Jenny Wolf’s Storybook New York Home Is Utterly Transporting

Posted on by Jill Simpson

As a designer, you never feel completely done with a project,” says Jenny Wolf. Make that doubly true if the project in question is the designer’s own home. “I’m always moving and changing things around,” Wolf says of the interior of her 1920s center-hall colonial in Fieldston, a leafy enclave in the Bronx whose stately houses and century-old trees make it feel more like a Connecticut hamlet than a New York City neighborhood.

The exterior of the 1920s center-hall colonial. “It’s a little slice of heaven,” Wolf says of her leafy neighborhood.

Francesco Lagnese

Jenny Wolf in the hat-and-horn-filled entrance to her home. Wall paint, Pearl by Benjamin Moore; trim, Studio Green by Farrow & Ball. 

Francesco Lagnese

The setting couldn’t be more apt for Wolf, whose own expert eye, trained in fashion retail development at Ralph Lauren before turning to interiors, is adept at blending old-world country charm with moody sophistication. She’s spent the past four years transforming the whitewashed brick house into the ultimate calling card for her brand, The Huntress, a trio of boutiques that carry a covetable mix of antiques, artisan goods, and its own line of indulgent bath and body products.

Wolf filled the house’s wood-paneled study—which she dubbed “the huntsman’s room”—with a mix of antiques and vintage-inspired furnishings, like a Regency-style desk from Hickory Chair and a Gustavian chair from Chelsea Textiles. The table lamp is from Penny Morrison with a Pooky shade. Sconce, Ro Sham Beaux.

Francesco Lagnese

What initially drew Wolf to the house, she says, was the abundance of original details, including delicate dentil moldings and a wood-paneled study. “It felt like stepping back in time,” she recalls. “The bones of the house were so incredible—I’ve never been in a space with such an amazing floor plan. Apart from the bathrooms, there wasn’t much to change other than paint and paper, which is rare for a house this old.”

Farrow & Ball’s smoky Vert de Terre paint drenches the kitchen, where a Schoolhouse light fixture and custom plate rack add old-fashioned charm. Windows are dressed in a Jean Monro fabric.

Francesco Lagnese

Wolf'’s grandmother’s floral chintz sofa was the starting point for the dining room—all the colors were drawn from it. The farmhouse table has followed Wolf from her first New York apartment. The vintage Sputnik chandelier contrasts with portraits from Newel Gallery and ticking stripe curtains mix with buffalo check on Guastavian chairs from KRB. 

Francesco Lagnese

She played up the historic nature with a palette of dusty hues that capture a sense of time-worn elegance. While the kitchen likely would have sparked a full gut reno in the hands of a less mindful decorator, Wolf chose to keep its original layout intact, removing the upper cabinets (an old-fashioned plate rack makes up for the loss of storage) before painting everything in Farrow and Ball’s Vert de Terre, a soft green. In a pint-size guest room with a sloped ceiling, an earthy orange blurs the angles to create a cozy cocoon.

The rooms are filled with a mix of old and new pieces, including a number that she inherited from her grandmother, now updated with new materials or placed in unexpected settings. “I like linking the past to the present,” Wolf explains. “My house feels old-fashioned, but so am I!”

“It’s my favorite color!” says Jenny Wolf of the soft pink—Farrow & Ball’s Templeton Pink— in her primary bedroom. The bedding is from Leontine Linens

Francesco Lagnese

“I like linking the past to the present,” Wolf explains. “My house feels old-fashioned, but so am I!”

Farrow and Ball’s Red Earth wraps a guest room. Ceiling fixture, Barnlight Electric. Bedding, Serena & Lily. Pillow and throw, The Huntress. Bedside table, Chelsea Textiles.

Francesco Lagnese

In the charming attic aerie of her daugher’s French-inspired bedroom, Wolf wrapped the eaves in Waverly toile wallpaper. Roman shades in her favorite buffalo check from Charles Faudree. Chelsea Textiles bed and bedside table; vintage bench. 

Francesco Lagnese

Thrill of the Hunt

With its rosy walls and mix of rustic and romantic vintage goods, The Huntress’s newly opened West Village outpost feels like an extension of Wolf’s family home. The cabinet comes from a 1920s bar, which the designer found in Pennsylvania.

Francesco Lagnese

Stepping into The Huntress is like diving into the pages of a 19th-century English novel where arcadian beauty and rustic refinement become the backdrop for sweeping drama. “There’s a romance to it,” says Wolf, who honed her storytelling bona fides while working for legendary world-builder Ralph Lauren. “I like objects that have a soul—you get the sense that they’ve traveled from somewhere far away.”

Jenny Wolf’s New York office is as collected and inviting as her home and stores. 

Franceso Lagnese

The Huntress stores are known for their immersive, eclectic atmosphere that mixes everything from romantic chintzes to taxidermy to luxurious private-label toiletries. 

Francesco Lagnese

Since opening the doors to its flagship in Pound Ridge more than five years ago, The Huntress has continued to expand, with an outpost at the Mayflower Inn in Connecticut and a newly opened location in the West Village. “As a designer, you’re always shopping for someone else,” adds Wolf, “but having The Huntress allows me to collect the things I love.”

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Tour Our Favorite Rooms in the Lake Forest Showhouse

Posted on by Jill Simpson

With more than 36 rooms created by talented interior designers, not to mention 3½ acres of  gardens and outdoor spaces, this year’s 20th anniversary Lake Forest Showhouse at the historic Pembroke estate is overflowing with creativity.  The 1895 mansion was designed by renowned architect Henry Ives Cobb and renovated in 1935 by no less than David Adler and the legendary Frances Elkins (his sister!). FREDERIC and Schumacher are proud to sponsor this event, which has raised millions for the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago Family Health. The showhouse is open to the public through May 25, 2025, so if you’re in the area, be sure to get tickets! Here’s a look at five of our favorite rooms. 

Maggie Getz: Dining Room

Aimée Mazzenga

Maggie Getz, a FREDERIC It List winner last year, reimagined the traditional dining room as a versatile, multipurpose lounge with a long, low, luxe sofa/banquette upholstered in Schumacher’s Elizabeth Chintz by Rita Konig. Deep chocolate brown walls create a rich backdrop for the lively interplay of floral, striped, and solid fabrics, while dramatic  scroll-trimmed pelmets and curtains and gilded lighting contrast with relaxed rush matting. “Whether hosting a cocktail party, intimate dinner, or post-dinner lounging, this space effortlessly adapts to any occasion,” says Getz.  

Studio W: Primary Bedroom

Ryan McDonald

Ryan McDonald

Diana Wagenbach of Studio W created a calming, spa-like retreat for the primary bedroom using a hushed palette and plush textures juxtaposed with sculptural elements like the custom steel canopy bed and leggy tables, with punctuation marks of black. “The curated palette of natural materials, from light oak and limestone to moody metal accents, establishes a foundation of understated luxury,” she says. 

Jen Marie Interiors: Mudroom

Ryan McDonald

Ryan McDonald

In another class from the typical mudroom, Jennifer Morrow’s room for Jen Marie Interiors “reimagines this often-overlooked space, elevating everyday function into an art form,” with luxurious materials and custom details including a desk of Calacatta Viola Ultra marble. Panoramic Italian Promenade wallpaper from Schumacher echoes the verdant landscape outside the window, while sculptural organic wall sconces by Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort add unexpected artistry. Custom walnut built-in cabinetry and hand-forged coat hooks create bespoke storage solutions enlivened with a graphic houndstooth cushion. 

Birkman Interiors: Study 

Thomas Birkman envisioned the wood-paneled study as a “cabinet of curiosities reflecting the inhabitants’ travels and interests,” adroitly layering textiles from a medieval tapestry pattern to ikat and animal prints; art and accessories from varied eras; and antiques ranging from Chinese demilune tables to an Edwardian game table, all beneath the glow of a glossy lacquered golden ceiling. The intriguing mix was designed to “restore the room to its former glory” as a clubby space “adorned with fine art, tailored furnishings, and rarities from across the globe.”

Aarti Shah Interiors: Guest Bedroom and Bath

Aimée Mazzenga

Aimée Mazzenga

For this tranquil guest suite, designer Aarti Shah enlisted the soothing waves of this Holly Hunt wallpaper along with “soft, neutral tones, airy textures, and thoughtfully curated furnishings to create a serene and inviting retreat.” In the adjacent bath, Arabescato Corchia marble, cement floor tiles, and a custom scallop-edged floating vanity set against moody, dark walls, conjure a statement-making space. 

Get your tickets to the Lake Forest Showhouse!

Step Inside a Tuckernuck Co-Founder’s Fashion-Forward Georgetown Townhouse

Posted on by Jill Simpson

At the end of the day, September Votta just wants to come home to comfort and calm. As a co-founder of fashion and lifestyle brand Tuckernuck and mother of two children under age five, Votta’s world is colored by the visual chaos of her sons’ bright crayons and puzzle pieces and her company’s bold printed caftans and cardigans. “Working in the fashion industry, I am inundated with color and pattern on a daily basis,” says Votta. “So when we embarked on our home’s redesign, I wanted the interiors to be a refreshing departure. A palate cleanser, so to speak.”

September and her husband Michael, who works in commercial real estate, had lived in their late-19th century row house in Georgetown for just over a year when they called on Atlanta-based interior designer and friend Melissa Lacy to imbue their historic home with a youthful energy to match their own.

The front door was lacquered in Farrow & Ball’s Off Black to punctuate the townhouse’s pale gray exterior. Brass hardware by Baldwin and sconces by St. James Lighting.

Adam Macchia

Natural light bounces off a handcrafted modern starburst mirror by Mike Diaz from Blackman Cruz. Rope chairs were revived with a wavy Pierre Frey fabric and Zamani embroidered pillow. A KRB silk shade tops the Besselink & Jones floor lamp.

Adam Macchia

Lacy’s first order of business was also her most challenging: to create an airy atmosphere in the absence of natural light, since true to townhouse form, all the windows are relegated to the front and back facades. To filter in light and keep prying eyes out, the designer dressed the windows in gauzy café curtains and shades in solid, textural fabrics that veer toward a crisper, more casual look than the lush, billowy drapes typically found in homes of similar provenance. Lacy also took a less predictable approach when choosing artwork and rugs. In lieu of oil paintings and antique rugs, she opted for contemporary art and custom-cut sisal carpets with an easy, breezy vibe. “I really tried to marry the traditional Georgetown aesthetic with September’s chic but modern edge,” says Lacy.  

The moody, oversized Marcel Rozek abstract painting creates modern drama and a counterpoint for the dining room’s more classical furniture and whimsical chandelier from Cox London. Rose Tarlow stripe slipcovers and Jerry Pair leather on dining chairs.

Adam Macchia

Distinctive marbleware platters from La Tuile à Loup in Paris are displayed in a built-in plate rack that gracefully filled an awkward niche.

Adam Macchia

“We fell in love with the wallpaper, so we took it all the way up and across the ceiling!” says Lacy of Schumacher’s Rimini Rib. The floors and trim are painted in Farrow & Ball Slipper Satin.

Adam Macchia

But perhaps the greatest asset that the designer leveraged to create Votta’s so-called ‘palate cleanser’ came from the palette itself—a composition of warm whites and soft neutral tones. “The main living areas, stairwell, and upstairs hall are all wrapped in Patterson Flynn’s Linen Performance Wallcovering in a wonderful putty color,” the designer says. “It’s subtle but offers a foundation that’s strong enough to support the key pieces of art, statement-making accessories, and handful of patterned textiles we used sparingly and strategically to create a beautiful tension.”

In the primary bedroom, the headboard and bench are softened with slipcovers in Antoinette Poisson’s Grenades. Electric blackout shades by Pilchard Designs in an ivory JAB fabric bring a calming presence.

Adam Macchia

The same Antoinette Poisson pattern on wallpaper visually connects the primary bath to the bedroom. Soane Britain sconces flank a rope-rimmed mirror from Mecox Gardens.

Adam Macchia

In the dining room, that push and pull is expressed in the drama of the oversized Marcel Rozek painting and antique dining table and the playfulness of the oak-leaf chandelier and pleated slipcovered chairs in a delicate Rose Tarlow stripe. It’s further intensified in the living room where a groovy starburst mirror by Mike Diaz shines above a traditional white marble mantel that’s original to the house.

In the primary bedroom, a custom settee in yellow Dedar fabric offers a bright pop of color and a comfy alternative to the typical window seat for reading or working. A modern floor lamp by Tommaso Cimini is juxtaposed with an antique drinks table from Foxglove Antiques.

Adam Macchia

A favorite Pierre Frey fabric, used on the crib bumper, roman shade, and petite armchair, was the starting point for son Beau’s nursery. The textured wallpaper from Scalamandre layers in warmth. Vintage nautical prints and a Vaughan lantern are timeless additions that nod to the family’s New England roots.

Adam Macchia

“Interior design and fashion design are very similar,” says September Votta. “In both, you have to create the right mix and find a good balance. In my home and in my wardrobe, I’m not afraid to go high-low or to experiment with vintage and contemporary pieces. And nothing excites me more than discovering a cool, quirky brand. The two practices really do go hand-in-hand.”

To avoid visually disrupting the small space of son Palmer’s room, it’s swathed in an Ian Makin stripe on the walls, baseboards, and even a built-in desk.

Adam Macchia

A roman shade and shower curtain in Schumacher’s Painterly Windowpane plays nicely off of the subway tile.

Adam Macchia

On the verdant back deck, Lacy paired the homeowner’s sofa and dining table with antique bistro chairs from Pillar & Post.

Adam Macchia

Chic and Cheek Live Side by Side in Griffin Cece’s Upper East Side Studio

Posted on by Jill Simpson

My apartment is perhaps the ultimate prima donna: a diva with a hissing radiator and sybaritic tenant. Posters from La Scala line the walls, Maria Callas records flood the floor. The first time I opened the door to my studio—a simple, 400-square-foot white box on the Upper East Side, north-facing and architecturally unassuming—I thought I’d either conquer the space and make it entirely my own or relent and bend to its will. After living here for more than three years, I can say I’ve landed squarely in the middle. Its theatricality is both inherent to my style and essential to my “lifestyle” (though that word inspires the heebie-jeebies).

I drunkenly sewed these curtains myself, using Colmery Paisley Panels from Schumacher, lined in Peter Dunham’s Jaali onyx block print. The lyre-back chairs are upholstered in a terra-cotta stonewashed linen, and the reading lamp is from Visual Comfort.

Melanie Acevedo

I always prefer neoclassical silhouettes alongside cleaner, contemporary lines—in this case, the St. Thomas Sofa by Billy Baldwin Studio, covered in Schumacher’s Nallamala ikat. The pillow is in Rita Konig’s Terry fabric for Schumacher.

Melanie Acevedo

I love to fill the space room to the brim with friends. They sit on my king’s ransom of lyre-back chairs and pile on the sofa while scattering drinks on my coffee table—a felt-bottom antique that opens to reveal some type of cue sport—and sculpture stands I bought for a song on LiveAuctioneers. I mix martinis in the kitchen, separated from the living room by a pair of curtains drawn when appropriate; I hate to smoke out my friends with the heat of the oven, plus, the curtains make a great backdrop for a cabaret performance after one too many.

My bench-seat sofa feels like the ultimate luxury. It requires a bit of fluffing from time to time, but you never, ever feel like you’re going to plunge into the cracks of cushions. The chances of finding a better team or piece of furniture than I did at Billy Baldwin Studio are slim to none, and by some twist of fate (read: divine intervention), I was able to cover their St. Thomas sofa in a cotton-linen ikat from Schumacher and squeeze it into my apartment. We removed the front door by its hinges to make it fit and I drank like a fish that night from the trauma, but all’s well that ends well.

The Inspiration of the Past came from Kinsey Marable, who acquired the book from Mario Buatta’s auction at Sotheby’s. Dahlias in my great-grandmother’s rose bowl sit atop a ceramic plate by Remy Renzullo for Carolina Irving & Daughters. 

Melanie Acevedo

Playing with symmetry is the decorating “device” I use most often. I could be faulted for having too many things, but balancing each piece with its partner somehow justifies their presence.

Melanie Acevedo

While I aspire to a Bill Blass level of chic—sensational scale, rooms without demarcation, floating furniture on pools of parquet—I knew that wasn’t in the cards for me. When it became immediately apparent I’d have to disguise my own blonde-wood floors, I grabbed a rug from my childhood dining room. I love how the center is saturated with color, protected by our dining table from years of sun on its periphery. I also knew I’d have to draw a line between a space for entertaining and a space for sleeping (I love my friends, but not that much). A wicker screen now divides the two, and I treat it like a wall, hanging art for the illusion of permanence.

The “bedroom” is now my favorite for its haphazardness. Abraham Munting botanicals I found in the garage hang above a headboard covered in my favorite fabric, Beau cotton-linen moiré by Patterson Flynn for Schumacher. A hunting scene named Bachelor’s Hall in a cinnabar frame breaks up the grid of botanicals; it was a gift from a dear friend and makes me laugh. “Bachelor’s Hall” is what I’ve dubbed the apartment.

With the help of my best friend and style inspiration, Hudson Moore, I painted the apartment in Little Greene’s Silent White, which is perfectly warm and quiet. I keep records in wicker baskets throughout the apartment. 

Melanie Acevedo

The chocolate brown task lamps by my bed were a Facebook Marketplace find. They help bring the fuddy-duddy botanicals down to earth. The pillows are Schumacher’s Sozan Velvet.

Melanie Acevedo

"In small, dark apartments it’s always nice to feel self-indulgent, whether by layering rich textiles or creating intimate moments of respite."

The second of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels starts with the antihero living grandly in a home outside of Paris blasting Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the record player. (An alligator mask I picked up in Venice sits atop mine, flanked by speakers and the least fussy Staffordshire dogs I’ve ever met—they were bookends in my dad’s office growing up.) I always feel like that decadent Mr. Ripley when alone, supine on the sofa playing Puccini at an inappropriate volume. In small, dark apartments it’s always nice to feel self-indulgent, whether by layering rich textiles or creating intimate moments of respite.

My advice to any young man in New York is to always have a clean tuxedo shirt at the ready. Some of my best nights in the city started as day-of invitations which called for black tie.

Melanie Acevedo

Don’t let the olives fool you: I prefer a dry gin martini with a twist. The lamp was a Facebook Marketplace find. I love the neoclassical shape atop the utilitarian worktable.

Melanie Acevedo

To say I’m remotely an authority when it comes to decorating would be almost as crazy as saying I “decorated” this apartment. In reality, it came together after endless instances of trials and tribulations. My fortune lies in my influences: My mother gave me her taste and graciously some of her possessions, which people my age should feel emboldened enough to recontextualize. I was lucky enough to work for Keith Langham for a spell. His unflappable fearlessness in decoration and his understanding of the way people ought to live informed mine enormously. Lastly, my funny apartment would never have become what it is were it not for my current mentor, Dara Caponigro. Her style is always on my mind and her voice always in my ear, gently reminding me to “edit, edit, edit.” I would be wise enough to listen to all three voices, and then let the noise come to a soft spin, reminding me to flip the record and to enjoy it all, minute by minute, second by second.

Mr. Frick Builds His Dream House

Posted on by Jill Simpson

Everyone has always wanted to move to New York, it seems. Industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick made his fortune turning coal into coke for use in the manufacturing of steel in Pittsburgh. But after an acrimonious falling out with business partner and fellow Pittsburgh tycoon Andrew Carnegie, Frick relocated his family in 1905 to Manhattan, the center of Gilded Age commerce. At first they rented George Vanderbilt’s palatial brownstone at 640 Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street while Vanderbilt was constructing the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. But Frick wanted a more permanent home for his family—and for his ever-growing art collection.

Portrait of Mr. Frick in the West Gallery by Sir Gerald Kelly. Behind him hang two Old Master portraits: Velázquez’s King Philip IV of Spain and El Greco’s Vincenzo Anastagi. Both paintings remain on view in the West Gallery today. 

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

But where? One of the last pieces of prestigious real estate was found on Fifth Avenue stretching from 70th to 71st Street. Frick hired world-class talents to help him create his vision, starting with architect Thomas Hastings of the esteemed firm Carrère & Hastings, which had just completed the New York Public Library, still one of the most beautiful examples of Beaux Arts architecture in America. Henry Frick had an evolving eye for art and for architecture, and his taste had moved on from the dark, richly ornamented, densely layered Victorian aesthetic of his Pittsburgh home, Clayton.  

Frick purchased Jean-Honoré Fragonard's 14-painting suite "The Progress of Love" from the estate of fellow Gilded Age tycoon J.P. Morgan.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

The Fragonard Room is now one of the museum's signature attractions.

Joseph Coscia Jr.

For 1 East 70th Street, Hastings designed an elegant, low-slung, three-story neoclassical building in Indiana limestone. Its quiet, refined facade lined with classic pilasters contrasted with other notable Gilded Age mansions, for instance Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s elaborate six-story French château-esque mansion at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, topped with turrets, dormers, and ornate chimneys. Hastings’ plan included a cavernous West Gallery where Henry Frick could hang his astounding art collection, which came to include works by Constable, Degas, Van Dyck, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Goya, El Greco, Manet, Rembrandt, Renoir, Titian, Turner, Velázquez, Vermeer, and Whistler. It was the largest private gallery space in New York at the time.

The velvet–lined West Gallery was the largest private gallery in New York when it was completed.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

The newly renovated gallery holds works by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and Velázquez.

Joseph Coscia Jr.

For the interiors, Frick assigned the grand, soaring rooms of the first floor to Sir Charles Allom, the British architect and decorator who had been knighted by King George V for his redecoration work at Buckingham Palace. Despite his royal background, Frick reminded Allom to use restraint: “We desire a comfortable, well arranged home, simple, in good taste, and not ostentatious.” Although the rooms lined with marble and oak and elaborate painted panels by Fragonard and Boucher are not exactly “simple,” Allom’s interiors have an airy, light-filled, carefully edited clarity.

The grand staircase, seen through the East Vestibule, was closed off to the public when the house became a museum.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

Visitors can now ascend the staircase to visit the newly opened second-floor galleries.

Joseph Coscia Jr.

Fourteen rooms on the second and third floors, including bedrooms and guest rooms, were delegated to the first lady of American design, Elsie de Wolfe, who was known for her fresh, anti-Victorian decorating style. Shopping for fine antiques proved to be a lucrative project since she was paid a finder’s fee commission. Frick, ever the cool businessman, advised her to rein in the spending, writing on May 27, 1914, “I should think however that you might secure better prices. Take your time.” On other occasions, however, he bought freely. Granted 30 minutes with Frick to preview a Paris estate sale before his golf date, de Wolfe was surprised by the number of expensive pieces he quickly purchased, noting in her memoir, “I realized that in one short half-hour I had become what was tantamount to a rich woman.”

Adelaide Frick’s boudoir on the second floor was lined with painted panels by François Boucher.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

The Boucher Room was moved to the first floor during the museum conversion, but is now back in its location upstairs.

Joseph Coscia Jr.

Henry Frick, his wife Adelaide, and daughter Helen moved into the house with 27 servants in 1914, though Frick only lived in the house for five years, dying of ptomaine food poisoning and heart failure after a lobster luncheon in 1919 at age 69. In her book, The Henry Clay Frick Houses, Frick’s great-granddaughter Martha Frick Symington Sanger notes that in the last month of his life, he wandered the rooms carrying a blue quilt and sitting in the West Gallery looking at his paintings. In his will, Frick bequeathed the house and his art collection to the public. After wife Adelaide’s death in 1931, architect John Russell Pope converted the family house into a public institution, nearly doubling the building’s size. The Frick Collection opened to the public in 1935.

The second floor hall features a ceiling mural painted by Alden Twachtman, commissioned by Elsie de Wolfe.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

A nearby hall with the same ceiling mural leads to the Boucher Anteroom.

Joseph Coscia Jr.

Now, happily, a successful and sensitive five-year, $220 million restoration and expansion of The Frick Collection has been completed by Selldorf Architects and executive architect Beyer Blinder Belle. Thrillingly, the second floor bedrooms have been opened to the public for the first time, and new additions include an entry lobby, marble staircase, auditorium, cafe (coming in June), more exhibition space, and improved access and flow. Thankfully, the house remains as it was originally intended, offering a beautiful setting to savor the astonishing masterpieces, hung one after the other, that make up Mr. Frick’s continuing gift to the city of New York.

Henry Clay Frick's sumptuously wood-paneled bedroom.

Courtesy of the Frick Collection

The room has been turned into a new gallery, the Walnut Room.

COurtesy of the Frick collection

Olympia and Ariadne Irving Dish on Their Entertaining Essentials

Posted on by Penelope Riley

perhaps it’s no surprise that Ariadne and Olympia Irving, the sisters behind Carolina Irving & Daughters (along with their mother, Carolina), love to entertain. Whether they’re at home in London or at their vacation getaway in Portugal, they can be counted on to host gatherings that are effortlessly chic, both laid-back and carefully thought through.

“We tend to go for planned lunches or dinners because we like to put time into setting the table nicely, getting pretty flowers and making our guests feel as special as possible,” they say. “This also takes away a lot of the stress! We usually set the table in the morning so we can focus the rest of our time on the food and drinks. That being said, pre-planning doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be a formal event, we just enjoy taking our time!”

Ariadne (left) and Olympia love to entertain at home, whether in their London apartment or vacation house in Portugal.

Lily Bertrand Webb

The Irvings are known for mixing bright colors, patterns, and texture on their table, indoors and out. 

Ariadne and Olympia Irving

A typical meal Chez Irving will usually include a table filled with platters of food to share and mini ice buckets filled with drinks, which encourages guests to help themselves. “This makes it easier for everyone and creates a more relaxed atmosphere,” the Irvings explain. After dinner, the action doesn’t stop: “The end of the evening often includes a fun game of either Perudo or charades.”

Read on for a list of Olympia and Ariadne’s must-haves for a memorable gathering!

Olympia and Ariadne Irving’s Entertaining Essentials

A Filo Spritz  Glasses by Felicity Menadue For Yali

“The colorful Murano glassware handmade by Yali complements what we do perfectly and no table or drinks moment is complete without it.”

$169, yaliglass.com

Classic Perudo Set

“For sundowner drinks or after-dinner games—it’s easy to travel with, too!”

$143, perudo.co.uk

Museum Postcards

“We love to collect postcards from museums we visit around the world, like these Weiner Werkstätte cards from the Neue Galerie in New York. We think they make the best place cards!”

$2 each, neuegalerie.com

Concha Triple by Carolina Irving & Daughters

“We use these small serving bowls for everything—snacks savory or sweet, dips, as little catchalls…anything!”

$120, ci-daughters.com

Mini Ice Bucket by Carolina Irving & Daughters

“Great for a bar or on the table. Fill with ice for delicious drinks all night.”

$70, ci-daughters.com

New York Times Cooking App

“Always our go-to—and fun for trying new recipes.”

cooking.nytimes.com

Maldon Sea Salt

“The only salt in any of our houses.”

$11, surlatable.com

Madeleine Ivory Taper Candles by Trudon

“The best colors and super-pretty illumination.”

$39 for set of 6, trudon.com

The Perfect Playlist

“Our dinner party playlist is designed to take us from cocktails to dinner to clean-up.”

spotify.com

LùD’oliva Extra Virgin Olive Oil

“Really good olive oil makes everything taste better.”

$40, lubar.it

Everything on our website was hand-picked by a FREDERIC editor. We may earn commission on items you purchase.

Ariadne and Olympia Irving Craft a Creative, Colorful Portuguese Getaway

Posted on by Christina Elliston

When sisters Ariadne and Olympia Irving first bought a vacation home in the seaside town of Melides, Portugal, visions of classic coastal retreats danced in their heads. “We could very easily imagine creating this serene and simple interior,” says Ariadne. “But we knew that was never going to happen for us,” she adds, laughing.

Instead, the Irvings have decorated the house with a spirited mix of color, pattern, and global finds to create a home that’s wholly their own, yet still retains a sense of place. It’s an approach that comes naturally to Olympia and Ariadne, daughters of legendary textile designer Carolina Irving, with whom they run the housewares brand Carolina Irving & Daughters. “Our design DNA is really about layering and having fun,” says Olympia.

Ariadne (left) and Olympia Irving at home. Gauras and blue plumbago create a sweeping meadow evocative of the region’s wildflower fields.

Francesco Lagnese

Painted in a traditional bright white with cerulean trim, the home’s exterior pulls cues from the local vernacular and landscape. A bench is covered in French Ikat by Carolina Irving Textiles.

Francesco Lagnese

The sisters, who grew up in New York and now share a flat in London, have a longstanding connection to Portugal: Their company’s pieces are made in the country, and their mother also has a home in Melides. “We’ve always been drawn to the craftsmanship and the wild, untouched landscape of this area,” says Olympia. Plus, adds Ariadne, “it’s the rare place we could buy an affordable house two minutes from the beach.”

Glossy blue-and-white tiles made by a local craftsman envelop the kitchen, while open shelving displays Carolina Irving & Daughters dishes. In keeping with the casual setting, a curtain of Carolina Irving Textiles Indian Flower fabric hides pots and pans.

Francesco Lagnese

The home they found within their budget—a 1990s build with an awkward layout and a mishmash of tile and laminate floors—needed some work. “But our mom saw it and said, ‘I promise you, this is a gem in the making,’” recalls Olympia. To fully expose that potential, “we took the house to zero,” she says. The floors were replaced with concrete that feels cool on bare feet on hot summer days, rooms were opened up for better flow and light, and the walls were refreshed with white plaster, which the sisters extended to new built-in shelving, beds, and banquettes. “Built-ins are quite common in the houses in the area, and we liked the clean, Mediterranean look of the white plaster,” explains Olympia.

The sisters built a fireplace and shelving to anchor the living room; their global, high-low approach to decorating plays out in the meeting of an antique wooden table from their father, a vintage Moroccan rug, and a pair of Ikea chairs with cushions by artist and designer Nat Sly. Concha Candle holder, Concha Triple dish, and Konstantin Cache Pot (on coffee table) by Carolina Irving & Daughters.

Francesco Lagnese

Rattan pendant lights and an Ikea sofa slipcovered in Carolina Irving Textile’s Palmetto fabric in the living room nod to the coastal setting. A set of Indian miniatures brings color even to an overhead beam. 

Francesco Lagnese

The milky pink of the hallway was a custom color mixed by artist (and Ariadne’s godfather) Konstantin Kakanias, left over from a project at Christian Louboutin’s nearby Vermelho Hotel.

Francesco Lagnese

Against that breezy blank canvas, the sisters began the process of decorating each room, layer by layer. “We were on a budget, so it was about working with what we had,” says Ariadne; luckily, what they had on hand was a rather enviable collection that included furnishings passed on to them from their father, an antiques dealer, and textiles designed by their mother. They mixed more rarefied pieces like a 17th-century velvet chair and a John Dickinson table with budget finds from Portuguese markets and beyond to give each room a casually sophisticated sensibility. “We’ll happily inherit a beautiful antique chair, but we love a good Ikea sofa, too,” says Ariadne.

Olympia and Ariadne gave each bedroom its own color theme, with pillows and curtains in Carolina Irving Textiles’ Delos fabric providing the starting point; from there, they picked up the color on the ceiling.

Francesco Lagnese

Built-in beds and shelving create a streamlined look, while an arrangement of colorful tiles designed with a Spanish craftsman fill in for traditional headboards.

Francesco Lagnese

Passionate travelers and collectors, the sisters also spent many months carting bubble-wrapped art and objects they had collected on their own travels over the years to the house. “I love my ‘knicky-knackies,’” says Ariadne. “If there’s a surface, I’m going to fill it.” But they did so with intention and an editor’s eye. “Sometimes you have an urge to display everything you’ve got, but you have to step back, look at it, and trim the fat,” adds Olympia. Artful vignettes throughout the home reflect their talent for balancing exuberance with restraint, from a cluster of Mexican tin hearts on a guest bathroom wall to a series of Indian miniatures that bring saturated color to a beam in the living room.

In a guest bathroom, tin hearts the sisters picked up in Mexico City boost the space’s playful, artisanal quality.

Francesco Lagnese

An extra-long poolside banquette inspired by the lounge area at Soho House provides space for guests—and the sisters’ dog, Pepito.

Francesco Lagnese

To further amp up the color and pattern—“We couldn’t just leave the walls white, after all,” says Ariadne—the Irvings got inventive. Multicolor marbleized tiles were installed behind beds in lieu of headboards, while vibrant squares were installed in checkerboard patterns in the bathrooms and kitchen. And in what was perhaps their boldest decorative move, Ariadne and Olympia painted wide, colorful stripes across the ceilings of several rooms.“It did feel like a bit of a risk,” admits Ariadne. “But we thought, we’ve gone so crazy with the house already—let’s just go for it!”

A cozy, pink-walled TV room filled with local finds and layered textiles. The built-in banquette features Carolina Irving Textiles’ Alexandria and Patmos Stripe, while woven animal heads, a vintage bamboo table, and Mexican art add eclectic charm.

Francesco Lagnese

A shaded deck area with an L-shaped banquette and extra-wide table (dressed in a Yellow Vine Tablecloth from their own line) make the backyard party-ready.

Francesco Lagnese

A shell dish and bud vases from Carolina Irving & Daughters bring color to an outdoor tablescape.

Francesco Lagnese

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Up Your Pillow Game With These Brilliant Designer Ideas

Posted on by Jill Simpson

It’s “pillow talk” of the most impactful kind: This year marks the 20th anniversary of Design on a Dime, an extraordinary event where the design community comes together to raise money for Housing Works to provide HIV healthcare and housing. In addition to the beloved room vignettes created by designers, for the first time this year, there’s an auction of one-of-a-kind pillows. Produced in partnership with FREDERIC magazine, the Pillow Talk auction features 50 pillows created by top New York designers—including Charlotte Moss, Corey Damen Jenkins, Redd Kaihoi, and Williams Lawrence—using Schumacher fabrics and trims.

The creations of 50 top New York designers on display in the window of Housing Works Thrift Shop in Chelsea.

Hudson Moore

To view all 50 designers’ pillows—and place your bids—head to auction.housingworks.com from April 11–24. 

Below, you’ll find just a few of our favorite creations, packed full of creative ideas and custom details to inspire your own decorating adventures. 

KATIE RIDDER

Ridder added a bespoke touch by hand-embroidering red yarn on top of Schumacher’s Morris fabric. “The Ladybird trim and Ric Rac Tape add to the whimical feeling of the embellished fabric,” she says.

NICK GAGNE

“This pillow is inspired by Austrian patterns, while being crafted in the style of a traditional American quilt,” says Gagne of his one-of-a-kind creation using Beau Cotton Linen Moiré and Incomparable Moiré fabrics.

KATE IVES DESIGN

“I tend to sneak a stripe in most of my rooms,” says Ives. “We mitered Markie Stripe fabric and framed it with a beautiful chestnut brown Maidstone Tape and Antique Strie Velvet piping for a more elevated look that still reads more fun than fussy!”

REDD KAIHOI

 “The inspiration comes from the boxy brown-and-white chic of Billy Baldwin in the 1970s,” says Miles Redd, who used his The Wave Velvet to create this chunky, button-tufted pillow—although “Billy would have had a windowpane plaid instead,” he adds.

SHEILA BRIDGES DESIGN

Lush, rich Suzani Strie Velvet reinterprets a traditional motif in textural velvet on a sateen-like ground. Bridges framed it with intricately embroidered Lili Dragon Tape for and maximal opulence. 

MARKHAM ROBERTS

Combining fabrics of two different scales in a similar palette—the iconic Pyne Hollyhock and small-scale Folly—brings an exciting energy to neutrals. Roberts used Bindi Hand Block Print fabric to create a graphic border.

STUDIO DB

“The pyramidal form accentuates the vibrant colors, patterns, and intricate embroidery of four different fabrics,” says Britt Zunino, who combined Merrifield Sampler, Larissa, Meadow Button Hand Embroidery, and Kalindi Embroidery.

LK STUDIO

“I had kitschy elegance in mind when selecting the materials for this pillow: bright and youthful Ric Rac paired with a sophisticated, faded-in-the-sun Proust’s Lilacs chintz,” explains Lily Dierkes. “Think Gigi or My Fair Lady.”

COREY DAMEN JENKINS

Jenkins added a touch of the surreal to Carpenter Flamestitch, a chenille tapestry fabric that’s a fresh take on traditional bargello, with two shimmering stripes of Mind’s Eye Beaded Tape.

BRANCA

Alessandra Branca created a gloriously feminine take on the “husband” backrest pillow with exuberant Baudin Butterfly Chintz. A ruffled trim (in Wesley Ticking Stripe) makes for maximum pretty.

TIMOTHY WHEALON INTERIORS

Plush Gainsborough Velvet is cast in a lively, playful new light with chain-stitch embroidery borders of Joelle Tape. Whealon used Francois Silk Brush Fringe to add an extra layer of tactile richness. 

ASIA BAKER DESIGN

“I like to work with a lot of vintage and custom pieces. The Temara hand-embroidered fabric feels rich and worldly,” says Baker, who silhouetted the fabric’s central motif and framed it in the cut border. “It feels as though it was picked up on an exotic trip or inherited from a well-traveled great-aunt!”

HADLEY WIGGINS

“As is often the case, we were inspired by the work of Renzo Mongiardino, in particular a pillow design we have long admired from the Castello Di Cigognola near Milan,” says Wiggins, who mitered Hamel Stripe to create a richly graphic effect.

SCHUMACHER

Created by textile artist Richard Saja, the new La Liberté Americaine Toile is a work of art and an irreverent conversation piece. A traditional pastoral print embellished by hand, it celebrates and subverts the stylistic conventions of 18th-century Europe. 

A Design Insider’s Guide to Marrakech

Posted on by Jill Simpson

A vibrant international travel destination and global design mecca since the 1960s (thanks in part to Yves Saint Laurent), Marrakech has become even more of a hot spot lately, luring discerning explorers and creatives from around the world. I was fortunate to first experience the Red City (so nicknamed for its red clay buildings and walls) at the impressionable age of 14. Having grown up in England, with travel primarily to countries with similar cultures, arriving in Marrakech was an eye-opening moment, both beautiful and intimidating: The markets were bountiful, the people were passionate, the architecture was enthralling. 

Twenty years later, while much of the world has rushed to modernize, Marrakech has struck a graceful balance between advancing in important areas such as technology and commerce while remaining steeped in history, culture, and tradition. I have explored Marrakech both as an eager-eyed tourist and as an eagle-eyed business owner. My Miami-based boutique, Tighemi, curates exclusive, handcrafted Moroccan home decor that our team and I hand-source in Marrakech. From established showrooms to discreet ateliers and workshops, from contemporary designs to one-of-a-kind antiques, the city offers something for everyone. While there is so much to see, here are some of my don’t-miss picks in this captivating city.

STAY

Riads are traditional Moroccan guesthouses that have been renovated into boutique hotels, offering authentic hospitality in a relaxed, residential atmosphere. Primarily situated in the Medina (the old city, where the souks and markets are), some offer gracious amenities such as rooftop terraces and pools; others, more modest settings with quaint courtyards and fountains. If you are looking for a larger property with more services, there are many hotels in Guéliz (the new city, outside the walls of the Medina) and the Palmeraie (the expansive land just outside of Marrakech that serves as an oasis for thousands of palm trees).

Le Farnatchi

One of the elegant suites in Le Farnatchi riad. 

Courtesy of Le Farnatchi

A beautiful, traditional Moroccan riad located in the oldest part of the Medina, Le Farnatchi offers ten unique suites set across multiple courtyards, an in-house spa, a rooftop for dining or relaxing, and a restaurant, Le Trou Au Mur. The staff is exceptionally friendly and attentive. Located just steps from the souks, Le Farnatchi is a great option if you’re looking to stay in the middle of the action in an authentic setting.

Derb el Farnatchi, Rue Souk el Fassis, Marrakech
lefarnatchi.com

Villa des Orangers

Rooms at Villa des Orangers, as in many riads, open onto a lush open courtyard. 

COURTESY OF VILLA DES ORANGERS

The rooms have an indoor/outdoor feel at this Relais and Château property. 

COURTESY OF VILLA DES ORANGERS

Located in a slightly calmer area of the Medina, Villa des Orangers bridges the gap between riad and modern hotel. The Relais and Châteaux property has built multiple small riads to provide guests with more amenities, such as two pools, lounges, a screening room, and a bar, but maintains the architecture and charm of its original foundations. Enjoy a spectacular candle-lit French-Moroccan dinner by the pool, or challenge your companion to a game of backgammon by the fire during cooler months.

6 Rue Sidi Mimoun, Place Ben Tachfine, Marrakech 40000
villadesoragers.com

La Mamounia

The luxurious Al Mamoun suite at La Mamounia, with a terrace overlooking the palm gardens. 

Courtesy of La Mamounia

Arguably Marrakech’s most famous hotel, La Mamounia has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to the Rolling Stones. Boasting four world-class restaurants, an expansive spa, multiple pools, and carefully manicured gardens, La Mamounia is right on the outskirts of the Medina, but its grounds offer a peaceful oasis at a grand luxury hotel with high-touch service. Even if you don’t stay here, be sure to stop by for a cocktail.

Avenue Bab Jdid, Marrakech 40040
mamounia.com

SHOP

The Souks

When in Marrakech, you must experience the souks. Here you will find hole-in-the-wall workshops and boutiques that sell everything from spices and sweets to metalwork lanterns, textiles, and jewelry. Some areas of the souks specialize in a particular trade such as leather, wood, or ironwork. These are fantastic places to see craftsmen creating their handmade wares. If you prefer to not get lost in the maze of the souks (albeit a fun adventure), daily guides come at a reasonable price and can be organized through your hotel.

Soufiane Zarib

A well-known Moroccan designer and creator, Soufiane Zarib’s showrooms are works of art. Primarily known for exquisite handwoven rugs, Soufiane Zarib houses a combination of collections he designs himself, vintage pieces he has sourced over the years, and artwork from local creatives. The original showroom (Showroom 16) is located in the Medina and will soon offer a rooftop café for clients. His newest showroom (listed as Warehouse Zarib Soufiane on Google maps) is located in the industrial quarter of Sidi Ghanem. This breathtaking space is spread across four floors and will soon feature artisans creating in-house.

16 rue Sidi Ali Ben Hamdouch, Dar El Bacha, Marrakech 40000
soufiane-zarib.com

The soaring ground floor and courtyard of the Soufiane Zarib showroom in Sidi Ghanem. 

Lauren Walsh

In the shaded courtyard of the Maison Sarayan shop, you can enjoy fresh juices and light bites. 

Lauren Walsh

Maison Sarayan

Just a few blocks from Soufiane Zarib’s Sidi Ghanem showroom is the colorful and inviting Maison Sarayan. Featuring a more modern aesthetic, here you’ll find fun textiles and hand-painted tableware, along with larger-scale tables and sculptures. Their café is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy a coffee or light bite in a beautiful setting.

377 Rue Sidi Ghanem, Marrakech 40000
maisonsarayan.com

Orenzo

The artist Orenzo’s iron cactus sculptures have been appearing in Marrakech for decades and his gallery and shop is a verdant oasis.

COURTESY OF ORENZO

In Marrakech, you’ll likely see numerous metal sculptures of cacti. While often copied, the original designs and artwork belong to Orenzo. Their boutique and gallery just outside Marrakech offers a range of designs, from tabletop pieces to garden sculptures. Be sure to check out the Black Room gallery: Set in darkness and showcased with carefully placed lighting, discover original artworks that Orenzo has collaborated on with a resident artist.

Km 9 Route De L Ourika, Marrakech 40000
maison-orenzo.com

EAT

When in Morocco, I love to enjoy the local delicacies the country is known for—tagine, tangia, mechoui, pastilla, and couscous. Here are just a few of my favorite restaurants in Marrakech.

Le Foundouk

The rooftop terrace of the multistory Le Foundouk restaurant, a Medina classic.

Courtesy of Le Foundouk

Situated in the oldest part of the Medina, Le Foundouk serves both Moroccan and international menus and has been a crowd-pleaser for decades. With architecture as intriguing as the food, this multistory space surrounds a ground-floor courtyard and offers spectacular rooftop dining.

55, Souk Hal Fassi Kat Bennahid, Marrakech 40000
fondouk.com

La Grande Table Marocaine at the Royal Mansour

The Royal Mansour hotel is home to a unique dining experience, La Grande Table Marocaine.

Courtesy of Royal Mansour

If you’re going to have one Moroccan dining experience in Marrakech, I urge you to make it La Grande Table Marocaine. The restaurant is set in arguably the most exclusive and opulent hotel in Marrakech, the Royal Mansour. Commissioned by King Mohammed VI, the hotel is one of the most beautiful examples of Moroccan architecture and craftsmanship I’ve seen. The restaurant blends traditional Moroccan cuisine with international techniques to serve delicious dishes with impeccable service. The 24-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder for two is not to be missed. Arrive a little early and enjoy a cocktail at neighboring Italian restaurant Sesamo’s bar. Adorned with Murano glass, the bar is known for their vast Negroni menu, however my favorite is their fresh and frothy take on the Bellini.

Rue Abou Abbas El Sebti, Marrakech 40000
royalmansour.com

Le Grand Café de la Poste

Café de la Poste, housed in a former post office, has a sultry French colonial ambience. 

JILL SIMPSON

Whether you’re looking for a break from Moroccan cuisine, or craving a French favorite, this elegant French brasserie is set in a historic former post office in Guéliz with indoor and outdoor seating as well as a cocktail lounge. Equally enjoyable for an al fresco lunch or a candlelit dinner, be sure to check their current lineup of live music!

Angle Boulevard El Mansour Eddahbi et Avenue Imam, Marrakech 40000
grandcafedelaposte.restaurant

SEE & DO

Musée Yves Saint Laurent and Jardin Majorelle

Yves St. Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé beautifully restored the villa and gardens created by painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s. The Cubist villa designed by French architect Paul Sinoir in the 1930s features the bold ultramarine blue known as “Bleu Majorelle”, which reappears throughout the cactus and palm gardens. 

Courtesy of Jardin Majorelle

It’s well known that Yves Saint Laurent drew great inspiration from Marrakech and spent many years there with his partner, Pierre Bergé, living in and restoring the painter Jacques Marjorelle’s villa and stunning gardens. In addition to the gardens, you can visit the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, focusing on Saint Laurent’s fashions and his relationship to Morocco, and the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts, which showcases the remarkable craftsmanship of the country’s nomadic Berber tribes. (Be sure to purchase tickets online in advance and anticipate wait times during high seasons.) At the YSL Museum, stop by the elegant gift shop for distinctive souvenirs and Café Le Studio for  smoothies and delicious light bites.

Rue Yves St Laurent, Marrakech 40000
museeyslmarrakech.com

Sunrise Hot-Air Balloon Flight

Riding in a hot-air ballon at sunrise over the desert and the Atlas Mountains is a spectacular way to enjoy a birds'-eye view of the landscape. 

Lauren Walsh

While I was initially hesitant to opt in to such a seemingly touristy activity, I was blown away by my hot-air balloon experience. Though it requires a painfully early wake-up (most companies pick you up from your hotel around 5 a.m.), it’s absolutely worth it for the sunrise flight. The team drives you about 30 minutes outside of Marrakech where you will enjoy an hour-long flight with spectacular views over the Atlas Mountains, along with dozens of other balloons in flight. Most companies offer a “traditional Berber breakfast” afterward, which is nothing to write home about, but the balloon ride certainly is.

Moroccan Cooking Class

An engaging, hands-on way to learn about the cuisine, spices, and culture of Morocco is through a cooking class at La Maison Arabe riad. The very personable chef at the restaurant will teach you step-by-step in a state-of-the art kitchen how to prepare an authentic meal, then you’ll sit down to enjoy eating it and getting to know your classmates.

1 Derb Assehbi, Marrakech 40000
cenizaro.com

DAY TRIPS

If you’re in Marrakech for more than a few days, consider traveling outside the city to take in the beautiful scenery at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Enjoy lunch under the olive trees at La Pause, a desert camp in the dunes of Agafay featuring oversized sculptures around the property. Or relax and enjoy a meal in bohemian simplicity at the Kasbah Bab Ourika hotel, overlooking the lush greenery of the Ourika Valley, where much of the produce used in the kitchen is grown. Both are about an hour from the center of Marrakech and an easy way to see more of the country without having to venture too far.

La Pause

Dramatic sculptures dot the arid landscape at La Pause desert camp in the Agafay dunes, where you can eat lunch in a Berber tent, enjoy dinner under the stars, or stay overnight in a tent or lodge. 

Lauren Walsh

Douar Lmih Laroussiene, Commune Agafay, Marrakech
lapause-marrakech.com

Kasbah Bab Ourika

The majestic Atlas Mountains are only about an hour’s drive from Marrakech, and well worth a day trip. Stop at the Kasbah Bab Ourika for lunch in a stunning setting. 

Courtesy of Kasbah Bab Ourika

Tnine Ourika, Ourika 42452
kasbahbabourika.com

These Nature-Inspired Textured Wallcoverings Add Depth and Dimension

Posted on by Jill Simpson

MORE THAN SIMPLY INSPIRED BY NATURE, many of these richly tactile wallcoverings are handcrafted from organic materials like waterlily, grass, plaster, raffia, and silk. Any one of them would set an exquisite textural backdrop for a room—naturally. 

Kevin Kerr
AMAMI by Élitis 

This velvety wallcovering by Élitis is hand-collaged with mulberry paper. 

elitis.fr 

Kevin Kerr
TUFA BONE FEATHER BY Assemblage

Reminiscent of tufa limestone formations rising from the sea, this paper features hand-applied plaster with a subtle sheen.

assembledarts.com

Kevin Kerr
ETTI WATERLILY by Patterson Flynn for Schumacher

Waterlily, grass, and metallic paper combine in a mosaic of tonal variations.

$1,896, chairish.com

Kevin Kerr
HAND-COMBED PLASTER by David Kaihoi for Schumacher

This plaster-look wallcovering makes waves with thick pigment raked by hand.

$4,410, chairish.com

Kevin Kerr
HAND-COMBED TRIANGLES By Schumacher

Layers of ink create this textural grid.

$6,660, chairish.com

Kevin Kerr
RIBBON by Callidus Guild

Bands of marble plaster and pigment ripple across a rich surface.

callidusguild.com

Kevin Kerr
AXEL FRINGE BY Schumacher

Eye-catching cut fringe adds dimension to woven raffia stripes.

schumacher.com

Kevin Kerr
SANO MOSAIC BY Schumacher

Delicate layers from asparagus flower bulbs are hand-pieced in imperfect, overlapping squares.

$1,056, chairish.com

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Everything on our website was hand-picked by a FREDERIC editor. We may earn commission on items you purchase.

Lee Wheeler’s London Home Is Calm, Cool, and Collected

Posted on by Isabel Molster

“Two to four years. That was the plan,” Lee Wheeler says with a laugh. When she moved to London as a newlywed in 1981, she couldn’t have imagined that more than 40 years later, she would still be there—“albeit,” she adds, “with a different husband.” There were several other not entirely predictable events along the way, including a change of career, the birth of three children, a two-year stint in the South of France, her second marriage, and a return to the city.

Wheeler had been working at Sotheby’s when she first arrived in London, but was eager to start her own business. With the support of Tom Parr, the renowned British decorator associated with Colefax & Fowler, she founded her own design firm. “He gave me the courage—and the letter of credit—that allowed me to go out on my own,” she says. “He told me, ‘You’re resourceful—go after the Americans who are living in London.’ So I plunged in, and those expats were my first clients.”

In the sitting room, the bronze sculpture, Fragmented Torso, is by Blake Ward.

Francesco Lagnese

A painting by Marco del Re hangs over a 19th-century Ethiopian chair carved from a single piece of wood.

Francesco Lagnese

Originally, Wheeler and her family lived in a terraced house in Kensington. But the charm of raising three kids while climbing up and down five levels soon waned. And other life changes intervened: In 2003, she returned to London from France with the man who would become her second husband, and they moved into an spacious apartment in Belgravia. The early-19th-century building was built by Thomas Cubitt, who developed many of the historic streets and squares in the city. It offered a generous terrace overlooking Eaton Square as well as the distinct advantage of being on a single level. “I loved the New York feeling of the apartment,” she says.

A custom oak console divides the great room of designer Lee Wheeler’s recently revamped London apartment into separate living and dining areas. The stools are by Christian Liaigre, and the pedestal by the window holds a porcelain vessel by Sandra Davolio. The painting on the far wall is by Tom Lieber.

Francesco Lagnese

Lee Wheeler on her terrace, which has plantings designed by Christopher Masson. 

Francesco Lagnese

A Conran Shop table is surrounded by a quartet of Christian Liaigre chairs; the roman shade is in a Schumacher linen.

Francesco Lagnese

The previous owners had lived there for 35 years after hiring Chester Jones of Colefax & Fowler to oversee a renovation. “He had designed the spaces exactly right,” Wheeler raves. “Architecturally, Jones had done what I would have done—kept the expansive hall, the enfilade, and he installed beautiful woodwork. The apartment already had great bones, but I knew I could make it better.” She kept the bones but updated the decor.

But two years ago, after living there for nearly 20 years, it was time for a change, especially since her grown children were no longer in residence. “All my children were born and educated in England, but they all went to university in the U.S., and they all live there now,” says Wheeler. “So they are real Americans.”

The kitchen cabinetry is by Plain English, the range is by Lacanche, and the vintage mirror above it was found at the Paris flea market. The wide-plank oak floors throughout the apartment are by Schotten and Hansen.

Francesco Lagnese

The breakfast room table matches the one in the great room; when Wheeler has large dinner parties, she pairs them together to seat up to 16. The chairs are by Philippe Starck for Kartell, the bench is by Christian Liaigre, the photographs are by Jacques-Henri Lartigue, and the plaster pendant light is by Rose Uniacke. 

Francesco Lagnese

The same could be said for their mother, who has brought a uniquely American sensibility to the refresh of the apartment, forgoing all the clichés of British style. She pared down, unifying the spaces with pale, wide-plank oak floors throughout the rooms, topped with rush matting with elegant hand-braided edging. “The floors give the apartment an underlying uniformity even though all the rooms are different,” Wheeler explains. There is not a scrap of chintz in sight, or fussy trimmings, or even curtains in the living room—only simple linen shades. Wheeler sought clarity, not clutter.

Perhaps the most notable absence is color, which so many designers use to mitigate the gray light of London. “I love color,” says Wheeler. “Our first home was layered with yellows and had a lime green hall. But with the scale and architecture of this apartment, I felt it didn’t need that.” The fabrics throughout are in shades of white and cream. “I wanted to put the focus on the art. And that launched me on a search for art, which has been a great pleasure, but it is not something you can do overnight. But then, that is the fun of it.”

In the primary bedroom, a collage by Kim Bartelt hangs over a custom bed inspired by one designed by Tom Scheerer. The bed is flanked by a Louis XVI mahogany commode and a French Empire gueridon, with lamps Wheeler had made from 18th-century perfume bottles. The secretary and chair are both 18th-century French, the Chinese table at the foot of the bed came from Colefax & Fowler, and the X-bench is by Nicky Haslam. Curtains are in Lismore Linen by Schumacher.

Francesco Lagnese

The bedside console holds a circa-1860 bust of a young woman by Luigi Bettinelli and a 2018 collage by William McClure.

Francesco Lagnese

Old master and 19th-century drawings and a vintage starburst mirror hang above the custom dresser of wood and vellum by Garrison Rousseau, and the small Louis XVI bergère is upholstered in an Edelman leather.

Francesco Lagnese

She highlighted the original windows with new radiator covers beneath them, which allowed for narrow window seats. “I did use big curtains, which the British love so much, in the bedroom and library,” she admits. The most dramatic change was to the kitchen and breakfast room. “From the center hall you can see into the living room in one direction and into the kitchen in the other,” Wheeler says. “And the kitchen just wasn’t right.” Working with Plain English, she designed simple paneled cupboards that rise to the ceiling and installed the apartment’s only television. “We love hanging out in the breakfast room with friends,” she adds.

"What’s interesting is that the art is quite bold, yet the apartment overall is so subtle."

LEE WHEELER

If anything, Wheeler is now more firmly ensconced in the city than ever. “This place worked when all my children lived here, and it still works for just the two of us,” she explains. “What’s interesting is that the art is quite bold, yet the apartment overall is so subtle. Everyone who comes in remarks how the apartment seems so calm. People can feel it. It’s an easy place to live.”

A custom steel-and-leather bed designed by Wheeler is dressed in an embroidered quilt from Marrakesh. The artwork above it is by Gerard Richter, the sconces are by Serge Mouille, and the photographs are by Fernand Fonssagrives.

Francesco Lagnese

In the guest room, which opens onto the terrace, a work on paper by David Nash hangs over a 1970s Willy Rizzo sideboard. The Bonacina chair is vintage.

Francesco Lagnese

An enfilade leading from the entry to the bedrooms is anchored by art, including an expressive red James Nares painting that hangs over a leather Christian Liaigre bench, and a Jed Novatt bronze sculpture at the end of the hall.

Francesco Lagnese

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Dial Up the Drama With an All-Black Watch

Posted on by Isabel Molster

Add edge to your ensemble with the confidently cool allure of an all-black watch. We’ve rounded up the best of the best for work and for play, from classic leather-banded models in precious metals that epitomize timeless chic to sporty onyx options.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Tank Louis Cartier Large Watch in 18K yellow gold, $13,000, cartier.com. Bvlgari Bvlgari Watch in 18K yellow gold, $8,250, bulgari.com. La D de Dior Black Ultramatte Steel Watch, $6,800, dior.com. Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Watch 23mm in 18K yellow gold and onyx, $9,500, vancleefarpels.com.

Stephen Lewis

FROM TOP: Hublot Classic Fusion Original Black Magic Watch 38mm, $9,300, hublot.com. Rolex Yacht-Master Watch 42mm in white gold, $34,000, rolex.com. Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Watch, $12,800, omegawatches.com. Piaget Polo Date Watch, $12,900, piaget.com.

Stephen Lewis

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Rita Konig Invites Us Inside Her Charming, Polished London Home

Posted on by Jill Simpson

“My favorite part of the design process is the very beginning, when I’m working out the room layouts,” says British decorator and design journalist Rita Konig. “I love that moment with the pencil: All things are possible.” Over the years, she’s taken pencil to paper three times as she’s evolved the layout and decor of her own London flat, which she shares with her daughter, Margot, and “rather naughty dog,” Eddie. Konig’s is a style that’s layered and warm, charming but never saccharine, sure-handed without taking itself too seriously, and respectful of the past but never confined by it.

Each time Konig renovated, she considered picking up and moving elsewhere, but ended up deciding to stay put. “I love the high ceilings. I love coming in through a garden,” she says. “Every window you look out of, you look at green. It has this lovely west light and it has these big grand rooms and I found it very hard to find that again.”

In a little study Konig tucked in by the garden, her Terry small paisley fabric for Schumacher cozies the gallery walls. Her midcentury desk and chair are positioned for views outside. 

During her most recent update, Konig gave herself permission to finally indulge in a canopied four-poster bed à la David Hicks, Veere Grenney, and Billy Baldwin. But what makes it feel like home is not so much the grand gestures as the things collected over time that have meaning, she believes. “What I was trying to convey was a feeling of a place being collected, rather than being decorated and propped. I like possessions, not props,” she says. “I think very often the incidental is where the magic lies in a room.”

Konig’s home makes her feel calm and makes her happy. In the end, she says, “I think that’s really what a house should deliver—somewhere that you’re happy to be.”

In Konig’s “grown-up” bedroom, luxurious curtains cocoon her bed, while Schumacher’s Serena Garland, designed by Konig, climbs the walls. 

The Best New Design Books of Spring 2025 Put a Personal Spin on Interior Inspiration

Posted on by Jill Simpson

Packed with inspiration and wisdom, this spring’s most exciting new design titles aren’t just a crash course in decorating—they’re a peek into the personal journeys of some of our favorite designers, many of whom took an unexpected path to where they are today, from Marshall Watson (formerly an actor) to Britt Zunino of Studio DB (a onetime professional snowboarder) to Peter Dunham (who started out as a realtor and auction habitué). What they all had in common was an irrepressible love and talent for design that couldn’t be squelched—all the better for us!

The World of Peter Dunham: Global Style from Paris to Hollywood by Peter Dunham

This book will earn pride of place on your coffee table with its Fig Leaf-fabric cover. But it’s more than just a pretty cover—Dunham’s fascinating biography, his exuberant, optimistic designs (both interiors and fabrics), and always-creative ideas will charm and enthrall you.

$75, Vendome (May 6)

Alfredo Paredes at Home by Alfredo Paredes

As chief creative officer at Ralph Lauren for over 30 years, Alfredo Paredes created the immersive store environments and fantasy-steeped home collections that Ralph Lauren is so well-known for. In his first book, he shares four of his own homes in captivating detail, while explaining his creative process. It’s a stunning yet warmly inviting book that explicates his singular point of view.

$60, Rizzoli

Marshall Watson: Defining Elegance by Marshall Watson

Watson’s timeless interiors draw on his knowledge of history, impeccable eye for detail, and ability to listen keenly to his clients and respond to the architecture and environment, as evidenced by the wide range of locations in these 14 homes—from a waterfront Hawaiian villa to an exquisite Manhattan jewel box.

$58, Rizzoli

Spatial Alchemy: Design Your Home to Transform Your Life by Olga Naiman

More psychological roadmap than decorating how-to, this debut book by Naiman, a seasoned stylist and designer, explores “the transformative process of aligning your home with what you want to bring forth in your life.” With intriguing exercises and visual examples, she makes a compelling case for how changing your home can lead to changes in your life.

$35, Artisan (April 15)

Interiors of a Storyteller by Stephanie Sabbe

This is the rare design book that you’ll want to read from cover to cover, and the rarer-still decorating book that shares the author’s unvarnished personal story. Sabbe’s refreshing honesty makes her hard-won appreciation of home all the more compelling. Alternating between her life and her design projects, each section is bookended with distinctive mood boards layered with personal snapshots.

$50, Gibbs Smith

David Kleinberg: Interiors by David Kleinberg with Mayer Rus

Kleinberg brings a calm rigor, erudite elegance, and thoughtful consideration to every interior he designs, as evidenced by this second volume of projects (14 years after his first)—a dozen marvelous examples of excellence in the world of interiors.

$65, Monacelli

Drawn Together: Studio DB Architecture and Interiors by Britt and Damian Zunino

Equal parts downtown-cool and carefully considered, Studio DB’s always-inventive work reflects the yin-yang sensibilities of husband-and-wife, architect-and-designer partners Damian and Britt Zunino. Their first book showcases the unique, handcrafted elements; modern approach to wallpaper; and playful, unexpected details that set their work apart.

$65 Rizzoli

A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham with David Nicholls

As the title of Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham’s debut book suggests, the duo’s ethos is grounded in classic English decoration, but with a sense of lightness and delight that feels fresh for today. Salvesen and Graham are widely admired for a facility with color that’s easy to live with, and their book is filled with practical advice and endless inspiration.

$50, Hardie Grant (May 6)

Interiors for a Life in Good Taste by Caroline Gidiere

For pure prettiness and pleasure, you needn’t look any further than Birmingham, Alabama, designer Caroline Gidiere’s first book. Filled with beautiful details, she shares her appealing aesthetic, but also practical tips and inspiring ideas for “a life in good taste.”

$55, Rizzoli

Embracing Beauty: Serene Spaces for Living by Beth Webb

Few designers can orchestrate neutrals as beautifully as Beth Webb to create sensual, organic interiors that embody serenity while never veering into banality. Her second book, featuring a dozen homes, is an oasis of calm.

$65, Rizzoli

This Is Home by Jeffrey Alan Marks

Marks’s welcoming, unfussy style is a product of his tripartite background, braiding California coastal ease with rigorous English training and East Coast coziness. The second book from the Million Dollar Decorators alumnus covers projects on both coasts and beyond, including his own homes.

$55, Rizzoli

The Waterfront House: Living With Style on the Coast by Phoebe Howard

Bound to ignite your wanderlust, or longings for a house by the sea, Howard takes us on a blue, white, and green tour of nine waterfront homes, from a colorful, family-friendly, old Florida Victorian to a sophisticated neutral home in Antigua to her own new house in Jacksonville Beach, each shown and explained in greatly satisfying detail.

$55, Abrams (April 22)

Tadao Ando: Light and Space by Tadao Ando and Richard Pare

One of our finest living architects, Japanese architect Tadao Ando composes poetry in concrete and glass, always guided by, in his words, “a quest for light.” In Ando’s first monograph since 1996, photographer Richard Pare captures 28 of the architect’s extraordinary projects worldwide to create a book that is a work of art in itself.

$150, Phaidon (April 10)

Patina Homes & Gardens by Steve and Brooke Giannetti

Over four books and two decades, the Giannettis’ bucolic lifestyle at Patina Farm in Ojai has enchanted countless followers. In their latest book, they’ve moved cross country to rural Tennessee and restored an 1850s log house on a 100-acre property, with adorable goats still poking at the door. They share six additional projects they’ve designed, from a seaside villa in Malibu to an English cottage.

$50, Gibbs Smith

Relaxed Elegance: Rooms for Living Well by Brittany Bromley

This New York– and Palm Beach–based designer’s first book is brimming with color, layered patterns, clever details, and inspired ideas for bringing traditional interiors to life, as showcased in eight different projects ranging from a classic Park Avenue apartment to a Georgian Revival in St. Louis.

$55, Rizzoli

Embracing Southern Homes by Eric Ross

The second book from Nashville-based decorator Eric Ross shares a dozen homes throughout the South. His traditional-with-a-twist interiors offer plenty of inspiration for formal window treatments, wallpapers, and patterned fabrics woven together in harmonious schemes.

$50 Gibbs Smith (April 15)

Fire Island Modernist: Horace Gifford and the Architecture of Seduction: Expanded Edition by Christopher Rawlins

This new, expanded edition of an out-of-print modern classic features the dramatic glass-and-cedar beach houses designed in the 1960s and ’70s by architect Horace Gifford in the gay enclave of Fire Island Pines in New York. Featuring five new houses, the book explores how Gifford, using simple materials on small lots, “thought about space as sculpture,” as designer Miles Redd notes.

$65, Metropolis Books (April 29)

Veranda Designer Secrets: Expert Lessons from Top Decorators’ Own Homes by Susan Hall Mahon

Veranda magazine’s latest book compiles spaces from 40 designers and architects’ own homes. It’s organized by room, which helps as a way to compare features, with informative captions that dive into the design decisions behind them.

$40, Hearst Home (May 13)

Everything on our website was hand-picked by a FREDERIC editor. We may earn commission on items you purchase.

Tour the Enchanting Normandy Cottage and Garden of Pierre Sauvage

Posted on by Christina Elliston

As a child, Pierre Sauvage spent vacations in a small village in Haute Normandie, not far from Giverny. “I always loved its color and diversity,” he recalls of Claude Monet’s fabled gardens, with its water lilies, wisteria, tulips, and azaleas. Fifteen years ago, when Sauvage purchased his own weekend getaway in the region, he quickly set about creating his own kaleidoscopic work of art.

Cushy velvet sofas from Maison Thévenon flank a chestnut table by Lou Fagotin for Christian Liaigre in the living room of Pierre Sauvage’s 19th-century vacation home in the Haute-Normandie region of France. The plaid curtains are in a Sanderson fabric, and the stools are from Zara Home.

Simon Brown

It took a year for Sauvage to renovate and design the 150-year-old house, aided by decorator Franz Potisek, a longtime collaborator with whom he has also worked on a Left Bank apartment, a grand 15th-century chateau in Normandy, and several boutiques for Casa Lopez, the artisan rug company he purchased in 2014 and has since expanded into a lifestyle brand offering tableware, home accessories, furniture, and fabric with haute-bohemian flair. “Before starting a project, Franz and I always talk a lot about the place and the way of life I want to create,” says Sauvage. In this case, that meant designing a warmly appointed nest where he could unwind and spend time with family, many of whom also have homes nearby: “I wanted to make it comfortable while retaining the spirit of an old house.”

Sauvage’s skill for color mixing is on full display in the exuberantly layered space, where a mid-20th century Turkish carpet incorporates shades from the ceiling beams (painted in Picture Gallery Red by Farrow & Ball) and olive-green walls (Mon Général by Zuber). The custom Casa Lopez ottoman is upholstered in Almaty Velvet by Carolina Irving Textiles.

Simon Brown

The starting point, as always, was Sauvage’s ebullient palette, dominated here by his favorite shades of olive green and cerulean and accented with bold swaths of red. (He cites David Hicks as one of his major design influences.) A background in fashion—he spent 20 years in press and public relations for Christian Dior and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac before making the jump to the world of interior design—helped ignite not just Sauvage’s fearless approach to color, but also his eye for distinctive fabrics (each of the four bedrooms is wrapped in a different fabric, including a handsome wool check and rich raw silk) and couture-worthy detail (the custom-designed ottoman in the living room is a prime example, with its patterned velvet, dramatic bullion fringe, and tasseled rosettes).

Sauvage’s longtime decorator Franz Potisek designed the cabinetry in the dining room; to the side of the fireplace is an 18th-century garden painting in the manner of Hubert Robert. The brass chandelier was found at antiques dealer Arthur Bruet’s shop at the Paris flea market. Tablecloth, Zara Home.

Simon Brown

The lush garden just outside the kitchen window inspired the room’s verdant color scheme, with cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Calke Green. Traditional terra-cotta tiles called tomettes cover the floor.

Simon Brown

The house is filled with Sauvage’s myriad collections, like this assortment of antique blue-and-white ceramics. 

Simon Brown

What keeps the whole scheme from feeling stiff or fussy is Sauvage’s aptitude for mixing high and low, formal and rustic. The house’s roughhewn exposed beams were not only retained but painted in bright hues that highlight their gnarled, off-kilter charm, while lucky finds from Zara Home appear alongside treasured antiques and plenty of furnishings from Casa Lopez. “When I imagine an object, I always think of it for one of my homes,” Sauvage says.

In the primary bedroom, walls wrapped in Kashmir Paisley linen by Michael S. Smith are an unexpected counterpoint for millwork and beams swathed in Payne by Zuber. Bespoke bed and rug, Casa Lopez. 

SIMON BROWN

In the primary bathroom, the Villeroy and Boch clawfoot tub and Winckelmans ceramic floor tile have a vintage, timeworn feel; the sinks are by Leroy Merlin. The wood-paneled walls, once hidden behind marble installed in the 1980s, are painted Off-White by Farrow & Ball.

Simon Brown

The “green room” features Carolina Irving Textiles’ Amazon linen on the walls and striped Casa Lopez carpet in a coordinating shade. A curtain in Tajmahal fabric by Braquenié through Pierre Frey provides contrast. 

Simon Brown

Patmos Stripe (on beds) and Amazon linen (on walls) by Carolina Irving Textiles create pattern play in a guest room. Rug, table, lamp and shade, Casa Lopez. The bedding is a floral boutis from an Indian market. 

Simon Brown

While the house didn’t require any major structural changes, a renovation in the 1980s had obscured some of its historic charm; Sauvage replaced the roof tiles with more authentic wood ones, removed the marble on the walls of the primary bath to reveal original wood paneling, and replastered the facade. Carpeting was installed to hide unattractive tile on the floor and stairs; the kitchen was updated with retro-looking cabinets and fixtures.

A Holland and Sherry wool check envelops a guest room. Bedside table, David Hicks; rugs, Casa Lopez.

Simon Brown

Odd angles in a hallway are camouflaged by the same wool check. Console, Hermes; rug, Casa Lopez.

Simon Brown

A guest room is luxuriously wrapped in Japanese Stencil raw silk from Jasper by Michael S. Smith. Rug, Hartley & Tissier. 

Simon Brown

Hydrangeas thrive in the region’s cool, moist climate.

Simon Brown

A peek through the hedge. 

Simon Brown

Outside in the garden, designed with the help of landscape architect Alexandre Phélip, a bevy of roses (both post-war French roses, prized for their “incredible color and fragrance,” and English climbing roses), dahlias (“infinite hues and shapes”), and hydrangeas (which thrive in the region’s cool, moist climate) bloom against a backdrop of Virginia creeper, which scales the facade. The effect is natural and even a bit wild, in contrast to the more curated vignettes that fill the interior. “Outside, I really like overflowing mixes with very English borders, but in the home, I prefer a bit more order,” explains Sauvage. “The garden has taught me so much about mixing colors and shapes, but also about how important light is on flowers, just as it is in the home.”

Sauvage is a consummate entertainer—he’s written two books on the subject—and loves to host guests in his garden; the tablecloth is made from Californian Caning Outdoor fabric by Casa Lopez for Carolina Irving Textiles; chairs, Kim Motzer.

Simon Brown

Shutters with a traditional heart cut-out detail are painted in Tonerre blue by Zuber. 

Simon Brown

English climbing roses bring a pretty dose of pink to the Virginia creeper-covered facade.

Simon Brown

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Fashion Designer Trish Wescoat Pound Reveres the Classics

Posted on by Christina Elliston

TYLER ROSTE

THREE YEARS AGO, fashion industry veteran Trish Wescoat Pound embarked on a quest to design the perfect white shirt. The resulting “Boyfriend Shirt,” made in New York from Italian cotton with impeccable detailing, formed the basis for TWP, her line of elevated, thoughtfully considered basics. (That original button-down has since been joined by cheekily named siblings like the “Morning After” and “Next Ex” shirts, as well as luxe separates like relaxed cashmere sweaters, tailored blazers, and wide-leg jeans.) “For me, confidence is about being comfortable,” says the designer, who recently made her New York Fashion Week debut. Here, she shares her everyday must-haves, which similarly blend sophistication with ease. 

Trish Wescoat Pound’s Favorite Things

Criss Cross Ballet Flats

“Alaïa makes shoes that are not only well-designed but also so comfortable. I’m obsessed with the crisscross ballet flats—they pull an outfit together and feel good.”

$1,240, maison-alaia.com

TINY DANCER JEAN

“I wear these jeans constantly. I love a denim-on-denim look with a blazer—if I had to wear one outfit every day for the rest of my life, that would be it!”

$495, twpclothing.com

Traveller Vinyl LP

“This record has been on repeat in my home since 2015. Chris Stapleton’s music has depth, and his voice has so much range. I’m a bit of a fan girl!”

$30, chrisstapleton.com

Olmit Sling Chair

“Tyler Hays of BDDW makes the most enviable American heritage pieces. I love a chair with a built-in side table, and this one is truly perfect.”

$14,500, bddw.com

Vital Skin Foundation Stick

“Gucci Westman’s products create the most natural, dewy look. Her Vital Foundation Stick is all I need for a quick touch-up here and there.”

$68, westman-atelier.com

Essential Trunk

“My travel must-haves: a passport; a credit card; Jillian, my daughter and brave companion on the road; and good luggage. This Rimowa suitcase holds up remarkably well.”

$1,350, rimowa.com

 

Internal Compass Strong Heart Bangle

“Foundrae has the most unique collection of modern heirlooms that can be cherished and passed down to future generations.”

$19,950, foundrae.com

MATTE WHITE FULLY AUTOMATIC COFFEE AND ESPRESSO MACHINE WITH MILK FROTHER

“I wake up at 5 a.m. every day, and making coffee with my Smeg is always part of my morning routine.”

$800, crateandbarrel.com

PERFUME OIL NO.04 BOIS DE BALINCOURT

“Maison Louis Marie’s No.04 is a great unisex scent. I burn the candles at home and was thrilled to learn they had a roll-on oil— so easy to throw in a night bag.”

$65, maisonlouismarie.com

Everything on our website was hand-picked by a FREDERIC editor. We may earn commission on items you purchase.

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Prep Redux: What’s Old is New Again

Posted on by Emma Bazilian

“It is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child to wear khaki,” wrote Lisa Birnbach in the introduction to her seminal work, The Official Preppy Handbook, in 1980. More than 40 years later, the tongue-in-cheek ode to WASP style feels as on point as ever, as Gen Z becomes the latest cohort to resurrect an obsession with all things patrician (or “old money” or “quiet luxury” or whatever TikTok is calling it these days). So put on your favorite cable-knit sweater and curl up in grandmother’s faded chintz chair as we dive into the enduring intrigue of all things prep. 

Decorate

The old-money ease of well-loved slipcovers in simple cotton prints is epitomized in Bunny Mellon’s dressed-down living room at Oak Spring in Virginia (top). Her fabric source of choice? Tillett Textiles, of course. Started by husband-and-wife Leslie and D.D. Tillett in the 1940s, the brand’s hand-printed designs, made in the United States, were a favorite of Jackie Kennedy, Brooke Astor, and Sister Parish; today, in-the-know decorators still turn to Tillett for their crisp, graphic designs, all of which can be completely custom-colored. The best part? No pattern ever goes out of production.

When Tory Burch purchased Bunny Mellon’s home in Antigua in the early 2000s, she preserved the tastemaker’s original Tillett Textiles Butterfly Blotch fabric splashed on seating and bookshelves in the library.

FRANÇOIS HALARD/TRUNK ARCHIVE

Accesorize

From Dodie Thayer lettuce ware to island-ready rattan to monogrammed anything, these preppy picks capture the playful-yet-polished spirit of Babe Paley’s legendary Round Hill, Jamaica, retreat. The true ethos of patrician style? Invest now, use forever—a few chips and cracks encouraged.

SEE OUR PICKS

Get Inspired

“There is only one look in Prep decorating: Not Decorated,” proclaimed Birnbach—with the caveat that “If it must be pinned down, the look is English-American, with a dash of seaside resort and women’s handicraft.” Today’s masters of the form know that the secret to making family heirlooms and borrowed-from-the-summer-house materials feel fresh is to add an unexpected edge—think mod lighting, a touch of black lacquer, or graphic trim.

MARKHAM ROBERTS

Blue-and-white stripes, a collection of Palissy ware plates, and a leopard-spotted floor prove surprisingly congenial in this Nantucket powder room by Markham Roberts. The finishing touch? A sharp outline of red tape.

Nelson Hancock

MILES REDD

Billowing silk curtains and crisp monogrammed bed linens feel anything but staid when combined with graphic art, a primary palette, and plenty of high-wattage shine in a bedroom by Miles Redd.

Thomas Loof

NICK OLSEN

In a friend’s shoebox-sized Brooklyn studio, Olsen masterfully mixed high and low—think an Ikea bed slipcovered in a feminine floral and a simple curtain (made from inexpensive lining fabric) trimmed with a dramatic pleated ruffle.

Simon Upton

TOM SCHEERER

“WASPishly and expediently undisturbed” is how Scheerer described his client’s East Hampton residence, where he dressed the sunroom in supremely casual natural fibers and Peter Dunham Textiles’ Fig Leaf print.

Björn Wallander

Trim

Channeling a West Coast bohemian version of prep, trims in natural materials meld with playful pom-poms, worldly ikats, and classic plaids for a sophisticated update on Cali-cool style. Pair one of these eye-catching accents with a simple fabric for the perfect mix of high-low insouciance.

From top: Banyan Ikat Tape by Schumacher, schumacher.com; Bali Jute Tassel Fringe, Printemps Brush Fringe, and Cirque Pom Pom Fringe by Samuel & Sons, samuelandsons.com; Colbert Tape by Schumacher; Sorrento Tassel Fringe by Samuel & Sons; Joss Trim by Schumacher. Background: Nakara grasscloth wallcovering by Schumacher.

Kevin Kerr

Wear

From seaworthy Breton-striped sailor shirts to cricket sweaters and rowing blazers, leisure-class chic was a staple at the spring shows, where designers on both sides of the Atlantic sent models down the runway sporting colorful looks worthy of an Ivy League diploma.

Stripe Blazer (price upon request) and Double Waistband Pleated Mini Skirt ($690) by Monse, monse.com.

Terra-Ecru cotton double-weave and leather varsity jacket and Terra leather A-line midi skirt by Akris, prices upon request, akris.com.

Oversized stretch crewneck sweater ($330), tailored utility short ($260), and crochet mule ($149) by Tommy Hilfiger, tommy.com.

Pullover, Pants, Sandals, and Bracelets by Sacai, prices upon request, sacai.jp.

Watch

There’s nothing more enticing than peeking through the door to a rarefied world of privilege—particularly when its dark underbelly is revealed. The only thing more sensational than the tragic melodrama of Love Story or the thrilling cat-and-mouse game of The Talented Mr. Ripley? The pitch-perfect preppy wardrobes and ultra-stylish set design.

Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern in Ordinary People (1980).

Album/Alamy Stock Photo

Dead Poets Society (1989).

United Archives GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).

© Miramax/Courtesy of Everett Collection

Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were (1973).

© Columbia Pictures/courtesy of Everett Collection

Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw in Love Story (1970).

Courtesy of Everett Collection

Jason Schwartzman (center) in Rushmore (1998).

Maximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 18 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Add Some Prep Appeal With These Classic Home Accessories

Posted on by Penelope Riley

From Dodie Thayer lettuce ware to island-ready rattan to monogrammed anything, these preppy picks capture the playful-yet-polished spirit of Babe Paley’s legendary Round Hill, Jamaica, retreat. The true ethos of patrician style? Invest now, use forever—a few chips and cracks encouraged.

ACE MOVE

Tennis Racket Cover by Mark Cross for Aerin

$920, aerin.com

CURB APPEAL

Trellis Wall-Mount Mailbox by Art of the Entry

$329, artoftheentry.com

KISS SOME TOADS

Handmade Ceramic Frog Planter by Jean Roger

$395, schumacherboutique.com

BED AND BREAKFAST

The Rattan Wardington Tray by Soane Britain

$1,875, soane.co.uk

YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU

Rechargeable Bamboo Lamp by Mrs. Alice

$208, mrsalice.com

Mad for Plaid

Madras Porcelain Dessert Plate by Marie Daâge

$158, schumacherboutique.com

DRINKS ON ME

Strawberry Cocktail Napkins by Julia B. Casa

$185 for set of four, juliab.com

INITIAL REACTION

Double Eyeglass Case by Leontine Linens

$170, leontinelinens.com

WATER COOLER

Seagrass Cage Wide Tumbler by Tuckernuck

$78 for set of six, tnuck.com

MIND YOUR MANNERS

Hand-Engraved Notecards by Nancy Sharon Collins

$2,800 for 100, nancysharoncollinsstationer.com

ON THE DOT

Celine Tissue Box Cover by Matouk Schumacher

$75, matouk.com

MATERIAL MIX

Bailey Vase by Ralph Lauren

$350, ralphlauren.com

BERRY WILD

Freshie Fresh Pillow by Johnson Hartig of Libertine for Schumacher

$350, schumacher.com

BAGGAGE HANDLER

Luggage Stand by Colefax & Fowler

from $654, shop.sibylcolefax.com

ICE BREAKER

Wicker Ice Bucket by Julia B. Casa

$425, juliab.com

IT’S HANDLED

Panda Cutlery by Sabre

$122 for five-piece place setting, schumacherboutique.com

LETTUCE BE SEATED

Lettuce Ware Card Holders by
Dodie Thayer for Tory Burch

$148 for set of four, toryburch.com

HANDS-ON

India Three Guest Towels by Matouk

$124 per pair, matouk.com

DREAM WEAVER

Cane Weaved Hurricane by The Enchanted Home

$80, enchantedhome.com

ON THE FRINGE

Frange Guest Towels by Julia B. Casa

$150 for set of two, juliab.com

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 15 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!

Everything on our website was hand-picked by a FREDERIC editor. We may earn commission on items you purchase.