Veranda Jul/Aug 2019

SUCH WAS THE TENOR OF DEBATE inside the New York Yacht Club over a new member, as described by former Commodore Charles A. Dana. It was 1894, and the candidate was no typical tycoon. In fact, she was a woman, widowed at age 40 by steel magnate Thomas Carnegie (Andrew’s brother). Considering her immense wealth—and her equally immense responsibility as mother of nine children—Lucy Carnegie would have been forgiven for retreating to a quiet life of comfort following her husband’s death. Instead she forged on, full steam ahead, pioneering a new path for her family on Georgia’s Cumberland Island. After completing the renovation of Dungeness, her 59-room mansion on the wild barrier island, she cultivated as self-sustaining an existence as possible by developing expansive orchards, raising livestock and crops, and…

INSTANT HEIRLOOM MEET THE ARTIST• Interior designer Dennis Brackeen jokes that he’s a man of many lives. From a stint as a young vocalist to a corporate job in communications, his career trajectory didn’t include design until he refurbished his 1930s Amarillo, Texas, home. “It jump-started my passion, and I just went for it,” says Brackeen. THE FIND• A hand-beaded chandelier crafted of almost 1,800 pieces of white branch coral sourced in the south Pacific. THE BACKSTORY• “I wanted to use a material besides crystal to give this classic chandelier silhouette more versatility,” says Brackeen, who was drawn to the porosity and earthy imperfections of the branch coral. MAKE IT YOURS • Available in white or red coral. Six-light Branch Coral Chandelier, $8,500; moxieinteriors.com. —Sarah DiMarco…

IF IMITATION IS A FORM OF flattery, Mother Nature might well be basking in it with the recent opening of Quinta da Comporta, a quietly chic hotel on Portugal’s unsullied west coast. “I wanted to mimic the exact feeling one has arriving to Comporta,” says owner and architect Miguel Câncio Martins of the nearby fishing and agricultural village, which has become a haven for the well-heeled seeking a salty, less-traveled retreat. Sandwiched between an estuary nature reserve and the sea, Quinta da Comporta delivers refuge with a sophisticated salute to its surroundings: a terra-cotta pavilion overlooking local rice fields, pool villas designed to echo the town’s simple wooden frames and thatched roofs, and salvaged natural materials (like cork, wicker, and stone) that bring environmental harmony to the interiors. Here, unwinding…

MEDITERRANEAN SEA OF TRANQUILITY Sail into serenity aboard Borgo Santo Pietro Group’s Satori, a classic wooden charter yacht with a wellness cabin. Their proprietary natural skincare line, Seed to Skin, launches this summer. satoriyacht.com ST. LAWRENCE SLOW DOWN Housed in a former ferry docked in the Old Port of Montreal, Bota Bota spa invites guests to indulge with a Queen of the Sea facial, a thermo-therapeutic water circuit, and dinner overlooking the St. Lawrence River. botabota.ca ARCTIC REFRESH Experience a Finnish sauna and Turkish-inspired steam bath, then take in the breathtaking views from a wooden saltwater hot tub on the deck of Vulkana, a traditional Norwegian fishing boat available for day trips and longer charters. vulkana.no…

ADD AN ALMOST lyrical artistry to this modern classicist’s repute. In his new collaboration with luxe maker Patterson Flynn Martin, interior designer Timothy Whealon debuts a collection of rugs as delightfully diverse as they are finely detailed. “I love finding a rug that uses a new weaving technique or pattern that I’ve never seen before,” he says. “So in my collection, seeing the subtle color striations and the hand that goes into each was important,” adds Whealon of designs that range from a Bessarabian kilim-inspired carpet to a natural abaca rug inspired by a playing card. Nice hand, indeed.…

IN THE FLOWER WORLD, “dahlias have been, to some, the platinum blonds drinking bourbon and Cokes next to the pool in Miami,” says southern gardener and noted jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke, who began growing the showy perennials 25 years ago. “For a very long time, they were considered vulgar, with ‘proper’ garden club ladies put off by their strident colors, impudent size, and awful names.” Of course, the summer bloomers have always had their champions (see below), but “they’re definitely having a moment,” adds Locke. British grower and floral artist Charlie McCormick agrees: “I think people have become more aware of how long the flowering season is, which is three months, and the hundreds of variations available, from white decorative dahlias to crazy cactus flowering.” Here, a guide to the best of…