IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE

In many of our client meetings of late the subject of the "bar" and location of said "bar" has been of  utmost importance. I have one client who wanted the bar in their bedroom (and NO that is not a morning bar). Another who suggested the master bath and yet another who talked of having one in not only the living room, but the dining room and also poolside. I think this just goes to show how important gracious entertaining is as the focal point of the ever so gracious home. I've always been a huge fan of the bar cart or the table top bar display- there is something about it- so very warm, welcoming and ever- ready for a party. It reeks of special occasion-ness and every day frivolity, just make sure that in your coterie of acquaintances you have at least one master mixologist! So cheers everyone - it's five o'clock somewhere!

Domino

Beth Webb Interiors

Elle Décor

Beth Webb Interiors

Veranda

Barry Darr Dixon

Ralph Lauren Home

Steven Gambrel

Thom Filicia

Lonny

Barry Darr Dixon

Country Living

Jeffrey Dungan Architects

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

They say "the cobbler's children have no shoes" ... well in this instance this is certainly not the case! Ronda Rice Carman's new book Designers at Home, Personal Reflections on Stylish Living beautifully illustrates the intimate spaces of fifty leaders of design world. In my opinion, there is no space like that of your own home that says more about your personal style and aesthetic. That being said, we as designers, probably have a love/hate relationship with designing our own spaces. Our standards are exacting and sometimes (often) our taste preferences certainly exceed our pocketbooks (speaking for myself, of course). I remind my children frequently as they are complaining about my obsession with household details that I get paid good money to be OCD.

Our homes are our canvases on which we craft our art, so thank you Ronda for such a thoughtful glimpse into these extraordinarily talented designers' self-portraits!

  

Martyn Lawrence Bullard



 

Barry Dixon

Brad Ford

Steven Gambrel

India Hicks

Mary McDonald

Charlotte Moss

Christopher Spitzmiller

Vicente Wolf

ELWAY HALL

GRACIOUS: "Marked by kindness and courtesy, characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit, and the tasteful leisure of good breeding."

This definition embodies all that is my dear friend Barry Dixon and his home Elway Hall. I have had the great privilege of traveling well and yet have seldom experienced the gracious hospitality shown to us by our consummate hosts in Virginia. To say there was "no stone left unturned" is an extreme understatement-right down to the herd of deer appearing on the lawn precisely at dusk just as you were handed your signature cocktail by the fire.

The property is sprinkled with fairy dust-every moment more magical than the last- truly gracious living at its very best! Barry is the embodiment of gentility, and is my role model for all that is good, kind, and right with this world we live in. His Edwardian sensibilities are alive and well and I so hope someday we can all return to such a civilized way of life!