A Room for Book Lovers

Decorate with dark color...I have heard this recommendation from many interior designers. But I have never seen it done so well as in the library at the Mayflower Inn in the idyllic town of Washington, CT. We just got back from a wonderful week on the east coast. Once I catch my breath, I will organize my photos and do a full blog post on the trip. But just for now, I wanted to share this photo I took of the library at the Mayflower Inn. This was taken in the late afternoon on a crisp fall day. All of the rooms at the Mayflower Inn are lovely, but this one in particular caught my eye. It just envelops you and invites you to curl up with a good book. And there were so many to choose from. I went with an Anita Brookner title I had never seen before. And though I didn't make a lot of progress, I will try to get a copy now that I'm home so I can read the whole thing.

It was the perfect library, deeply atmospheric and enticing. The dark brown of the woodwork, the warm colors of the books, and the patina of the well worn leather chairs and pillows added up to a cozy haven for hiding out on a cold winter night. But the next day I discovered there were other uses for this room. One evening it was closed off for a private dinner party. I peeked in and saw a round table glowing with candlelight and flowers set for about 8 people. I've always thought that a dinner in a library would be delightful. Surrounded by all those great books, conversation would flow. I tucked that idea away for the future: a small dinner party for four or six in our tiny library. There's something very appealing about eating in a room not meant to be used for dining. I love the idea of combining dinner, wine, conversation and good books.

And speaking of good books, I just finished Lauren Groff's new book Fates and Furies on the plane coming home. It was strange, intense, and riveting. It's about a marriage seen from the perspective of both spouses. There seems to be something Shakespearean about this book. I enjoyed it and will write a review soon. Have you read it? I would love to know what you thought.

What have you been reading lately?  

Happy Makers

"Nobody has measured, not even the poets, how much love the heart can hold."

-- Zelda Fitzgerald

 Botany Flowers last Valentine's Day

February is the shortest month and also the sweetest with Valentine's Day right in the middle. But maybe the best thing about February is that it's the last month of winter and the precursor to spring. In Los Angeles, it's still chilly enough to want to be inside but there are glimmerings of nature about to burst into bloom. Here a few things that are making me very happy this month.

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Reading a wonderful article in the New Yorker about the history of "loving" to read. It turns out that those of us who feel passionate about books are in very good company. Many of us have a love affair with books; this article explains the romance of literature.  

Finding an old book with the loveliest artwork on the cover. I love the sub-title of this memoir -- A study in Friendship. Do you know about Ottoline Morrell? She lived in England during the early part of the twentieth-century and was a fascinating woman who was connected to the Bloomsbury Group. I have collected many books about her and think it's now time to do a little research! 

And speaking of Bloomsbury, there is a new novel about Vanessa Bell and her sister Virginia Woolf. It is a work of historical fiction and has gotten great reviews. 

Another new novel by one of my favorite playwrights, Yasmina Reza. She  is a French writer best known for her plays Art and God of Carnage. Her new novel is also getting great reviews!

Framing this poster from the fabulous Virginia Woolf exhibition I saw at the National Portrait Gallery last fall. It reminds me of our wonderful trip to London. Are you sensing a Bloomsbury theme to this blog post? Not intentional!

Being in awe of the pear tree bursting into blossom; this spectacular event always takes my breath away!

Getting ready for spring with some new outdoor furniture. I have admired Peter Dunham's Fig Leaf pattern forever and was so excited to finally have a place to use it!

Liberty of London's "Secret Garden" series which just debuted this month. It is as fresh as springtime. Each pattern is based on a quote from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The pattern above is called "Jeffrey Rose Tree" and was inspired by the following quote:

"And the roses -- the roses! They came along day by day, hour by hour."

 What a brilliant idea to tie in a classic garden book with a fabric design. Go here to see more.

 Signing up for The Italian Sojourn -- a new lecture series that examines books about trying to reinvent oneself or alter life experiences by changing one's environment. Not surprisingly, they all take place in Italy. This one should be delightful as it is taught by one of my favorite UCLA professors. The books include Up At The Villa by Somerset Maugham, Where Angels Fear To Tread by E.M. Forster and Roman Fever by Edith Wharton. Go here to learn more.

And finally the "J.M. W. Turner, Painting Set Free" exhibition that is opening at the Getty Center at the end of the month. It is arriving from the Tate Gallery in London and features the artist's experimental and very modern  paintings done at the end of his career. I can't wait to see this.

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

Ready for Fall

September, 2012

Every year at about this time I start to get excited for fall and begin to anticipate the upcoming season -- the weather, the clothes, the food, the colors, the holidays. I am ready for fall. Do you feel this way? Here in Los Angles the heat is intense but I am dreaming of a chill in the air, cozy sweaters, autumn leaves, and fires in the fireplace. It all sounds heavenly right now. Fortunately the September issues of many magazines are out and there are some very exciting things coming up. Here are a few that have got my heart racing...

MOVIES

"The Imitation Game" starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley
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Benedict Cumberbatch seem to be everywhere these days. In the film The Imitation Game he plays Alan Turning, the English mathematician who helped crack Nazi Germany's Enigma Code during World War II.  On the heels of his great role as Sherlock Holmes, he is once again playing a brilliant problem solver. Perfect casting. I can't wait to see this one.

 BOOKS

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Fall and new books just seem to go together. Here are a few that sound very intriguing:

Novels

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

Everyone in the book world is excited about a new book by Marilynne Robinson. This is the third in her much-praised Gilead trilogy.

The Dog by Joseph O'Neil
I loved Netherland by Joseph O'Neil. His latest book is about a New Yorker who moves to Dubai to escape his problems and finds himself strangely at home. If it's anything like "Netherland," it will be filled with beautiful writing, witty insights and sharp commentary about the modern world.

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel
After wowing the literary world by winning the Booker Prize two years in a row -- for "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" -- Hilary Mantel has written a collection of contemporary short stories.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan
This new novel by Ian McEwan (one of my favorite writers) is about a prominent London judge who faces the ruling of her career. The case is about people using religion to refuse medical care for their children and the life of an exceptional teenage boy hangs in the balance. This one sounds so good!  

 Cookbooks

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Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi
Yotam Ottolenghi is the owner of Ottolenghi restaurants in London and also a cookbook author. His book Jerusalem was one of the most popular cookbooks in recent years. Filled with fabulous middle eastern recipes, it is a must for the creative cook. His newest book "Plenty More" is a sequel to "Plenty," which was filled with delicious and beautiful recipes for vegetables.

Make It Ahead by Ina Garten
A new book by Ina Garten is always an occasion. After all these years, she is still my go-to in the kitchen. I have purchased my ticket for her book tour in November. I went two years ago when she was promoting her earlier book "Foolproof" and she was fabulous! In person she is elegant, very funny, and always down-to-earth.

Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes from Our Kitchen by Zoe Nathan
Zoe Nathan is a celebrity of sorts here in Los Angeles. She is a young baker who has three very popular cafe/restaurants in Santa Monica and has just come out with a cookbook. People are very excited about this. She is one of the many amazing young women in Los Angeles who have developed successful businesses and continue to inspire all of us!

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A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson
Mimi Thorisson is the creator of the beautiful blog Manger. She lives with her family on a farm in Bordeaux where she cooks and entertains with great flair. She shares her recipes and life style on her blog. Her new book "A Kitchen in France" is divided into four seasonal chapters and is part cookbook, part memoir. This book promises to be a beauty!

 DESIGN IDEAS 

Natalie Massenet's house in London
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The design magazines at this time of the year often feature inviting and cozy interiors. Fall is a favorite time for nesting and I love the idea of warming up a house with a little touch of red. Did you see this piece in Architectural Digest on Natalie Massenet's house in London? She is the founder of Net-A-Porter. The red chairs in her dining room/library are a perfect touch. And don't you love a dining room filled with books? Go here to read more.

LECTURE SERIES -- "CAUGHT IN THE ACT"

This is a popular time of year for lectures and book signings. I can never get enough of UCLA Professor Charles Batten's lectures and beginning in September he will be giving a fascinating series of talks on the subject "Caught in the Act." Each of the novels in this series presents "the mysterious relations of moral choice and circumstantial compulsion, of will and fate, in the lives of its characters." Our first book is "The Picture of Dorian Gray." The others are: "Lord Jim" by Joseph Conrad, "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, and "The Ambassadors" by Henry James. Go here to find out more. As a side note, I just finished "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt and think it definitely falls into this category!

DANCE

Swan Lake
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The Australian Ballet will be bringing their groundbreaking production of "Swan Lake "to Los Angeles this fall. The original production starred Rudolf Nureyev and Margo Fonteyn and played at The Music Center over fifty years ago. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Music Center at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and to celebrate their big 50th they are bringing back this critically acclaimed production. I already have my ticket to this one!

Art

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at the Tate Modern in London
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Probably the art exhibition I am most excited to see this fall is Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at MOMA.  It originated at the Tate Modern and is opening in New York in October. In the 1940's, Matisse turned exclusively to cut paper as his primary medium. He cut painted sheets into forms of different sizes and shapes and arranged them into compositions. This was a blockbuster show at the Tate. I hope to make it to New York to see this one.

Theater

The play Wolf Hall in London
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If you can get to London this fall, the theatrical offerings are incredible. Hilary Mantel's books Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies seem to have taken over the London stage. They have been turned into plays and are now running at the Aldwych Theatre on alternating night. They are so popular that the run has been extended -- through October 4.

Happy September!

By the way, have you read The Secret History by Donna Tartt? What an excellent book! I loved it.

A Virginia Woolf Kind of Room

 "Mrs. Dalloway" window designed by Catherine Kwong at George Smith on La Cienega Boulevard 

I was so excited when I heard about the theme for this year's La Cienega Design Quarter 6th Annual Legends: "Novel Interiors: Storytelling by Design." This is a highly anticipated weekend of design events in West Hollywood that includes panels, parties, and incredible window installations by some of the best interior designers. On Friday I went to see the window displays on La Cienega Boulevard and they were fabulous. The designers went all out and used novels such as "Mrs. Dalloway," "Passage to India" and "Out of Africa" as their muse. Among my favorites were "Mrs. Dalloway" by Catherine Kwong at George Smith, "The Enchanted April"by Krista and George Everage at Egg and Dart (a shout out to my friend Krista -- great job!) and "A Moveable Feast" by Thomas Calloway at Holland and Sherry. They were all brilliant. It was hard to take photos in the daytime with the window reflections so I borrowed these image from Lonny Magazine which did a fantastic job covering the event. Go here to see more of these beautiful windows. And be sure to take a stroll along La Cienega at night to enjoy these creative interpretations of great books by some very talented interior designers.

"The Enchanted April" window designed by Krista and George Everage at Egg And Dart

Inspired by the windows on La Cienega, I realized the the idea of connecting home design with literature is one I have always loved. When I visited Charleston, the country retreat of the Bloomsbury artists and writers in England, I bought some fabric that was designed by Duncan Grant and had two pillows made from it. They sit on the leather chairs in my library, with a letter from Virginia Woolf and a photo of her hanging above. I found some ceramic pieces on La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles that look as if they could have been painted by Vanessa Bell and put them on the bookshelves. Whenever I walk past this room, I feel a little of the Bloomsbury spirit.

My collection of design books and magazines is growing by leaps and bounds and recently I found an article from an old House Beautiful magazine called "A Henry James kind of house." I loved the idea of identifying a design style with a writer. It is a different and interesting way to look at design. In that article Michael Smith said "there's something quite romantic and beautiful about an old New York, Henry James kind of house." It was fascinating to think about which writers would inspire with memorable interiors, which ones created rooms that are so thoroughly evoked we can practically move in. Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, and Henry James all did this. The homes and interior spaces in their novels are like characters themselves. They have that lived in and layered look that tells a story. Looking at images of rooms by some of my favorite decorators, I found some great interiors that look as if they could be right out of a novel. Take a look...

This living room corner lit by candlelight captures the romance of old New York found in the books by Henry James
Design by Michael Smith
Photo via here

 This library in a Manhattan town house could be Lawrence Selden's study in "A House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton.

Design by Jeffrey Bilhuber
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This elegant, ancestral-looking room could be right out of a novel by Elizabeth Bowen
Design by Michael Smith
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This feminine library reminds me of Vita Sackville-West, author of "The Edwardians," who grew up in her family's ancestral estate in Kent. Like Virginia Woolf, she believed in "a room of one's own."
Design by Charlotte Moss
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This room has the well-traveled look you might find in a book by Evelyn Waugh
Design by Bunny Williams
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This room captures the intimacy of tea with the vicar, a recurring scene in the books by Barbara Pym
Designer unknown
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This room could be the setting for a tete a tete between Harriet Smith and Emma Woodhouse in "Emma" by Jane Austen
Designer unknown
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This Bloomsbury-inspired room from Domino Magazine (2007) has the artsy and bohemian style of Virginia Woolf and her set set - love that rug!
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This kitchen looks as if it could be part of the country house at the center of  "Howards End"  by E. M Forster
Design by Ben Pentreath
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And this hallway looks as if it could be in the London house belonging to the Schlegel sisters in the same book by E.M. Forster
Design by Ben Pentreath
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This foyer captures the 1920's glamour of a Noel Coward play
Design by Miles Redd
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If you live in Los Angeles and want to be reminded of how great novels can inspire decorators, be sure to take a stroll along La Cienega Boulevard. Go in the evening when the windows are lit. You will see how some very talented designers interpreted their favorite books. The windows will be up through the end of the month.

P.S. Go here to see Flavorwire's pick of "The 25 Greatest Homes in Literature"

Keeping It Young

The dining room at Alice Temperley's country house, Cricket Court, in Somerset, England
Photo via here

This weekend I had a serious case of Anglophilia. It started when I saw this article in the New York Times about Alice Temperley's country house, Cricket Court, in Somerset, England. She lives there with her husband and young son. She is the British fashion designer whose romantic, feminine and lacy frocks would look perfect worn at a summer garden party in the Somerset hills. I love this dining room (shown above) and the way the outside and inside are so connected. The English do this so well. I also love the hand-painted wallpaper and giant papier-mache foxglove, a touch of English eccentricity that gives the room a sense of humor. Can't you just imagine characters from an Angela Thirkell novel wandering in and out of this space?

Alice Temperley sketching her bridal collection ( left) and playing with her son and nephew (right)

Photo via here

The house has a rich history. It was built by William the Conqueror for his brother, rebuilt after a fire at the beginning of the 18th century, and was once home to the exiled Leo Tolstoy. Alice Temperley's love of textiles is seen throughout; her study and one of her bathrooms have pieces of vintage fabric hanging in the windows. The house is filled with wit and whimsy. Go here to read more.

The home of Jemma Kidd and her family in Hampshire

The next country retreat I spotted was in the April issue of Elle Decor. Another historic home, this one dates from the 18th century and is part of an estate that once belonged to the Duke of Wellington. Jemma Kidd, a former model and now a make-up artist and her husband Arthur Wellsley, Earl of Mornington, live here with their two young children. Outside the countryside is green and lush, thanks to the English rain. And inside the rooms make you want to settle in with a good book and a cup of tea. I love how this young family moved into a venerable English home and managed to make it look youthful and fresh. Take a look:

Jemma Kidd with her twins

The drawing room

The sitting room

The entrance

The guest bedroom

A bathroom

The library

 Do you notice a touch of red in almost every room? That's one of the elements that makes this house a warm and welcoming place. Filled with family heirlooms, whimsical fabrics, vases of flowers and loads of books, the house feels cheerful, collected and lived-in. The interior designer has done a fabulous job combining a romantic English country look with a twenty-first century sensibility. Go here to read more.

Photos via here

Prince George at eight months
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And finally, speaking of adorable young English families, there was this. A photo that was released just this weekend. It is the most recent shot of the royal baby and his parents at their home in Kensington Palace. Can it be that eight months have already gone by? Pretty cute!

Pretty as a Picture

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I am in the midst of decorating my guest bedroom and having so much fun picking out fabrics and wallpaper. I have been looking around on various websites for design ideas and found these absolutely delectable rooms. Living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and even a little craft room --  they all share two things in common. They are insanely pretty and evoke the freshness of spring. Spending time in any of them would feel like living in a little garden. I am so inspired. Take a look. You just may find the perfect detail to bring spring into your home.

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Happy Spring!