Let me be clear: I don’t love to garden, but I do love seeing the gardens of people who do! I recently attended the annual Trade Secrets garden event, the signature fundraiser for Women’s Support Services, in Litchfield County, Connecticut. This year, the four gardens included those of Carolyne Roehm, husband-wife team Bunny Williams and John Rosselli, Michael Trapp and Old Farm Nursery.
The event, which was the brainchild of Bunny Williams 16 years ago, takes place over two days. Day one is a breakfast and signings by prominent garden book author, of as well as a plant sale. The second day is the tour.
Roehm, a Missouri girl, was most recently the honorary chair of our local SLAM Art in Bloom event this spring. Having attended her lecture at the museum, I could imagine what her grounds would look like in bloom. The early May date for the tour and 50-degree temps kept many of the flora and fauna from displaying their grandeur at her beloved ‘Weatherstone.’ Still, attendees got the sense of what can be done when you have acres to work with (and unlimited funds). Her studio was open, and she gleefully greeted guests and discussed the history of her 18th-century home.
Williams and Rosselli have created a compound that is bucolic and elegant. In her book An Affair With a House, Williams tells of the experience creating this retreat. From her latest endeavor, an on-site studio, to the hexagonal chicken coup with two enclosed wings for warmth, this expanse of Connecticut land is almost self-sustaining. Her multiple greenhouses and planned cutting gardens provide the needed space to develop her creative ideas for everything from planting the grounds to filling vases for a dinner party.
This is yet another event that makes planning a weekend trip all the more worth it. The beauty of nature is inspiring on so many levels, and to see it perfected by creative minds is a memory worth savoring.
come to terms with … loro piana
I have been working in the design industry for more than 30 years, and I feel I have been exposed to just about all that is in the market … until now.
Loro Piana, which I am sure you recognize as one of the finest clothing lines for men and women, offers an interior service line as well—for the discerning client who has no budget limit. When its deerskin jackets sell for almost $6,000, to place this line’s fabric on your club chair is no small investment!
A little bit of history: The Piana family has been trading wool since the early 1800s. The existing company was founded in 1924. In 2013, the Piana brothers, Sergio (now deceased) and Pier Luigi, sold 80 percent of their family company to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for $2.57 billion, making each brother a billionaire.
The company’s credo has always been to see, touch and understand the fabrics it deals with, as well as the people who help to grow and weave them. They have improved the harvest of wool and cashmere in many ways. They were the first to introduce ‘baby cashmere’ to the market; it’s a process that can be done only once to the kid before it is 12 months old. It takes an entire month to collect 30 grams of fiber per kid. No doubt it’s the origin of the saying, “A devil lot of fuss for such a little bit of wool.”
Additionally, the company also has improved and protected the vicuna and merino sheep. The company brings all its various materials, including lotus flower stems from Burmese lakes, to Italy for final production.’=
Now it has taken these finest-of-the-fine fibers and created mostly muted solid fabrics, carpets and throws for interiors in various categories: city, mountain, countryside, seaside, yacht and airplane.
design redux: kips bay decorator show house
One of the great pleasures as a design industry professional is to see the work of others you admire. I recently had the pleasure to do this at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which benefits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club.
The decorated townhouse, located at 19 E. 61st St., is actually new construction, but it exudes all the elegance and charm of a Beaux Arts mansion from the late 1800s. The 9,742-square-foot home with six bedrooms and seven baths is being offered for a mere $65 million—and it’s actually worth it! Its 24 spaces were transformed in the most sumptuous and sophisticated ways by internationally known interior designers such as Alex Papachristidis, Suzanne Kasler and David Kleinberg.
The foyer was transformed by David Collins Studio in London. The floor was a custom-designed striped marble. The west wall was covered in a wallcovering produced by Baker Furniture … yes, Baker is launching a fabric and wallcovering line very soon! The nearly floor-to-ceiling beveled mirrors were adorned with moldings, and the walls were a Farrow & Ball lovely warm shade of blue. The almost nautical curve of the stair wall gave a nod to the wonderful art deco interiors of days past.
Put the show house on your calendar for next year; the annual event supports a great cause and is full of creative ideas you can use to transform your own interiors.
