old fashioned house party

last weekend in celebration of my dear friend chris' bday, we were treated to a wonderful weekend trip to islesboro in maine.

the hostess mallory marshall is a famed interior designer whose amazing style was storied in many shelter mags over the years..but i had never seen her house in dark harbor which in my mind has always been infamous due to it's association with the great sister parish.

let's just say mallory's house was way beyond fabulous(sorry sister). i wish i had more pix to share..because mallory has such classic effortless style..the kind that makes hanging out in a house with friends a total pleasure. and we all had a ball!

ms. marshall is a great proponent of the "little note" (in fact she has even written a book on the subject!) so i understand if i do write to her soon..i just may be able to go back..here's hoping!

decorating frenzy

The new house chris just bought is amazing, and of course we had to go over all the decorating details with him, particularly paint colors. he wants to make a powerful design statement in his foyer, with a new color he has never used before..but here is the rub! the whole place is covered in period glazed oak paneling. This creates a color nightmare..nothing goes with oak! after going through the "hermes " orange option and "veuve cliqot" tangerine, we tentatively decided that a shiny chocolate might be the best choice. if you have any thoughts or ideas on our design conundrum please let me know.