MILIEU

editor’s say

Something I think we’ve all learned lately is just how quickly life can change. This is why home matters so much now. Home is not only where we most want to be, but it’s also where we have had to be—given the situation with the coronavirus, which we hope continues to abate and, eventually, vanish forever. Indeed, home is the right place to be, with yourself and with your family. Now and always. It is important to remember, too, that while things do change fast, they can certainly change for the better. For these timely reasons, this Winter issue of MILIEU focuses on life at home. Every one of our "Well" stories highlights the talented designers who have created the rooms in homes for their clients. Their work represents a true…

au naturale

featured designers

Thomas Hamel Thomas Hamel is the author of Residence and is well known as one of Australia’s leading tastemakers. Born in Virginia, Hamel came to New York during the 1980s to study design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he continued his studies at the American College in London. He moved to Sydney in 1991 to found his own design firm and since that time has become a fixture of the international design community. Bobby McAlpine Born in an Alabama sawmill town, Bobby McAlpine designed his first house at the age of five and hasn’t stopped since. Architect, romantic, poet, and entrepreneur, he envisions home as a timeless, graceful, and emotionally evocative place. From the time he founded the firm in 1983, McAlpine has realized this ideal through a diverse array of…

shoe shines

penchants

AT THE WHEEL Dr. Jim Boddington gave himself a self-diagnosis years ago. Boddington, who works as a family practice doctor in London, enrolled in a pottery course and quickly realized the mental health benefits. Now that Boddington’s ceramics have become some of the most sought after being made in Great Britain, he says of his pursuits, “I have been able to reconnect with a childhood joy in the process of making things by hand, while pursuing a fulfilling work-life balance and developing a new artisan identity.” That new identity (though he remains a practicing doctor) is defined by his ever-evolving series of wheel-thrown porcelain ceramics. He describes his bowls, lidded jars, vases, mugs, and saucers as “characterized by simple modern forms with minimal geometrical detail.” —David Masello NATURE’S GRACE Good designers recognize natural…

my chattanooga

Chattanooga is a city defined by its own storied rebirth—rising from a “dirtiest city in America” moniker (thank you, Walter Cronkite) to a twentieth-century alchemy of art, architecture, adventure, technology, and culture. Once known as a Victorian-era industrial “gateway to the South,” Chattanooga is lauded now as a “Gig City,” meaning that it has one of the fastest internet connections in the United States. But more than commerce drives this dynamo. The natural beauty of the Tennessee River Valley’s mountains and waterways (and accompanying outdoor activities), a burgeoning arts community, and three James Beard Award–nominated chefs all contribute to Chattanooga’s compelling and optimistic allure. More than two decades ago, my partner, Billy Woodall, and I witnessed the incredible start of Chattanooga’s revitalization with the opening of the Tennessee Aquarium— a fantastic experience…