Table of contents for November/December 2017 in Veranda

in Indonesia’s Malay language, the word ibu means “a woman of respect.” It’s a fitting name for a four-year-old company that partners with women’s cooperatives in 34 countries, selling their handmade clothing, accessories, and home goods at trunk shows; in a Charleston, South Carolina, boutique; and online. Ibu is also an apt term for Ali MacGraw, the ingenue turned style icon whose generous spirit underpins decades of volunteer work with folk artists in her adopted hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico. MacGraw collaborated with Ibu artisans to assemble the 85-piece Ali4Ibu collection: A napkin sketch became a printed-cotton skirt from Kenya; she tweaked a Moroccan linen jacket for fit and had it trimmed in soutache; decorative tassels were reimagined by women in India as a beaded necklace. The mood of…

in 1765, when an emissary of England’s Queen Charlotte approached the potters of Staffordshire with a commission for a tea set, most of the major players in that center of ceramics begged off. The technical difficulty involved in the request (the consort wanted cups, saucers, and accoutrements with a gold ground and a pattern of raised green flowers, a tall order to produce at the time), along with the high profile of the client, meant that failure could be disastrous for business. But where the other artisans saw risk, the entrepreneurial, groundbreaking Josiah Wedgwood saw only reward. As chronicled in Wedgwood: A Story of Creation & Innovation (Rizzoli, $60), the fledgling businessman took the commission and delivered a collection of creamware, including cups, fruit baskets, and candlesticks, with vibrant glazes…

1 A RIBBON ROUND A TOPIARY We’ve forgone the partridge for a simpler, lasting arrangement that goes from your hands to your hostess’s buffet table with little fuss and, unlike flowers, will stay stylish and handsome well past New Year’s. Myrtle and boxwood are classics; try citrus, rosemary, or bay for a hint of scent. 2 WEAVES WE LOVE They’re divine on the porch in the form of wicker but positively drop-dead gorgeous as an au courant clutch or the chicest picnic dome we’ve ever seen. 3 FRESH SCENTS A trio of delicious fragrances to tempt her senses: a debut perfume from Parisian candlemaker Cire Trudon; Chanel’s latest, a soon-to-be blockbuster; and designer Alessandro Michele’s first foray into olfactory fabulousness for Gucci. 4 CHARMING PRINTS Liberty of London’s small-scale florals…

IF YOU THINK YOU HEAR TRUMPETS AND TROMBONES— PARTICULARLY IF THEY’RE DUKING IT OUT IN A SPRIGHTLY RENDITION OF “THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”—COMING FROM BEHIND A CERTAIN door in a certain 1890s townhouse on New York’s Upper East Side, you’ve come to the right place. The man who lives there is throwing a holiday soirée, a party complete with homemade ham biscuits, divinity candy, and wafts of fresh pine scenting the air. Your host is a lovely gentleman born in southern Alabama, hence the divinity. (His mother hand-makes and ships a batch of the fluffy white sweets to her son every holiday season.) The trumpets and trombones? Recordings by the Philadelphia Brass, a favorite quintet. The setting? The host’s elegant apartment, with Edwardian paneling, a 14-foot coffered ceiling, a…

There’s a lot of high-style interior design, inspiration for generous gift-giving, and romantic holiday notions rolled up into this issue. But at their essence, most of this month’s stories are about indulgence. Not extravagance, mind you—there’s a difference. Indulgence is having permission to pull out your best china on a random Tuesday night to entertain family and friends, even if all you serve is takeout. It’s about decorating your home with abandon, in high-contrast colors and bold patterns, and without apology. It’s about telling people what you want for Christmas—if you’re asked—without making them second-guess your desires in this age of get-it-now, one-click shopping. (Of course, you’ll still have to pass muster with Santa!) Indulgences can be small, too—think of simple pleasures such as gift wrap and ribbon (see page…

Shapes and forms inspired by flora and fauna give glittering highjewelry pieces the incomparable splendor of the great outdoors.…

after the pumpkin pie has been devoured and the turkey carved into leftovers, Keith Robinson gets right to work prepping for the endless round of parties and dinners he hosts during the holidays. The inveterate event designer opens his doors for all kinds of gatherings, from intimate meals for four to casual buffets (with guests serving themselves from pots in the kitchen), culminating in his Christmas Day fete, when he feeds as many as 52 people. To maintain his sanity—and a sense of graciousness—amid this social whirl, Robinson prepares for weeks: stockpiling pounds of cheese, boxes of crackers, dried fruit, cases of sparkling wine, and his own goodies. “I spend three days baking cookies to have on hand as gifts or impromptu treats,” he says. Rather than deck the halls…

PERSIAN-BORN, SWISS-EDUCATED, AND LONDON-BASED, the interior designer known simply as Alidad is very much a citizen of the world. Or, as he himself puts it, a little more self-deprecatingly: “I belong everywhere and nowhere— and I rather like that.” Whichever way you phrase it, this cosmopolitan nature is key to his layered, hyper-eclectic approach to decoration, where Louis XV chairs and Flemish tapestries jostle with 19th-century English furniture, antiquarian prints, and Middle Eastern patterns—all in a single room. It’s assembled with a scholarly eye, as you might expect of the former head of Islamic art and textiles at Sotheby’s; indeed, Alidad describes his path to becoming a decorator as a case of searching around to find something similar to do, having surrounded himself with antique fabrics for so long. This…

“I THINK YOU ESPECIALLY LOVE CHRISTMAS if your childhood memories are good ones,” says Virginia-born designer Bunny Williams. On that score, she was fortunate: Her childhood home in Charlottesville always featured magnolia branches and a freshly cut tree, and her mother spent weeks making wreaths for the church bazaar. “I adored watching her decorate,” she says. In Williams’s own space—the muchdocumented farmhouse in Falls Village, Connecticut, she shares with her husband, über–antiques dealer John Rosselli—she carries on the same traditions. The holiday festivities take place primarily in the barn, where the 30-foot-high ceilings accommodate a dramatically tall tree. “The most exciting part is bringing out all the things I’ve collected over the decades,” she says, “and the memories that go with them.” Among her treasures are ornaments acquired during the…

1.Richard Keith Langham decked his New York apartment with yards of greenery (page 104). The Noble Fir, Eucalyptus, and Bay Leaf wreath is an instant version for the front door. $89; rh.com. 2.Glassware from Mexico dots Alidad’s London table (page 86). Moser’s gilt-and-etched Maharani Champagne flute is no less worldly. $450; moserusa.com. 3.Coral Gables (2010-40) mimics the shade Danielle Rollins had mixed to match her favorite lipstick—and splashed on closet walls (page 124). $70 a gallon; benjaminmoore.com. 4.The Mario Twins tray table by Mario Buatta would look right at home in Bunny Williams and John Rosselli’s Connecticut escape (page 110). $6,300 for two; kindelfurniture.com. 5. Global Views’ Marble Fret pedestal captures the spirit of the trellis-lined dining room Alessandra Branca created for a Washington, D.C., residence (page 98). $4,999; wayfair.com.…

IPPOLITA ROSTAGNO’S FAVORITE THINGS 1. ALCHEMIST PENDANT “Glam lighting by Silvio Piattelli from Artemest, the website I founded to showcase Italian craft.” artemest.com. 2. YOTAM OTTOLENGHI COOKBOOKS “So visually appealing!” amazon.com. 3. SECONDOME AWAITING L STOOL “An intriguing form by Giorgia Zanellato and Coralla Maiuri.” artemest.com. 4. CUYANA TURTLENECK “My uniform.” cuyana.com. 5. LE LABO SANTAL 33 EAU DE PARFUM “I enjoy the smoky, woodsy scent.” lelabofragrances.com. 6. HOTEL LA MINERVETTA “A charming gem on the Amalfi Coast.” laminervetta.com. 7. FRATELLI LISI CHAMPAGNE HOLDER “Extravagant and surprising.” artemest.com. 8. IPPOLITA EMBRACE BANGLE “Inspired by the softness of the feminine figure.” ippolita.com. 9. SERGIO ROSSI MULTI-STRAP SANDALS “I love them for a night out.” barneys.com. 10. NESPRESSO VERTUOPLUS “My day does not officially start until I’ve had a latte.” nespresso.com. 11.…

maria Canale was an award-winning jewelry designer who freelanced for such houses as Tiffany & Co. and Harry Winston when she decided to start her own brand a few years ago. But that didn’t mean she was abandoning the rarefied materials she loved. “I wanted to design diamond jewelry that a woman would wear and not keep in a vault, no matter the price,” she says. “It was my way of responding to the way women live today. We work, we entertain, we’re constantly on the go. We all need a signature, everyday piece that we wear with jeans and a T-shirt or a little black dress, and that pulls everything together. As they say, ‘Ease is the secret to true elegance.’ Canale’s creations marry that practical sensibility to rare…

To all you detail-oriented, flowerarranging, vignette-perfecting elves: We know that half the fun of giving is wrapping the gift in something special. Here’s to the joy of a stack of pretty presents waiting patiently under the tree. Additional ribbons from East Coast Trimming; eastcoasttrimming.com.…

IF EVERY HOME IS A PORTRAIT, as designer Alessandra Branca likes to say, then this one—a three-story 18th-century brick house in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.—paints an especially bright picture. An apple-green living room pulses with youthful energy; across the hall, a tailored yet cozy library with cinnabar millwork practically begs you to curl up and relax. When Branca’s clients first saw the property, it was filled with staid furniture, mostly in beige. “They almost didn’t buy the house because of it,” she says. “They were concerned because they wanted it to be a family home for their young children.” In the end, the house’s history (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both visited) and garden won them over. The wife, in particular, had a strong vision for a new…

WHEN DANIELLE ROLLINS TRANSFORMED A pedestrian 1970s Georgian in Atlanta into her dream home, it was the beginning of a bold new chapter for both the property and the designer. “I had just gone through a divorce and lost just about everything,” says Rollins, a lifestyle expert who specializes in both interior design and fashion. (She recently launched a clothing and accessories collection.) “When my book Soirée came out a few years ago, I was being asked to give talks on stylish entertaining, even though, at the time, I had moved out of my home and barely even had any paper plates!” Rollins was determined to rebuild her life and set the stage for the future. “I bought truly the ugliest house, but it was on a great street for…

BOLD STROKES Pages 39–40 Ippolita Rostagno, 877-865-5500, ippolita.com. DIAMOND DETAILS Pages 52–53 Maria Canale, 212-282-1151, mariacanale.com. BREAKING THE MOLD Pages 55–58 Fine china and porcelain: Wedgwood, wedgwood.com. Book: Rizzoli, rizzoliusa.com. MERRY & BRIGHT Keith Robinson, Gloriosa Design, 404-523-8077, gloriosadesign.com. Page 68, top Wine cooler: Aerin, aerin.com. Two-tiered stand: Arte Italica, arteitalica.com. Page 70 Flatware: Christofle, christofle.com. Tumblers: Hermès, hermes.com. Linens: Deborah Sharpe Linens, deborahsharpelinens.com. A WORLD OF STYLE Interior design: Alidad, 011-44-0-207-384-0121, www.alidad.com. Floral design: John Carter, John Carter London, 011-44 -0-207-731-5146, johncarterflowers.com. Page 84 Skirted table fabric: Pierre Frey, www.pierrefrey.com. Lampshades fabric: Les Indiennes, lesindiennes.com. Mirror: Brownrigg, brownrigg-interiors.co.uk. Page 85 Sofa fabric: Pierre Frey, www.pierrefrey.com. Side chair fabric: Colony, colonyfabrics.com. Page 88, top left Candlesticks: Giovanna Ticciati, giovannaticciati.com. Page 88, top right Lampshade fabric: Les Indiennes, lesindiennes.com. Page 88, bottom…