Design Alert: Veranda

For anyone with an eye for design and a curiosity about how others live, the perfect vocation is editor of a home magazine. I know this (I live this)—and so does Carolyn Englefield, interiors editor of Veranda and previously on the staff of House Beautiful and (r.i.p.) House & Garden. Some of our small group are a bit more blessed than others (as in she, as opposed to me) and for 13 years, she lived in Paris, visiting and writing about spectacular homes. Among her assignments: David Hicks’ London pied-a-terre, socialite and interior designer Susan Gutfreunds’ Paris apartment, designer Jacques Grange’s farmhouse in Provence, several interiors designed by Axel Vervoordt, designer Jean Philippe Demeyer’s home outside of Bruges, artist Isabelle de Borchgrave’s 1904 townhouse in Brussels, furniture designer Christian Liagre’s weekend house in Ile de Ré, France; art historian and curator of the National Museum of Sweden Lars Sjöberg’s estate in Uppland, Sweden, and interior designer Kathryn Ireland’s home in the southern France. The book is a gorgeous addition to anyone’s library—or coffee table. The styling and photography are spot on; the rooms rich in detail, distinction, and haute design. The adjective “grand” falls short, way short. But the best of the book is the way Englefield breaks it up into sections dictated by concept, as in “The art of imperfection,” “personal style,” “color,” and “a sense of place.” Heavy on photos you’ll carefully peruse page by page, the copy is well written and makes for a very good read.  If you have an eye for design—or just wish you did, this is a book you definitely want to own.