.gardenandgun.com

Visit the Longwood website and look for everything from salvaged beams, to doors, to log cabins: http://www.longwoodantiquewoods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=5

xo,

S

In need of a break? Is there weather still a bit too cool for you? Get on Jetsetter and book yourself a vacation at a deep discount!

Hotel Luca- Napa Valley

Perfectly situated in Yountville, this boutique hotel offers you access to their Italian restaurant on site with a complimentary breakfast as well as a spa for that much needed massage after a long day of vineyard hopping. Yountville is also home to a few of my favorite spots: Maisonry, Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty, and French Laundry.

Round Hill- Jamaica

The interiors were designed by Ralph Lauren so you can expect a high end but relaxed vibe. Amazing views of the Caribbean from the restaurant, your room, and the infinity edge pool. You will also get a discount on your jet blue flight!

Fairmont- Southampton, Bermuda

Sink your toes into the warm pink sand f Bermuda’s beaches will sipping a Dark and Stormy. This 100 acre plantation estate boasts an ocean-view golf course, tennis center, and nine restaurants and bars.

El Bulli Hotel – Seville, Spain

Food and wine, a gourmet paradise. The 44 room Andalusian hotel is built around a 1,100-year old farmhouse. Bedrooms boast soaring ceilings with hand painted murals. Stroll among gardens carefully lined with orange trees and Mediterranean herbs, lounge by the pool on a luxurious day bed, or consider a massage in the spa. The hotel is quite but you can make the 25 minute drive into Seville for shopping, museums, and nightlife.

The Osprey- Beaver Creek

Is your idea of a getaway wide open spaces in the wild west? The Osprey is right on the mountain at Beaver Creek allowing their guests access to hiking, biking, fly fishing, golf, etc.

Sign up for free at Jetsetter: http://www.jetsetter.com/sales

Happy Travels.

xo,

S

This streak of gorgeous weathers feels more like August than the middle of May…but I will take it. We are heading up to Rhode Island for the weekend to get in on this summer fun.

Does summer bring out your arsenal of brightly colored clothing? Does it remind you of popsicles, beach balls, sun tan lotion, and wild fun? The below rooms are packed with color, whimsy, and do not take themselves to seriously, just like you!

Do you like your white linen dress to be crisp, not a wrinkle in your slacks, navy and white stripped bow tie to sit just so? These cool clean rooms may be a great jumping off point for you:

Is summer your time to kick back, relax, and let the sand fall where it may? If so, the rooms below are for you with their sparse furniture plans, slip covers, and sisal carpets.

Happy Friday!!

xo,

S

Heading down to Palm Beach for a long weekend for some fun in the sun and lots of antiquing for clients!

xo,

S

Once we left the Brooklyn Botanical Garden we wandered to Boerum Hill in Brooklyn and stumbled upon Layla, a jewel-box of a store that I have been meaning to get to for months.

Alayne Patrick works with master craftsmen in India to create one of a kind jewelry, clothing, housewares, and bedding. I picked up a lovely grey and white kaftan as well as some beautiful blue and white napkins, a tablecloth, and bedding for a client. The bedding is woven from high-quality cotton and accented with brightly colored stitching.

Layla is a beautiful store- a must visit!

xo,

S

Last weekend it was 70 degrees and gorgeous. The perfect day for a visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. An easy subway ride from the West Village brings you right to the entrance but once inside you are worlds away from New York City. The smell of all the blossoming flowers and tress transports you to the country side.

Lilacs, grape hyacinths, and crabapple trees greet you as you enter the garden and make your way down to cherry lane.

The cherry blossoms were almost in full bloom when we visited. This is the perfect spot to bring a picnic lunch and a book.

There are so many flowers through out the gardens and all the plants have their names proudly posted.

Once past Cherry Lane the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden awaits. It is filled with a myriad of trees, flowers, animals, and sculptures. I love the cut-out shape above on the footbridge- it would be great as a repeated pattern set into venetian plaster.

The tulip bed took my breath away. Flowers are planted by color and species and the patterns are beautiful.

If you are enable to make it there in April, May and June offer their own special blooms.

• April: Magnolias, daffodils, forsythias, flowering cherries, crabapples, Native Flora and Japanese Hill-and-Pond Gardens.
• May: Lilacs, tulips, bluebells, wisterias, Shakespeare Garden, Rock Garden, dogwoods, azaleas in the Osborne Garden.
• June: Cranford Rose Garden, Perennial Borders, Annual Border, Herb Garden, irises, peonies.

Visit the website for hours, directions, and admission: http://www.bbg.org/

Follow the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on Twitter for updates: http://twitter.com/bklynbotanic

xo,

S

If you are a fan of architecture Paris should be on the top of your list for a visit. Everywhere you turn you see beautiful buildings that have been there for hundreds of years. I can spend the whole day walking ( and eating) around the different arrondisments in Paris and still be thirsting for more the next day. I never tire of seeing all that Paris has to offer. Below I have listed a few of my favorite sites, museums, shops, and restaurants.

The Louvre was built as a fortress in the 12th century and then converted into a royal palace in the 14th century. It’s current appearance goes back to the 15th century when the original fortress was demolished and the wing along the Seine was built. During the 16th and 17th centuries the palace was extended and the Tuileries palace was added to the west of the Louvre. In the 19th century the Richelieu wing was added. It became a museum of art in 1793- The MET in New York was opened 79 years later in 1892.

The pyramid was built in 1989 by renowned American arichitect I.M. Pei. The modern glass entrance not only brings light to the ground floor, it also adds a wonderful modern element to the historic background which is the Louvre.

Musee Marmottan, originally built as a hunting lodge in the 16th arr., is now a small museum that holds the world’s largest collection of Monet paintings. This is by far and away my favorite museum. The home itself is stunning from the hand laid floors designed in intricate patterns, the paint colors on the walls, the drapes, the moldings, the decorative painting, and the antiques are all stunning. Then you get to view the art!

A brief history:
Originally a hunting lodge for the Duke of Valmy, the house at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne was purchased by Jules Marmottan in 1882 who later left it to his son Paul Marmottan. Marmottan moved into the lodge and, with an interest in the Napoleonic era, he expanded his father’s collection of paintings, furniture and bronzes. Marmottan bequeathed his home and collection to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The Académie opened up the house and collection as the Museum Marmottan in 1934.
Though originally a showcase for pieces from the First Empire, the nature of the museum’s collection began to change with two major donations. In 1957, Victorine Donop de Monchy gave the museum an important collection of Impressionist works that had belonged to her father, Doctor Georges de Bellio, physician to Manet, Monet, Pissaro, Sisley and Renoir, and an early supporter of the Impressionist movement. In 1966, Claude Monet’s second son, Michel Monet, left the museum his own collection of his father’s work, thus creating the world’s largest collection of Monet paintings.
Jacque Carlu, then curator of the museum, built a special exhibition space for the Monet collection in a lower level of the museum. Inspired by the hall designed for Monet’s Water Lilies murals in the Musée de l’Orangerie, the large, open room allows visitors to see a progression of Monet’s work, as well as to view his canvases both up close and from afar. One of the most notable pieces in the museum is Monet’s Impression, Sunrise (Impression, Soleil Levant), the painting from which the Impressionist movement took its name. The painting was stolen from the Musée Marmottan in 1985, but recovered five years later and returned to the permanent exhibit in 1991.

Best Vintage Clothing/ Accessories Shopping: Les 3 marches de Catherine B has more hermes and chanel vintage pieces than you could dream of. I found beautiful handbags, scarves, and jewelry.

The most fabulous garden shop with a stunning display of taxidermy on the 2nd floor: Le Prince Jardinier/ Deyrolle

Prince Louis Albert de Broglie knows a thing or two about cultivating one’s garden—it was tending the one at his château near Tours that inspired him to create a shop that caters to the gardening art de vivre. In addition to offering handsome tools and other accoutrements, this store specializes in the kind of gear—country-chic jackets, aprons, and natural fiber bags—that has a life well beyond the garden. ” Your garden is beautiful, your tools should be as well”.

The enthusiastic response allowed the prince to twice rescue Deyrolle on the second floor of his shop: Founded in 1831, this unrivaled cabinet of curiosities—part taxidermy shop, part museum—was saved from bankruptcy by de Broglie in 2001, only to be gutted by fire in 2008. When Deyrolle’s space rose from the ashes in late 2009 ( there is a Phoenix on display!), “naturalized” circus animals had returned to the floor, as had other curios of the natural world, from boxes of mounted butterflies and iridescent insects (Yves Saint Laurent was a collector) to assorted crystals, shells, a polar bear, beautiful butterflies and bugs displayed in shadow boxes and bell jars as if in flight, as well as various species of roosters.

Le Prince Jardinier: http://www.princejardinier.com/

Deyrolle: http://www.deyrolle.com/magazine/

The Marais District: The oldest district in Paris has fabulous shopping, people watching, and dining. It is a mix of SoHo and the West Village.

Favorite spot for lunch- Chez Janou. The chocolate pudding is a MUST

Antique Hunting in The Marais: Between the Seine and the Marais the village of Saint-Paul has many shops to choose from.

Au Bon Usage – 21 Rue Saint Paul- a connoisseur of Thonet Furniture

http://www.aubonusage.com/aubonusage/index-en.html

Aux Trois Singes – A decorative shop with all the beautiful odds and ends to fill up a bookshelf of curiosities. Must-have traditional garden objects such as a beautiful watering can with the blue paint rusted off in the most perfect way. You will also find amazing one of a kid pieces for your New York terrace or country home.

Aside from the Marais district you must go to one of the local flea markets in Paris. I have found many treasures for clients and for myself.

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen – found in Clignancourt. This is a huge flea market (largest in the world) and can take days to wander through. It is best to get there early as many of the goods are picked through after lunch. I like to start on the left side from the the top of Rue des Rosiers with Marché Malassis which sells furniture and objects from the 18th and 19th centuries. Marché Dauphine is next and has a bit of everything. You will find art, furiture, books, vintage clothes and jewelry. Next up are Marche Serpette and Marche Paul Bert which both have a wonderful selection of mirrors, art, antique luggage, hardware, and kitchen goods.

Marche Vernaison holds many stores but the Moments & Matieres stand has amazing pieces that are perfect for propping clients homes for photo shoots. Old silk fabrics, beautiful colored rope, lamps, beaten up chairs from the 18th century, coral, pedestals, a tailor’s dummy, a plaster bust of napoleon, skulls, shells, and apothecary bottles.

2 of my favorite dinner spots:

1. Email ahead, way ahead, to get a reservation at the hottest table in Paris, Hidden Kitchen. The 10 course meal is served in the chef’s home ( a young couple from Boston, MA). You will be one of 16 guests and the location is emailed to you the week before your dinner. Below are images of my favorite courses.

2. When your stomach gets a bit tired of all the butter and cream try the best Italian restaurant in all of Paris, Le Cherche Midi. Two brothers own and run this marvelously quaint spot. We started with a huge rucola and parmesan and a plate of the assorted meats for the table. The mozzarella de buffala is flown in twice weekly from Naples. For the main course, I had to try a pasta and went with the home-made ravioli pomodoro with basil and ate every last bite. The pasta with white truffles was also, as you can imagine, amazing. With only a few tables be sure to make a reservation a few nights in advance.

22 Rue Du Cherche Midi, 6^{th Arr.}

http://www.lecherchemidi.fr/

This was just a taste of all we saw and did in Paris. I hope you found it inspiring and helpful for your next visit.

xo,

S

I will report back on all of my finds when I return!

xo,

S

All of these snowstorms are getting old. Time to lift your spirits and plan an island getaway (or spend some time gazing at your computer screen taking a mental vacation!). I have gone through photos of trips we have taken over the last 2 years and will be posting some standouts . Just looking at these photos inspires me and gets me through these cold snowy months!

In the midst of February, we headed south to the Parrot Cay Resort, a private island with 1000 acres of forests, marshes, and beaches. There are direct flights from New York City to the capital Providenciales. Flight time is just 3 hours. From there you are picked up at the airport and whisked off to a dock via private shuttle. The staff greats you with coronas and water and then you get aboard the resorts boat.

Once you arrive via boat the staff is waiting with golf carts to transport you to the main building on the island for check in.

The views from the pool are stunning. It is elevated at dune height so you see out over the pool to the beach below.

The Lotus Restaurant is set up above the pool with indoor/ outdoor dining. The wooden structure is beautiful. At Lunch they serve up carribean inspired dishes and at night the cuisine has a japanese and thai flair. You can order off the COMO Shambhala menu ( the very healthy spa menu) at both restaurants as well as for room service. The restaurants were never crowded and the dress code is casual.

Below is the path from the main building and rooms down to the beach and gym. The outdoor stone shower below the pool is enormous. The gym is housed in a large wooden structure opposite the pool.

The Terrace Restaurant serves modern Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant is attached to the main building and looks out over the gardens below, tennis courts to the right, and the ocean.

Ocean facing room: These rooms look out over gardens to the pool and beach below. each room has it’s own private deck with a sofa and chairs where you can have breakfast. Terra-cotta tiled floors, balinese furniture, and white cotton fabric and walls give the room a relaxing Caribbean vibe. The resort also has beach villas with up to 4 bedrooms. The largest residence on the property is made up of two homes ( each with 4 bedrooms) and belongs to Donna Karan but is available to rent.

At the poolside bar we would grab the backgammon set and settle down for cocktails before dinner. Some of the locals ( those lucky enough to have built homes on the island- Bruce Willis and Keith Richards) stop in for drinks at the bar as it is the only watering hole on the island.

The spa is incredible. The yoga and pilates rooms have large sliding doors that open up one entire side of the rooms to the marsh and ocean below. There are separate hot tubs and steam rooms for both men and women as well as one hot tub that is set out in a garden under the stars where men and women are both welcomed. There are complimentary yoga, pilates, and beach yoga sessions offered daily.

The scuba diving and bone fishing is exceptional. While on the island it is great to get out on a boat and see the reefs, flats, and the change in the color of the water. From the beach you can take out a catamaran and snorkel and mask for excursions.

Every evening you can walk the mile long beach with drinks in hand and watch the sunset… ahhhh I want to go back!

Book your trip: http://www.parrotcay.como.bz/

xo,

S

One of my favorite fabric designers, John Robshaw, has come out with his new collection of blockprinted linens and cotton voiles. His fabrics are totally inspiring and the color combinations are fresh. I have used his fabrics, duvets, bed linens, bathrobes, napkins, and throw pillows in many projects and in many different ways.

John’s forays in Asia have taken him to the villages of Gujarat and Rajasthan to work alongside artisans and study their traditional printing methods; he has made court batiks in Yogakarta, Indonesia; block printed sarongs alongside a family who has been printing for four generations; he has vegetable-dyed ikats in Thailand. In India, John found that he could apply a painterly aesthetic to the traditional method of block-printing by mixing up patterns and overlapping them in a more formally artistic way. There, his signature dynamic look was crafted: an updated spin on the exotic, handmade object; a vibrant mix of sophistication and romantic allure. “I want all the colors, processes and designs from each culture to blend. I redesign them and mix up the processes in ways no one has ever done before. I try to edit them, learn from them, make them my own but retain their essence. In piggybacking these designs and techniques with each other or with my own ideas, what emerges is new and fresh, and yet retains that sense of tradition, of the handmade. When I need to hire someone to help, I pick the old printers. Their hands are shaky and their eyesight is poor, so the pattern comes out slightly off. I want to feel that human touch,” says John.

“By producing my textiles abroad, I get to become a minor character in the lives of the people I work with, and I can take inspiration from what I see and do there. I go to their weddings, celebrate their festivals, I get sick with them, I develop relationships with the people who are teaching me. When you look at my textiles, its like you’ve been on the world tour along with me.”

Algiers Lotus

JRL 77-58

Alhambre Coral

JRL 75-61

Vintage Stripe Coral- I would love to use this as wall upholstery in a library or bedroom.

JRL 21-61

Petra Cobalt- This would look beautiful as drapes or on a sofa.

JRL 39-21

Anar Charcoal – for you black and white lovers. This can go anywhere but would be fun on an upholstered headboard.

JRCV 11-22

I used the above pattern in red and white for two twin headboards in a client’s beach house:

Another client’s beach house- John Robshaw euro squares, sheets and quilt.

A showhouse up in Rhode Island- John Robshaw crane pillow on the bed

Two rope chairs upholstered in John Robshaw’s blue on blue stripe.

More of John Robshaw: http://www.johnrobshaw.com/shop.htm

xo,

S

We had to cancel our big trip out to Aspen due to the incredible amount of snow the East Coast was receiving last week. With it being Valentine’s Day and a long weekend we had to get something on the books. With all of this snow and the winter olympics we decided to drive to a snowy winter wonderland… The Adirondack Mountains! We looked at Whiteface Lodge as well as a few other places but decided on The Lake Placid Lodge.

Lake Placid Lodge is a Relaid and Chateaux property and the original lodge was built as a family residence in 1882. In 1946, the Garrett Hotel Group purchased the lodge and turned it into a hotel. In the winter of 2005 a massive fire burned the lodge to the ground and the Garrett Hotel group set about rebuilding the Lodge with a team of architects and local artisans. The new Main Lodge is a majestic Arts and Crafts style building impressive in scale yet feels totally warm and cozy inside

.

Above: The bar is more of a large living room with small tables for two, large sofas and cocktail tables for groups, a roaring fireplace, a bar, and bookshelves crammed with board games, books, and the only television you will find in the Lodge.

Almost every piece of furniture, rug, and lighting source was custom made by a local artisan for the lodge. I spent hours pouring over every detail. The above chair is just one of the hundreds of unique pieces. Truly beautiful and very comfortable.

The bar itself is adorned with hand-carved and painted leaves, branches, and pines cones.

In the main dining area all tables, chairs, and pendant lights are custom made.

A detail shot of the chairs and tables. ails were not used in making these pieces. They were all put together with pegs by hand.

This beautiful birch tree grew up through the center of the staircase leading from the bar and restaurant to the bedrooms in the lodge.

I love the color combination used in the stairwell. The warm reds and oranges in the custom carpet really pop against the softly raged green walls. Local artists paintings hang on many of the walls.

This fireplace outside the bar was my favorite. The artist was given free reign to do whatever he wanted and he carved trees, branches, leaves, pine cones, chipmunks, owls, and pheasants. This was amazing!

Detail shots of the pine cones, chipmunks, and owl. You can see all of the little hatch marks he made on the chipmunk to make it look like fur.

Below: The map room. A hand painted map of the local area and birch trees used as columns. This room overlooks the lake and can be used for conferences or private dinners.

Our bedroom: We stayed in Hearthside, one of the few rooms located on the second floor in the main lodge. With a large balcony overlooking Lake Placid and a huge fireplace, this room was very cozy. The most amazing feature in the room was the bed. A local artisan carefully selected branches from trees and fit them together. He fit similar branches all around the top of the walls and they met and twisted around an oval shape full length mirror. The room felt like a forrest.

The cowhide rugs with zebra print on them were a fun playful addition. Theheavy linen used for the duvet and shams is from Andrew Martin.

Bedside table lamps were hand made from branches and had birds nests at the top. Great detail.

The moose head is carved from wood and there were two large club chairs upholstered in a deep red and green plaid on either side of the fireplace. The perfect place to snuggle up and read in the afternoons.

The bathrooms were enormous with Kohler “tea-for-two” bathtubs. The showers had large rain heads. Both the shower and the bathtub had views of the lake.

Durning the day there are a ton of activities: snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, downhill skiing at Whiteface mountain. It snowed every day we were there. You truly feel a million miles away from the city! In the summer they have their own boat that you can take out on the lake. There is also fly fishing, swimming, and shooting.

When snowshoeing/ cross country skiing over the lake you have a chance to take a peak at all of the beautiful adirondack style boat houses and homes that surround Lake Placid. This is a place we will definitely be returning to!!

http://lakeplacidlodge.com/#/

A few picks for your Adirondack Camp:

Elk hair and antler stools

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=179993

Rustic brach chandelier:

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_search.php?i_keyword=antlers&stype=1&type=2

Horn Lamp from the Black Forrest circa 1880

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=255089

Moose Antler sconces with antique paisley shades

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=313093

Vintage widemouth bass mounted on birch bark frame – USA 1940’s

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=344425

Peter Dunham- fig leaf fabric for wall upholstery

http://peterdunhamtextiles.com/textiles/view/Fig+Leaf

19th century american sofa in homespun linen

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=378744

1930’s navajo weaving pillow

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=369043

Moroccan Marmoucha rug circa 1950-1970

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=332071

xo,

S

ThiThis post should be called “what isn’t in my bookshelf”. I am a collector of books, therefore our bookshelves are overflowing with every type of book. Aside from my collection of magazines ( every issue of House Beautiful, Elle Decore, House and Garden, Domino, World of Interiors, and Veranda), fiction and non-fictions books, and clients folders, I have a huge collection of books that I reach for when I need inspiration. The topics range from textiles, to architectural styles, to fashion, to artists, to table settings, to hotels, to interiors, etc. You never know what might move you. Each client requires a fresh eye and a different style.

xo,

S

SAD! Our flight on United out to Aspen was canceled this am! We have looked everywhere, tried everything, and cannot get a flight out of here until Sunday! Needless to say, Aspen is not happening. After dealing with the disappointment and hours on the phone canceling connecting flights, dinner reservations, etc, we got ourselves together and hatched a new plan. Not ones to be easily dissuaded, we have opted to keep our long weekend adventure based… The new local is beautiful, snowy, and we will have a GREAT new vacation spot to write up for you on Tuesday! Stay Tuned!

xo,
S and J