Uncategorized

This Christmas, I had a wonderful opportunity to revisit the Biltmore in Asheville, NC.

America’s preeminent “castle” built by George Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith, this unbelievable estate was officially opened on Christmas Eve, 1895, after six years of construction.  I had toured the Biltmore once before on a beautiful summer day, but I knew that at Christmas, this gem would dazzle like no other.

It didn’t disappoint!

The moment you enter the Winter Garden, you are greeted with a profusion of bright poinsettias and palms, while the Banquet Hall next door is dressed for 30 guests in whites and ice blues, and several bedecked trees in the same colors.

The Banquet Hall

One of my favorite spots is the Breakfast Room down the hall – cozy and intimate.  The room’s peachy overtones must have made everyone look great in the morning!

Continue Reading…

Something weird is going on in my neighborhood, and it’s a little troubling.

As I walk my dog at night, I see interiors of the new and huge houses going up everywhere.  Shockingly, most of the rooms are painted stark white — with white furnishings and lighting!

White is a perfectly wonderful choice for a beach setting.
My dog Billy’s ears always perk up when he hears me arrrggghing.  How can people live like this in a climate where winter bombards us for at least six months?  It seems like a frigid existence.  Give me cozy and comfy  – – low lights and fire glow.

Interior by Soucie Horner Ltd.

Thankfully, there are still people out there who crave a little color in their lives!

I’m totally sucked in by a color combination I’ve been seeing in print lately.  Deep aqua and rosey/melon.

Photo by Good Living Home

Several shelter publications recently featured ads and articles that offer a most interesting take on this color duo.  The colors are loosely at opposite ends of the color wheel, and they certainly complement each other.

Continue Reading…

When I was a kid, going to the library was always a treat.  It was quiet, smelled great (like books and wood polish), and seemed to me to hold the knowledge of the world.  I hope that kids today still feel that reverence for books.

In fact, my grand nephew who just entered kindergarten recently exclaimed, ” We got to go to the library today, and they let us check out a book!” (his voice full of wonder…).

Fast forward to last week.  I met a realtor at a large, two-million-dollar-plus condo to see about some staging for resale.  She led me into the master bedroom, which had a 20-foot wall of book shelves and a beautiful sliding library ladder.  She couldn’t quite believe that several moneyed millennials had come to the open house and stepped out of the bedroom muttering, ” What do we do with that crazy wall of shelves!” (their voices full of wonder…).  This makes me sad.

Continue Reading…

I’m endlessly fascinated by people’s collections.  I understand the psychology of collecting, because I do it myself!

I recently visited a friend of a friend who is crazy about shoes.  She throws out words like “dazzling!,” “gorgeous!,”  “true works of art!”  at the mere mention of shoes.  And once she showed me her shoe collection, I was pretty gaga myself.  Apparently, she’s had a love for shoes since college, when she would save all her money for that next great pair.  She confessed that she spent more on shoes than clothes, because, for her, shoes make the outfit.

When she and her husband decided to renovate two years ago, she painstakingly video taped her old closet , counted her shoes, created plans and drawings for at least a year, then doubled the space.  She credits Eiseland Builders of Glenview with achieving every one of her closet desires.

They include back to front double spaces for her beloved shoes, a built- in velvet seat where she could put her shoes on, a major purse nook (they’re organized by color), and a secret jewelry closet that doubles as a full-length mirror.

Continue Reading…

The book Bloomsbury Rooms  on my library shelf has often inspired my interiors.  It’s a large book that delves deeply into the lives of Virginia Woolf and her sister, the artist Vanessa Bell.

Virginia Woolf, an English novelist and critic

Vanessa Bell, Virginia’s artist sister

These sisters and their influence on the 20th century are  huge subjects — ones I’m not equipped to go in depth on, but subjects that have probably inspired more artists, writers, and designers than you can imagine.

The story unfolds that in 1929, Dorothy Todd, the editor of English Vogue, collaborated on a book called  The New Interior Decoration,  which put forth the very edgy idea of two home design approaches capturing Europe:  “One praises the high-tech look of International Style design…led by Le Corbusier.  The other hails domestic design as a refuge from mass-production and standardization, promoting the home as the ‘last refuge’ of “that individuality which modern conditions are suppressing in our public life.”

La Villa Savoye, Poissy, France by Corbusier

The library, Charleston Farmhouse

Here’s where Vanessa and Virginia come in.

Continue Reading…

Recently, I bought this little trinket box for my sister’s birthday.  She’s a Pisces, and I thought she would enjoy this mid-century take on fish done in wire.

She loved it!  Its totally useless little presence will grace her table somewhere, and she’ll enjoy remembering who gave it to her (I hope).

Apparently Martha Stewart loves trinket boxes as much as I do.  I saw this wonderful montage of boxes in one of her recent issues.  The writer agrees that “these decorative little containers possess a certain well-traveled charm…and sit pretty on a coffee table, casting a worldly impression.”

If you go by the rule that three of anything is a collection, then I must say, I have a lot of collections.  And one of my best is a collection of trinket boxes!

I found this handmade box at an antique mall. Notice the inlay.

Continue Reading…