Table of contents for March/April 2016 in Veranda

by the time Josie Natori showed up for her appointment at Bloomingdale’s in 1977 carrying the cotton peasant blouse she would build her lingerie brand on, she had already tried her hand at selling baskets and reproduction Chippendale furniture from her native Philippines. “I got into fashion by accident,” she says. The buyer she was meeting worked in lingerie and was intrigued by the shirt’s simple lines and handmade embroidery. She asked Natori to modify it into a nightshirt, and the resulting sleepwear—neither Frederick’s of Hollywood nor buttoned-up grand-mère—filled an empty niche in the market. “It was the right time and the right place. We came to the category with a fresh approach. Orders came in instantly.” Thirty-nine years later, the company has expanded to include everything from readyto-wear to…

Elsie de Wolfe De Wolfe (1865–1950) lived at the Villa Trianon at Versailles and swept away the brooding Victorian interiors of her day in favor of sunny, seductive rooms that were all lightness and air—think garden furniture and trelliswork indoors and pretty pastel schemes. Sister Parish Classic Americana was Parish’s (1910–1994) stock-in-trade. Her spaces combined an unpretentious, high-WASP sensibility with cheery details like chintz, needlepoint upholstery, and rag rugs. Rose Cumming From the Upper East Side shop she opened in 1921, Cumming dispensed advice to stylesetters like Jacqueline Kennedy and Babe Paley, who absorbed her yen for chinoiserie, lightcatching satins, and wallpapers worthy of an enchanted forest. Frances Elkins The prolific Elkins (1888–1953) collaborated often with her architect brother, David Adler. She was a classicist with a decidedly modernist streak,…

Paris RESTAURANT The crowd at Terroir Parisien is mostly working people from the neighborhood, who dine on updated bistro fare with an emphasis on local ingredients. It’s chic, simple, and completely unpretentious. 20 rue Saint-Victor, yannick-alleno.com. SHOPS If I can make it to an opening at Galerie Dutko, it’s the highlight of my trip. The interiors are striking, with exquisite furniture from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, and work by artists like Robert Courtright and Bruno Romeda. 11 rue Bonaparte, dutko.com. • I never know what I’m going to find at Chez Moi, Paris. I’ll go in for a client and come out with something for myself! The selection, from furniture to tabletop to objets d’art, has a strong, focused point of view and a sense of humor. 25 rue…

IN 2000, ARCHITECT JAMES CARTER BOUGHT A PIECE OF PROPERTY in the leafy Birmingham community of Mountain Brook with the intention of tearing down the postwar cottage that sat on it and building his “forever” house. Typically, life got in the way. “I got too busy, then I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, then the economy tanked,” he says. At long last, in 2013, he scrapped the original, started from scratch, and moved in two years later. The wait turned out to be a gift to the project. For one thing, Carter, who lived in the cottage in the interim, had plenty of time to figure out how to situate the new structure on the lot, which is especially narrow and deep. “For clients, I often do a jewel…

JANUS ET CIE VERANDA was thrilled to partner with JANUS et Cie in their ADAC Atlanta showroom for our first ever flower pop-up shop. Exquisite arrangements inspired by Editor in Chief Clinton Smith’s new book, The Romance of Flowers, were on display—many in JANUS et Cie vessels. Top Atlanta designers and VERANDA readers enjoyed the afternoon surrounded by beautiful bouquets, all created by Le Jardin Français. HUNTER DOUGLAS CELEBRATION OF LIGHT SAVINGS EVENT Enjoy generous rebate savings on a selection of the most light-transforming Hunter Douglas window fashions. See for yourself how they enhance the natural light and ambience in your home. The savings event runs from 4/12/16 through 6/27/16. Get the details at hunterdouglas.com. VERANDA’S NEW BOOK Written by award-winning journalist and Editor in Chief Clinton Smith, The Romance…

I was recently entranced by something I saw on Instagram. No, it wasn’t someone taking a portrait with a selfie stick, a tantalizing food shot from a five-star restaurant, toned bodies at the beach, or drone footage of an exotic locale (which can often induce a strong case of wanderlust). It was a giant blue agave. The silvery gray–and– dusty blue specimen overflowed what appeared to be its 15-gallon container as well as the entire back end of the SUV it was in. That could be the perfect houseplant, I thought to myself. According to the USDA’s plant-hardiness map, I live in Zone 6 (think cold winters), which isn’t quite the same as Southern California, where agaves proliferate outdoors. In lieu of potted ferns, clipped rosemary, or a fiddle-leaf fig…

against a field of green leaves or a confetti of vivid blooms, a garden planter brings an appealing sense of focus: drawing the eye, grounding a vignette, crowning a crunchy gravel path with symmetry. A statuesque pot also works wonders indoors—in materials from terra-cotta to iron, it can transform even an ordinary ficus into something sublime.…

the approach to Petworth House, an ancestral home of the aristocratic Percy family in West Sussex, England, crisscrosses through old stands of chestnut and oak, curving around rolling hills and silvery lakes, only intermittently yielding views of the 17th-century mansion it’s meant to set off. The journey—for centuries traversed by horse and carriage—creates the illusion of a vast park, giving the impression that the surrounding English countryside is part of the estate. But the landscape is man-made, the sleight of hand a signature of 18th-century designer Lancelot “Capability” Brown, whose work is found at many of England’s stately homes—from Blenheim Palace to Chatsworth House—and whose name has become synonymous with the “natural” look of English landscape gardening. Born 300 years ago this August in the north of England, Brown was…

In Living Color Yeabridge Green and Vardo are punchy new green and teal hues from Farrow & Ball that embody the joy of spring—charming on Tessella and Bumble Bee wallpapers. From $230 a roll; farrow-ball.com. The White Stuff Peacock Alley’s latest bedding collections are loaded with the kind of quiet, tactile details—stonewashed seersucker, paisley lace cuffs— that will make waking up a dream. Lizbeth and Ava, from $115; peacockalley.com. California Classics Suzanne Tucker—a protégée of design legend Michael Taylor, the pioneer who defined the pared-down sensuality of the “California look” from the 1950s through the ’80s—is a San Francisco– based practitioner whose work bridges old-world classicism with the unbuttoned lifestyle of the left coast. Her new Riviera line of outdoor furniture for Michael Taylor Designs encapsulates that aesthetic. The sculptural…

matthew Quinn’s parents had one request of their child: that he become a doctor. “I got my B.A. in chemistry, but on the third day of med-school orientation, I had a nervous breakdown,” he says. He took his parents’ credit cards and flew to Paris. “It was easier to tell them I’d dropped out from a different country!” They cut off the cards, but Quinn stayed on for a month, scraping by in hostels and sussing out his next step, all while soaking in the charms of the City of Light. “If you spend enough time in Paris, you either want to be an architect or an artist,” he says. He switched gears, went back to school, and, while earning an interior-design degree, became a draftsman at Design Galleria in…

GARDEN GENIUS ARNE MAYNARD London-based Arne Maynard grew up in rural Dorset, England, with his fingers in the dirt: tilling soil, clearing mulch, pruning roses. “I spent my childhood earning pocket money by helping out neighbors,” he says. “To this day, I consider myself a gardener, not a garden designer.” All humility aside, Maynard has gained a following for his leafy creations, which transform a few ingredients—yew, crab apples, oxeye daisies—into romantic plots that belie their simplicity. “In the house, you wouldn’t have a different carpet and paint color in every single room. I like to repeat the same ingredients outside in different ways: a hedge rose growing wild here, then trained along the wall there.” The thread gives the land a serene cohesion. Stylistically, there’s no single Maynard stamp.…

“MY MOTHER AND FATHER were a bit confused when they first saw the house,” says Michael Lorber of his Dutchess County, New York, getaway. Most grown men might chalk up such parental disapproval to a generation gap, but when your dad is the chairman of a major real-estate firm, it’s tough not to take it to heart. “They thought the house itself was fine—for a grandmother,” Lorber recalls with a laugh. But for the 36-year-old Manhattan-based real-estate broker, the four-bedroom Colonial-era cottage read more like a cozy winter-weekend escape. “To be fair, it was a bit mumsy when it was on the market, but the location, property, provenance, and architectural significance of the house drew me straight to it,” says Lorber, a lifelong history buff. Built in 1747, the unassuming…

THE VIEW FROM VERANDA Page 48 Bowl: Global Views, 888-956-0030, globalviews.com. Border: Samuel & Sons, 212-704-8000, samuelandsons.com. Wallpaper: Élitis, 800-916-2036, elitis.fr. Fabric: Fox Linton, 470-355-8099, foxlinton.com. Vessels: Formations, 310-659-3062, formationsusa.com. PERSONAL LUXURIES Josie Natori, Natori , 212-532-7796, natori.com. Pages 75–76 Porcelain: Famille Rose, 1stdibs.com. Watch: Chanel, 800-550-0005, chanel.com. Lingerie: Natori, 212-415-5300, natori.com. Wallcovering: Maya Romanoff, 773-465-6909, maya romanoff.com. Belt: Alaïa, 877-678-9627, net-aporter.com. Tumblers: Baccarat, 212-826-4100, baccarat.com. Note cards: Mrs. John L. Strong, 212-838-3775, mrsstrong.com. Orchids: L’Olivier, 212-774-7676, lolivier.com. Flatware: Puiforcat, 888-888-4757, neimanmarcus.com. Day cream: Shiseido, 866-758-5966, shiseido.com. Ankle boot: Gianvito Rossi, 877-678-9627, net-a-porter.com. Monograph: Paul Horiuchi, 800-843-2665, barnesandnoble.com. Concealer: Clé de Peau, 888-678-5574, cledepeaubeaute.com. Piano: Steinway & Sons, 800-783-4692, steinway.com. ARCHITECTURE Interior design: Matthew Quinn, 404-261-0111, matthew-quinn.com. Page 90, bottom Hood: La Cornue, 800-457-1356, lacornueusa.com. Range: La Cornue, 800-457-1356, lacornueusa.com.…