Traditional Home

Summer means it’s time to unwind—in mind and body, as well as in the ways we relax at home. While sun hats and flip-flops allow us to downshift our fashion, swapping out a traditional home for a casual vibe isn’t such an easy maneuver. So follow the lead of the homes featured in this issue, which focuses on livable luxury from coast to coast. Whether in western mountain ranges, on Nantucket Island, or in sunny Florida, these homes prove elegance can be both formal and casual. In Vero Beach, Florida, designer Marshall Watson retained the homeowners’ lifelong love of antiques within a breezy envelope. “Their undying enthusiasm helped me give them a home that didn’t throw away their history but layered it so their lives are with them,” he says. “That’s…

GLOBALLY CHIC Benjamin Johnston’s collection for Chaddock brings with it Johnston’s ability to blend impeccable creativity and architecture. Showcasing neoclassical and midcentury elements, the collection caters to the exotic charm of modern luxury living. He adorns pieces with details that accompany colorful plays on worldly influences. chaddockhome.com PATINA VIE As the proud owner of Patina Vie, a charming boutique in Ripon, Wisconsin, Sarah Willett’s verve for creating curated collections and pieces that pamper the eye is infinite. “It’s about sharing our lifestyle with friends and neighbors and strangers who are about to be friends,” Willett says. With nods to evergreen elegance, her two-tone tabletop wares, plush throws, and must-have fashion accessories add layered liveliness to interiors. Inspired by her love for travel and vintage pieces that evoke unparalleled emotional comfort, Willett assembles a…

Beautiful structure, whether it’s crisply trimmed boxwoods in a parterre garden or stately millwork in a living room, sets the stage for elegance. But a formal space can be friendly even while minding its manners. Designer Barrie Benson proves it in this gathering spot, featured in the new book Charm School: The Schumacher Guide to Traditional Decorating for Today (The Monacelli Press, $50). “This living room is grand, but I still wanted it to feel warm and inviting,” says Benson, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based designer. “We found the perfect pale pink linen fabric—a soft, warm neutral—for the walls, then outlined the moldings with a deep eggplant-hue tape to keep the room from feeling too feminine. The trim makes the room graphic and ‘talks’ to the contemporary art, a painting by Clare…

Summer beckons us to satisfy wanderlust. And as globetrotters scour lands both ancient and new during their adventures, they are often awestruck by architectural impressions: the intricate and colorful geometric patterns that clad fountains in a Moroccan medina, the subtle and graceful sways that elegantly stack to form a Japanese pagoda, stories of glass that reflect glamorous shine on a skyscraper in Dubai. Recent furniture introductions lean on the decorative and classic sensibilities of Rome and its architectural cousin Greece to inform their silhouettes. Replicated on table bases in wood and marble, no different from majestic monuments carved then weathered to iconic glory, fluted columns prove that the structural supports are equally striking on a smaller scale. Like an order of arches used to engineer colosseums and other shrines, credenzas repeat…

A gathering is often rooted in traditions or a springboard for those to come. This season, a library of books bestows a trove of ideas to host both graciously and beautifully, nudging entertaining enthusiasts to exchange late-night social media scrolls for a dive into glossy pages for inspiration. Two titles—Together at the Table (Abrams, $50) by Juliska founders Capucine De Wulf Gooding and David Gooding and Full Bloom (Vendome Press, $45) by illustrator Cathy Graham—invite nature, summer’s most requested guest, to guide imaginations. We couldn’t help but notice the colorful flowers that bloom among the pages, not to mention lush greens that validate the purpose of a spring rainstorm. So much, that we were eager to fashion our own settings with nature as a key component. For your summer gatherings, consider…

Old-World Craft The art of ancient stonemasonry is at the heart of Ancient & Modern, which got its start constructing cantilevered and post-tensioned stairways. The brand’s latest endeavor features stone tubs hand-carved from European marbles and limestones, including the Waterfall bath, left, sculpted from a single block of Estremoz Lagoa marble. The curves of its silhouette mimic billowing fabric for an elegant look that transcends time. ancientandmodern.us Looking Up With the extra mobility of Kohler’s Purist Suspend faucet, dare we say washing the dishes might even become fun? Mounted from the ceiling, the sleek and minimalist fixture has an arm that rotates 180 degrees, offers various spray options, and can be controlled wirelessly or using a water-resistant puck. kohler.com Surface Appeal Although white kitchens are classic, a dose of countertop or wall color is a…