Traditional Toile de jouy prints preserve the French look of 18th century single pattern bedrooms.
Firmly traditional in its origin and motif, toile is the first printed cotton manufactured in France. Nearly 250 years ago, in a factory founded by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf at Jouy-in-Josas ten miles southwest of Paris, copper plates were used to print print elaborately … [Read more...]

With smart house technology expanding, hidden tvs can pop up, flip up or drop down almost anywhere.
For heavy TV viewers like Mr. AM and myself, hidden tvs aren't practical. Sets in our house are on day and night. Yet some object to naked flat screens on aesthetic terms and require cover ups. Allison installed her great room TV behind sliding wood and copper panels which were … [Read more...]

Powder room sinks help set the styles for guest baths -- from modern to traditional.
Here’s the thing about powder room sinks: the focus is often on the style of the vanity instead of the basin. But for me, the sink’s the thing. That’s why I especially favor statement-making sinks in powder rooms. A fabulous lavabo can be mounted on top of a conventional vanity, or on the … [Read more...]

Planning an elegant dressing room closet? See six essential features these have in common.
High end closets have expanded way beyond walk-ins. I think of them as dressing room closets because they are, indeed, rooms of their own and places to get dressed rather than merely for clothing storage. The current concept behind a dressing room closet is specialized feature ideas … [Read more...]

A designer's culinary work space, a glass ceiling kitchen is built to satisfy artistic aspirations as well.
In this home in suburban Connecticut, a personal vision based on travels to France combined with a love for European furniture inspired a blockbuster glass ceiling kitchen. With its own language of ideas and surfaces and a budget sufficient to transform the dream into … [Read more...]

Bathrooms evolve but black-and-white marble pattern floors endure.
Next time we talk about change in the way we live at home think about this: checkerboard floors have been used continually now for four hundred years. While bathrooms have evolved, the black-and-white checkerboard floors in honed or polished marble endures, even in a bath as countrified as a delicate white one … [Read more...]