Note to Self

A Dream House in D.C.

Nothing fancy to say here except: wow. Hello, hallway.

Should I ever have the means to do so, I'd love to be owner/caretaker to a historic property. I think it's so important (and that much more interesting) to have a physical context for history, especially through art and architecture. This one just takes the cake... That wallpaper!

The Lindens was built in Danvers, MA and then moved to D.C. at the pleasure of a wealthy antiquing family set on living in a Colonial Age home (how nice for them). The current owners recently redecorated, hence this lovely feature in the newest (Feb) issue of Architectural Digest. Feast your eyes.

(photography by Scott Frances)

Rebecca de Ravenel at Home

It should come as no surprise that The LSD (editor/style darling Lauren Santo Domingo) finds the most stunning places to feature in her column "Apt" on Vogue.com. Rebecca de Ravenel's West Village spot seems to be the definition of "lovely" with its crisp, cool palette, warm, rich accents and charming ambiance. Something to aspire to for my own little urban oasis. Here's to hoping... See the full slideshow on Vogue.com. (Photos by Jeremy Allen.) Also, just for fun:

1. blue chain bone frame, Wisteria $29 2. camellias and peonies, Diane James Home $285 3. chunky rattan tray, Serena & Lily $68 4. lanky giraffe bust, Anthropologie $198 5. coral lamp Pier1 Imports $125 6. Jal Euro sham, Furbish Studio $215 7. D.Porthault Coeurs Boudoir shams, Sue Fisher King $165 8. Feuille de Lavande scented candle from $28 9. blue Rigsby x-bench, Furbish Studio $725 10. "Picasso & Lump" by David Douglas Duncan from $44 (used) 11. decoupage paperweights, John Derian $48 each

Shop the story:

Sunday Reading: Stephen Sills

What I present for your consideration this Sunday is just a quaint four-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot outbuilding, part of the larger Hi-Low Farm estate in Bedford, New York. According to a spread I just read in the new issue of Town & Country, designer Stephen Sills rescued the property after its foreclosure, and has spent years meticulously bringing it back to life.

And then there's Stephen Stills: Decoration (pre-order from Rizzoli), a new book due out this month that I must get my hands on. I love his design fingerprint — the aesthetic product of layers of living and living well. A Southerner by birth and in heart, Sills certainly shares through his work the value of calm, comfort and slow-cooked storytelling. I think this excerpt explains it well:

Excerpt from "Inside Job" by Georgina Shaeffer, Town & Country magazine, October 2013

A Sag Harbor Beach House

...that I want to be my year-round house, please.

(Summer is only over if you let it be, my friends.)

It is expertly decorated, and yet entirely personal and unique.

(I hate when homes seem to "styled.")

Its inherent Greek Revival charm is the perfect backdrop for a modern mash-up...

...of pops of color and mixed patterns...

...tons of books and art and soft surfaces...

...soothing paint hues, and of course — mural in the bathroom.

Yes, please.

(All photos by Andrew Arthur for Domaine)