Style cues from The Breakers

I admit. It's hard to relate to this.


Photo from Gardenvisit.com

I was too busy gawking to take many photos. My jaw ached from dropping so many times.

The Breakers, the Vanderbilts' 1895 summer "cottage," sits on 13 perfectly groomed acres in Newport, RI. Its 138,000 square feet encompass one room whose walls are clad in perfectly bookmatched Italian Cippolino marble slabs. The morning room walls are gilt in platinum leaf.

Just the idea of a morning room appeals to me. With or without platinum gilding. Imagine. A room designated for one's mornings. It sounds so peaceful.

The upstairs interior layout allowed female servants to invisibly deliver clothes to one's closet. Yes. The Vanderbilts actually had house elves! Or the very best Muggle approximation. The next time I ask my children if they expect laundry elves to pick up their scattered dirty clothes, I'll have to add, "Remember. You're not a Vanderbilt."

Interestingly, The Breakers' kitchen had a more accessible aesthetic. After all, the kitchen was an actual working space. Not there to be admired, but to serve a function. And my eye, trained by what the New York Times calls the "vaguely prewar aesthetic" of Christopher Peacock and the vintage stylings of Restoration Hardware, found much that could be incorporated into a modern-day kitchen.

Sorry. No interior photographs were allowed in The Breakers.

The kitchen and butler's pantry both featured inset cabinetry. Not painted as in the Peacock style, but in a warm, fairly dark wood. Plain white tiles, perhaps six inches square and now very slightly crackled with age, covered most of the kitchen walls. Set tightly in a running bond pattern, the look echoed currently trendy subway tiles, but with a nice twist. The tile edges were square, not pillowed. Slight differences in height where tiles met created a lovely, subtle texture. A sophisticated, perfectly vintage look. Especially in a larger kitchen where the scale of the larger tile would be appropriate. The reddish square floor tiles were a similar size to the wall tiles and also set in a running bond.

In the middle of the kitchen stood a very large island with a zinc counter. I love zinc. It's soft. It scratches. It reacts with materials. It looked beautiful. Similar to stainless, but warmer. Another appropriate choice for a vintage-inspired kitchen.

The spacious baths (the house had 20 in total!) housed beautiful console sinks. They were reminiscent of these Catchpole & Rye basins. The tubs had four taps. Two (hot and cold) were for regular water. Two more (hot and cold) were for saltwater. Quaint, but probably not where the modern homeowner would spend his or her budget.



Even more ornate details spark inspiration. The Trikeenan tiles we'd bought for our master bath floor are reminiscent of a herringbone ceiling at The Breakers. (The clear tape covering the Trikeenan tiles make them appear glossy.)



But perhaps the best style cue from The Breakers. The one item that many of us would love to have.



The view.

Idyll at Castle Hill

Castle Hill. Just the name brings back memories of an old Austin favorite, now sadly closed. Castle Hill Cafe off Lamar Blvd. You are missed.



But this Castle Hill. This inn and resort in Newport, Rhode Island. Our place to create new memories. From the minute you drive past the little gatehouse and are greeted by name at the front desk, you feel coccooned by comfort and privilege.

The 1874 main mansion built as a summer cottage for Harvard marine biologist, Alexander Agassiz, sits on a 40-acre peninsula. We chose to stay in a beach cottage, a bright, airy space with its own deck and a stunning ocean view.



The cottage with its interior white-painted planks and beams was perfectly beachy. The view unparalleled. But the bath. Oh my word. The bath. Easily four times the size of our tiny master bath at home. With an enormous jetted tub and separate shower. The delight of showering without banged elbows or concussions. Frabjous joy, that bath!



Every detail from the L'Occitane toiletries to the Frette bedlinens to the Perrin and Rowe and Grohe fixtures bespeaks luxury. Every afternoon, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and icy bottles of water are placed in your cottage. The evening's turndown service leaves a tiny gilt box of chocolate from a local chocolatier.



The complimentary breakfast is no sad buffet of cold cereal, oily pastries, and congealed scrambled eggs. Not at all. Served in a room with panoramic views of the water, this week's menu items included lobster hash, eggs Benedict, and a couture french toast. With a miniature fruit smoothie and slice of banana bread. The complimentary afternoon tea was a lavish spread of savories and sweets with crustless sandwiches, scones, biscotti, fresh fruit, and clotted cream.



We enjoyed one dinner at Castle Hill's restaurant. This was the only meal for which jackets for gentlemen were gently encouraged. Otherwise, attire was quite casual. Not flip flops and shabby tees casual, but polo shirts and chino capris. During this meal, the kitchen didn't put a foot wrong. Every flavor. Every texture was perfection. Their interplay delightful.

In the evenings, we sipped cocktails, on crisp white Adirondack chairs dotting the manicured green lawns. We watched the sun set, casting rose-gold glimmers across the rippling water. Sailboats glided past, noiseless in the breeze. We sat on the private beach steps from our door, watching the surf tickle our toes. Or we walked on sun-dappled, wooded paths to the historic lighthouse on site.





All our stresses. Work, renovations, last year's cross-country move, children. These simply melted away. Bliss.

(Very important note: This bliss would be impossible without Grammy and Pop. Who flew from Texas to feed, wash, chauffeur, and love the littles while their parents went to play. For this and much more, many, many thanks.)


A very relaxed blogger

Two anniversaries and a giveaway

I've just returned from Newport, Rhode Island, where my husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary. More on that in later posts.









On May 31st, I'll celebrate a different sort of anniversary: the first anniversary of my blog.

Two anniversaries marking two personal journeys. I was married straight out of college. I hardly understood what it meant to be an adult, never mind a married adult. Together, my husband and I learned how to be grown-ups, how to manage the daily details, how to weather storms, how to celebrate joys.

A year ago on Monday, I wrote my first blog post. My blog has charted both my family's experiences in New England and my own journey as a writer and photographer. My first entries featured photos taken with my iPhone. I had no idea what blog stats were or if I should respond to my comments. In short, I was clueless. I'm still learning and developing my voice and my images. Just as my husband and I, after twenty years, are still learning and growing as a couple, as parents, as partners.

To celebrate my first year blogoversary, I'm planning a giveaway. Tune in on Monday, May 31st, to see find out more about it. I hope you'll like it.