Fashion may fare well in pop culture and technology but in architecture, it just looks shallow and desperate. After all, buildings should not be disposable goods. Developers often talk of building lifespan. Just look at shopping centers as an example. They open their door with an expiration date built in. … [read more]
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Open House: Under the Carolina Sun
In Frances Mayes’ book Under The Tuscan Sun, the protagonist of the story finds herself renewed after the impulsive act of purchasing and restoring a villa in Italy. This house’s story was not one of wanderlust but of roots; our particular hero built this home with his deep roots in … [read more]
Quattuor
The 30A corridor of Florida’s panhandle is hot. No, not just because it’s July on the Gulf Coast. It’s because this area’s beach real estate market continues to set new design standards. It began with the picturesque ‘New Urban Development” of Seaside in the mid 1980s. Rosemary Beach quickly followed … [read more]
American Idyll
Scores of bucolic lakes pepper the landscape of this great country so once the pilgrims figured out how to survive (thanks Native Americans), the next step in American evolution was kicking it back lakeside. We dragged along with us tents and then erected meager huts, simple places to shelter us … [read more]
Television Settings
Ask any architect or designer what influences them most and they’ll ramble on about the most esoteric things – travel to exotic lands, operatic arias, paintings and sculpture. Few fail to notice what truly inspires them most is intrinsically ingrained in them: it was the way they grew up. Growing … [read more]
Collaborative Efforts: Tom Berry Upholstery
Recently, I needed some furniture reupholstered for my upcoming Manhattan move. I unhesitatingly went straight to my go-to furniture master, a jovial fellow named Tom Berry here in Montgomery. While visiting with Tom, it suddenly struck me that I’ve been working with him for almost thirty years. Way back before … [read more]
Style Files: Susan Ferrier
You can read their splendid conversation here. I’ve called Susan friend and colleague for 15 years and there were some revelations here that even I didn’t know.
Support Groupings
Houses are no different. When a design calls for a cantilevered appendage (such as a porch, bay or balcony) to be projected, bracketing is a structural necessity. These can be rejoiced and celebrated – underpinnings are certainly functional defiances of physics but they can also be decorative as well, some … [read more]
A Knack for Knick-Knacks
Designer, collector and intrepid shopper, Susan Ferrier knows how to finish a room with a handful of treasures. “Saturation of a collection into one room, devoted to its study, is always striking and strong,” says Ferrier. “The ultimate library of books and curiosities to stimulate the mind and emotions.” Within … [read more]
Art and Stagecraft
Often in our interiors, we use large paintings as an atmospheric device; these become dramatic backdrops to create mood. This takes painting from mere object to stagecraft – think of the elaborate painted flats found in theatre or opera. Once lowered into place, these enormous backgrounds established setting, at once … [read more]
