I PROMISED to keep you up to date on the restoration-work in the Music Room. This is the 1850 wing of our house that had been built atop a dubious -- and downright dangerous -- foundation. Crumbling stone had caused the floor to sag, resulting in cracked walls and floors. Now, one month and 4,000 pounds of cement later, the room, for the first time in over 100 years, is secure. The dusty details: Read more » Decorating
Music Room Restoration, Part 2
April 1, 2013
I PROMISED to keep you up to date on the restoration-work in the Music Room. This is the 1850 wing of our house that had been built atop a dubious -- and downright dangerous -- foundation. Crumbling stone had caused the floor to sag, resulting in cracked walls and floors. Now, one month and 4,000 pounds of cement later, the room, for the first time in over 100 years, is secure. The dusty details: Read more » Floral Soup
February 11, 2013
WITH A LITTLE IMAGINATION, almost any water-tight container can become an elegant "vase" for flowers. Take, for instance, the soup tureen pictured up top. This antique vessel resides on a games table in my entrance hall. Normally it holds nothing more than air. But this week, florist Erin Brady filled the tureen with a delicious soup:
Read more » Flower Arranging: July Blooms for a Cold January
January 25, 2013
THIS WEEK, in response to the frigid (sub-zero!) temperatures outside, I hoisted the big blue urn off my entrance hall table, and promptly delivered it to Erin Brady. Erin is an award-winning florist. Would you like to see closeups of the soul-warming bouquet she arranged for the hall? Read more » The Entrance Hall, Before & After Papering
December 18, 2012
AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, we recently redecorated our entrance hall. Would you like to see the before and after pictures? Actually, I can take you way back. Back, in fact, to how the hall looked in December, 2001, when we first visited this house with a real estate agent. Are you holding a stiff drink? Good. You're going to need it: Read more » How to Decorate a Mantel with Fresh Greens & Fruit
December 15, 2012
IF YOU HAVE A MANTEL IN YOUR HOME, you can have great fun making a festive scene there. I do just that each December for the fireplace in my parlor, arranging the marble ledge with evergreen boughs and lots of colorful fresh fruit. Would you like to see the procedure? Read more » Entrance Hall Makeover
December 6, 2012
JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, my ancient entrance hall is getting a makeover. That is, we're about to apply reproduction 19th-century paper on the room's (19th-century) walls. A look at the paper, and how the walls are being prepared for this decorative treatment: Read more » O Christmas Tree, 2012 Edition
December 4, 2012
IF THE TREE IN MY PARLOR IS ANY INDICATION, Christmas has arrived at A Garden for the House. Would you like to see some of the baubles -- and yes, beagles -- that ornament the boughs? Here they are, along with a few thoughts on treating, lighting, and decorating this evergreen symbol of the holidays: Read more » 
