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What I Love with Trudy Dujardin, FASID, LEED AP

About Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

Trudy Dujardin is known for her passion for eco-elegance, demonstrated in award-winning interiors that combine sophistication and luxury with sustainable design. Believing that a healthy home is the ultimate luxury, she strives to integrate respect for historical preservation, the surrounding natural landscape, and the highest level of interior design. She received both the 2007 and the 2008 Award of Excellence for Green Design from the Connecticut Chapter of ASID and the 2007 Outstanding Alumna Award from Southern Connecticut University. Trudy has been an instructor at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., teaching the university’s first semester-length class on Sustainable Design. She serves on Traditional Home Magazine’s Green Advisory Panel, has written a column, Gently Green, for Nantucket-based Portfolio Magazine, and is a member of the advisory board of athome Magazine. Her breathtaking interiors have appeared in the most prestigious industry publications, including Architectural Digest, Coastal Living, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, N Magazine, Nantucket Home & Garden, Nantucket Today and Traditional Home. She has been active for many years with the Design Futures Council, the International Board of the Joslyn Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities in Omaha, Neb., and has been a presenter at environmental conferences around the nation, including EnvironDesign 7 in Washington, D.C., and EcoSpheres in Lincoln, Neb. Trudy was involved in the formation of the first Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design and Architecture for the Design Futures Council, an Atlanta-based think tank for design professionals. Trudy has worked in sustainable design since 1987. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, recognizing her thorough understanding of green building practices and principles. From their offices in Westport, Conn. and Nantucket, Mass., Dujardin Design Associates creates interiors nationwide.

Something in the Air

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

We often think about fragrance as something light, a delight, an aroma that is carried on the breeze. We love the lavender-laden air of Provence, the balm of herbs growing in our gardens, the honeysuckle clambering over a trellis to reach our bedroom window. There’s the smell of rain after a thunderstorm, the richness of soft soil and fallen leaves in autumn, and the heaven of a pot of soup simmering on the stove. In our chemical-dependent world, however, fragrance is not so much a pleasant breeze as it is a heavy storm cloud, making it hard to breathe.

A report by the women’s health advocacy group Women’s Voices for the Earth found that sensitivity to fragrance is more widespread than thought. Apparently tens of millions of people in the U.S. are sensitive to common fragrance ingredients in household and personal care products. What makes it almost impossible to identify and avoid fragrance allergens, however, is the fact that companies are not required to disclose the tens to hundreds of ingredients that make up a scent.

Some companies do voluntarily disclose this information. Seventh Generation, one of the leaders in the green products industry, has been disclosing all fragrance ingredients, including allergens, since 1998. They go as far as listing every essential oil that is added to their products.

Symptoms from fragrance exposure and sensitivity can include respiratory effects, immune system impacts, headaches and allergic reactions. The addition of chemical fragrances is common in cleaning products in particular; the European Union has identified 26 chemicals that are likely to cause reactions in sensitized individuals, including Amyl cinnamal, Benzyl alcohol, and Hydroxy-citronellal. See a complete list here.

You can search for fragrance free products, but it’s not an easy task. Fragrance is found in 96 percent of shampoos, 91 percent of antiperspirants, and 95 percent of shaving products. And it goes beyond the addition of chemical fragrances. The Environmental Working Group has been actively campaigning for safer cosmetics, evaluating nearly 80,000 personal care products. Their findings are alarming: there are an average of 13 chemicals found in the bodies of teenage girls, for instance, including dangerous products such as phthalates, triclosan, parabens and musks, all endocrine disruptors.

Although it may require a search, you can find organic, fragrance free products to support your health, and make you feel beautiful. Some of my favorites are: Nature’s Gate lotion (fragrance and paraben free), Seventh Generation, Nurture My Body (not all fragrance free), Jason (means “healer” in Greek), Kiss My Face (olive oil and aloe vera), and Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Nourishing Lotion (99% natural and fragrance free but not necessarily organic). .

Evan Healy (philosophy: The Skin Breathes) is a skin care line that can be found at Whole Foods. You can also check out Juice Beauty and Jurlique!

If you’d like to learn more about what major cosmetics companies are using in their products, make a visit to the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep: a cosmetics product database. You may be surprised to learn that the products you trust contain chemicals that are linked to endocrine disruption, among other concerns.

A book and website you may also find of interest is No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics. The authors, Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt, leave no bottle unturned in their expose on the most dangerous ingredients in widely used brands and the best clean make up, hair care and skin care products.

And finally, while you’re treating your body well, check out Julie Morris’s cookbooks: Superfood Kitchen and Superfood Smoothies. Superfoods are the most nutrient desnse foods on earth, with a remarkable ability to heal, energize and promote radiant good health.

Kale is one of my favorites. Here’s a quick and easy way to add it to your dinner table:

Organic Braised Kale

Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven, heat, and add minced garlic and onion to taste. Sautee until slightly browned. Add kale and braise until kale is wilted and not tough. Approximately 15 minutes, or longer if you prefer. Sprinkle on some freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Health and good taste in a serving!

My personal philosophy is A Healthy Home is the Ultimate Luxury. A healthy body is the ultimate necessity for a good life. Take good care of yours!

Embracing the Autumnal Earth

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf’s a flower.–Albert Camus

God gave all men all earth to love, but since our hearts are small, ordained for each, one spot should prove beloved overall.–Rudyard Kipling

For how many people do you think might yet stand on this planet before the sun grows cold? That’s the responsibility we hold in our hands.–David R. Brower

We need the tonic of wilderness; to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe.–Henry David Thoreau

How many hearts with warm red blood in them are beating under cover of the woods, and how many teeth and eyes are shining! A multitude of animal people, intimately related to us, but of whose lives we know almost nothing, are as busy about their own affairs as we are about ours.–John Muir

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart…pursue those.–Michael Nolan

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. –Neil Postman

The photo above is of my husband Frank’s grandson, Vidal, and the light of my life. We try to spend as much time as we can with Vidal outdoors, as I am a believer in the Children and Nature Movement, chaired by Richard Louv, the author of Last Child in the Woods. Sometimes called Leave No Child Inside, you can learn how to start your own movement here.

If there are children in your life, I urge you to read Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. I promise you that you will be inspired to make more room for nature in your every day life, and in the lives of the children you love.

Life on Nantucket with Author Nancy Thayer: Second in a Series

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

A Guest Post by Bestselling Author and Nantucket Resident Nancy Thayer

On Island Girls and Houses

In my novel Island Girls, a young woman named Meg returns to her father’s Nantucket house for the first time in years. When she arrives, she sees:

“White clapboard, three stories high, with a blue front door sporting a mermaid door knocker…On either side of the front door, blue hydrangeas blossomed, and pink impatiens spilled from the white window boxes. It was a storybook house. A house with many stories.”

Houses hold the stories of our most private lives, and the hues, textures, and furniture reflect our dreams, hopes and memories. As a writer who has lived year-round for almost thirty years on Nantucket, I find that many of my novels begin with a house.

Meg, now a college professor, is eager to return to her bedroom in the historic old house.

“Like all old Nantucket houses, this one rambled oddly around, with rooms that had fireplaces or closets built in at odd angles. But the path to the bedroom, her bedroom, was embroidered into her memory like silk thread on muslin.”

We are all shaped by our past, and so are older houses, which we shape, and which, if we allow them, shape us. One thing I admire so very much about Trudy Dujardin’s interior design is her sensitivity to the past, to the life of each particular house, and her ability to match that to the desires of each particular owner. It seems to me that something spiritual seeps into the wood and walls of a house, enriching it, just as scotch aged in oak barrels is enriched.

The house my husband and I live in was built in 1840. It’s a tall, narrow house, with beautiful wide-board floors and peculiar additions, often called “warts” on Nantucket. When we first lived here, our children were nine and eleven, and we used the attic for a playroom and for my son’s private lair as he grew older. But I always coveted the attic because of its view of the harbor and two lighthouses, and when our children were in their twenties, we had a half moon window put in, refinished the walls and floor, and now I have a true room of my own to write in.

I write on a computer set on a practical new desk from Staples, but I also have an antique walnut desk with brass pulls in my study, and a wicker bookshelf that holds correspondence, calendars, notebooks, etc. I love having old furniture around me. So much that I see, hear, and touch inspires me with material for my books.

In Island Girls, “Meg cherished the room because of the slightly warped, ink-stained wooden desk and creaking cane-bottom chair placed against the back window, where she could sit and write or contemplate the starry sky and dream.”

Of course, houses must change, just as people do. The driving plot of Island Girls is the father, who has left the Nantucket house to all three daughters–who have different mothers. (Their father was a charmer, to say the least.) The three girls have become estranged, but their father’s will requires them to live together for the summer in the Nantucket house.

Their first argument begins with two of the sisters both wanted the same back bedroom, “with morning glory wallpaper and…a spool bed, covered with soft old cotton sheets and a patchwork quilt in shades of rose, lemon and azure, echoing the colors in the hand-hooked rug covering most of the satiny old pine floor.”

Some extremely modern events take place in this old house. Houses are for the living, after all, and just as we respond to them, they settle around us however we are, so a room once full of settees and music boxes becomes a media room with comfy sofas and a flat screen TV. Houses shelter us against the literal and figurative storms of life, they keep us safe, and they wait for us to come home.

I didn’t know until I was writing the last chapter of this novel exactly how it would end, which sister would get the house, if the ending would be happy or sad…and as in all my novel,s my characters surprised me. I think it will surprise the readers, too, and I hope it makes them smile.

A Comfortable Place to Sit

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

One of the most important considerations in designing a home is the comfort of those who live there. I believe that a home should be beautiful, as beauty lifts the spirits; it should be a sanctuary for health and well-being with clean air and non-toxic surroundings; and it should be be a place of comfort. A house is not a home without a space to curl up with a good book, put your feet up at the end of a long day, and enjoy a snuggle with pets or people you love.

When I designed my home in Madaket, one of my husband’s requests was that our living room be a place where he could truly relax. He wanted to be able to come in, put his feet on the cocktail table, and have a beer with friends. Nothing in this room is too precious. The sofas were slip covered in crisp navy and white so that they could be cleaned easily, and a comfortable wicker chair lets our guests know that this is a summer home, where relaxation is encouraged! (The white canvas is indoor/outdoor fabric, and completely washable!)

I love to read, and I find window seats to be irresistible for hiding away with a book. The light from the window, changing as the day goes by, the view into the garden, and the scent of a summer breeze takes reading in the middle of the day from a guilty pleasure to a perfect respite.

A window seat in a bedroom is always a delight! A space devoted to intimate comforts should have a place to take a little nap in the middle of the day when your schedule allows.

Creating a comfortable home requires planning; there should be welcoming chairs everywhere, with lots of daylight streaming through the windows, and a sense of order so you can really rest. Ottomans let you put your feet up, and a little chairside table will hold both your book and a cool drink.

If you are fortunate enough to have a beautiful view, then a comfortable place to relax and watch the sea and sky is always appreciated. It’s the perfect place to enjoy your morning cup of coffee as you slowly wake to the day.

When you sit down with a good book or to watch a movie with your family, you may not realize that your upholstered furniture too often brings chemicals such as formaldehyde, brominated flame retardants (PBDE’s) and dioxin into your home through off-gassing. Fortunately, today we have the option of choosing soy-based versus foam cushions, recycled filling for pillows, and organic upholstery fabrics. Some of the world’s healthiest fabrics are also the most luxurious, including organic cotton, hemp, linen and wool.

Firelight and the smell of burning wood brings its own kind of relaxation, especially when you’re enveloped in a cozy chair close to its warm glow.

A porch, veranda or deck can be another living area, serving as a quiet library during sunlit hours, and the perfect spot to watch evening fall with candlelight and a glass of wine to toast the end of day.

Most of us live busy lives, sometimes too busy, and it’s good to take a moment to sit down occasionally, and enjoy what we’ve accomplished. As A.A. Milne said (as Winnie the Pooh), “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”

It’s Time for Plan Bee

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

The humming that you hear when you step into the garden in summer is the song of hundreds of bees, honey and bumble, moving pollen from one flower to another as they feed. Not only a charming aspect of the garden, bees are responsible for the successful pollination of fruits, nuts and many vegetables, including many of the plants you grow in your backyard. Honeybees are critical to agriculture. Best-selling food author Michael Pollan has estimated that they pollinate thirty to forty percent of the food we consume.

With so much at stake, the health of our honeybees has to be a primary environmental concern. For the past few years, though, bees have been dying off from what was, at first, an unknown cause. Labeled “Colony Collapse Disorder,” the die off began to get the attention it deserved from scientists worldwide. Several theories were proposed, including mites, viruses or other pathogens, or a decline in natural habitat. Increasingly, however, scientists began to identify two main sources of concern: farming monoculture, where bees suffer a dietary imbalance from feeding on only one kind of pollen, and a new class of neurotoxin pesticides, called neonicotinoids.

(I first wrote about the danger to bees in April 2013; you can read that post here. )

Although nicotine has been used as an insecticide since colonial times, today’s nicotinoids are different. Based on nicotine, they also include clothianidin, thiametoxam and imadacloprid, among other chemicals. They’re used to coat plant seeds, and are released as a lymph inside the plant as a permanent insecticide. Bees who have sucked dew from maize leaves that absorbed neonicotinoids becojme disoriented, get lost on their way back to the hive, and die.

Nantucket beekeeper David Berry, owner of the Nantucket HoneyBee Company, says, “(The nicotinoids) are literally part of the tissue of the plant itself. It seems to be collectively lethal to bees. The wax in a beehive is like a sponge. Over time these chemicals collect in the wax and seem to become much more damaging to the bees.”

There is some good news, though! Greenpeace reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is introducing new labels for neonicotinoid pesticides that will prohibit the use of those pesticides when bees are present. The labels will include information to reduce spray drift, and in red letters, they will read “this product can kill bees and other insect pollinators.”

Europe has already gone one step further, and has banned the use of neonicotinoids entirely, due to their fatal impact on European bee colonies. A bill was just introduced in Congress to impose a ban on neonics until a scientific study can prove no harm will come to bee colonies from its use. Greenpeace has a three step plan that includes:

Banning the seven most dangerous pesticides
Preserving wild habitat
Restoring ecological agriculture

Ultimately, there must be a ban similar to Europe’s in order to protect our vital bee population. Labeling is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough.

Here’s How You Can Help

You can sign the petition asking Congress and the EPA for the ban on neonicotinoids, support local, organic farms in your region, and plant a bee-friendly garden of your own.

Your choices do make a difference in keeping the earth around you a healthy home for bees and other wildlife. Here’s a step by step plan to help you create a bee-haven, with some added tips from beekeeper David Berry:

Step One: Do not use fungicides, herbicides or pesticides in your garden, relying instead on natural controls for insects and other gardening problems. Read my tips on organic gardening here.

Step Two: Plan your garden to include pollen and nectar sources as close to all year round as possible. On a warm winter day, honeybees may be out foraging for food for their young.

Step Three: Start with the earliest bloomers, including witchhazels, willows and Acer maples. David Berry adds that letting part of your property go back to its wild state helps to feed bees and other beneficial insects. He stresses that urban areas can be wonderful places for bees to collect nectar, too, where people plant gardens and water them. The next most important time is the middle of the summer, when the heat builds and not much is in bloom. That’s when plants such as Russian Sage and Lavender can be helpful. Clethera, sometimes called Sweet Pepper Bush, blooms on Nantucket in mid-summer, produces a beautiful fragrance and makes great honey. Luckily for Nantucket beekeepers, much of Nantucket’s open space has clethera growing on it, says Berry.

Step Four: Plant masses of flowers, as single plants may not attract bees. Another tip from David Berry: look for older cultivars. The older variety of plants are better for bees, including clover as part of the lawn. It wasn’t until the fertilizer companies convinced people that clover was a weed that it began to disappear. Clover makes some of the best bee nectar!

Step Five: Plant with the bees’ favorite colors: purple and blue, followed by yellow and orange.

I would add my own petition, that if we are to protect the earth and all the living things in it, that we must first remember to see beauty in the smallest forms of life, and then share that beauty with a child. Here are wise words from one of my favorite naturalists and authors, Rachel Carson, from her book The Sense of Wonder:

“And then there is the world of little things, seen all too seldom. Many children, perhaps because they themselves are small and closer to the ground than we, notice and delight in the small and inconspicuous. With this beginning, it is easy to share with them the beauties we usually miss because we look too hastily, seeing the whole and not its parts. Some of nature’s most exquisite handiwork is on a miniature scale, as anyone knows who has applied a magnifying glass to a snowflake.”

Learn more about Rachel Carson and her work here.

For a humorous look at the life of bees, watch Bee Movie, written by Jerry Seinfeld! The cartoon does point out that without bees pollinating our flowers and crops, plant life and our food chain would be in serious danger. Watch a short clip here.

For more information on bees, visit HoneybeeLives.org.

Life on Nantucket: First in a Series

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

Please join me on a little trip to Nantucket this month! I’d like to highlight some of the things I love about this island, and what makes it so special to me. I’ve been coming to the island since I was a child. I’ve owned five homes here, including one in town (the historic Captain Parker house) and one in Monomoy, as well as my current home in Madaket. In the summer, all roads lead to Nantucket.

The Captain George Parker House

Not only do I live here part time and work here, I also shop here, and do my best to support the good works of Nantucket’s charitable foundations and non-profit organizations. It’s my way of giving back to the community that’s given so much to me. August is a wonderful month. There’s so much going on–the town is bustling, the shops are busy, parties are everywhere and the community is happy to support the many fabulous events in honor of some very deserving organizations.

The Dane Gallery

Glass artist Robert Dane and his wife Jayne operate The Dane Gallery at 28 Centre Street. I’m a collector of Robert’s beautiful glassware and bought some wonderful cobalt blue glasses there this summer. Robert and Jayne represent artists working in glass, basketry, ceramics and wood; they’re one of the premier contemporary art galleries in the country. Visit them online here. The photo below is whale art by artist Raven Skyriver: another example of his artwork is in this month’s What I Love post.

Walk Now for Autism Speaks: August 17

Once again, my husband Frank, our three Bichons (Tuffy, Ellie and G.G.) and I will participate in the signature fundraiser for Autism Speaks, their annual Walk Now for Autism Speaks, to raise funds for autism research and raise awareness of this complex disorder. Dujardin Design Associates is proud to sponsor signs along the path, signaling our ongoing support for individuals with autism and their families. The Walk starts from Jetties Beach on August 17; learn more about it here. I hope you’ll join us on Nantucket, or on one of the Walks around the country.

Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s Boston Pops Concert

August 10th will mark the 17th annual Boston Pops Concert to benefit the Nantucket Cottage Hospital. The music starts at 7:00 p.m., and the beachside fireworks go off at 9:00! It’s one of the best summertime events on the island. This year, the very talented Katie Couric will host the event, and the special guest is Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe-nominated star Matthew Morrison, perhaps best known for his performance on the top rated show Glee. Details are here.

Swim Across America: Making Waves to Fight Cancer, August 24

The Nantucket Island Open Water Swim takes place on August 24th at Jetties Beach. As part of Swim Across America, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, all funds raised will help support new oncology services at Nantucket Cottage Hospital and free cancer support programs offered by Palliative & Supportive Care of Nantucket (PASCON). Join in by swimming either 1/2 mile or 1 mile, or support the swimmers by making a donation. Learn more here.

When I’m not meeting with clients, overseeing design installations, or attending wonderful on-island events with friends, I’m enjoying all the beauty, wonder and mystery that living on an island offers. The sound of the sea, the smell of salt air and the seafaring history make living on Nantucket like nowhere else on earth.

With your back to the wind and your face to the ocean, you can almost see the whaling ships of long ago arriving in the harbor, laden with treasures from around the world. We’re 30 miles out to sea, and a world away. If you haven’t experienced the island, I hope you’ll visit soon. Whenever you arrive, there’s always a light on.

If anyone needs me, G.G. and I will be on the porch.

On Safer Ground in Nantucket Today

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

The August 2013 issue of Nantucket Today features a Dujardin-designed home with a unique story: this beautiful Edwardian-era residence was saved not once, but twice, from the perils of the sea. Built in 1908 on the sandy ground of Sconset Bluff on Nantucket, fierce storms and pounding waves in recent years have eroded the fragile shore, placing the house in danger of being swept out to sea.

The owners of this elegant home first shifted it farther inland in 2006, but it wasn’t far enough. The second move for the house was cross-island to Monomoy in 2010, where the house now watches the waves in the harbor from a safe distance. With the sea no longer a too-close neighbor, spectacular gardens have been planted outside with massive hedges, and organic vegetable and fruit gardens instead of sandy paths.

I first designed this home in 1996, so there’s an odd sense of deja vu for me as I walk through these rooms. An updated family room, breakfast room and kitchen replaced a maze of rooms that once was the servant’s wing.

The world of 1908 is still in evidence in the house, recalled by the back servants’ stairs and the original call box with bells for the library, the guest rooms, and the original owners of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Dustin.

As befits a home that has lasted for generations, there is a beguiling mix of ages throughout. In the entry, a 19th Century gilt mirror adds a touch of grandeur, arching over 21st Century whale art in handblown glass by Raven Skyriver.

An enfilade of rooms opens one upon the other, offering tantalizing glimpses of subtle blues and yellow, creams and whites, richly finished wood floors and plush rugs underfoot. Dignified antiques add a decorous note to airy spaces.

There’s a ribbon of soft color that runs through the house; shades of bluebells and buttercups wrap the rooms in tranquil tones that lit spirits on even the foggiest days.

The home’s original setting on Sconset Bluff is honored in an oil painting that hangs over the living room mantel, a reminder of those more precarious days.

Just as the house itself has had its second, and third, chance at life, many of the well-loved pieces throughout the home were reupholstered for their own second chance. The homeowners’ unique stories are told here, too. The 1840’s breakfront in the dining room is home to a collection of heirloom china teacups, given to the wife’s mother at her wedding shower. Each guest arrived with a different teacup, creating a charmingly mismatched set that has been treasured for years.

In the master bedroom, an elaborately carved 19th Century bed from the West Indies blends effortlessly with contemporary lamps and white lacquered night tables. There, seaglass colors soothe both body and mind.

Nantucket residents know our island is a fragile place. Climate change and stronger storms continue to buffet our shores, creating an uncertain future for seaside homes, wherever they face the waves. In this house by the harbor, the owners have surely done their duty by their home, lovingly preserving it for years to come.

All photography courtesy of Jeffrey Allen; visit his website here.

Fabulous Foyers

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

Penthouse in New York showcases a view toward the Steinway satinwood piano in the living room. The piece on the right is a fine example of Faux Bois; the wallpaper is silk string. Photographer: Durstan Saylor

What makes a foyer fabulous? A foyer is the first glimpse of your home for your guests, and as such, it should provide a gracious welcome. A beautifully designed entry way is a breath of rest and calm after travel and time spent on the road, for you and your family as well as your guests. More a throughway than a living space, it should be clean and uncluttered. Even a small entry should feel spacious.

Nantucket House opens to a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. Next stop: Portugal! On the left is a 18th Century French Provincial painted bureau and an 18th Century barometer; floors are reclaimed chestnut. Photographer: Terry Pommett

In American Colonial style homes, the straightaway hall often separates the house into two distinct halves. The entry hall opens to doors at each end, affording a view through the house, with the staircase to the side. A table, lamps and framed pictures creates a room-like vignette, where family and visitors pause for a moment before proceeding into the home.

The Beach Nest features two custom designed pieces in rattan, a red coral mirror in the style of an 18th century Chippendale mirror, a handpainted harlequin wood floor and an umbrella stand featuring a collection of canes. Photographer: Terry Pommett

In modern American and English houses, and in many vacation homes, the entry hall and the living room are combined, and there is no separate room designated as a foyer. There should still be an area clearly defined as an entrance, with at least a small table and a vase of fresh flowers to set a welcoming tone. A mirror is often included, where guests and family members can make a quick check of their appearance.

Nantucket Traditional greets guests with an eighteenth century painted bench. Photographer: Terry Pommett

Adding unique and personal artwork, such as this Christian Thee custom mural above, serves as an ice-breaker and conversation starter. We had this mural designed to celebrate the best-loved places in this St. Louis-based couple’s lives, so although the largest portion of the map is dedicated to Nantucket, it includes the Texas flag, the Arch of St. Louis, and other items close to the their hearts.

Greenwich Elegance features two antique Chinese windows framed as pieces of art and a custom-made bench with an antique Aubusson pillow on top. Photographer: Erik Rank

Foyers can be the most formal part of the house, with a reserved tone. It is, after all, the public area of the home, where not only friends and family but strangers step inside. A formal feeling can be achieved with symmetry and balance, where paired wall art, lamps or potted plants delineate the boundaries.

Captain’s Quarters celebrates its seaside setting with a custom star rug, and a Dujardin-custom staircase with recessed paneling created by Senior Designer Price Connor. Photographer: Durstan Saylor

If there is space, it’s nice to add chairs or a bench to the entry. It adds to the warmth of your welcome.

Connecticut Green is sustainable design at its best, with an interior window for lighting. The newel post, bringing a bit of Nantucket to Connecticut, resembles a lighthouse with lights that change color. Photographer Durstan Saylor;

Soothing neutral shades and consistency in design are important when the entry has a view into other rooms of the home. My collection of walking sticks add punch to the foyer in my home in Connecticut, above. Each is unique, and the stand gives guests a fun look at one of my unusual collections.

Briar Patch dazzles with an unusual mirror created from a zinc architectural element from France above an 18th century French candle cupboard. Photographer: Terry Pommett

An antique spinning wheel and a set of nesting baskets are conversation starters in this entry way. An ivy plant is lovely here, instead of flowers, and serves to bring life to the space.

Captain George Parker House

In an historic home, such as the sea captain’s house I renovated years ago on Nantucket, period furniture in the entry way is part of the careful attention to authentic details carried throughout the rest of the house.

Harbor House promises delightful surprises ahead when guests arrive at a half-moon garden gate. Photographer Terry Pommett

Finally, remember that the entrance to your home begins outside. A charming gate, beautiful plantings or comfortable seating on a covered porch offer a tantalizing hint of what’s behind the front door.

Your Sacred Space: Part Two of an Interview with Trudy and Women on Fire Founder Debbie Phillips

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

This is part two of my interview with Debbie Phillips for Women on Fire, the group she founded to bring an amazing circle of fabulous women together for inspiration, strategies and support. The following is a transcript of part two of our talk on Your Sacred Space: How to Create an Inspired, Healthy Living Environment. Read Part One here.

continued…

Trudy: What I’m striving for is indoor air quality–whatever we put in that space. And the only space you can really control is your own environment, your home, so that everything in there supports your health and wellbeing.

Debbie: Right. Well, I love that notion, and I’m sure that people listening are thinking, “Well, how can I control other environments?” But like you said, we can control our homes. We can also control our cars, and some of us can control our offices. Is there any way, Trudy, to control other environments–short of wearing a mask?

Trudy: I think a lot of it is education, and you know I’m big on that. I’m always trying to promote how to support yourself at home through my blog and also in the lectures I do on The Holistic House. People ask, “Where should I begin?” Begin in the nursery because your baby is sleeping in there 20-24 hours a day and breathing in that air. But your own bedroom needs to be almost like a bell jar–really clean and free of dust and dust mites. Don’t have a lot of wall-to-wall carpeting because there is so much that gets trapped underneath there.

Debbie: Really?

Trudy: Oh, yes, microbial growth. At least area rugs can be sent out and steam cleaned.

Debbie: Interesting. So choose hardwood floors and rugs over wall-to-wall carpet.

Trudy: Hardwood floors, tile floors, stone floors–those are the cleanest. They are the easiest to keep clean and dust-free. When people who are really allergic or who have asthmatic children come to me, I tell them to damp mop their floors–as if we have enough free time to do all this. But try to damp mop floors twice a week. It is believed that our livers detox somewhere between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. Your liver and your kidneys are really hard at work, so you want to sleep in a really clean environment so you’re not still taxing your system and your organs.

Debbie: Trudy, I’ve seen those air filters that often can be bought at specialty stores. is there any kind or a particular air filter that you would recommend?

Trudy: As you know, I had such a struggle with chemical sensitivity. I had to go through a two-year detox program, which was almost like being on chemotherapy. It was really rough. So I don’t want to see other people go through that. The one filter that the environmental physicians–there are only 400 in the whole world; it is a very specialized group–like is the Austin HealthMate Plus. And the reason for that, Deb, is that it has a HEPA filter in there to filter out particulates–dust, mold spores, animal dander, pollen in the spring. But it also has zeolite in the carbon filtration, which filters out vapors such as car fumes. If you have a garage that’s part of your house, car fumes can infiltrate and go right through all the little perforations into the house. The Austin HealthMate Plus filters out all of that. It will filter out and lower the VOCs from your furniture because all furniture finishes have VOCs. So that’s the filter I swear by.

Debbie: That’s great. Is there a particular kind of mattress or pillow or bedding? I know it should be from organic cotton, but is there any particular brand or style that you think is best?

Trudy: There are so many out there, so I want to tell everybody: Buyer beware. Make sure you really go to someone who can say that a mattress is truly organic cotton or it’s truly organic wool because it has been certified. I personally like a wool mattress that’s been tufted, and then I have it encased in organic cotton. I get my physician to write me a prescription slip, so to speak, to give to the people making the mattresses, saying that i refuse to have it sprayed with fire retardant. By law, they have to add fire retardant in case there is a smoker in bed and a cigarette is dropped. But it’s a problem because the rest of us have to pay the price by sleeping on a bed immersed in that chemical, and you really don’t want that.

Debbie: Wow.

Trudy: The other thing you want to do–because dust mites and the little things they leave behind are what a lot of people are allergic to, especially asthmatic children–is to get an encasement, a completely zip-around mattress protector. It’s not just a pad on the top, and it’s made out of barrier cloth. That keeps out dust mites, bed bugs, all those things that can happen, and you are much safer. Your pillow really shouldn’t be foam or anything made of a chemical. it should be organic cotton or organic wool, again, in an organic-cotton encasement protector.

Debbie: Is there anything around the waterproofing of a mattress pad? Would that necessarily have chemicals in it?

Trudy: It could. Until I look at the label, I wouldn’t know. You have to be careful of chemicals, especially where you are sleeping at night. That’s the one room to change. People say, “I can’t afford to go through and change my whole house.” And I completely relate to that. But try to make your bedroom as clean, organic and chemical-free as possible. That’s the goal.

Debbie: This is so helpful because one of the things Rob and I have done is to create a couple’s sanctuary, but we have not gone to this level. This is very inspiring. I want to talk about something else that would potentially be a tip, Trudy, and that is because we are talking about an inspired environment with a strong emphasis on creating a healthy environment. I want to tell you a quick little story. When I met Rob, who is now my husband, he had this rule that one way to create a sacred environment was that all shoes were to be removed before entering the house. it took me a little while to get used to that, but I have adopted his ways and I have to say that I love it. And, Trudy, you are the only other person I’ve met who has a porch full of shoes. I wondered if that’s a rule at your house–a shoeless house–and is there a good reason for not wearing shoes in the house?

Trudy: Absolutely. I think it’s sacred. It’s respectful to remove your shoes, to not bring in all that stuff from the street. Asians do that a lot. But there is also a very scientific reason for it: When we are walking around on the street, we are actually walking through viruses, bacteria, chemicals sprayed on the streets to melt ice, and all of that. We walk through that, and we definitely don’t want to track it into the house. People I’ve studied with have said that if you could make pesticides iridescent and if you used a black light on them, they would glow. And if you had somebody walk through his yard after it was sprayed for ticks or mosquitoes or whatever and then you tracked him as he walked through the house, there would be footprints everywhere he went in the house. So that’s your practical reason. Let’s not bring all this inside. My biggest pet peeve is pesticides, chemicals, insecticides, mildewcides, and all of that. I understand the purpose of it and I know what people are trying to do, but I think the public doesn’t always know the horrible side effects of it.

Debbie: Right. It’s funny, but I wonder if you have had this experience: both of our homes on Martha’s Vineyard and Naples are shoeless, but I still feel a little embarrassed asking people to remove their shoes.

Trudy: You know what I do?

Debbie: What do you do?

Trudy: I go to Rite Aid and buy the little cotton socklets in all sizes, and I leave them right there at the door because sometimes people don’t want to slip on slippers if they feel that somebody else’s feet have been in there. I relate to that.

Debbie: I do too.

Trudy: So get a fresh, sealed bag of little socklets, and you can get the ones that the men don’t mind wearing. They’re almost like the little things they give you in the hospital when you’re walking up and down the halls. And that just covers it when they’re in your home, and they can choose their colors. Then it becomes sort of fun.

Debbie: What a great idea. Thank you, Trudy. That solves that problem. What are some other ways to detox our homes or space? And, by the way, I hear a lot about that. People will talk about, “I’m going to clear or detox my space.” Is there an appropriate way to clear and detox a home?

Trudy: The biggest thing is what you put in it. Let’s say you’re painting. There was some wonderful person who sent me an email this morning, “How do you choose your paint?” I wasn’t sure if she was asking about color or if she wanted to know how to choose a safe paint. For the latter, the biggest thing you can do, if you know you have oil-based paint and you’r’e going to repaint, is to go to a low-or no-VOC–again, Volatile Organic Compound–water-based latex paint. Oil paint is a petroleum product. People say, “Oh, my house doesn’t smell anymore. I painted it three months ago.” If you could dye those VOCs purple, you would see that they go on forever. It’s truly deleterious to your health. It’s truly injurious. It’s not good for your lungs. It’s just not good for a lot of reasons.

Debbie: Do the major paint companies make those or do you have to find a special company?

Trudy: They do. And so you don’t have to spend a fortune for that. If you don’t have a chemical sensitivity, you probably don’t have to go as far as I do with it for my own health.

Debbie: You were referring to a question from Jill Dulitsky, from Vernon, Connecticut. She asked, ‘We are redoing our house and making a much more open floor plan. How do you choose paint?”

Trudy: I emailed her back so we will continue that discussion, for sure.

Debbie: I don’t know whether she did mean color. Melissa McClain from Seattle, Washington, is very into color, and we should just bring up the color issue since I’m not sure what Jill meant. Melissa asks, “What is your philosophy on finding the perfect color for your home or room?”

Trudy: It’s really client-driven. After I sit and talk with clients, I get a feel for what they like. I also give them a client questionnaire. It’s long. I ask them, “What are your favorite colors? What colors do you hate?” I tell them to get five of the current shelter magazines and tear out pages and write on them, saying, “Trudy, I love this. I hate that.” By the time we’ve spoken and they’ve filled that out and I look at their tear sheets, I have a good sense of what they would thrive in. There has been a lot of research done on people who have thyroid issues, which I do. They thrive with the color blue. Well, it’s no surprise that I have a lot of blue in my houses. That’s my house in Connecticut. Debbie would love it. It’s more taupe and white and the sandy colors. And say people with stomach issues really resonate to the color orange. So, basically, what I do is interview everybody and I find out what they love. Sometimes they don’t even really know what they’re gravitating to, but I can see it. I can see it formulating. Then we get a little report back to them, and we sit down and start with color swatches. Then I see what they respond to.

Debbie: I love it.

Trudy: They always reach out with their hand for the things they love.

Debbie: Really?

Trudy: Oh, yes. If they don’t like anything, the hand doesn’t come forward. When they see a color they love, the hand goes out and they start rubbing it. I say, “Oh, that’s it! That’s the one. That one likes Sea Glass. She likes that color.”

Debbie: This is why you are the genius you are. That is really great to know. I know you love blue. All those blues are so beautiful on your site. What color don’t you like?

Trudy: You know, it used to be orange, but I’m in love with that color now. When I was going to art school, I took a course at Yale. It was a color study course. It forced us to become neutral about color. Most people don’t know this–I think you might, Deb–but I was a fine arts major, and I was a painter first.

Debbie: I did know that.

Trudy: I approach color in a whole different way. I had a studio in Rowayton, Connecticut, on the water. I’m always by the water, whether it’s a river, a lake, Long Island Sound, Nantucket Sound, whatever. I did commission paintings, and I loved it. I taught art for a while in Rowayton, and I taught at New Canaan High School. I loved working with the high-school students. I just loved that. But it was too solitary for me when I was working in the studio. I’d come home at night and I’d think, “I didn’t talk to anybody all day.” So I found myself gravitating toward doing rooms, and I thought, “OK, now I have to get more information about this.” So I went back to school at Parsons in New York. I also did a lot of on-the-job training. I had some wonderful mentors and teachers. You can shift course midstream.

Debbie: Yes, you can.

Trudy: It’s OK to do a mid-course correction.

Debbie: Well, as I always say, we’re stomping our perimeter. We’re building on what our interests are. Like the fact that you were two years old and you were sketching, and then you just continued to build on that to be the person you are and create the amazing environments that you do now.

Trudy: You know, Deb, I really thought when I was younger that I was just going to grow up and be an artist. I didn’t know I was going to go into interior design. It just evolved. It was an evolutionary process.

Debbie: Melissa McClain also asked the question, “Was there a defining moment where you knew you wanted to be a designer?”

Trudy: Yes. It was in that studio. I said, “You know what? I want to work with people. I want to make rooms that they feel good in. I want to work with fabric.” I just jumped in and started. I didn’t have enough training yet, so I went back and got the training that I felt I needed. But the best training I had, Deb, was on the job, watching other designers that I really admired.

Debbie: Oh, I’m sure. Trudy, believe it or not, our chats just go so quickly. In the ten minutes or so that we have left, I want to give our women some other tips for creating an inspired environment. Are there other things, in addition to the advice that if you start with any place start with your bedroom? Did we answer the question about what’s he right way to go about detoxing a room?

Trudy: There are different ways to detox a room. From a spiritual level, I like using sage. When I first had a house in Monomoy on the water on Nantucket, I knew a wonderful woman who was a minister. I had her come over, and she brought some other people. We said prayers to the north, the east, the south and the west. We asked blessings from every direction, and that was a truly blessed house. Wonderful. That’s one way to detox–mentally, spiritually and emotionally. The other detox method concerns the materials you are using. Say you bought a piece of furniture from a place where they use a lot of particleboards in the middle, and the formaldehyde levels are off the wall. You can even smell it. It has that kind of stinky smell. I would get that piece of furniture right out of the room immediately. I would stick it down in the basement until it offgasses enough. That’s one way to detox.

Now the truth is that formaldehyde probably never offgasses enough that it’s truly safe. But to detox a room, you have to minimize whatever is toxic in it. So if it’s the furniture, that’s one thing that goes. If it’s an old chemical-sprayed rug, one that you’ve used a lot of retardants for stain and stuff on, you just have to get rid of that. It’s time to roll it up. What people forget is that, even with area rugs, the pad underneath is disintegrating over time. We have a friend in New York who is being treated for leukemia. He had a stem cell transplant, and they’re calling me for a lot of advice on how to detox the home. The big thing they talked about was that they had all of the Oriental rugs taken to be steam cleaned. No chemicals, just steam cleaned. But it was the pads underneath that needed to be changed. There was too much microbial growth.

Debbie: Interesting.

Trudy: Get a new pad for under your rug. There are a lot of simple things you can do. You can put a coat of nontoxic paint on the walls.

Debbie: You’re inspiring me. There are some really simple things like that I need to do. I think we’ve had the pads under our rugs for ten years.

Trudy: There’s always time for a change! We vacuum the rugs all the time and even have them shampooed from the surface. But it’s best to roll them up and send them out to be steam cleaned. And we never check that pad. I’m guilty too.

Debbie: Hey, Trudy, I always hear about mold and how that is really dangerous in a home. Is there anything we can do about mold?

Trudy: The minute you have heat and moisture and darkness, you have a breeding ground for mold. Mold needs all three. You don’t see mold growing in bright sunlight. You don’t see mold growing where there is no moisture, and you don’t see it growing where there is no heat. So, if it’s freezing outside, you don’t see mold growing on the rocks or anything. Mold and pesticides–those two are my pet peeves. It is deleterious to your health. They affect respiratory systems. Stachybotrys atra is one. There were some fatalities in Long Island of infants who were in basement rooms that had been paneled, and there was stachybotrys atra growing on the sheetrock behind the paneling.

Debbie: How do you test for mold?

Trudy: You can get kits. You can order them online. You put these little plates out, and then you collect them and send them off to a lab. They will tell you if you have it or not. You can also use a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH). They are wonderful. These guys are like doctors. They are just amazing. They have so much information, and they can come and check for you. It’s truly like having people with doctoral degrees in all these chemicals and the molds. They are very valuable. I have one I use all the time: Microecologies in New York. I’ve known them for about 15 to 20 years, and I have a lot of trust and faith in them. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, Deb, but when I walk into a moldy house, it smells sweet to me. Have you ever noticed that? I can smell the mold or the mildew.

Debbie: Well, you’re such a pro, Trudy.

Trudy: I don’t know if it’s being a pro or that I have such heightened smells from being chemically sensitive. That’s one of the downfalls of being chemically sensitive.

Debbie: And I’m just so glad that you’ve been able to recover. One of the reasons is because you live in this holistic house.

Trudy: Deb, there’s one last thing I wanted to say. We’re probably getting close to the end.

Debbie: We are.

Trudy: I was so torn between just talking about how to make your home pretty and beautiful and talking about it being green and healthy. Then I realized that I want the two to go together, hand in hand. And that’s why I talk about “eco-elegant.” I want the two to not be separate, but to be all one.

We focused on the “green” now, because let’s start with everybody’s health. Their environment, their built-in environment, their home, or just their bedroom, if they can do only one room in the home, is truly supporting. It’s their underpinning.

Debbie: Yes.

Trudy: It’s got their back, so to speak, and their heart, as (Woman on Fire) Agapi Stassinopoulos (author of Unbinding the Heart) would say.

Debbie: That is a very beautiful way to put that. And, you know, Trudy, you are such a part of Women on Fire, and I’m grateful for Women on Fire to have access to your wonderful work. I could go on and on. I’m grateful to have a woman like you.

Trudy: Thank you. I am so honored to be a part of this interview.

Decorating with Antiques: a Deeper Shade of Green

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Trudy Dujardin, FASID, Leed AP

The Nantucket Historical Association hosts its annual Antiques & Design Show from August 1 to August 5 this year. Dujardin Design Associates, Inc. will present a Designer’s Room Vignette with beautiful examples of treasured antiques and a display that shows them artfully placed in a room. If you’re on Nantucket, come visit us at Bartlett’s Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Here are all the details.

In celebration of the timeless beauty of long-cherished objects and our desire to live lightly on the earth, it’s time we think about antiques in a new way. Antiques are a part of a sustainable lifestyle, as well as a link to the past. Let’s take a look at how these enduring parts of history can elevate both your life and your home’s design!

I have always been an ardent collector of antiques, and the addition of carefully selected pieces to sophisticated interiors is a recognizable signature of my design style. Sharing my love for classic pieces comes naturally to me. I find that my clients quickly embrace the elegance of antique furniture, and often become collectors themselves. Homes are brought to life when old paintings, pieces of porcelain, or folk art add their charming artistry.

As we learn more about how to assess the health of our built environments, and steps we can take to keep our homes clean and pristine, it’s important to recognize the ways that antiques can be an integral part of a green lifestyle.

This is a fabulous collection of treenware, dating from the 19th to the 20th Century. Note the darning egg, and the antique stereoscope–the earliest form of television! The book displayed is by British treenware expert Burt Marsh. Photo: Durstan Saylor

No Chemical Vapors Are Brought into your Home

Your home’s interior should be a place of fresh air and health. Yet any new piece of furniture, cabinetry, flooring or finished wood has some chemical overtones. Many fine finishes release vapors in a process called off-gassing. In a closed environment, such as an energy efficient, airtight home, off-gassing can increase indoor air pollution to levels several times higher than those detected outside. Antiques are a healthier choice than modern furnishings because they were created with less toxic products years ago, and any off-gassing has long been complete.

This living room is a showcase for beautiful antique accessories, including a 19th Century ship’s model behind the sofa, and a pair of lamps made from 18th Century Chinese Export porcelain. A pair of 19th Century British hand carved candlesticks and a 19th Century ship’s captain’s lap desk are on the cocktail table. Photo: Durstan Saylor

No New Resources Are Used

Every beautiful piece of wooden furniture originated from a tree. Whenever we purchase new wood furniture, unless we choose products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), we are contributing to the deforestation of our planet. In contrast, wooden antiques are products of trees culled long ago from old-growth forests. Old pieces add a soothing mix of periods to a room, and since no new resources were used in their construction, their restoration and re-use is a green endeavor.

This study reflects the long seafaring history of the coast, with a 19th Century ship’s telescope, and a 19th Century ship’s barometer hanging to the right of the window. Framed antique prints are on the wall, and the mantle holds part of a collection of sea captain doorstops.

No Negative Environmental Impact is Created

Beyond the health issues in our homes, we should consider the costs to our planet. Even the very greenest furniture manufacturers distribute impurities into our air, waste systems and water. New furniture requires the production of finishes, dyes and sealants. Shipping them demands the creation of packing materials, and they arrive in retail stores via large vehicles powered by fossil fuel. The EPA estimates that three million tons of furniture are taken to landfills every year, only to be replaced with brand new pieces that can carry a large environmental cost.

An extremely rare 19th Century English scrimshaw tortoiseshell is displayed above the fireplace; on the mantle are several antique lighting devices: a corkscrew pigtail candlestick complete with hook for hanging over a chair, a rush light holder and antique binoculars. Photo: Terry Pommett

Antiques Are Recycled Treasures

Beloved family pieces, original wooden floorboards and the softly faded colors of aged Oriental rugs do not belong in a landfill. Treasures from another time can be loved and used again. A federal mirror that has been passed from home to home and hand to hand brings history to life, and honors the work of long-ago artisans.

This is a mint condition 18th Century British Woolie, The Ship of Bengal, unusual for the ship’s identification as part of the design, and for its display of the British flag. Photo: Terry Pommett

Antiques Respect the Work of Long-ago Craftsmen

Rather than purchasing a mass-produced item, treat yourself to something created in a small workshop by a craftsman who made good use of few resources. In previous centuries, home furnishings were made by hand before machine-assembled items flooded the marketplace. Artisans from years gone by had knowledge that largely disappeared during the Industrial Revolution. Old joining techniques were abandoned in favor of more rapid assembly using staples and nails. Fiber board was created and the beauty of the wood itself was lost. Take the time to consider the difference between a finely hand-wrought piece and one processed in a factory. Even contemporary rooms can be striking when modern pieces are blended with well-placed antiques.

This Ionic columned fireplace, in the Captain Parker house on Nantucket which I painstakingly restored, still retains its Sandwich glass clothesline knobs; string was wound between them so clothes could be hung to dry. Not all antiques are furniture.

Antiques Have Stood the Test of Time

Classic pieces are sturdy and well-made, which is why they have lasted. The quality of their wood is usually stronger, created from timber with tighter growth rings, making repair a simple task when necessary. Furniture that is unworthy of a craftsman’s repair time adds to our cycle of wasteful consumption. Instead, your rooms can be accented with vintage furniture that has been lavished with love and care, and that honors history and tradition.

Antique Collections Are a Personal Expression

I often find that a simple gesture, such as placing an antique tea caddy on a mantel, can inspire my clients to begin collections. There is tremendous beauty in items preserved throughout the years, particularly if they illuminate another time and way of life. Learning about the subtle differences among artisans, the period when an item was created, or the materials that were used to make it, gives us a greater appreciation for life.

My personal collections include treenware (handcarved wooden items used in the home long ago), old hotel silver, blue and white porcelain, and things that speak to me of lives lived on the ocean, including whaling artifacts, scrimshaw carvings and sailor whirligigs.

The foyer of the lovingly restored Captain Parker House on Nantucket, circa 1700’s.

Not All Antiques Are Furniture

You can find antique cabinetry, flooring, doors, beams, posts, mantels and other architectural pieces. Consider a gorgeous 18th Century door to add punch and personality to your entry, or how about antique doorknobs and a doorknocker? An old mantel delivers instant charm; remilled old timbers bring panache to the pantry. Add the incredible details that your home may be missing.

This Victorian milk glass doorknob was added to an old door to restore it to its 19th Century charm.

Antiques Add Beauty and Joy to Life

There is a thrill when you spot the perfect 19th Century French farm table, Georgian stand or double pedestal dining table. You feel an immediate connection to the Italian walnut commode or a beautiful pair of small paintings. Antique collectors know that old things have a soul, based on their authenticity. Whether you fall in love with hand-embroidered vintage textiles or white ironstone pitchers, each well-chosen piece adds to the unique style that is yours alone.

Photo: Durstan Saylor

Blending newly designed furnishings with antique collectibles is a wonderful way to express yourself. Concrete work surfaces and stainless steel works beautifully when paired with your antique dining table and old wooden doors. Don’t be afraid to mix periods and textures. Contrast can be the spice of life, and add spice to your home as well!