Rooms for Living

Rooms for living...isn't that the desired outcome of decorating?  And yet, how often do we see rooms that don't feel or look very livable? 

It seems appropriate, then, that Suzanne Rheinstein, a designer known for creating comfortable and gracious interiors, would christen her latest book, Rooms for Living.  Peruse her work in this inspiring book, and you'll see that her rooms are never contrived nor affected.  Instead, they are big, beautiful invitations for living, offering themselves up as spots for relaxing, for example, or entertaining.

Like her previous book, this one is lavished with photographs of delightful interiors.  Seeing the range of the designer's work reminded me that as proficient as she when working in the traditional style, Suzanne can be quite modern, too.  And if you assume that this book is solely a picture book, think again.  Suzanne dispenses sound decorating advice in the book's text, which I found quite helpful.  

Those of you who are fans of the designer don't need my encouragement to buy this book, because you already know that it will be a worthy addition to your library.  But to those of you who are not quite as familiar with Suzanne's work, I urge you to take a look at Rooms for Living.  Doing so just might remind you that rooms should indeed be designed for living.

© Rooms for Living: A Style for Today with Things from the Past by Suzanne Rheinstein, Rizzoli New York, 2015. Images from Room for Living © Pieter Estersohn.

Some Suzanne Rheinstein Wisdom

One thing that I admire about Suzanne Rheinstein's elegant and classical style is that it works well in both town and country. Suzanne can decorate both a Park Avenue apartment as well as a Virginia horse farm with equal aplomb! I'm especially excited about her recently completed project that is featured in House Beautiful's May issue, the theme of which is "Designer Secrets".

Suzanne decorated this Upper East Side apartment for a young married couple that hails from the South. In fact, while reading the article, I realized that the wife used to be my across the hall neighbor in Atlanta many years ago. As you can see, the interiors are gracious and proper, and yet they're comfortable looking too. To me, the apartment looks like a big old Southern home housed within an Upper East Side apartment building.

I'm including a few images here, but be sure to check out the May issue to get the full effect. And as the issue's cover promises, there are plenty of Suzanne's designer secrets in the article as well. (In fact, some of her sage advice can be seen in the photo above.)

All photos from House Beautiful, May 2012, Francois Dischinger photographer. Photos used with express permission from the magazine.

At Home with Wedgwood

Recently, I was thinking about my favorite Tiffany & Co. tablesetting books from the 1980s and 90s (The New Tiffany Table Settings, Tiffany Taste, and The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook) and lamenting the fact that there haven't been many books of late that have captivated me like the Tiffany books. On a lark, I ordered At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table by Tricia Foley and frankly wasn't sure what to expect. I just received it yesterday, and guess what? No more lamentation- this book looks fantastic.

The book discusses the illustrious history of Wedgwood china and includes chapters on prominent Wedgwood collectors, including Suzanne Rheinstein, Charlotte Moss, Stephen Drucker, and Michael Smith. To be honest, I didn't have a chance to read the text last night. But if the photos are any indication, the text should be quite interesting too.


Designer Diane Martinson created a Neoclassical look for her home; the table is set with Wedgwood candlesticks in the Edme pattern.


Charlotte Moss set a table for a post ballet supper using Wedgwood black basalt and creamware- all set on a pink tablecloth. Gorgeous.


Stephen Drucker is an avid collector of black basalt portrait busts. In this photo taken in his apartment, a basalt wine ewer and a collection of over 500(!) reproduction plaster casts provide a graphic display. Now I'm inspired to start collecting plaster casts.


Lord Wedgwood's home outside of Philadelphia. (I thought for sure it was in England.) The green Chinese Tigers teacups are a c. 1984 Wedgwood pattern.


Author Tricia Foley's Upper East Side apartment where drinks are set on a table with black basalt ware and silver punch bowls used as coolers.


(All images from At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table)