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Giving Soul to A Spec House in Austerlitz

A brand new house is a blessing and a burden, a tabula rasa that  comes without the history, quirks and charm that are the hallmarks of memorable country houses.  Over the past seven years, James Oates and William Li have transformed a modest, spanking-new timber-peg, three-bedroom house

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Amy Goldman, Champion of the Real Tomato

“We're lucky to be living in such interesting tomato times," Rhinebeck resident Amy Goldman writes in her latest book, The Heirloom Tomato From Garden To Table (Bloomsbury USA, $35).  Twenty years ago cheap, perfectly shaped, unblemished, flavorless, dull red orbs were considered almost alright. Today, thanks to

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Pringle & Zimring is Now Open 24/7

One of our mantras is "Shop Local," but sometimes it's inconvenient  or impossible.  Betsy Zimring of Pine Plains, who runs an interiors-and-gift-shop in Millerton, understands, so she has launched an online boutique, PringleandZimring.com, so her faithful customers can patronize her store wherever

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Eden Reconsidered

Duncan Brine’s first garden was in Brooklyn, in a dumpy plot behind his new girlfriend, now wife, Julia’s apartment.  “I made a garden so I could film it,” says the Princeton theatre major turned filmmaker turned landscape designer.  “It blew my mind.” Brine’s gardens have been blowing

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Berkshire Botanical Event: Gardening As Blood Sport

Don't let the theme of the 39th-annual flower show fool you: The Nurturing Garden: Birds, Bees, Butterflies and Best Friends sounds gentle, but the competition promises to be fierce.  Which brings to light a seldom mentioned fact: gardeners are as competitive as athletes.  This weekend they get

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Mr. Siskin Blogs His Dream House

For anyone now in the process of building a house from the ground up, or anyone who dreams of one day building such a house, or even anyone who thinks that anyone who builds a house is insane, you'll find justification for your position on Paul Siskin'

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Tag sale: Brush up your Basic French

In honor of Bastille Day (July 14), and because she just rented her house for an entire year, Carol Neiley, owner of Basic French, is having a tag sale at her Red Hook shop this weekend (Friday-Monday).  Most of the stuff in the sale comes from her much-published

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Excursions: Tours de Force

This Saturday, two tours, one of The Hidden Gardens of Spencertown, the other of Litchfield houses, vie for our attention. Both will kick off with special patrons cocktail parties on Friday night. Litchfield Open House Tour The 61st Annual Litchfield Open House Tour, to benefit the Connecticut Junior Republic, features

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The Heart & Soul of Rhinebeck's Paper Trail (Part 2: At Home)

The sentimental and private side of Paper Trail co-owner Maureen Missner is vividly on display at her 1830s house in Clinton Hollow, NY, which is filled with lake-house furniture from her childhood summers in Michigan and Wisconsin. Her dining table's top came from a beloved butcher&

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Litchfield Garden Tour: Michael Trapp's Once-a-Year Day

Anywhere but New England, that’s where you’d guess Michael Trapp’s fabulous garden is, if you had been led there blindfolded.  Italy, most likely, maybe France, or someplace hot and decadent, where iguanas scoot across mossy stones and parrots squawk in the trees. In fact, Trapp’s legendary

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The Heart & Soul of Rhinebeck's Paper Trail (Part 1: At Work)

Indie card and party stores are an endangered species.  When I need a birthday card, wrapping paper and candles for a cake, I unfortunately find myself heading too often to CVS, Stop & Shop or, most depressingly, Rite Aid. So  it's no wonder that the first time I

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Conservancy Open Day Tour: Garden Variety

What makes a garden good enough to be on an Garden Conservancy Open Day?  All it takes is the artful use of the bits and pieces of land left over once a house, its outbuildings, and its main paths and driveways are in place--in short, a vision--and a

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