Bits & Bobs

Since this space is very much a place I use to muse and reflect, this particular post is doing just that.

I find myself particularly energized with the official arrival of spring, and looking forward to all of the exciting things in the works over the next few months, personal and professional. On a personal level, the winter season always feels like a cozy blur (which yes, sounds like a contradiction), but perhaps that’s the point. We shuffle back and forth from Rhode Island to Vermont to savor the snow which is wonderful for so many reasons but can also become exhausting, logistically and physically. Typically, around this time, I am ready for a change.

The spring always brings a little pep and promise — the grass is getting greener by the day, and my climbing hydrangea have their buds — and I find myself excited for spring travel and settling into the summer months in New England. Trade Secrets is around the corner, as is a special trip with the Design Leadership Network, and other inspired travel.

I wish you energized thoughts as we look forward to a glorious spring and summer!

Beauty on Block Island

I don’t think I’ve darted to our front door faster than last evening, to be in receipt of the long anticipated new book by Gil Schafer III. Nor have I ever incessantly refreshed the tracking details for any delivery. At last, it is here.

I have long admired this particular Block Island project (pictured below) Gil’s firm completed along with landscape architect Deborah Nevins, and decorator, Miles Redd (now Redd Kaihoi), ever since it was published in Veranda two years ago. The home presides over Block Island’s Great Salt Pond, a place I grew up visiting with my family when we’d take day trips or overnights by boat from Newport. The landscape also holds a special place for my husband and I particularly during our courtship, in addition to the fact that my husband has a project next door to this very property. Every time I tag along to his job site visits, I am subtly snooping next door.

For anyone that knows Block Island, it is nowhere near other isles like Nantucket or even the Vineyard. Certainly not the Hamptons. Fancy hotels and restaurants do not exist. No one is beach bound in designer labels. There is a certain rawness and palpable spirit to the island. Rightfully so, locals fiercely protect and defend from outsiders that might test these characteristics. Though this has indeed been challenged over the more recent years as some are priced out of summer destinations mentioned above, the general ethos of the island remains. In fact, The Block Island Trust works closely with The Nature Conservancy and the Block Island Conservancy to preserve nearly 50% of the island’s land for open space. Point being, anyone that is stepping foot on the island to build, develop, design, or in some way alter, immediately has a microscope on them. I think Gil and his project teams did a beautiful job of honoring the island while building a legacy home that will stand the test of time.

While there are so many wonderful spaces in this home, there is something so intoxicating about this living room — the multiple seating groups with inviting furniture scales, its textured pink grasscloth walls, and the space’s way of inviting you in for a nap, a post-beach cocktail, or a moment to admire the view, which extends over the pond and into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a certain elegance juxtaposed with a casualty, where one could enter with sandy feet and a caftan damp from the ocean’s saltwater. The room and home also demonstrates what I love so much about good design, it is that feeling where you cannot get an image of a room out of your head, and then revisit again and again to further dissect it.

A big bravo to Gil Schafer on this publication, and to all of the teams involved creating this home.

Striking a cord

This particular room I find myself attracted to for various reasons. First, I do love a good country house. This home decorated by Henriette von Stockhausen is no exception. One should see the classical façade, its grand hallway and grounds, however, I’m particularly taken by the cheerful sitting room. I love how the art is displayed (Robert Kime picture rails of course!), the gorgeous ottoman clad in a Jasper textile with its collection of books, the Jamb chimneypiece — it is all truly a delight for the senses without overwhelming, as some grand estates can.

To see more of this home, visit here.

Photography credit: Paul Massey

Interior Design: Henriette von Stockhausen for VSP Interiors

PRE-ORDER

One of the small joys in my life involves books. I don’t have the time or frankly the mental space at the end of a long day to pour myself into the lonely stack of novels at my bedside, but I can devour coffee table books, no problemo. In fact, when we renovated our home, I was sure to have some proper bookshelves constructed to house my evolving collection.

And thus, with a new year here, I am back at my coffee table book procurement, to include a few exciting pre-orders I’m sharing below. I adore those moments where I can sit with a glass of wine and leaf through each page. Here’s to more joyful moments, this year and always!

Veere Grenney’s highly anticipated “Seeking Beauty” arrives in May. Purchase here.

Gil Schafer’s “Home at Last” debuting February. Purchase here.

Having a Holiday

Merriment is underway in Rhode Island! Figge Floral came to deck the halls, party planning has been green lighted and despite the occasional and expected panic moments, spirits are high. It’s a particularly special holiday this year as our son is very engaged in all things Santa Claus and Christmas. It’s truly so joyful to see the magic of Christmas through his eyes.

I wish you all a lovely holiday season with your loved ones. Thank you for the continued support of all things C&C.

Holiday Musings

Thanksgiving week has arrived. I do love this time, when things start to feel cozier, the home begins to sparkle with decorations and early evening candlelight, food prep begins, along with that frenzy some of us can’t seem to stay away from. We plan to celebrate the holiday locally with family and then head north. As a family this marks the time where we begin to spend more weekends up north, questing for snow.

This cushion cover arrived today for a personal project and I am always taken by the packaging from Antoinette Poisson. A joyful moment!

I wish you all a wonderful holiday.

The Dahlia Days of Summer

Summertime has galloped by, and though it is not over, when mid-August rolls in and the dahlias are prominent fixtures at farm stands, a little bit of angst sets in. The big juicy floral variety in a way serves as a reminder to relish in those lingering days and evenings, on the porch, in the ocean and under the moonlight.

Tender Moments

I once read a quote that said something to the effect of “Remember when you wished for all of the things that you now have”.

The other evening after work I shared some tender moments with my nearly three-year old son and my heart and soul were alive recalling this sentiment. We had just spent some time together at the beach as the sun was getting lower in the sky. On the way home, we stopped at a farm stand to procure freshly picked strawberries and produce. As I took the long way home on a beautiful residential drive, I glanced back at my son in his car seat, with his limbs that were getting longer by the day. His mouth was covered in luscious green juice from summer snap peas that I taught him to “crunch” open with his teeth, his feet covered in sand, with a joyful look on his face. In that moment, I grinned, and reminded myself of how precious a moment so simple can be. While my work is always a priority, it is my goal this summer to experience more of those moments and I wish that you all have the opportunity to do so, too.

Bungalow Classic

There are so many lovely things about living in Rhode Island — the proximity to the ocean and its short drive to the mountains being just two examples. It would be hard to imagine living away from the ocean or not having easy access to the mountains.

However, one thing we really lack for my stimulation, is a big design presence. There are some wonderful makers and artisans that call Rhode Island their home, however the chic shops are scarce.

As such, it was so wonderful to be in Atlanta last week celebrating my client’s beautiful show house room she worked so hard to design, and it was equally wonderful to immerse myself in the many design shops and show rooms in Atlanta. The top of that list is Bungalow Classic, the brainchild of Randy and Courtney Tilinski. Close to two years ago they moved into their new space and it is absolutely SUBLIME. Every corner and vignette is beautifully curated, loaded with texture, whimsy, abstract art, a tented room, comfortable seating, pretty fabrics and even a secret room holding some antique pieces. It is abundantly clear that great care is taken to create and preserve their shop. It gave my heart and mind an extra dose of endorphins. I highly suggest a visit if you find yourself in Atlanta.

Springing ahead

There’s always a point in the spring season where things begin to “heat up” in advance of summer and I find that I’m just on the brink of it. April was a busy one with on boarding new clients and getting some crucial projects completed. I cannot believe May is here. Next week, I’m headed to Atlanta to celebrate my client’s beautiful show house room and from there, work travel continues. Grateful for the hustle — and to witness all of the green bits around us here in Rhode Island grow each day!