Houses roosting along New England’s coast have much to contend with. Along with time’s usual wear and tear,...
Couples often flee the city once their children are born. But that was never an option for a pair...
The journey from wish list to dream home gets complicated fast. So there’s something to be said for keeping...
Featured Homes
It’s easy to imagine losing yourself amid a profusion of heady roses or while strolling a linden allée. But finding such reverie in a garden where flowers and vegetables vie for attention? Not so often. Here in Washington, however, is an exception. Architects Charles Haver and Stewart
Every interior designer seeks to make a “house” into a “home,” but the decades-long relationship between designer Trudy Dujardin and client Jill Jordon is so deep and trusting, it takes that concept to an especially detailed level, right down to selecting the flowers on the table and arranging treasured keepsakes on bookshelves.
With its white clapboard and dark shutters, this Georgian-style house in the picture-perfect town of New Canaan is the quintessence of Yankee rectitude. But some pleasant surprises await inside, in an interior design that reflects the personalities and
What’s New
Spring might seem like the most logical point on the calendar to start planning your garden, but for true green thumbs, gardening is a year-round passion and pursuit.
For Tracy Glover, it was always about glass. As an artistic child growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, she was taken to art classes and museums, and she spent a lot of her time sketching. But her artistic drive found its focus when
First came a focus on interior design, which continues to inspire innovative style statements. Then homeowners and designers turned their attention to outdoor living, however long or short the season may be in their region. New
Art & Style
Jakub Staron is an accidental weaver, an artist turned businessman who chanced upon a career path that led to the world of luxury rugs—for reasons that had nothing to do with warp or weft, at least not initially. Staron is the owner and creative force behind J.D. Staron, the custom rug and carpet company headquartered in Stamford’s Waterside Design District. Selling to the trade only, Staron is known for its finely crafted, richly textured rugs and sophisticated, original designs. Established in 2004, the company has grown from one showroom to nine, including locations in Paris and London. “Jakub’s design vernacular was rooted in history from the beginning,” says Judy Zolt, who with her husband, Rick, is a managing member of the company. “His designs blur the lines between timeless antique carpets and edgy, contemporary weaves.” Rugs are his passion now. But painting was Staron’s first love. He grew up in Poland, where he went to an art school that offered only three areas of concentration: sculpture, ceramics, and weaving. He had no interest in the first two, so he settled on weaving mostly because it seemed like “the closest thing to painting.” After moving to the U.S., he found himself torn between following his art and enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps. “Luckily, I heard from Parsons School of Design first,” he says. He worked his way through school by repairing antique carpets, so after graduating (and earning an MFA from Hunter College), his résumé was heavy on practical experience and a knowledge of antiques. But he still wanted to paint. What changed? “I finally accepted the fact that no one wanted to buy my paintings,” he says. “That’s when I really started liking weaving.” He began “inventing textures,” experimenting with riffs on classic, dimensional Aubusson carpets—and found success. For…
Jay Rogers’s sculptural wooden containers are metaphors for the psyche, hinting at the parts of us that reveal themselves only to those willing to explore. Lots of us used to put together model cars when we were kids; Jay Rogers is the first person I’ve met who paid equal attention to the insides. In high school, many of us listened to our friends moan about their romantic problems. Rogers thought, “How could I turn this troubled relationship into a Japanese puzzle box?” And he may be the only artist on the planet whose portraits have six sides, eight corners, and drawers. Rogers, a sixty-eight-year-old man with swept-back white hair and pale blue eyes, works—fittingly—inside a square, boxy bedroom in his Cambridge, Massachusetts, house. Here he glues veneers to plywood, cuts the results into pieces, and builds boxes that depict an Indian temple, a new marriage, or the story of the Cabinet (what else?) of Doctor Caligari. Rogers didn’t start out life in love with boxes—or wood. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where his first experiences working with wood traumatized him. His father tried to teach him how to hand-saw boards and pound nails when Rogers was too young. This frustrated the boy, which made his father angry, which led the Rogers to conclude that he was bad at woodworking. In high school, however, he was reading an Anaïs Nin novel when something jumped out at him: a reference to a Japanese puzzle box. He was fascinated by the notion of a container that revealed its interior only to those who knew its secrets. When a friend complained to him about a tortured romance with a girl, Rogers began to imagine that relationship as a puzzle box, and wanted to build it so badly he ignored the negative associations of…
Get Back Inc. owner Tim Byrne has a fitting nickname: “The Eye,” a moniker he earned for his ability to see the beauty—and utility—of industrial objects destined for the dump. An early adapter of the vintage-industrial aesthetic, Byrne started his company back in 2000, foraging for castaways in factories and workshops. In his capable (and creative) hands, a wooden gear pattern converts to a chandelier, a “Portelvator” machinist’s cart morphs into a bar cart, and a 1920s cast-iron crank engine hoist paired with a woven rattan Nanna Ditzel hanging egg chair becomes the chicest seat in town. Byrne’s shop, whose name is rooted in the philosophy of “getting back the spirit and romance of an earlier age,” produces two tiers of work: one-of-a-kinds and originals. The latter can be crafted in multiples and customized. Take, for example, the swing-out seat, a wall-mounted stool modeled after an early-twentieth-century English cafeteria stool, or the Gramercy Lamp, one of which appears in every room in the Julian Schnabel–designed Gramercy Park Hotel. The mission of Get Back Inc. runs deep, says the company’s content manager, Aaron Fagan. “It’s not just an aesthetic, it’s also about preserving history and our cultural heritage.” Oakville, CT, getbackinc.com I’m sixty-four years old,” says Peter Van Beckum. “I came to this a long time ago.” In fact, it was back in the late seventies, when he was part of the team rehabbing the nineteenth-century Fess Hotel in Wisconsin that he got his start. “They needed interior doors built, and I said, ‘I can do that.’ I had no experience, but they came out gorgeous,” he remembers. Years later, Van Beckum found his way to the North Bennet Street School in Boston, where he was classically trained. Today, he designs and makes exquisite commissioned pieces—tables, chairs, cupboards, headboards—many of which…
Blog
Walking through my garden in today it finally feels like is spring here! I was thrilled to come across the delightful discovery of two abandoned bird’s nests in the branches of my freshly-blooming lilac and privet trees to add to my nest collection. This collection has served me well as I often use
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Childhood memories can have a strong influence, and Raquel Garcia tapped into hers when we asked her to design a chic foyer. An antique ebony dresser from her childhood home is referenced in a vintage, circa 1940 contemporary-style
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When you have the chance to hear one of the country’s most legendary creatives speak about entertaining with style— or have the opportunity to learn how a
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New England Home is pleased to announce the winners of the ninth annual “5 Under 40” Awards. The awards recognize the region’s hottest rising talent
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Maison et Objet, the international authority for home decor, interior design, architecture and lifestyle, kicks off each year with a home decor fair that connects members of
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While teens and tweens have their charms, sometimes the best way to appreciate this age group is to give them a space of their own: they get privacy, and you enjoy some peace and quiet. Designer Cecilia Walker assembles a fun mix of hip furnishings, accessories, and art
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