Sunday, March 29, 2015

INSPIRATION FOR LIVING BEAUTIFULLY: A Hampton Cottage and Garden Tour




Jenny Wolf, a Manhattan-based interior designer and her husband, John Wolf, were looking for a large house in the Hamptons with an open floor plan.  What they bought was a small, dark farmhouse from the 19th century with a beautiful garden.  Jenny went right to work making the house feel bigger, adding comfortable and stylish furnishings, getting rid of the attic, allowing 6 more feet of vaulted space, exposing wood beams downstairs, painting the walls white, and the floors, except in the kitchen, were given a coat of pale green.

 Enjoy this Hampton Cottage and Garden Tour, a perfect inspiration for LIVING BEAUTIFULLY...


With fresh WHITE walls and MINIMAL DECORATION- 
 NEUTRAL COLORED fabrics, NATURAL WOODS,
metal TOLIX chairs, porcelain blue RETRO style SMEG refrigerator,  ...

and signs of a life LIVED BEAUTIFULLY: 
 A THROW WITHIN ARMS REACH for cooler nights, 
 a large CHALK BOARD for the day's activities, BEACH BAGS & WAGONS
 for carrying all things necessary for a day's play at the beach, ...
  
this HAMPTON HOME is a peaceful, serene refuge conducive for
 SLEEPING IN, RELAXING, and HOSTING  
 a swim party in their lovely garden for friends and family to join in the fun. 







































































189 FRANKLIN STREET
THIRD FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10013
(T) 917.751.0579



Beginning in April I am starting a new series: LIVE BEAUTIFULLY.  I am asking different designers and visionaries to answer the question, "What does LIVING BEAUTIFULLY mean to you?" or "How do you LIVE BEAUTIFULLY?"  The answer could be as simple as fresh flowers, fresh sheets and white towels, or "Tucking a handwritten note in my child's lunch,  I surround myself with people who have ___ characteristics, humility, compassion, creativity, or to LIVE BEAUTIFULLY my advice is...,  or Lessons I've learned..." or answering the question What makes a day in a BEAUTIFUL LIFE for you? "Starting with a perfect cup of coffee, a stop by the local art museums to see the new..., lunch with my daughter, dinner on the terrace.." As you can see it is very open ended.  However, with different voices and backgrounds in this series, I believe it will inspire us to LIVE BEAUTIFULLY.  

I hope you will join in the discussion and email me, or leave a comment with your answers as well.  -Looking forward to hearing from you!





Monday, March 23, 2015

LOVELY AND CLASSIC: India Hicks' Oxfordshire Estate


 

The interiors of most English country houses are layered, their contents and fittings reflecting the fortunes and lifestyles of their proprietors; rich tapestry hangings that clothe the walls, embroideries and bed hangings, plaster work ceilings, and friezes.  This is the family childhood home of India Hicks in Oxfordshire, England, The Grove, all lovely, warm and classic.  This country house speaks volumes about designer David Hicks's, her father, personal lifestyle of family and comfort, and his love for Anglo-French gardens of the early 18th century. Combining the form and formality of France, with the romance of an English country garden, David Hicks created sequences of green "rooms" outlined by avenues and vistas.  Lady Pamela Hicks, India's mother who is 687th in line for the throne, continues to live on the estate; while it is not open to the public, I have heard they will sometimes open it up to small groups.  

It's now the end of March, and the light has begun to change, taking on a sparkling fresh feel, and I just couldn't resist showing you just a few rooms of this lovely, light-filled country home... 



 


 











 














Photo credit:  Brittany Ambridge for Domino



Friday, March 20, 2015

Designer Celerie Kemble's Beachfront Get-A-Way in the Dominican Republic

In the clubhouse at Playa Grande Beach Club: Designer Celerie Kemble, husband Boykin Curry and their children Rascal, Wick and Zinnia


As you know from my last few posts I am craving spring: spring gardens, spring dishes, and now a spring vacation, anywhere warm and relaxing.  Within an hour of posting the beautiful Palm Beach Dodi Thayer lettuce ware dishes for Tory Burch, I saw this beachfront getaway designed by Celerie Kemble.   It was a breath of fresh air...  So grab a Coke-Zero or an Evian, kick your shoes off and join me in designer Celerie Kemble's Dominican Republic getaway, with a laid back tropical atmosphere and Caribbean colors ... along with curated items to inspire a little island life into your home.  Enjoy!



Paradise knocked, and interior designer Celerie Kemble and husband Boykin Curry persuaded investor friends to answer yes to purchase 2,000 jungled acres along the Domincan Republic's northern shore bordered by a huge beach with lapis blue Caribbean waters called Playa Grand.   Kemble then designed a resort complete with a clubhouse, cabanas, and bungalows.




"It was like we'd been dropped down into paradise." 

-Celerie Kemble




Clubhouse great room


In the compound's clubhouse Kemble painted the 22 foot ceiling pale aqua, and paved the floors with handmade tiles in a pink, navy-blue, and yellow pattern.  The room is a mix of softly colored fabrics, vintage Indonesian ikats and shell-encrusted chairs.




"I think interiors that are well designed tell people how to behave." 
 
 "Here, I want them to know they're supposed to be barefoot..."

 - Celerie Kemble
   



GET THE LOOK

 It's all in the mix of fabrics, and Bailey & Griffin's Scène Chinoise fabric for Duralee makes it easy.  duralee.com




The Kemble-Curry residence named Casa Guava


Ten years later, her own oceanfront home at the Playa Grande Beach Club named Casa Guava, a delicate "French Colonial" topped by a pale-green metal roof, gingerbread trimmings and porches. All of the fanciful fretwork was cut by an artisans hand.




"I wanted something that felt romantic yet wild." 

-Celerie Kemble




Ceilings and floors are painted in a Ladurée palette of macaron pastels.  While the rooms are filled with heirlooms, pieces from Kemble's line for Henredon, vintage wicker chairs, flea-market finds, chic but quirky metal furnishings, and light fixtures give a decidedly fresh, relaxing, put your feet up feel.




GET THE LOOK

 In hues forget-me-not and lime stone-and-enamel clasps Bulgaris limited-edition Icona 10 crocodile handbags will keep you in the island mood while shopping.  bulgari.com




In the Living Room: Kemble's slipper chairs are from her line for Henredon




"Celerie throws together a crazy combination of new and old and high and low," 

says her husband Boykin

 "but rather than looking like a cluttered mess, 

it all feels right, as if the objects had been looking for each other."




GET THE LOOK

New for Spring 2015 and perfect for adding in a mix of soft colors Aileurs bedding by Yves Delorme is a pretty, winsome garden design.   yvesdelorme.com




Cabanas by the New Jersey Barn Co. flank the resorts swimming pool.




GET THE LOOK

Janus et Cie's Quadrati outdoor 3 seat love seat is latticed and modern and perfect beside your pool, in the garden or on a patio.   janusetcie.com




Dinning Room:  Old cabana painting frame the folding doors, vintage garden chairs surround the dining table; and D. Porthault linens dress the four-poster bed in the master bedroom beyond.





GET THE LOOK


For a playful paradise feel mix and match Voyage en Ikat Limoges by Hermès's  hermes.com




Guest Room


Latticework details play with the tropical light, splintering it into dappled patterns in the guest room.  A fresh beautiful guest room to relax and dream in.




"I wanted the whole place to feel saturated with sun and salty air."

Celerie Kemble




GET THE LOOK

Add pop of color or keep it white with Pier One's Peacock Armchair pier1.com




Celerie and her daughter Zinnia







I hope it's lovely (and getting warm) where you are...

xx Rié



Photo credit: Douglas Friedman AD April 2015

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