books

At Home in Pasadena with Kate Stamps

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Stacey Bewkes   •   11 Comments
“Not everything should be perfect.” This simple phrase speaks volumes about Odom and Kate Stamps’ approach to both their own home and the many houses and gardens they design for others. Now that does not in any way describe their actual design work, which is thoughtful, exacting and detailed, but rather the final effect, which results in rooms of “grace and lack of pretension.”…
Posted in architecture, At Home with, books, garden, interior design, Quintessence video series, travel, video | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments  

At Home on Clove Brook Farm with Christopher Spitzmiller

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Stacey Bewkes   •   12 Comments
During the week, gifted ceramicist and designer Christopher Spitzmiller is busy creating his exquisite lamps, tableware and accessories found in the most stylish design shops and homes across the country including the White House. But weekends find him at Clove Brook Farm, his picture perfect country retreat in Dutchess County, NY.…
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Markham Roberts Notes on Decorating

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Stacey Bewkes   •   8 Comments
Markham Roberts Notes on Decorating
As designer Markham Roberts explains in his inspiring new book, Notes on Decorating, “There are thousands of moving parts that need to come together cohesively for a successful outcome.” In his first book he addressed the basics of design (although I would hardly classify anything in his interiors as basic) and now he features all those aspects that help to make his work so memorable – from sussing out the client’s deepest desires to the practicality of challenges and solutions, the crucial addition of layers and the final touch of something unexpected.…
Posted in architecture, art, books, interior design, Nantucket | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments  

At Home in Santa Barbara with Madeline Stuart

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Stacey Bewkes   •   10 Comments
Madeline Stuart Santa Barbara living room, photo Stacey Bewkes
Madeline Stuart may have come to her current career in design via a somewhat circuitous route, yet it is clear her stylish intellectual parents (designer mother and film director father) instilled in her all the tools she needed to create the meticulous, artistic interiors she is known for today.…
Posted in architecture, art, At Home with, books, interior design, Quintessence video series, travel, video | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments  

At Home in Locust Valley with Jeffrey Bilhuber

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Stacey Bewkes   •   10 Comments
Designer Jeffrey Bilhuber‘s greatest talent may be informing the past with a bold confidence that feels just right for today. And nowhere is this more palpably personal than in his own country house in Locust Valley, New York. Here in Hay Fever, his 17th century farmhouse, Jeffrey has melded the best of American design history with his own family furniture and heirlooms for his distinctive and informed take on decor.…
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Rebecca Redux

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Stacey Bewkes   •   26 Comments
Manderley in Rebecca
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again… Many of you will recognize those evocative words from one of my favorite novels, Rebecca. Daphne du Maurier’s well loved gothic story was also brilliantly adapted to the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock in his first Hollywood venture and what would be his only Best Picture Oscar.…
Posted in architecture, books, film, interior design | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments  

Setting the Table with Cathy Graham

Posted on January 27, 2019 by Stacey Bewkes   •   14 Comments
Cathy Graham‘s party invites have always been some of the most coveted on the upper east side of New York City. With degrees in painting from RISD and fashion illustration from Parsons and years of working with renowned floral designer and event planner Robert Isabell, Cathy expressed her creativity through the art of entertaining.…
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The Colorful Pattern Filled World of Henry Wilson

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Stacey Bewkes   •   6 Comments
Raj Niwas Palace at Dholpur in Rajasthan
Yesterday, when single digits here in New England shocked us into acknowledging that winter was just getting started, a post by friend, designer Young Huh, reminded me of warmer destinations. I recognized it immediately as the late, photographer and designer Henry Wilson’s colorful pattern filled home in London.…
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At Home in Bellport with Thomas O’Brien

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Stacey Bewkes   •   9 Comments
If ever there was an understated self portrait, it would be designer Thomas O’Brien’s description of himself as “basically a shopkeeper and a homemaker.” As the founder and President of Aero Studios, Aero, the iconic home emporium, Copper Beach, his and husband Dan Fink‘s charming Long Island general store, as well as a multitude of collaborations and licensed collections, O’Brien has been a leading proponent of modern American design since 1992.…
Posted in architecture, art, At Home with, books, design, furniture, garden, interior design, Quintessence video series, Stylish Shopping | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments  

At Home with Carolyne Roehm – Design & Style: A Constant Thread

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Stacey Bewkes   •   16 Comments
We have celebrated Carolyne Roehm’s many talents here before – in the garden, setting the table, the renovation and decoration of her beautiful Charleston home. With the publication of her new book (her 13th !!) Design & Style A Constant Thread, we can now marvel at the constant thread that has been at the core of all her creative endeavors throughout the years.…
Posted in At Home with, books, design, fashion, garden, interior design, jewelry, photography, Quintessence video series, Stylish Shopping, video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments