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English Country in the City

Have you seen British style-writer and interior designer Rita Konig's New York apartment in The Selby? (Rita is the current T Magazine and former Domino editor.) It is a little piece of heaven. She has turned a small West Village apartment into a sort of "Jane Austen meets modern day magazine editor's" cozy retreat. It feels like a country cottage in the midst of New York City. And how smart, since I can imagine that if you lived in New York, nothing would feel better than coming home to a soothing and enthralling oasis after a day in the city. I am smitten!

Her apartment feels fresh and at the same time evokes a strong feeling of home. Like a little house with a country feel in the middle of the city.

In an interview for New York Magazine, Rita said that the fireplace and the windows were the reason she took the apartment. She goes on to say, "I have always liked decorating my small apartments as though they are just a few of the rooms in a much larger house, so you have the feeling that you could, should you want to, wander off to the drawing room, library, dining room, but for the moment are just choosing to be in this rather cozy study."

The prettiest room is the bedroom. Feminine and romantic, it would be like sleeping in a little garden.

I love Rita Konig's design philosophy. She says (from the interview above), "You just have to be able to sink back at home. If there aren't comfortable chairs or a sofa, you are sunk. I am more interested in that, really, than the trim on the curtains. Sitting and chatting is what I really like most of all in the whole world."

I couldn't agree with her more. The most inviting homes are a personal narrative of the way people live, a reflection of who they are. Books, art, travel souvenirs, and family heirlooms give a cozy and lived-in look to a home. I once heard a decorator say that rooms should be collected not decorated. I think Rita Konig has accomplished that goal and created a home that is warm and welcoming.

To see the full tour of Rita Konig's apartment, go here.

Summer Cocktail

Summer is almost here and you may be searching for a fun, new cocktail to serve your guests on a warm summer evening. I have the perfect solution for you and it even has some Jazz Age glamour!

The drink is "Juice of a Few Flowers." Gerald and Sara Murphy made it at their villa in the south of France in the 1920's. Their guests were some of the brightest literary and artistic talents of the time; Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, Picasso, Cole Porter and Dorothy Parker. They were all in attendance at the legendary parties given by the Murphys, considered by many to be the most sought after invitation on the French Riviera.

Everyone seems to be talking about the Jazz Age right now with the release of the new film "The Great Gatsby." I love stories about the writers and artists living in Paris and the south of France during this era; it was a magical time, beautifully depicted in Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris." So I thought I would draw upon a previous blog post and give you the recipe (modified by a friend of mine) for "Juice of a Flowers" to make this weekend.

Here is a description of the parties given by the Murphys at their villa in Antibes:

"Sara had a phrase, 'Dinner-Flowers-Gala,' derived from the notation carried on ships' menus for the captain's dinner: it was Murphy language for any special occasion, and there were many...usually dinners for eight to ten. First there were Gerald's special cocktails on the terrace, cocktails that he claimed contained 'just the juice of a few flowers'...These Gerald mixed, Phillip Barry said, like a priest preparing Mass, and he served them ritually; you were only allowed two cocktails, and you were not offered anything else to drink before dinner. During cocktails the children would come down in their bathrobes and sing a song or dance...afterwards they would go up to bed. And then there would be dinner under the linden tree, by candlelight, the women in their beaded dresses and the men in their dinner jackets, with everyone so young and merry and clever."

-- from Everybody Was So Young by Amanda Vaill

Wouldn't you have loved to have been a fly on the wall?

Last week a friend made me a "Juice of a Few Flowers." One sip and in my imagination I was there: summers in the south of France and the glamour of the Jazz Age. With summer coming up and everyone talking about "The Great Gatsby," this would be a great cocktail to include in your summer menus. The recipe is from Ina Garten, but make sure you add some simple syrup to taste (as my friend did) and rim the glasses with sugar. Why not infuse your weekend with a little Jazz Age glamour!

Juice of a Few Flowers Cocktail

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup good vodka, such as Grey Goose
Extra lemon juice
Granulated sugar
Fresh mint sprigs

Combine fruit juices and vodka in a pitcher. Dip the rims of 4 martini glasses first in a dish with lemon juice and then in a dish with sugar. When ready to serve, place ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, add the cocktail mixture to fill the shaker three-quarters full, and shake for about 30 seconds. Pour into the sugared martini glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve ice-cold.

Recipe via here
Photos via here

A Welcoming Kind of House

"Cecilia's and Emmeline's house was in Oudernarde Road, which runs quietly down into Abbey Road, funnel of traffic and buses. It had big windows, arched stairs and wrought-iron steps at the back leading down to a small garden. Cecilia, hesitant over the agent's order, looking about at the temptingly sunny spaces of floor, had remarked: 'It's a long way from everybody we know...' But Emmeline said: 'We never know whom we are going to meet.' From the first glance the house had smiled at them and was their own. So here they had settled."

-- from "To The North" by Elizabeth Bowen

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I have always loved this quote from To the North by Elizabeth Bowen. It is a poignant book about two young women in their twenties living together in London and finding their place in the world. One is an orphan and the other is newly widowed. Finding the right house is of paramount importance to their sense of safety and stability. The idea that "the house had smiled at them and was their own" struck me as so true. It made think about the elements that go into making a house a welcoming kind of place, a house that smiles at us and shelters us from the storm. A house that we love and and want to make our own. Of course it is different for everyone, but here are some ingredients that I think make a house a haven.

A cheerful front door

A cozy sitting room

A fireplace

Window panes to look through on a rainy day

A sunny kitchen

Blue and white crockery

A room with a view

A snug bedroom

A touch of tartan

A smattering of red

A room to call our own

Books and flowers

A writing desk

A reading nook

Candlelight

Outdoor seating

Climbing roses

And last but not least, there is a certain something, a quality that is hard to define. It could be the lighting at dusk, the patina of the bricks or the fragrance of the garden. We may sense past generations who have lived there and we feel a connection. The emotion is strong, even mysterious. We are at home.

Images via Pinterest

Last image from Howards End

Lovely Workspaces

I am intrigued by the rooms where creative people work. Writers, artists, interior designers, fashion designers, gallery owners, museum directors, entrepreneurs -- their choice of a workspace is fascinating to me. Do they keep it austere and serene or do they load it with inspiration? Do they work best with images on a bulletin board, favorite books on bookshelves, precious writing implements on their desk, windows with a view, great lighting or privacy? What element is most important to them? What are the ingredients that go into making their workspace a retreat, a haven where they can be creative? As Virginia Woof wrote, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." I am not sure that money is essential (think of J.K. Rowling), but a room of one's own seems to be ideal. Here are the workspaces of some very creative people.

Vita Sackville-West's writing tower at Sissinghurst Castle
Photo by National Trust John Hammond via here

What kind of a room does a writer need to produce great art? Vita Sackville-West, descended from British nobility, had her own tower at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England. It had views of the famous gardens she created. It was there that she wrote her novels, poems, essays and gardening articles. She was surrounded by her treasured books, Persian rugs, antique tapestries and portraits of her literary idols -- Virginia Woolf and the Bronte sisters.

Virginia Woolf's writing lodge
Photo by National Trust Eric Crichton via here

Virginia Woolf writing lodge at Monk's House, her home in East Sussex, England, was a much simpler affair. A former tool shed turned into a writing room, it was situated in the garden and had a view of the downs. This is where she wrote parts of all of her major novels.

Virginia Woolf's desk
Photo by Eamonn McCabe via here

Edith Wharton's bedroom

Photo by Annie Leibovitz via here

Edith Wharton famously wrote her novels in bed, dropping the pages on the floor for her secretary Anna Bahlmann to gather up and type. Here is a recreation of Wharton writing in bed at her home The Mount in western Massachusetts, photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue Magazine. Wharton wrote "The House of Mirth" in this room.

Jane Austen's desk
Photo by Eamonn McCabe via here

Jane Austen wrote at this desk near the front door of Chawton Cottage, her home in Hamsphire

Haworth Parsonage in Yorkshire, England, the home of Charlotte Bronte
Photo by Eamonn McCabe via here

Charlotte Bronte wrote her books on this table in the dining room, a room that doubled as her study

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What about the artists, writers, designers, and creative spirits working today? Where do they like to work?

Artist and mapmaker Connie Brown of Redstone Studios at her studio in Durham, Connecticut
Photo by Caryn Davis via Connie Brown

Home decor and fashion designer Aerin Lauder's office
Photo by Pieter Estersohn via here

Nigella Lawson in her library
(photo source unknown)

Fashion designer Phoebe Philo at her atelier in London
Photo by Annie Leibovitz via here

Bobbi Brown, founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, in her New York office
Photo by Elizabeth Lippman via here

Jenna Lyons, creative director at J. Crew
Photo by Heather Clawson from her book Habitually Chic: Creativity at Work via here

Thelma Golden, director of The Studio Museum of Harlem
Photo by Heather Clawson via here

I am so inspired by these beautiful workspaces. Where do you like to work? What kind of space nourishes your creativity?

Spring Table Settings

Carolyn Roehn

With Passover and Easter falling within one week of each other this year, many people will be hosting festive dinners. Passover celebrations occurred this past week and Easter celebrations will be happening this weekend. I thought now was a perfect time to do a post on spring table settings. I think you will agree that these lovely tables are warm and inviting settings for celebrating the holidays as well as the season.