Join me as I travel to East Hampton, New York, for an exhibition of Dominy furniture  and a Southern expatriate supper

I recently spent the weekend at the East Hampton home of voracious and omnivorous collectors Glenn Purcell and Charles Keller. During the last several years, they have developed an obsession with furniture made in the 18th- and 19th centuries by East Hampton’s  Dominy family of cabinetmakers. While their late 19th-century Shingle Style house is usually filled with chairs, stands, and a dining room table made by the family, at the time of my visit the furniture had relocated to the East Hampton Historical Society’s Clinton Academy Museum (easthamptonhistory.org) for an exhibition entitled Dominy: The Federal and Empire Periods, 1790-1840, New Discoveries.

Open from May 29th through June 27th, the exhibition was co-curated by Glenn and Charles and has already won the attention of The New York Times.  Arranged against a backdrop of  banners printed with pages from the hand-written Dominy ledgers, chairs, stands, beds, tables, mirrors and clocks demonstrate the family’s refined, and often restrained, approach to Federal and Empire styles.

The exhibition reflects the co-curators’ relentless pursuit of the Dominy family’s handiwork, often guided by ledgers that indicate names of buyers, the descendants of whom often still own the pieces. Having developed a connoisseur’s eye for the furniture, Glenn and Charles also hunted pieces down in the homes of unsuspecting owners, in Long Island antiques stores, and even in a local yard sale (East Hampton yard sales are different).

In between trips to the museum to install the exhibition during my weekend visit, Glenn and Charles took time to host a Southern expatriate style dinner (Glenn grew up in Newnan, Georgia, not far from my mother’s hometown of Milledgeville). While Glenn gave me a tour of East Hampton houses, Charles and my graphic designer Eric Mueller (who has ties to Tennessee) set a gorgeous table complete with plates ringed with the names of the thirteen colonies.

On the rims of these plates, reproductions of those used by George and Martha Washington’s family, Georgia sits right next to New Hampshire. Late 19th-century wine glasses of glittering cut glass–a favorite element in Southern table settings–share the tablecloth with 1920s Murano glasses that bespeak Northern sophistication.

In a second table setting (below)–so much to play with in these collectors’ house–Charles swapped the thirteen colonies plates for simple wedding band china, beloved in both the North and South. This table setting could have been at home anywhere up and down the Eastern seaboard, a fact which reveals a simple truth about historic Northern and Southern styles: they have more in common than you might think.

I recently had a meeting with my editor at Rizzoli to discuss the contents of my next book, Houses with Charm: Simple Southern Style. She kept asking me, “What makes this Southern?” I explained that while there are definite distinctions between the architecture of the two regions, the decorative arts of the South and the North have much more in common. What makes them different, perhaps, is the way we use them.

For example, the Southerner’s idea of perfection is thinly sliced Virginia ham served up with Henry Bain sauce, a Louisville, Kentucky favorite from the Pendennis Club. A bit like A-1 sauce, it is made with a base of English mango chutney (a reminder of the South’s Anglo-colonial roots) and sparked with a dash of Tabasco. While Southerners would choose iced tea with fresh mint as the ideal accompaniment for a salty ham luncheon, my Northern hosts preferred a rose sparkling wine in mid-20th century Murano glasses. But we all agreed that fresh peaches would be an ideal counterpoint–and table decoration–for a casual outdoor luncheon.  Cheers!

Heralded by Veranda magazine as “a landmark design book,”

The Home within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms (Rizzoli)

is well on its way to becoming a best-selling design book.

Written by architect and interior designer Bobby McAlpine with co-author Susan Sully,

this gorgeous book features work from across the South by McAlpine Tankersley Architecture and McAlpine Booth and Ferrier Interiors.

What  Bobby McAlpine tells Susan Sully about the book:

The difference of this book lies partially in the work, but mostly in the writing you helped me with. It is spoken from a different branch of the tree–one that may never have been touched. It is the cravings of any artist to make a world that they recognize, excavating what’s inside of them and putting it out in front.

Drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as an English chapel of ease,

a Classical temple, and a country French carriage house,

featured dwellings and follies celebrate themes that lie at the heart of

McAlpine’s vision of home and sacred space.

With the columns of a Classical temple combined with factory-sash windows,

this pavilion-style residence illustrates McAlpine’s love of combining the

ancient with the modern.

A crystal conservatory suspended between baroque gables intended to

resemble ruins from a long-ago fire reveals McAlpine’s penchant

for juxtaposing the permanent with the vulnerable.

Exemplifying McAlpine’s fascination with pathways and passages,

this tantalizingly circuitous stairway

winds upward through a tower, piecing the outer wall before

terminating in an open-air lounge with a dizzying view.

In the book’s introduction, read about McAlpine’s vision of the home as a

curative place:

The world outside us issues an invitation to question reality,

and ultimately it forces us home.

Where is the place that mirrors our hearts?

Where are we when we feel held and protected and whispered to?

Where does the content of our intimate exchanges ring most true?

Illustrating McAlpine’s vision of the spirit and materiality of home,

whether places for living or for pure folly, like this thatch-topped tower,

twenty-two dwellings are arranged in four sections:

Ancient Modern, The Way Within, Harmony of Opposites,

and Sanctuary for the Self.

Described as titillating, glamorous, glad, romantic, and humble,

these houses and McAlpine’s words about them will forever change the way

readers think about home.

To purchase an autographed copy of the book, go to capitolbook.com/MTA.htm

Read more about this book, visit mcalpinetankersley.com/communique/ The newest issue of Communique, the firm’s beautiful new online magazine (to be released May 3rd) features several articles about the book including an interview with me, excerpted below.

Having written extensively about the South in your many books, most recently in The Southern Cosmopolitan, can you speak about the “Southern-ness” of our work?

As I always like to point out, Southern style is so much more complex than most people think.  The style palette draws from such a wide range, including both the formal and vernacular architecture of England, France, the Mediterranean, the West Indies, and more.

West Indian-inspired palette of Rainbow Row in Charleston

Creating up-to-date, appropriate interpretations of traditional styles is an overlooked aspect of the architecture of the South, where the first trans-Atlantic colonists found ways to modify that which they knew and loved to a new place, a new climate, a new way of life. McAlpine continues this tradition by marrying the old with the new in houses like this one, which combines contemporary elements including telephone pole columns with a West Indian style hip roof.

McAlpine-designed dwelling inspired by West Indian architecture

Another important aspect of  Southern dwellings is an infusion of soul and mystery. The South is a place where the soul does not take second place to anything. It comes through in the reverence for the past and the beauty and truth it carries forward. It comes through in the kindness with which we interact with the world.

This soulful nature may come from the fact that the South remained an agrarian culture long after its trade-partners became manufacturers, so Southerners maintained a closer connection with nature, and family, and the old ways.  Some say it’s because we lost the Civil War, and, lacking means, we drew upon our inner resources and the comfort we found in what surrounded us—especially family, the beautiful land, and the old rooms and houses that revealed the hopes and dreams of our predecessors.

Because McAlpine works from this place, his houses speak to the senses, to the soul, to a collective past, and also to the present moment. This is what I call Southern style.

Decorator and antiques dealer Hal Williamson talks about Palladian blue paint, toile, and French wine coolers in this interview with The Southern Cosmopolitan. The fact that I’ve featured three houses designed by Hal in my recent books The Southern Cosmopolitan and New Orleans Style (see “books” at right to order) shows how much I love his sensual New Orleans approach to decorating with French and Southern antiques.

Hal's Natchez, Mississippi, dining room

Recently featured in House Beautiful, Hal also operates Hal Williamson Antiques on Magazine Street where he sells continental European antiques (mostly French), antique tableware, and decorative objects.  Whether offering antiques for sale or arranging them in clients’ houses, Hal brings a fresh, lovely, and sophisticated approach to design (http://www.williamsondesigns.net).

Hal Williamson Antiques on New Orleans' Magazine Street

One of Hal’s favorite things is actually a color–Palladian Blue from Benjamin Moore’s Historic Colors collection. Having seen it while photographing his Natchez house for my book The Southern Cosmopolitan, I decided to paint my Asheville, North Carolina office the same color. I have always needed to surround myself with a calming shade while I work. I also find that the natural tone of this paint works perfectly with the green and brown trees and blue and gray skies of my mountain surroundings. Here’s why Hal loves Palladian Blue….

It's hard to capture Palladian Blue's depth in a photo. Pick up a chip from Benjamin Moore!

Hal: Palladian Blue is probably my favorite color in the Benjamin Moore Historic Colors line, although I gravitate toward them all. Most blues are too blue for me–I really adore greens. Palladian Blue is a bridge between the two. It combines the best of robin’s egg blue with the colors of the sea. Because it is so serene, this color is particularly nice for bedrooms.

Hal's guest bedroom in Natchez

Hal: I painted one of the bedrooms in my Natchez house Palladian Blue right after Hurricane Katrina. Even though it was a guestroom, I wanted to sleep there every weekend. The color made me feel calm and soothed. I like that it looks pretty with both antique wood furniture and painted pieces. There’s such a classic quality to it, yet this blue also feels somehow modern and fresh.

Toile designed by Roulhac Toledano based on historical Louisiana motifs

Another of Hal’s favorite things is this toile designed by  historian Roulhac Toledano for Architextiles (http://www.architextiles.com). She has collected motifs and drawings from old maps and historic documents to create toile patterns for several historic cities including New Orleans.

Louis XV chair with Louisiana toile motifs

Hal: When I was designing Debra and Jerry Shriver’s French Quarter townhouse (featured in The Southern Cosmopolitan), I found this toile with wonderful scenes of New Orleans. I discovered that the patterns could be enlarged and hand-printed in any color on any fabric, so I chose deep plum on a beautiful Bergamo linen. Debra found Louis XV chairs (above) with a pale sage finish which I upholstered with the fabric, using a different scene on each chair.

Louis XV rafraîchissoir

Hal: I always try to keep at least one French rafraîchissoir in my shop. These are wine serving and cooling tables that are usually on casters. They have been made in France in virtually every style for centuries. This one (above) is a simple Louis XV style with a taupe-and-rouge marble work surface and two zinc tins for cooling wine.

Painted French rafraîchissoir

Hal: Because this one (above) has simple lines and is painted pale grey-green, it goes beautifully in either a traditional or modern setting. We have one in both our houses and we really use them. In addition to the fact that they are chic, rafraîchissoirs are fun to use. I love to nestle one up to the dining table during a dinner party. It keeps the wines handy for serving and gives me a place to keep glasses, dessert plates, and more.

Run to Charleston if you can to catch this year’s Charleston International Antiques Show (starting this Friday, March 19th and ending Sunday, March 21st), organized by and benefiting Historic Charleston Foundation. If you can’t make it in time for that, then take a walk through the city with the Foundation’s annual Festival of Houses and Gardens (March 18-April 17). For information and tickets, go to http://historiccharleston.org.

In addition to its location on the Cooper River, across the street from East Bay Street’s stately houses, this antiques show holds a special appeal for me. In several of my books (Charleston Style, Charleston: Architecture and Interiors, and The Southern Cosmopolitan), I have celebrated the city’s charming, and often surprising, approach to decorating. I love the way present-day Charlestonians mix English and American antiques with West Indian pieces, Middle Eastern and Indian textiles, and Asian accessories–and the historic precedents for this global approach to style.

Asian, Middle Eastern, and English antiques share space in a private guesthouse designed by Amelia Handegan

(from Charleston: Architecture & Interiors)

A Philadelphia secretary bookcase and a West Indian planters chair form a vignette in Ann and David Silliman’s house

(from The Southern Cosmopolitan)

Dealers at this antiques show including Antiques of the Indies, owned by the Sillimans (see above), offer everything needed to create cosmopolitan interiors like these. Select from fine American, British, Asian and West Indian antiques, Chinese and Italian dinner services, Middle Eastern rugs, vintage French textiles, and on and on and on to create your own version of global Southern style.

Whether shopping the antiques show, taking a tour, or reading one of my books about the city, any encounter with Charleston promises to spark a romance with its charm, elegance, and subtle exoticism

To order my books, please select the books page from the menu at right. Photo of East Bay Street by Ron Rocz.

Ken Tate (http://www.kentatearchitect.com) was recently named by Architectural Digest as one of the AD100 top architects and designers. Located outside New Orleans, Ken draws from traditional styles, both the formal and the vernacular, to create houses that communicate to the spirit and the senses. In this interview, he talks about how traditional craftsmanship and materials lend both patina and depth to an estate he designed in Mississippi called Windy Hill.

KT: Human beings resonate with materials. There is some kind of universal wisdom in the psyche that connects with the spirit of materials. If you were to build this house with new materials, the psyche would know the difference. The connection with the past would be lost. You must use real materials as often as you can to create something that is more than mere illusion.

KT: A primary source of inspiration for Windy Hill is early Norman architecture. When I was looking for exterior stone for the house, I sent a picture of an old Norman farmhouse to David Williams Masonry in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, (http://williamsmasonryinc.com) and asked, “How can I get stone that looks like this?” David told me that we had to cut it from the face of a mountain where some parts of the stone had been exposed to the elements longer than others, creating natural variation in color and texture. So that is what we did to create an instant appearance of age and patina.

KT: The paneling in the long room was made by a firm of  English woodworkers called Hallidays (now Hallidays America in New Jersey). After making the paneling in England from old Russian pine, the master carpenters came to Mississippi to install it. Afterward, they finished the wood with a liming paste they brought with them from England.  This is a late-eighteenth-century technique that leaves a light, waxy finish that I like because it’s a little more casual than paint and because it creates built-in patina.

KT: I also drew inspiration from Normandy for the shape and craftsmanship of the loggia. Made of heart pine, the timber-frame loggia is constructed in the mortis-and-tendon style, with wooden pegs securing the joints. We worked with a group of local Mennonite carpenters who made the loggia in their shop. One day, I was driving by and I saw it sitting next to a farm field. The carpenters had assembled it to make sure that everything was correct before disassembling it and installing it at Windy Hill. The loggia is attached to the house by stone brackets built into the exterior wall and the support beams sit on hand-chiseled stone plinths. In the old days, timber frame structures always rested on stone instead of earth in order to keep the wood from rotting.

KT: Because of these materials and craftsmanship, Windy Hill enraptures you a little. People who visit say, “I just love the house.” But they don’t quite know why.

This interview is adapted from Ken Tate: A Classical Journey, for which I wrote the introduction. It will be released by Images Publishing in Spring 2010. This and other books by Ken Tate can be ordered from http:/www.amazon.com and http:/www.powells.com

The photographs for this post are provided courtesy of Ken Tate Architect.

What do Charleston, Orlando, Palm Beach, Thomasville and Greenville all have in common? A great way to shop for antique majolica, campaign furniture, English silver, French porcelain figures, Ottoman carpets, portrait miniatures of people and their dogs, and more, all in one day…and without wearing out your Blahniks.

How? Just plan your trip to any of these beautiful Southern destinations to coincide with their annual antiques shows.  Organized by volunteers to raise funds for art museums, historic preservation, and children’s charities, the shows feature the best antiques dealers from within and beyond the south, as well as lectures by design professionals such as Charlotte Moss, Bunny Williams, and Bobby McAlpine.

I’ve had to pleasure to speak at several shows over the last few years, all organized by show manager Charlie Miller, whose extensive contacts and expertise guarantee the best quality and variety of antiques. At most shows, he offers a walk-through or lecture providing tips about collecting and connoisseurship.

Coming up soon, don’t miss the Orlando Museum of Art’s Antiques Show and Sale, organized by Council 101 to benefit the museum. Running from February 19th to 21st, the show includes a lecture by Mary Palmer Dargan, ASLA. Show manager Charlie Miller will also offer appraisals. For more information, visit http://www.omart.org/programs/antiques-show-sale

The following weekend brings the annual Thomasville Antiques Show, running from previews on February 25th through  February 26th and 27th. The historic charm of Thomasville itself, a hunting destination of note since the early 20th century, makes the trip worthwhile. But the show is the main event, with everything from glittering jewelry to sporting art. Acclaimed design professionals P. Allen Smith, Laura Hunt, and Gil Shafer will speak, and Charlie Miller will give a talk on How to Shop the Show. For more information, visit http://www.thomasvilleantiquesshow.com

Keep an eye out for an upcoming Connoisseur-shop article about the Charleston Art and Antiques Show, which takes place March 19th-21st and benefits Historic Charleston Foundation. For more information, visit www.historiccharleston.org.

Eseeola Lodge . . .

The Eseeola Lodge

The Eseeola Lodge (http://eeseola.com) was built in 1892, four years after the wives of Linville’s developers convinced their husbands to create a resort instead a timber and mining town. Designed to capture the imaginations of mountain-going tourists, the lodge was built in a picturesque style using shingles made from chestnut bark.

Timber-pole balcony at The Eseeola

Although the original building burned in 1936, the present-day lodge is located in an annex built before the fire.  Also covered in chestnut bark shingles, it features balconies made from unmilled timber poles and a huge stacked stone fireplace that retain the picturesque ambiance of the original structure.

The Eseeola's lobby

When it was built in 1929, the annex housed only a double row of guest rooms. Since then, it has been substantially expanded to include a large living room and restaurant where guests gather and dine in a style where elegance and luxury meet rustic charm.

The bar at Eseeola Lodge

High Hampton Inn . . .

Twilight at High Hampton Inn

Civil War general, South Carolina governer, and US Senator Wade Hampton began summering in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1800. Wade’s sister Caroline dubbed the hilltop property High Hampton, and in 1922, the McKee family purchased the hunting lodge and outbuildings, turning them into an inn (http://highhamptoninn.com) where generations of Southerners have summered ever since.

The terrace at High Hampton Inn

While the rooms and cottages are cozy and cool (air-conditioning is unnecessary, but wood-burning fireplaces offer welcome warmth on mountain nights), outdoor pleasures are high on the agenda. Those not inclined to fish or canoe can just sit on the terrace and gaze upon the sublime beauty of Rock Mountain.

The lobby at High Hampton Inn

Popular with families, High Hampton Inn has a huge lobby surrounding a stacked stone fireplace where bridge, backgammon, and book-reading are favorite indoor pursuits. Like the Eseeola, this inn burned in the 1930s. Despite the fact that there was a Depression going it, it was immediately rebuilt on the original location using the same local materials: pine, hickory, and wormy chestnut.

Front desk at High Hampton Inn

So . . . don’t forget to check in and check out the Southern comfort — and traditional architecture — of these historic inns. Whether it’s spring, summer, fall, or winter, these lodges will surround you with old-fashioned charm and natural beauty.

If you want to read more about the historic inns of Western North Carolina and see more of my pictures, you can read the article I wrote for WNC Magazine last summer at http://www.wncmagazine.com/feature/travel_feature/inn_style

19th-c French bench and African rug

Written about in House Beautiful, Southern Accents, The New York Times, and other publications, Ann shares the secrets of her approach to collecting and decorating with you here:

“I always go for the really fine, extraordinary pieces like this 18th century Italian arm chair. The carving is a flawless expression of the time and place this piece represents. I also like the fact that this is the original finish. It looks old. If you leave the finish alone–and even the upholstery, if possible–the true quality of the piece comes through so beautifully.

This 18th century Swedish cabinet has very fine, champfered paneling. Its size, the texture of its worn paint, and detail gives it a lot of presence in any room. The chairs (also Swedish) are rococo in style, with beautifully carved cabriole legs. I love the color and texture of the old leather seats and painted wood. They go so beautifully against the pale gray cabinet.

The  iron-frame orangerie window (French, 19th century) is one of a pair. I mirrored the other one with silver leaf. The 20th-century Lucite chair has wonderful, true lines, which is why it can mix well with pieces from another period. I love putting modern pieces with very simple lines next to older ones. Clear pieces like these play beautifully with the light–and almost disappear.

Swedish cabinet & Balinese table in Ann's house

21st c. Italian glass & 19th c. chairs chez Ann

In the dining room, bold contemporary Italian glass contrasts with delicate 19th c. American chairs.

First, join me for an extravagant garden party in New Orleans’ garden district. With guests arrayed in proper garden party attire (airy frocks and shady chapeaux for the ladies, seersucker suits and straw hats for the men), the party was thrown by one of the city’s most extraordinary hostesses (who wishes to remain anonymous). Move over Dorothy Draper, stylemaker and author of the 1941 classic, Entertaining is Fun: How to be a Popular Hostess (rizzoliusa.com). Be sure to read this book if you want to overcome The Will to Be Dreary (p. 5) by hosting elegant yet economical entertainments.

Knowing that the New Orleans I explore in my new book The Southern Cosmopolitan combines classic style with Creole spice, the hostess selected an invitation with a tropical theme from Scriptura, a Magazine Street stationers (scriptura.com). With windtorn banana leaves and an ever-so-slightly sinister alligator, it suggests that this might not be your average garden party.

The correct hat is essential to dressing like a Southern Cosmopolitan. When Eric Mueller (designer of this website and my books) arrived in New Orleans for the party, I took him straight to Meyer the Hatter–which, in operation for 63 years, is the city’s oldest hatshop. After trying on a dozen Panama straw hats, from the genteel to the sharpster, Eric selected a hybrid of the two extremes perfect both for the party and his life back home in New York City and Long Island (meyerthehatter.com).

My Ascot style hat (and dress, as well) came from Yvonne LaFleur (yvonnelafleur.com), a deliciously old Paris style boutique in New Orleans’ Carrollton neighborhood.

The hostess created jungle-madness centerpieces by anchoring dramatic arrangements of tropical foliage and flowers with natural sea sponges set in the tops of tall vases.

Eric Mueller, (contributor to Drinkology Eats: A Guide to Bar Food and Cocktail Party Fare) helped concoct a signature cocktail for the book parties called–what else?–The Southern Cosmopolitan. Pictured below, it is the velvety peach colored elixir in martini glasses. Everyone who tastes this dangerously drinkable cocktail asks for the recipe, so here it is.

For 1 Southern Cosmopolitan:

3 sprigs of fragrant mint

1-1/2 oz peach infused vodka

1/2 oz Cointreau or other orange liqueur

1 oz peach nectar

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

Rim a chilled martini glass with a mint leaf. Muddle the mint sprigs in a cocktail shaker. Add the remaining ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into the glass. For a virgin version called the Southern Peach, omit the alcoholic ingredients, shake the mint, peach nectar, and lime juice with ice, and strain into a Tom Collins glass, topping off with seltzer. A word of warning: peach vodka and peach nectar can be hard to find, so order ahead of time.

This delightful garden party peaked with the presentation of a cake decorated with the cover of my book (printed in edible inks on rice paper by Haydel’s Bakery, haydelsbakery.com) flanked by macaroon trees. Tempting towers of colorful meringue-based cookies, these Parisian style confections were made by Sucre on Magazine Street in New Orleans (shopsucre.com).

My only regret at the end of the day was that I didn’t eat more of the strawberry, lemon, orange, and pistachio meringues. Expecting them to taste like styrofoam (how could something that insanely perky looking actually taste good, too?), I did not discover how delectable they were until the end of the party. Since I couldn’t figure out how to sneak one of the trees home without anyone noticing, I had to make do with just a few unforgettable bites–the perfect sweet ending to a divine afternoon.

An immaculately restored mansion in Natchez and a collector’s treasure trove in Alexandria reveal the South’s love affair with historic European and American architecture, art, and antiques. A classic re-do of a Colonial Revival home near Washington, DC and a modern Atlanta condominium decorated with French antiques and contemporary art reveal the ease with which Southerners blend the old and the new. A Greek Revival house in Charleston filled with an international collection of textiles and an Italianate townhouse in Savannah decorated in opulent Venetian style display the South’s fascination with global tastes. This inspiring book is perfect for those who aspire to the essence of Southern style. click here to order from amazon.