Steven Gambrel is one of the biggest talents around these days, and everyone can bring some of him into their own bathrooms now with Drummonds! The newly launched Colvin collection is an eight-piece family of bathroom storage and accessories, designed by Gambrel and handcrafted at the Drummonds brassware foundry. Gambrel comments, “The materials we celebrate throughout the house - heavy plaster walls, marble mantels, antique brassware – these are the perfect elements to build a bathroom. We’ve moved far beyond the white sanitary box of previous eras." “I’ve always loved hardware – doo ..read more

Don't miss the upcoming sale at Christies Paris , April 23, 2024, of the apartment contents decorated by Billy Baldwin in the 1970s. The catalog has amazing photos of the apartment as well as a forward by Michael Smith.  More Le Tigre velvet than you can shake a stick at ..read more

I still get quite a lot of press emails and once in awhile one actually attracts my notice. Such was the case when this email came across my desk for Les Belvederes, a new development outside of Paris built for the upcoming olympics but meant to remain far afterwards. The most striking thing about this very nicely designed, handsome building is that it's the largest building built of wood. So beautiful! As part of the most ambitious project of the decade for the Paris metropolis, architect Dominique Perrault has been entrusted with the design of sector E, located on the right bank of the Sei ..read more

I'm not sure why these projects always need to be so depressingly modern or banal, butLow-income housing is a topic that's always interested me and Rizzoli has a new book out addressing this with a variety of projects, Housing the Nation.  I think the urban infill projects are particularly successful.  On any given night, more than 650,000 people in the United States—many with families and full-time jobs—experience homelessness. The shortfall in affordable housing is estimated to be 5 million units or more. Just as there was no single cause of the crisis, there is no single ..read more

  With the decline of American magazines ( not what I'm here to talk about ), the Brits continue to 'bring it'. House and Gardens UK has an addictive website if you haven't seen it ( print copy is also brilliant and worth the shipping costs ) and this apartment in Atlanta caught my eye belonging to designer Sally Wilkinson .  Having lived in a studio for a number of years (long ago at this point), I can attest that divider walls only make the space feel smaller, so love her defining space with furniture to make it feel open and therefore much bigger.  There is so ..read more

  I've long been a fan of Michael Smith's work, and just had to share this latest video tour of his apartment in Madrid. Enjoy ..read more

There's more to Vegas than meets the eye and the 9th Annual Home + History Las Vegas heritage tourism festival provides a chance to see beyond the corporate casinos. The four-day festival takes place from April 25-28 and focuses on the city’s hidden architectural treasures and captivating history.   Celebrating Southern Nevada’s iconic past, the event series features immersive, guided tours, educational seminars, community events, scenic drives, and speaker presentations that transport participants to the Vegas of yesteryear. In a town where uncovering historical hid ..read more

This year's 2024 Washington Winter antiques show promises to be a good one with a slate of great events to start the new year. Join me Saturday, January 13 at 4:30 PM for a lecture on our local treasure, Hillwood estate and gardens, with Kate Markert (Executive Director), Dr. Wilfried Zeisler (Chief Curator), and Ellen Charles (granddaughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post), "Splendor and Surprise: Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Gardens".  Purchase tickets for the event HERE.   There are a lot of other events to check out, including a lunch talk with Lady Henrietta Spencer-Chur ..read more

  In the dynamic realm of architectural design, the shift from traditional hand-drawn blueprints to CAD drawings has marked a significant turning point. As we navigate deeper into the digital era, the significance of these tools in shaping our built environment is undeniable. Let’s journey through the transformative influence of CAD technology, with a special focus on its profound impact on the architectural domain at large. The Rise of CAD Drawings The architectural world has witnessed a paradigm shift from the days when architects would spend countless hours crafting each line with utm ..read more

I think it's fitting that my first blog post after a long absence (and following my last post on Bunny Mellon) is to announce and welcome you all to the Washington winter antiques show - particularly the Saturday night lecture "Bunny Beyond the Garden" with Oak Spring Garden Foundation president Peter Crane and Bunny's grandson, Thomas Lloyd, for which I'm a cochair, at 4:30 PM, Saturday January 14, 2023.  Bunny Mellon’s legacy favors her reputation as one of this country’s greatest self-taught landscape designers. Her unwavering, talented eye for beauty, however, broadened that public r ..read more