Hello! Glad you made it here! So excited for you to see the new house. I know we just moved last month but with my little darlings starting kindergarten soon we realized that the school we were zoned for simply wouldn't do. It didn't even offer riding lessons or badminton. Can you imagine?! In our new school district, Latin and Aramaic are required curriculum; the children are very excited.
We've designed this new home with their intellectual and emotional development foremost in mind. Here in the family room we have a daily reading hour. Little Bartholomew has already finished the complete works of Dickens and is starting in on Tolstoy. Philomena prefers nonfiction. Why, just last night I overheard her quoting John Stuart Mill during an argument over the television remote!
Chadwick, my youngest, is quite the budding artist. We based this room entirely around his baby food paintings. Just look at that canvas, at how he's contrasted the strained plums with accents of pureed sweet potato to produce a study in the nature of good and evil. I couldn't be more proud.
Hermione recently expressed an interest in the culinary arts, so we commissioned a gourmet kitchen to foster her education. The baking table was imported from one of the finest boulangeries in Paris: only the best for my sweet baby girl! Her brioche melts in your mouth like a gift from the angels, and her puff pastry practically floats amongst the clouds.
Some children acquire Barbies or Lego, but Nigel's current obsession is 19th century ceramics. This summer he insisted that our driver Perkins squire him to all the local flea markets and estate sales, and at last estimate his collection is worth over $10,000. I'm not sure what we'll do with it all when he tires of it, but we must let children have their freedom, yes?
Ah, bathtime. When even the most sophisticated of my brood is reduced to giggling and squirming amongst the bubbles. Benedict and Athena have recently begun reenacting famous nautical battles in the tub, so naturally I found some historically scaled reproductions of celebrated battleships. Oh my, the things children get up to when you let their imaginations run wild!
But of course no matter how busy our days and how elevated their pursuits, we all love to gather a the end of the day. Everyone puts on pajamas and nightcaps, we brush our teeth and comb our hair, and we snuggle down for that honored family ritual of the bedtime story. Our current tome? James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. Puts them right to sleep!
P.S. This week a City Sage reader spotted a Coach bag in the poppy garden on your left; when she clicked on it, she won a $100 gift card from Coach! Keep your eyes peeled and you could be next. And be sure to tweet #CoachPoppy #CitySage all weekend to increase your odds!All images courtesy of Elle Decor, September 2010. A super juicy issue that's DEFINITELY worth a trip to the newsstand!
Can I pop over and do some baking in that kitchen, please? I'll clean up. Well, after I've sampled the sweet goodies!
Posted by: Will | August 13, 2010 at 08:57 AM
you've got some talented kids there ;)
Posted by: andrea | August 13, 2010 at 09:15 AM
You have a cheeky sense of humor dear, I love it!
Posted by: Ijeoma | August 13, 2010 at 09:34 AM
You're good. Real good. Your Back to School is in the class my Back to School couldn't get into. http://bit.ly/9KZlDF
Posted by: designstiles | August 13, 2010 at 10:35 AM
oh my love...you are always giving me the goods. those pics are gorgeous. and yay back to school!
school supply shopping is my bliss! xo
Posted by: ashlina | August 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM
love the narration to these photos! I wish my kitchen was as amazing... happy friday and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Posted by: Emily the Panda | August 13, 2010 at 12:14 PM
This might just be my favorite houseguest post yet. Can't get over those children's names! Little Bartholomew and I have a lot to talk about.
Posted by: Joanna | August 13, 2010 at 01:32 PM
Not sure what captured me more; these images or your narration ;).
Posted by: Tori | August 13, 2010 at 01:33 PM
i am coveting all of those gorgeous dishes! great post
Posted by: dani@weddingsfresh.com | August 13, 2010 at 02:13 PM
Standing and clapping. Hysterical!
Posted by: nichole | August 13, 2010 at 06:21 PM
Oh yes the delights of the groomed and cultivated child..! :)
Hilarious post with to-die-for pictures! What a house!!
Have a gorgeous weekend.
xx Charlotta
Posted by: Charlotta | August 13, 2010 at 06:27 PM
wow, love that last bedroom. i want, i want, i want
Posted by: jules @ The Diversion Project | August 13, 2010 at 07:09 PM
Fun post! Love the kitchen and that bath tub is gorgeous!
Posted by: Tracy F. | August 13, 2010 at 08:41 PM
Congratulations for the new house.This house is so beautiful just like dream house.Everything is at the right place.Really,bedroom and kitchen are perfectly made.Thanks for the post.
Posted by: wedding ring | August 14, 2010 at 01:40 AM
Your house is beautiful.
Posted by: Catherine | August 14, 2010 at 05:06 AM
Congrats! Amazing designs & features. Trust your kids have a fabulous start to the new school year.
Posted by: Robyn Beazley | August 14, 2010 at 09:57 AM
Ah, sigh. I was just paging through Elle Decor in bed this morning, swooning over this very feature! In LOVE with that chandelier! Hoping you are having a wonderful weekend Anne!
xo Mary Jo
Posted by: Mary Jo | August 14, 2010 at 02:03 PM
LOVE the tub!! Would especially love it with the lightfixture from the dining nook (photo 3) hanging above it like bubbles!!
Posted by: Meg Burns Dolson | August 15, 2010 at 10:54 AM
love the bath tub! i mean, look at the details!
Posted by: Marlen Minty | August 15, 2010 at 04:12 PM
The purple (which i normally dont like) really attracted me...it looks so super chic in that room too!
www.madebygirl.com
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Posted by: jen ramos | August 16, 2010 at 03:42 PM
I am glad I am not the only one who finds myself creating "my future home" fantasies like this! So funny. Love these images!
Posted by: Chasa | August 17, 2010 at 04:33 PM
I absolutely love that your children are learning Latin and Aramaic! Your taste in furnishings it divine :-)
Posted by: Naomi | August 17, 2010 at 05:09 PM
I'm so gullible - I read the "Latin" and "Aramaic" thing twice - until I got to the part about daily reading hour. Great post - really enjoyed it! But I'm DYING To know where the silver clawfoot bathtub came from!! Love!
Posted by: Laura | August 20, 2010 at 11:54 AM
I starred this post and have come back to it countless times because I am in love with those photographs in the last bedroom photo. I've trawled Elle Decor's website for information but I can't find any source information. I'm going out on a limb and hoping that you check comments on old posts (crosses fingers). Do you know who took those photographs? The ones by the sea in the fogginess?
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