France, May, 1939

One of the nice things about collecting old magazines is that I have a treasure trove of inspiration. One of the bad things about collecting...

How the Stars Really Lived

Articles about how the stars live at home have always helped to sell magazines. Not only has the roster of popular actors and actresses chan...

A Numbers Game

On the day that Elizabeth Taylor died, I tweeted that the actress was never more beautiful than in Butterfield 8 . I stand by that statemen...

Elementary Design

My friend Dean Farris, a designer and blogger who now resides in Naples, FL, recently sent me a few House Beautiful s from the early 1930s. ...

Robert Locher

One decorator with whom I have been obsessed as of late is Robert Locher. Excuse me, make that Robert E. Locher. Why he's not more well-...

What Is It About This Home?

I bought a copy of Carrie Donovan's 1981 compilation of New York Times design articles, Living Well : The New York Times Book of Home D...

Laura Ashley- I Hardly Knew Ya

Today's book reviews involve two designers- one who I thought I knew well, and the other who I knew not at all. I loved Martin Wood'...