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 Everyone is familiar with the many landmarks of New York City, but thanks to Judith Gura and Kate Wood (courtesy of the Monacelli Press) we are all about to become familiar with the landmarked INTERIORS of the city.  Since 1965 the New York City Landmarks Law has been protecting significant spaces across the city ranging from classical architecture to more unexpected masterpieces of the modern era. This book includes 120 landmarks and their locations which can be used as an architectural tour guide of the city as most spaces are open to the public. The projects range from the expected such as the Metropolitan Museum  by Richard Morris Hunt seen below -  To the lesser known such as the Loews Paradise Theater in the Bronx by John Eberson . The re-release of this book includes updated information with new additions so that you can explore these landmarks for yourself. I think a copy of this book is a must-have guide to the city with more interesting venues than...

This upcoming weekend I'm helping to host a home tour in Baltimore for our local chapter of the ICAA which I've decided to name Private Classical Baltimore .  Read here for a little information about this tour which I'm so excited for! The tour starts at the Homewood Mansion on Johns Hopkins University campus.  Built and designed by Charles Carroll Jr. for his family in 1801, the house has a Palladian 5-part plan. While planned and massed in the Georgian style of the time, it uses Federal-style detailing reflecting the influences of Robert Adam. The flatter details seen here distinguish the federal style from the English Georgian style and this is considered one of the best federal examples in the country.  Lunch will be served as part of the tour in the garden, weather permitting. After lunch the tour will progress to 2 beautiful historic houses in the Homeland neighborhood. The stone house seen here was designed by Palmer & Lamdin in 1928. They were the preeminent r...

To this day Christian Dior's name is associated with all that is elegant despite his passing 61 years ago. The post-war period in which he was most active is personally one of my favorite times to study as the output of the western world's artists was at a creative peak (similarly the same could be said of the inter-war period). Historian Maureen Footer has just released the book I have always wanted to read and it does not disappoint, Dior and his Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and the New Look .  While Dior may be a household name the artists working behind him, inspiring him, and sometimes providing him with his eponymous look aren't as well known.  As a reader of this blog you are probably already familiar with Ms Footer's previous book, George Stacey and the Creation of American Chic (also a must have!), and this book picks up where that left off by delving into the most chic interiors of the 20th century. On a side note, have you seen Ms. Foote...

Most people here in DC know of the Willard : one of the grand dame hotels of the city which one assumes have been there forever. However what most probably don't know (I for one did not) is that the current hotel is actually mostly a recreation of the historic space! We recently hosted a tour of the hotel with our ICAA chapter and the hotel historian had some eye opening surprises for us. Many of the beautiful details which appear to date to the hotel's rebuilding in 1901 when the beaux arts style hotel was built actually date to 1986! Lets back up here. Yes the hotel is historic. Like many hotels however it has been renovated and rebuilt almost continuously since its founding in 1818 (the year is a stretch but is when a hotel was first built on this site). Above is the lobby as it appeared in 1950. One recognizes the overall space but decoration and mid-centuryisms are the focus. And above is how the lobby appeared in 1984! This area of Washington suffered greatly during the...

The great designer Suzanne Kasler is at it again with her 3rd book from Rizzoli, Sophisticated Simplicity, sharing more of her timeless projects. This new book looks at a number of her recent projects ranging from town to country, mixing high and low, and with a lot more modern than we're used to seeing from her! The project below in South Carolina had the homeowners taking Suzanne out of her comfort zone with their love of bold colors. Many of the projects however feature Kasler's signature of beautiful neutrals with light-filled interiors. The project in Maine, seen in these 2 photos, showcases the homeowners' love of blue &white and is what relaxed coastal living is all about! But the event I'm excited to share with you is a booksigning with Suzanne Kasler , Architect Jeffrey Dungan , and photographer William Abranowicz , that I'm hosting through our chapter of the ICAA in conjunction with Circa lighting with whom Kasler has a lighting line. Dungan is a tal...