Skip to content
  • Articles
    • Design
      • Architecture
      • Art & Antiques
      • Books
      • Garden
      • Gifts
      • Interior design
    • Entertainment
      • Entertaining
      • Food and drink
      • Holiday
      • Tabletop
    • Style
      • Fashion
      • Jewelry
    • Travel
      • Nantucket
    • Thank you Better Homes & Gardens
  • Shop
    • Home & Decor
      • Antiques
      • Art
      • Lighting
      • Trays
    • Tableware
      • Baskets
      • Glassware
      • Linens
      • Place Cards & Holders
      • Plates
    • Fashion
      • Bags
      • Clothing
      • Jewelry
    • Collaborations
      • Quintessence x Corrie Beth Hogg
      • Quintessence x D’Ascoli
    • Windowpane Tablecloth
  • Video
    • Exclusive insider tours visiting top designers and tastemakers at home around the world
      VIEW ALL
    • Virtual Postcard Egypt
    • At Home in Paris with Pierre Sauvage
    • The Stylish Traveler II Collection
    • Virtual Postcard Tokyo
Quintessence

Quintessence

Lifestyle blog | Living Well with Style and Substance

  • Books
    • Books that I have collaborated on, as photographer, with design author Susanna Salk
      VIEW ALL
    • At Home with Dogs and Their Designers: Sharing a Stylish Life
    • At Home in the English Countryside: Designers and Their Dogs
    • At Home with Designers and Tastemakers: Creating Beautiful and Personal Interiors
    • Making a House a Home: Designing Your Interiors from the Floor Up
  • About
  • Articles
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Books
  • About

Holidays

Christmas in Shangri-La
Holiday, Interior design

Christmas in Shangri-La

Every year friend and designer Carey Karlan goes all out creating themed holiday decorations for her charming 1926 cottage-style home. Past years… Read More

stag-on-silver-warming-stand-in-christies-sale-1
Holiday, Interior design, Jewelry

Setting a Holiday Table with Christie’s

Designer Alex Papachristidis and I share a love of tabletop so we were delighted when several weeks ago Christie’s asked if… Read More

Favorite Holiday Movies
Entertainment, Holiday

Favorite Holiday Movies

Happy New Year! As everyone is relaxing over the weekend, I thought I would republish this list from last year… Read More

Home for the Holidays
Food and drink, Holiday

Home for the Holidays

While this has been a busy week, there is nothing quite as wonderful as being home for the holidays. The… Read More

Christmas in Connecticut
Architecture, Holiday, Interior design

Christmas in Connecticut

My friend, designer Lisa Hilderbrand, lives in a renovated 18th century saltbox that each year she transforms into the epitome of Christmas… Read More

Mathilde Nivet and the Art of Paper
Art & Antiques

Mathilde Nivet and the Art of Paper

With the holidays upon us, window displays are front and center. From Bergdorf’s legendary masterpieces to the many brands that spare… Read More

Happy Thanksgiving
Food and drink, Holiday, Interior design

Happy Thanksgiving

There are many reasons to be thankful this year but I am always especially appreciative to have my family together for… Read More

le quatorze juillet
Beauty, Fashion, Food and drink, Gifts, Holiday

Le Quatorze Juillet

So today we recognize Bastille Day, le quatorze juillet, with a little red white and blue, French style. I’ve gathered… Read More

Santa
Holiday

A Note From Santa’s Workshop

Just reminding myself why I’ve been sequestered in Santa’s workshop all weekend with no time to catch up around here…. Read More

Illustration of camera

Follow

Five years ago today, @susannasalk and I embarked Five years ago today, @susannasalk and I embarked on our amazing journey of shooting At Home in the English Countryside: Designers and Their Dogs. Our very first shoot was with @carlosgarciainteriors at his enchanting Norfolk home. We had never met in person, yet Carlos and his partner Michael invited us to spend the night, cooking us weary travelers a delicious dinner. We will always be grateful for the most welcoming and magical start for part one of our epic trip around England (another trip the next year completed our features). Thank you Carlos, Michael and furry family members!! And of course thank you to the other 16 generous designers who opened their homes to us!
Who doesn’t love a screened porch?! Love how des Who doesn’t love a screened porch?! Love how designer @gary_mcbournie_inc and partner @w_j_richards seamlessly added one to their Nantucket home! Such a bonus for island living and best of all feels like it’s always been there! And be sure to watch (or revisit) @susannasalk and my #athomewith visit at their former Nantucket home on the Quintessence YouTube channel!
Thank you @betterhomesandgardens for including me Thank you @betterhomesandgardens for including me in your September Stylemaker issue! And 🙏🏻 to @rimasuqi for the great interview! Kudos to @steporr and team for the terrific design updates over the last year! If you haven’t picked up the magazine lately, take a look – I think you’ll be impressed!#secretsofhighlycreativepeople
Five years ago, @susannasalk and I filmed with @ti Five years ago, @susannasalk and I filmed with @timothycorrigan at his new French home, @chateau_de_la_chevallerie , then a sleeping beauty needing someone of Timothy’s talents and expertise to awaken. We’re beyond excited to be returning next month to capture it in all its current glory! Hop over to Quintessence on YouTube to see the full “before” video and stay tuned! #chateau
What is it about this long end-of-summer light tha What is it about this long end-of-summer light that evokes instant nostalgia? This was one of those evenings – beautiful, wistful, reflective in all of its senses, reminiscent of so many of these transitional summer weekends gone by. Remembering final swims, new fall wardrobes and fresh school supplies. It’s all there, decades of memories - so much has changed and yet the emotions still somehow the same.
© 2023 Quintessence Design LLC
Site design by The Beaux Arts Digital
FAQ & Shipping Terms of Use Privacy Policy
X Illustration of hand
Never Miss A Post
Get insider access to the most inspiring and informative design stories straight to your inbox. Satisfy your style curiosity, quench your sophisticated shopping thirst and scratch your discerning need-to-know itch - sign up so you never miss a thing.