Innehållsförteckning för June 2013 från ELLE DECOR

What do designers do? If you believe the caricatures in movies and on TV, they swan about with bolts of fabric and swath rooms in chintz, spend hours discerning the tiniest differences among 40 shades of white, and issue imperious demands to cowed clients. If you read sensationalist newspapers and magazines, you might think they spend most of their time searching out flea-market junk, polishing it, declaring the pieces rare antiques, and then marking them up ten thousand percent. You might come to believe that their specialty is transforming otherwise savvy people into dupes. And I've heard just about every possible argument against hiring a designer—they're too expensive, or they push people into going beyond their budgets and style comfort zones. "I don't need one," I've been told, "because I…

FOLDING STARS THIS SEASON, THE ANCIENT JAPANESE ART OF ORIGAMI MAKES A RETURN—AND IT FEELS MORE CONTEMPORARY THAN EVER. AT THE SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, "FUTURE BEAUTY," A RETROSPECTIVE OF MODERN JAPANESE FASHION OPENING JUNE 27, EXPLORES THE FOLDED CREATIONS OF AVANT-GARDE DESIGNERS LIKE YOHJI YAMAMOTO (SEATTLEARTMUSEUM.ORG). PRADA'S SPRING LINE IS ACCENTED WITH ORIGAMI FLOURISHES (PRADA.COM), WHILE ISSEY MIYAKE'S BILBAO BAGS CRINKLE INTO WHATEVER SHAPE GRAVITY WILLS (SHOPBAOBAOISSEYMIYAKE.COM). PHILIPPE NIGRO'S LACQUERED TABLE FOR LIGNE ROSET EVOKES A PAPER AIRPLANE (LIGNE-ROSET.COM); TOBIAS LABARQUE'S STACKABLE CHAIR IS MADE FROM A SHEET OF ALUMINUM (TOBIASLABARQUE.WORDPRESS.COM); AND UNFOLD'S PAPER-THIN CERAMICS RESEMBLE INTRICATE ORIGAMI CUPS (UNFOLD.BE). WHAT WE LOVE Some still-life artists wait until they stumble on the perfect vase or bowl for their work. Not Laura Letinsky. The American photographer, known for her artfully disheveled…

DREAM SEQUENCE Over a career spanning three decades, the Cuban-born photographer Abelardo Morell has experimented with many of the same techniques that the earliest photographers used, to sometimes dis orienting effect. Using makeshift versions of the age-old camera obscura, he projects instantly recognizable vistas, like the Golden Gate Bridge or Manhattan's Central Park, onto unremarkable surfaces, such as a patch of turf or the walls of a living room, creating dreamy, double-layered images that turn the familiar into the uncanny. "Abelardo Morell: The Universe Next Door," a new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, features more than 100 works, including his haunting black-and-white pictures of everyday objects as seen from a child's point of view—wet footprints across a bathroom floor, an empty playhouse. Laura and Brady in the Shadow…

WATER WORLD FOR THE BLUE PLANET, DENMARK'S NEW NATIONAL AQUARIUM, ARCHITECTURE FIRM 3XN CREATED A SINUOUS, WHIRLPOOL-SHAPED BUILDING ON THE WATERFRONT OUTSIDE OF COPENHAGEN. COVERED IN SHIMMERING ALUMINUM PLATES, THE STRUCTURE SHELTERS 20,000 SEA CREATURES IN 53 DIFFERENT DISPLAYS, FROM AN AMAZON RAIN FOREST TO A RE-CREATION OF THE PUFFIN-STUDDED FAROE ISLANDS CLIFFS. THE SHOWSTOPPING MAIN TANK, VISIBLE THROUGH A WINDOW THAT'S 52 FEET WIDE BY 26 FEET HIGH, HOLDS A CORAL REEF WHERE HAMMERHEAD SHARKS AND STINGRAYS SWIM ALONGSIDE ELEGANT TROPICAL FISH (DENBLAAPLANET.DK). ART HOUSE In the late 1960s, pioneering artists began moving into a former industrial neighborhood in lower Manhattan that came to be known as SoHo. One of the best-known—the minimalist sculptor Donald Judd—had the foresight to purchase a five-story building at 101 Spring Street. This month,…

1 Angelo Donghia designed a shimmering all-glass mirror in the 1970s to hang in his Manhattan townhouse. Now in production for the first time, Angelo's Mirror measures 35" sq. 800-366-4442; donghia.com. 2 Designer Sara Story's debut wallpaper line takes a fresh approach to timeless Asian motifs. Kimono, shown in celadon, was inspired by an antique robe in Story's closet. 212-228-6007; sarastorydesign.com. 3 Part of Casa Acanto, the first collection of furniture and accessories from designers Andrew Fisher and Jeffry Weisman, the sculptural Fallen Leaf candlesticks come in five designs, all handcrafted in Mexico from recycled aluminum and given a bronze patina. Spring V, left, measures 7" h., and Spring I is 9" h. 415-567-6632; casaacanto.com. 4 William Haines Designs has reissued the legendary Hollywood decorator's 1956 Iron X chair in…

12 THINGS HE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT One sign that the design world is stirring back to life: After five long years, Richard Mishaan's beloved home-furnishings shop, Homer, has re opened. Forced to close when the Whitney Museum took back his lease, the Colombia-born interior designer—who joined our A-List in 2011—stayed busy with luxurious Manhattan apartment renovations and the design of a new hotel in Cartagena. At the original Homer, Mishaan showcased then-emerging talents such as Hervé Van der Straeten and Eric Schmitt. "Mirrors I sold for $3,000 are now going for $30,000," he says. The new Homer, in Greenwich Village, is smaller than its predecessor, but Mishaan is still banking on his skilled eye. "I'm always looking for the next thing," he says. 1 / DINNER AT THE TCHERASSI HOTEL…

GEOMETRY LESSONS Inspired by the decorative motifs of Spain, Morocco, and the Middle East, furniture designer Paul Schatz has created a line of 21 graphic stone tiles for New Ravenna Mosaics. The Miraflores Collection includes, clockwise from top left, Reina, $212 per sq. ft.; Granada, $354 per sq. ft.; Alcala, $92 per sq. ft.; and Gran Via, $78 per sq. ft. 757-442-3379; newravenna.com SHELF STABLE The Brompton modular shelving system, created by famed Italian architect Piero Lissoni for Boffi, has an aluminum frame and can be mounted to a wall or used as a floor-to-ceiling room divider. The units come in a variety of sizes, up to 48" w. and 118" h. The melamine shelves come in depths of 14" or 22", and can be outfitted with…

It was not an auspicious debut. Among the first pieces Ilmari Tapiovaara produced as an independent designer were primitive tables and benches carved by a band of soldiers working only with axes and knives. Although he had graduated from Helsinki's Central School of Applied Arts and worked for Le Corbusier in the 1930s, World War II erupted just as Tapiovaara was striking out on his own. In the Finnish army, he was tasked with designing furniture for men in the field out of the only materials at hand: tree branches, trunks, and roots. But his experience with making the most of limited resources would soon serve him very well. Born in 1914, Tapiovaara trained as a young furniture designer just as modernism was coming of age. He was strongly influenced…

The country code is 353. ESSENTIAL DUBLIN Take to the stage. Don't miss the opportunity to catch a production at one of the city's best-known stages, either the Abbey (abbeytheatre.ie), the Gate (gatetheatre.ie), or the oldest theater of all, the recently reopened Smock Alley (smockalley.com). Hop on a bike. It's easy, thanks to the success of the city's bicycle-rental program (dublinbikes.ie). Explore 350-year-old Phoenix Park, one of Europe's largest enclosed parks. Re-Joyce. James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses takes place in Dublin over the course of a single day: June 16, 1904. This date is now designated Bloomsday and is celebrated annually across the city. But even if you miss it, consider following the hero's meanderings around Dublin, courtesy of the online guide Walking Ulysses (ulysses.bc.edu). Get out of town. Dublin's…

A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH is a powerful thing: It can transport you instantly from wherever you happen to be right now to, say, a sumptuous suite in the Plaza Hotel. But, having gotten you there, the picture's potency abates. It cannot describe the way daylight moves through the rooms, for example, or the delightful feeling of spying an undulating expanse of treetops through a sequence of windows. It can barely differentiate between a ceiling that has been hand-finished in plaster and rubbed with wax, and one treated to a contractor's quick skim coat. And an image is altogether incapable of expressing the sensual deliciousness of heavy Belgian linen curtains that fall like columns of molten ivory to the floor; of soft wool-silk rugs that pad your footsteps; of muscular leather, cool…

When Jeffrey Bilhuber was given the task of updating a Queen Anne manse in Tuxedo Park, New York, he faced more than one challenge. The first was the fact that the house had been in the client's family for three generations—she summered there as a child, and when she married, it had been a wedding gift from her mother. "We needed to bring the house forward without turning our backs on a history that had provided so much pleasure," Bilhuber says. "You have to acknowledge the contributions, but you have an obligation to set yourself free from your childhood and make your own story." The second challenge lay in the well-meaning efforts by a host of amateurs who had already tried to set the house free from period gloom. Before…

ROBERT O'BYRNE Robert O'Byrne, right, author of our Dublin travel story (page 126), also writes a blog called The Irish Aesthete (theirishaesthete.com), in which he shares his passion for Ireland's old buildings. "It's thrilling to discover that readers around the world are as engaged with the fate of historic Irish properties as I am," he says. One such property became the subject of his most recent book, Luggala Days: The Story of a Guinness House. The 18th-century estate is owned by members of the legendary brewing family. JOHN SALADINO As part of its inaugural A-List in 2010, ELLE DECOR named John Saladino, left, one of its 10 "Grand Masters of Design," citing his serene and classical aesthetic. You can see his vision at work in a shimmering New York apartment…

CELESTIAL SPHERES Swedish designer Johan Lindstén's Meltdown lamp for Cappellini is designed to look as though the bulb is about to melt through the handblown glass ball. The 10.5 dia. spheres come in amber, rose, gray, light blue, tobacco, and amethyst. An eight-ball cluster, shown, costs $4,230; a four-ball cluster, three-ball strip, and single ball are also available. Cord lengths are made to order. 212-966-0669; cappellini.it 1 / COLOR REVIVAL Once famous for its avant-garde porcelain designs, the Site Corot factory in Limoges, France, has lain dormant for a decade. Now relaunched under a new creative team, it's producing fresh patterns as well as reissuing such classics as Florida, shown, from 1986. A 10.5 dia. dinner plate costs $88, an 8 dia. dessert plate is $75, and a cup-and-saucer…

WESTWARD, HO! MORE PROOF THAT BROOKLYN STYLE CONTINUES TO SWEEP THE NATION: THE FUTURE PERFECT, THE PIONEERING DESIGN STORE BORN ALMOST A DECADE AGO IN THE BOROUGH'S WILLIAMSBURG SECTION, HAS OPENED ITS FIRST WEST COAST OUTPOST, ON SAN FRANCISCO'S BOUTIQUE-LINED SACRAMENTO STREET. THE SHOP CARRIES FURNITURE AND LIGHTING BY LINDSEY ADELMAN, JASON MILLER, CHARLES DE LISLE, AND ROLL & HILL, AS WELL AS PIET HEIN EEK, THE DUTCH DESIGNER KNOWN FOR USING RECYCLED MATERIALS. THE FUTURE PERFECT'S OWNER, CONTEMPORARY DESIGN EVANGELIST DAVID ALHADEFF, SAYS HE INTENDS TO SCOUR THE WEST COAST FOR "THE NEXT GREAT TALENT" (THEFUTUREPERFECT.COM). IN RARE FORM Last year, ophthalmologist Stephen Kelly started selling his extensive collection of French art and objects from his home on New York's Upper East Side. The latest show at Kelly's townhouse…

Bow tie by Vanities; barneys.com. Spain 1971 wool rug by Oscar de la Renta for Elson & Company; elsoncompany.com. Gattopardo earrings by Faraone Mennella; faraonemennella.com. Feline* linen by Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks; leejofa.com. Velvet-upholstered midcentury-style chair by Mecox Gardens; mecoxgardens.com. Handbag by Dries van Noten; driesvannoten.com. Snow Leopard iPhone case by Diane von Furstenberg; bloomingdales.com. Top and skirt by Kenzo from spring 2013; kenzo.com. Selvaggia boudoir sham by Pratesi; 212-288-2315. 2100-10* linen-cotton by China Seas; quadrillefabrics.com. Mod Leopard melamine dinner plate by Zazzle; zazzle.com. Sheila slippers by Charles Philip Shanghai; net-a-porter.com. Dayglow napkins by Kim Seybert; kimseybert.com. Livingstone* linen blend by Colefax and Fowler; cowtan.com. Leopard ring by David Webb; davidwebb.com. Bagatelle Spot* wallpaper by Nina Campbell for Osborne & Little; osborneandlittle.com. Les Touches* cotton by Brunschwig & Fils; brunschwig.com.…

THE ELLE DECOR A-LIST The Designers Who Inspire Us Most AMAN & MEEKS B FIVE STUDIO BASSAM FELLOWS JEFFREY BILHUBER ALESSANDRA BRANCA MURIEL BRANDOLINI SHEILA BRIDGES BROCKSCHMIDT & COLEMAN MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD DARRYL CARTER ERIC COHLER ROBERT COUTURIER MARK CUNNINGHAM ERNEST DE LA TORRE JAMIE DRAKE WALDO FERNANDEZ THOM FILICIA FISHER WEISMAN PAUL FORTUNE STEVEN GAMBREL VICTORIA HAGAN ALEXA HAMPTON STEVEN HARRIS ARCHITECTS HAYNES-ROBERTS JAMES HUNIFORD KATHRYN M. IRELAND JAY JEFFERS SUZANNE KASLER CELERIE KEMBLE DAVID KLEINBERG RICHARD KEITH LANGHAM JEFFREY ALAN MARKS McALPINE BOOTH & FERRIER RICHARD MISHAAN JUAN MONTOYA CHARLOTTE MOSS JOE NAHEM THOMAS O'BRIEN ALEX PAPACHRISTIDIS EMMA JANE PILKINGTON J. RANDALL POWERS MILES REDD SUZANNE RHEINSTEIN KATIE RIDDER ROMAN AND WILLIAMS TODD ALEXANDER ROMANO DANIEL ROMUALDEZ SHELTON, MINDEL & ASSOCIATES STEPHEN SILLS MICHAEL S. SMITH MATTHEW PATRICK…

For centuries—from the furniture of ancient Egypt to the lacquerware of 18th-century Japan—craftsmen have relied upon inlaid bone to add surface dazzle. Designers have continued to find fresh ways to feature the material. In the early 20th century, Carlo Bugatti used bone inlay extensively in his eccentric Art Nouveau creations; in the 1970s, Karl Springer applied it to clean-lined tables and lamps. Alexa Hampton, who frequently incorporates furniture with inlaid bone in her projects, says it adds a luxurious quality without appearing ostentatious. "You want things to be luminous, but not gaggingly so," she says. "Bone inlay hits the sweet spot." Furniture and objects inlaid with bone are almost always "personality pieces," says Jon Call, who adds that even small items can have a major impact: "They pack a lot…

WATERSIDE RETREATS: IT'S ELEMENTAL Edmund Hollander shares his strategies for designing waterfront landscapes Q: What's your starting point for creating an outdoor scheme for a house by the water? A: We try to take advantage of views but also respect salt winds, tides, and water tables. In terms of the design, I like to give a family a diversity of areas for gathering, dining, and relaxing. Pools and terraces overlooking the water are lovely, but don't forget to provide spaces that offer protection from sun, wind, and glare. Q: Are you seeing any trends? A: There is a greater desire to simplify life. Elaborate, high-maintenance schemes are being replaced by landscapes that are easier to care for and more ecologically appropriate. Q: How do you mitigate for powerful seaside weather…

I look forward to spring because that's when two of my favorite local farm ingredients—strawberries and rhubarb—finally arrive in the market. For desserts, this combination is a classic. The natural sweetness and floral flavor of strawberry acts as a counterbalance to the tartness and acidity of rhubarb. We love our mille-feuille in France, but the process of creating the traditional puff pastry for the dessert of "one thousand leaves" is time-consuming. By contrast, this recipe couldn't be simpler, because it uses sheets of prepared phyllo dough. You brush the phyllo with melted butter and crumple it a little with your fingers to give it a wavy texture. The fruit is gently cooked to create a rhubarb-infused syrup; I like to add a little of the syrup to the whipped cream,…

In the living room of a Bridgehampton, New York, home designed by Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts, the 1970s steel-base slipper chair is by Giorgio Montani for Maison Jansen, the 1950s armchairs are by Edward Wormley, and the cocktail table is custom made; the fireplace surround is honed Striato Olimpico marble, the letter sculpture above it is by Doug Aitken, and the lantern is by Antony Todd Home. FACING PAGE: The circa-1970s Harvey Probber sofas are upholstered in a Romo velvet, the 1940s stools are by Jacques Adnet, and the custom-made rug is by Beauvais Carpets. See Resources. In the Hamptons, where every real estate inch is worth its weight in gold, bucolic five-acre properties are usually the stuff of fantasy, not reality. But occasionally, an enchanting (if not enchanted)…

As a grade-schooler in the early 1970s, Todd Alexander Romano loved to turn the playhouse in the backyard of his family's San Antonio home into a pop-up shop. "I filled it with books, blow-up pillows, and posters," recalls the dapper Manhattan-based interior designer. One hardcover he did not put up for sale was his mother's copy of Billy Baldwin Decorates. "I got my hands on it, and she never got it back," he says. From as far back as he can remember, Romano has loved beautiful things: Pop and Op Art, Staffordshire pottery, Japanese porcelains, French chairs—his early collecting habits were all over the map. His father, one of a long line of Italian engineers and builders, was a frustrated architect who passed on his passion to his son. "I…

TREND ALERT PAGE 56: Spain 1971 rug, in green, in 3' x 5', $1,620, by Oscar de la Renta for Elson & Company (800-944-2858; elsoncompany.com). Bow tie, $185, by Vanities from Barneys (212-826-8900; barneys.com). Top, $320, and skirt, $455; from spring 2013, by Kenzo (011-33-1-73-04-21-25; kenzo.com). Gattopardo earrings, $2,580, by Faraone Mennella (212-752-5990; faraonemennella.com). Feline linen, in lake/slate, #GWF-3106-313, by Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks, to the trade from Lee Jofa (800-453-3563; leejofa.com). Handbag, $1,029, by Dries van Noten (011-33-1-42-74-44-07; driesvannoten.com). Selvaggia boudoir sham, in orange, $280, by Pratesi (212-288-2315; pratesi.com). #2100-10 linen-cotton, in moss/aqua, by China Seas, to the trade from Quadrille (212-753-2995; quadrillefabrics.com). Sheila slippers, $135, by Charles Philip Shanghai from Net-A-Porter (877-678-9627; net-a-porter.com). Les Touches cotton, in blue, #8012138-5, to the trade from Brunschwig & Fils (800-538-1880; brunschwig.com).…

JUNE 2013 MAIL I love it when homes from my favorite places are featured in ELLE DECOR, such as in April's issue, with the unique and historic residence of Costis Psychas on the Greek island of Therassia ["Sailor's Delight"]. His hotel resort on Santorini includes the cave house I stayed in for the summer of 1983. Psychas has remained true to the traditions of the local artisans who inhabit one of the most beautiful places on earth. His clean lines, curves, arches, and windows onto the sea, combined with a splash of modern colors in sparingly used fabrics, per petuate the magical connection between the blue Aegean, its legendary islands, and those inspired to live there. Brian Care, Toronto My daughter gave me the gift of an iPad with some…

NATURAL ORDER "I felt that perhaps I had too many rules…hanging over my head," Richard Diebenkorn once said of the work he produced between 1953 and 1966, the subject of a ravishing new exhibition at San Francisco's De Young Museum. After nearly a decade spent living in Illinois and New Mexico, among other locations, the 31-year-old artist settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he had spent most of his childhood. This geographic shift led to a corresponding transformation in his painting. Following a period of dedication to Abstract Expressionism—the prevailing style of the day—Diebenkorn began to work in a representational vein, blurring the lines between the two modes. The establishment response was not unlike that which Bob Dylan received when he went electric. "You would not believe what…

MODERN LOVE "A. QUINCY JONES: BUILDING FOR BETTER LIVING," AT LOS ANGELES'S HAMMER MUSEUM, SURVEYS THE CAREER OF THE CALIFORNIA ARCHITECT WHO MADE MODERNIST HOMES ACCESSIBLE TO THE MIDDLE CLASS WHILE PIONEERING THE USE OF SHARED GREEN SPACES. OFTEN WORKING WITH SUCH COLLABORATORS AS DECORATOR WILLIAM HAINES, JONES DEFINED LOS ANGELES LIVING WITH SPACIOUS CENTRAL ROOMS AND SOARING GLASS WALLS. HE ALSO PLANNED FACTORIES, LIBRARIES, AND CHURCHES, INCLUDING ST. MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS, ABOVE, IN STUDIO CITY. THE SHOW FEATURES SKETCHES, VINTAGE PHOTOS, AND A MODEL OF ONE OF JONES'S CASE STUDY HOUSES. (MAY 25 TO SEPTEMBER 8; HAMMER.UCLA.EDU). THAT'S AMORE Carbone, the new venture by the team behind Manhattan's Torrisi Italian Specialties, fondly evokes the red sauce and white tablecloth establishments of the 1950s, from its menu of Italian-American…

In the master bedroom of the Santa Monica Canyon home of designers Jeffrey Alan Marks and Ross Cassidy, a vintage rowboat hangs upside down from the ceiling. Walls are upholstered in a Les Indiennes cotton, and a bench designed by Marks is covered in a printed linen from Christopher Farr. 1 Dressed with IKEA curtains, a wrought-iron lit à la polonaise with an eight-foot-tall canopy takes center stage in the master bedroom of Tom Scheerer's 200-year-old cottage on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. Painted in pastel green, the room is kept shady and cool by louvered shutters. 2 Michael S. Smith decorated the master bedroom of a 1930s home on a Hawaiian island with a Ming-style bed of his own design. The bed linens are by John Robshaw Textiles. 3…

When you hire a designer, you open up your life—and your dreams—to interpretation. It's an intimate relationship, but it can be a fraught one. So how do you guarantee that the collaboration will be a success? We've asked clients of several of our A-List designers to share the risks and rewards of working with top-flight talent, what lessons they've learned along the way, and why they find the process so compelling that they are willing to undertake it again and again. DON'T PIGEONHOLE YOUR DECORATOR Roxanne Bok and her husband, Scott, an investment banker, have seen firsthand how a good designer can make a major impact on a space—regardless of the budget. They first hired MATTHEW PATRICK SMYTH about 10 years ago to renovate an 1853 farmhouse in Connecticut. The…

As one of New York's most enduring tastemakers, Mica Ertegun has turned heads for more than half a century with her impeccable personal style. Her social circle has encompassed the Kissingers, Oscar de la Renta, and the many rock 'n' rollers (from Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones) whose careers were set ablaze by her late husband, the music mogul Ahmet Ertegun. But interior design is where this style-setter has left her most definitive mark. With her firm MAC II (which she co-founded in 1967 with her friend Chessy Rayner), she pioneered a style whose central hallmarks—a pared-back elegance, ethnic touches, and outstanding objects and art—have more than stood the test of time. EARLY DAYS • I was born in Romania, but in the 1940s I became a refugee and…

Mark Barrow's elegant abstract paintings on handwoven textiles almost demand that you get up close to figure out how they're made. From afar, they read as subtle compositions of geometric shapes, with each angular form marking a slight shift in ethereal color. But move in, and the serene surfaces appear to vibrate and break apart into dizzy ing patterns of painted dots and woven threads. The fabrics are made by the artist's wife and collaborator, Sarah Parke, on two looms nearly the size of pianos that crowd the would-be living room of their apartment/studio in Queens, New York. Parke weaves elaborate herringbone, checkerboard, and other all-over designs using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black threads (the primary printing colors), or red, green, and blue threads (the colors composing screen images). "All…

Last September, a U.N. Habitat "State of the World's Cities" report ranked Dublin as the fourth most prosperous city on the planet. The news came as a revelation to many Dubliners, who, in recent years, have been feeling decidedly unprosperous. Ireland's well-known economic woes require no further discussion, but the report showed that all is not doom and gloom, at least not in the nation's capital. On the contrary, first-time visitors, braced for the bleak austerity associated with recession-stricken cities such as Athens, are astounded to find teeming streets, thronged restaurants, and crowded bars. If this is a downturn, maybe it's not such a bad thing. There's good reason why Dublin should retain a vibrancy no longer always apparent in such other European capitals as Madrid or Lisbon. Over the…

TINA AND JEFFREY BOLTON met renowned American decorator John Saladino 42 years ago, when they were weekend neighbors in Connecticut, introduced by a mutual friend. The Boltons were newlyweds, working on Broadway and in television—Tina a dancer, Jeffrey an actor and dancer who was just transitioning to the investment business. "When I met them they were a sweet couple very much in love," says Saladino. "And they're still a couple very much in love. You'd have to be to sleep in a double bed. It's the first one they ever owned, and it goes with them wherever they go." Over the years, Saladino decorated the Boltons' country house twice. "He made it warm, inviting, and casual," Tina recalls. For 21 years, their Manhattan home was a three-story, brick-walled Carnegie Hill…

For most city dwellers, having a weekend house traditionally meant getting away from it all—perhaps to a place near the water, or somewhere nestled in the piney woods. But then came the overdevelopment of many formerly bucolic enclaves, and its ugly twin: the unbearable drudgery of weekend traffic. For one New York–based couple, the three-hour haul from their townhouse on the Upper East Side to the Hamptons each Friday evening became too stressful. So they went where few weekenders had gone before: to Greenwich, Connecticut, the ultimate suburb for city commuters. Only 40 minutes from Manhattan, the Fairfield County town is widely considered among the area's most luxurious bedroom communities. But to this couple with young children, Greenwich would become a leafy refuge at the end of a hectic week.…

Yellow Enamel by Billy Cotton, from $10 per piece; billycotton.com. Helice Rosewood by Alain Saint-Joanis, $450 for five-piece setting; 888-774-2424. De Luxe by Pandora Design, $17 for five-piece setting; pandoramica.it. Provencal by David Mellor, $100 for five-piece setting; heathceramics.com. Lolo Brushed by Teroforma, $80 for five-piece setting; teroforma.com. Tortuga by Oscar de la Renta, $195 for five-piece setting; oscardelarenta.com. Fantasia by Mepra, $72 for five-piece setting; gracioushome.com. Laguiole by Jean Dubost, $89 for five-piece setting; williams-sonoma.com. Everyday by Canvas, $28 for four-piece setting; canvashomestore.com. White Enamel by Variopinte, from $15 per piece; gretelhome.com. Seaborne by Anthropologie, $98 for five-piece setting; anthropologie.com. Aladdin by Vietri, $87 for five-piece setting; vietri.com. Morrison by Ralph Lauren Home, $295 for five-piece setting; ralphlaurenhome.com. Biarritz by Sabre, $85 for five-piece setting; 631-537-6066. Osaka Boxwood by…