Houses, like people, can have a past, too.

My Design Studio is located in a cheerful yellow house on Route 30 with the new beginnings of a freshly planted English Cottage garden: tended, coddled and fretted over everyday. It is cheerful inside too, every inch freshly painted. There are fabric and decorating books stacked high on shelves and a designer-decorated apartment in the back for weekend rentals.

I have decided that a house is what you make it. Plain and simple. If you are willing to put in the effort and a little imagination you can turn any house into a welcoming retreat. When we bought this house it was run down and sadly neglected. At that time it was a three-apartment rental with lots of people coming and going, no one every staying very long, and some even leaving in a cloud of drama. Tired of being landlords and needing a space for my growing business, my husband and I decided the best course was for me to move my interior design business into the building. During the year-long renovation lots of subcontractors came through the door – plumbers, electricians, painters. One common theme emerged. Almost all of them to a man would look around and tell me how they spent many evenings in their youth in this house partying and raising the roof. The details were never forthcoming but there was always a bit of wistfulness in their eyes as the memories flashed back to their rowdier days. Apparently, this was the party house of the neighborhood. I felt a bit like a reform school director straightening out a wayward child and taking all the fun out of it to boot. They would tell me it looked very pretty, and shaking their heads walk away at the end of their workday.

Now the house is its own world created from imagination and inspired by scenes out of Rosamunde Pilcher’s novels set in the West Country of England. On our family trip to Cornwall when our girls were 5 and 7, we stayed in a classic version of a Bed and Breakfast as only the English can present. We were lucky enough to stay in beds with canopies above our heads, Laura Ashley floral bathrooms, and thatch roofed chicken houses nestled in gardens filled with color. My oldest daughter remembers feeling like a princess in those rooms. I would say decorating has done its job if you can make a little girl, and maybe even some adults, feel like a princess. The details of that trip have stayed with me through the years and finally had an outlet in this particular house with its classic Vermont farmhouse bones.

Quiet and peaceful, the house sits proudly on Route 30 across from a marble quarry. I don’t think people who stay in the little rental out back have any idea of its past and perhaps that’s okay. Even a house can change its ways.

For more details about the vacation rental and to view photos, visit dorsetnest.blogspot.com

Can't sleep? Try counting threads instead of sheep.

We spend one third of each and every day sleeping so why not unravel the mystery of selecting the proper sheets. There is nothing more luxurious than slipping between high thread count, silky soft sheets. Before you rest, let me help you sort through all the conflicting information so you can make an educated decision and realize that thread count is one factor but not the whole story.

Here is my sad sheet tale and I have a feeling some of you have one, too. I purchased a set of luxury sheets that were promised by the manufacturer to be of the finest quality, and they were, for about two washing’s worth. Then, after the third wash the dreaded pilling happened turning my super soft sheets into scratchy sandpaper. I don’t think we should have to shave our sheets, so what happened? Let’s do the research and find out.

First we must travel to the fertile banks of the Nile River. With its humid weather and rich soil it has the perfect condition to grow long cotton fibers, about twice the size of other cotton fibers, that are then spun into a very fine yarn. Come back stateside to the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona where as far back as the 1900’s long staple cotton, called Pima cotton, has been grown to come close to it’s Egyptian cousin’s quality. Nowadays, Egyptian cotton is grown in many other countries but must uphold the long staple length to qualify for comparison. So the very first step to a great product is to start with the very best long staple cotton.

This part is a bit of a slog, but get through it because it is important --- Thread count is, simply put, the number of threads per square inch of fabric consisting of vertical warp threads and horizontal weft threads woven together. Thread count is affected by the ply and thickness of the threads used with a finer thread producing a higher thread count. Single-ply fabrics use threads on their own, while two-ply fabrics are formed by two pieces of thread twisted together, and sometimes multiple yarns (called picks) are inserted into the weft to achieve even higher thread count. Here is where the math starts to get a bit fuzzy – with manufacturers counting each and every twist – So is a fabric with 250 individual four-ply yarns in a square inch really 1,000 thread count product? It depends on whose counting. According to my research, anything above 300-thread count product may have little incremental comfort value.

The next consideration is weave and that is a personal taste issue with sateen sheets being softer than a classic crisp linen weave. After the sheeting fabric is woven it now needs to be finished, which can include singeing to remove the tiny fuzz that can later develop into pilling. So that’s what happened to my sheets. The finishing process helps maintain clarity of color and preserves the cellulose core of the cotton to give the fabric a smooth hand and silky look.

Keep in mind that in order to mass-produce high thread count sheets at a low cost, quality must be sacrificed in the finishing process so focus instead on fiber quality, yarn size, finishing and construction when making your selection and don’t fall into the high thread count trap. Make sure you feel the sheets before purchasing and select ones that will feel comfortable against your skin. Quality sheets are an investment that will enhance your daily life so choose wisely and buy the best you can afford.

Sleep tight! Don’t let the bed bugs bite. But that’s another story.

How to make your everyday breakfast, lunch or dinner table special.

All of us have our “good things” tucked away for those special occasions but I would like to make a case for taking these beautiful things out of storage and using them any day of the week. I know this is breaking some sort of assumed rule, somehow handed down along with the objects, but I want you to try. Now, keep in mind that some of them might break and that is the chance you take. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

I speak from experience. My sister, her husband and my two nephews came to visit last summer and within less than a half hours time of their arrival, two antique glasses from two different glass collections were tragically broken. I never had boys so I didn’t know how their elbows and knees go everywhere while they play fight and age didn’t seem to be a factor either as one nephew was 10 and the other 18. Okay, pause to let this one go.

Back to my point – food seems to taste better eaten off of china plates and tea more fragrant sipped out of antique cups, turning an ordinary meal into a sensory moment of reflection. A quiet pause in an otherwise busy day. And, as lifestyles change, more people are too hastily discarding these treasures from days gone by so you can easily add to your collection for a modest sum at local thrift and antique stores. Whenever I find linen napkins for sale, I snatch them up to add to my ever-growing collection, using them often, laundered but not always ironed, and presented on a plate encircled by mismatched napkin rings.

Have some fun with this and don’t take it too seriously. Who says all of the plates have to match anyway, think about coordinating instead. While you are at it, why not buy that bouquet of flowers that caught your eye when grocery shopping and place them in your best vase in the middle of the table, in the middle of the week, for no reason at all, except to celebrate a day fully lived in the moment.

Watch the reaction from family members as they sit down around a company set table made just for them. Think of all the practice you will have setting beautiful, creative tablescapes throughout the year, getting you into shape for that holiday table.

And the next time my nephews come to visit, what do I plan on doing? Well maybe second best for that occasion.

ANNOUNCING A CHAIR CLINIC

Do you have an antique chair tucked away in the attic that you inherited long ago and always wondered if it was worth redoing? Do you want to move a special chair to another room but it doesn’t quite go with the décor? Help is on the way. Lisa Laberge Interiors on Route 30 in Dorset is holding a free CHAIR CLINIC on Saturdays in February. Sign up to meet with me and my upholsterer, Dave Santore to have an in depth discussion about your piece. Bring in photos or bring the chair itself. You will come away with knowledge about the inner workings, whether or not it is worth redoing, and creative design tricks to make your piece fabulous. There is no obligation to purchase anything, just two experts who want to share their knowledge, enthusiasm and creativity. Sign up now by calling me at (802) 366-8138.

"The Design Room" at the Southern Vermont Art Center

I recently transformed a gallery at the Southern Vermont Art Center located just off West Road in Manchester, Vermont into a Dining Room setting and it will be in place until December 10th. If you visit, you will enjoy strolling the beautiful grounds of the Art Center and wandering through galleries filled with art. There is also a Cafe to have a leisurely lunch. The Southern Vermont Art Center is a very special place in Manchester.

Design Follows Inspiration
Gallery X is known as the Founders’ Room, and in this dining room scene, the table is set for an imagined "Founders' Luncheon" bringing together a few of the artists and patrons whose talent, dedication and foresight were instrumental in creating this special place "on the hill".
Seated at the Table:
EDWIN B. CHILD, WALLACE FAHNESTOCK AND JOHN LILLIE, who were among the original Dorset Painters exhibiting at the Dorset Town Hall on a hot August day in 1922, setting this particular history in motion. ELSA BLEY, pictured at her easel on the cover of "Art and Soul" by Mary Hart Bort. Ms Bley believed passionately in art education and gave classes at the Art Center as part of the SVA's Art Education outreach. LOUISE RYALLS ARKELL, a devoted patron of the arts and SVAC, honored with the naming of the Louise Ryalls Arkell Pavilion. MRS. HAROLD "PETIE" BOSWELL has a seat at the table as the creator of the Boswell Botany Trail. The outdoor elements in this room are in tribute to her. And, at the head and foot of the table, host and hostess and owners of the house - MR. AND MRS. HUGH WEBSTER.

Eye Candy Decorating

I am a Francophile through and through (Definition of Francophile as found in Webster’s Dictionary “A person who is fond of or greatly admires France or the French”.) Yup, Francophile, that’s me. So, when I recently received an email from Laurent of Teo Jasmin, an interior design company located in Paris, the City of Lights, it caught my attention. The company, founded in 2001 by Angéline Bailly, began by digital printing on wall canvas and then expanded on their range of products with cushions and classic furniture, using the same digital process on them to create amazing eye catching decorative items. I think the photos speak for themselves. Any one of these pieces would infuse a spark of life into any interior. Go to TeoJasmin to see their entire line of products.

DOGGY QUEEN CHAIR
UNION JACK SETTEE

Decorating is a Family Affair

One of my favorite activities as a decorator is to visit a client’s home for a design consultation. I call it an activity because it usually turns into a quick and snappy way to share with the homeowner my first impression design ideas as we sprint together room by room. Sometimes it gets quite strenuous, with the client on one end of the sofa and me, the decorator (sometimes in heels) on the other end of the sofa as we tug and pull it into a more pleasing place. And, more times than not we end up laughing about perhaps the absolutely hideous lamp that Aunt so and so gave them years ago that has somehow followed the family from house to house.

As I leave the homeowner with a long To Do list, I sometimes wonder how much of it they actually accomplish once I leave and the door shuts firmly behind me. Well, in the case of one young couple living in Arlington, VT I didn’t have to wonder long. Shortly after our consultation, I receive these cheerful photos in my email box. They took all of my suggestions to heart and it turned into a family affair with their adorable kids helping to strip wallpaper and paint. They were pleased with the results.