Patience is a Virtue

Patience is a virtue. A saying long used by our elders in a vain effort to teach the younger generation that good things come to those who wait. I wonder if these sayings will continue to be used by my generation as we raise our children Wait? Why wait? Wait through the commercials to watch a whole television show? Order it on Apple TV. Wait for the newspaper? Go on Twitter. Slowly furnish a home over time to allow it to have that collected and curated look we all crave? Go online and order it all over the course of a weekend.

I know, I know, it’s hilarious that I say this as a blogger; but as a preservationist we are an inherently patient people. We respect time, and the passage of time, and the time it took for things to age and develop the patina and history that we obsess over and admire. So it has been with film director James Ivory and his c. 1805 home in NY’s Hudson Valley. IvoryThe 6,000 square foot c. 1805 home has twelve foot ceilings throughout, and was built on an octagonal plan, with two octagonal rooms on each side stacked on top of each other. Ivory purchased the home in the summer of 1975 … for $105,000.
Ivory 4Ivory 6
Ivory 5Ivory 3Ivory 2Ivory’s home, complete with stacks and stacks of books and miles of memorabilia and objets, looks as if it has been lived in, and loved, for forty years. And yet, the owner feels it is only 95% done. Patience, a virtue? In this case, I believe so. 

Photos via T Magazine

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Someone’s In the Kitchen with Martha

Skylands 4Good Morning Lacquered lifers! Just an inspiration shot from me today, Martha Stewart’s kitchen at Skylands. Located in Maine, this home was completed for the Edsel Ford family in 1925, and the family occupied the house until 1980. When Martha purchased the home in 1997, it came complete with furniture, linens, and china. And look at all that china! And the sinks. And the walls. And the floors. For someone who appreciates historic architecture like Martha Stewart does, this home is something special … it’s her favorite.

For more photos and the full article about Martha’s Skylands Estate, visit architecturaldigest.com

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A New Beginning, at The End

Montauk 6

Good Morning Lacquered Lifers. The End. No not “The End” of this post, but rather a post about The End. Montauk, Long Island that is. Designed by the famed NYC-based interiors firm Roman & Williams, this house is very special – and yet didn’t start out that way. Built in the 1950s, with an unimpressive 1980s addition, the duo was able to completely change the look and feel of the house without doing a huge renovation. The simple addition of wood windows and doors, and removal of drywall has reinvigorated what was an otherwise dull house. The result? A house that wholeheartedly reflects the bohemian “surf’s up” attitude that made Montauk the destination that it is today. Well done Roman & Williams. No big surprise coming from the design duo behind NYC hotspots The Dutch, Lafayette, and the Highline Hotel. The End. Montauk 5Montauk 4Montauk 3Montauk 2Montauk 1
Photos via Roman & Williams 



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