In Praise of the Picture Rail

Many people don't know about picture rails these days, and yet they are one of the most practical and useful ways to embellish a house. A standard feature of many homes built in the past, picture rails are all but absent from modern interiors, with the exception of museums and galleries. Most of us hang pictures by nailing a hook into a wall, hanging a picture and finally standing back in the hope that the result is attractive and doesn't have to be adjusted. With a picture rail, much of the guesswork is unnecessary. A standard length of picture hanging cord and a decorative hook will help you achieve a lovely result every time. Moreover, you can change your pictures around easily and without leaving unsightly holes in your walls (especially important if you have plaster walls). So if you're building or renovating your home, consider installing a picture rail. It's surprisingly inexpensive, and it will dress up a home of any style immeasurably. Rejuvenation stocks picture rail hooks and cord in several styles and colors.

Siting your house

We had our building site and our houseplans, only to realize that there were any number of ways to orient the house. So we had to figure out the best way to take advantage of the light and the views on our site. And since the prevailing (and often torrential) winds in our part of the Adirondacks come from the West, we had to take that into account as well.

I started by hanging out on the building site to see how the views and light patterns worked at different times of day. I scanned the surveyor's map of our building site and overlayed the floorplan of our house to see what orientation would be best. Luckily everthing worked out. Virtually every window in our house has a water view. Our front door faces North (good feng-shui, in case you're wondering), our bedrooms face East, the dining room faces West (for sunset dining) and, most importantly, our living room and screen porch face South. In the Summer, when the sun is high in the sky, the living room and porch are shaded and cool; in Winter, when the sun is low, they're filled with light all day. Also, the narrowest part of the house is pointed towards the wind, which is a good thing. So we ended up with a house that is set up to take advantage of its context at every time of the day and the year, and it's made a huge difference to the experience of living there.

Building a Refuge in the Woods

The success of any interior design depends on the ability to add layer upon layer of objects, furniture, art, decoration, color - and blend them seamlessly. A smaller space, like this one, allows for a more intimate feeling when sitting in any of its sitting areas, but provides views from every window out to the woods and water beyond. Changing ceiling height provides variation and differentiates one space from another, even as they are next to each other. Begin with a sense of yourself, your taste and style and built on it with bold choices of paint color and beautiful objects that are meaningful to you. It is a lifelong project, never done, always waiting for the next piece to expand and enrich the space for you and your guests.

John Derian Decoupage is Out of this World

John Derian started producing gorgeous decoupage pieces by hand several years ago. Taking antique prints, letters, postcards and other antique papers, he created designs for glass trays, paper weights, and other items. Now, his designs are very popular in New York and around the country. Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as other fine retailers, carry his work. His little shop in downtown New York City has so many wonderful things that I am afraid to visit it too often. Next door, his impeccable sense of style is on display in a store featuring art, sculpture, and other items for the home. John Derian is amazing, as the tray shown here, from his Halloween collection, demonstrates. Visit him online or stop by his shops in New York.

The Perfect Little Balcony

This is the balcony in our camp's guest suite, which we call the Hideout. The Hideout balcony is small but it works well for its intended purpose: a place to look out at the bay on Fourth Lake, to have coffee in the morning and read the newspaper. French doors lead to the balcony, so guests can open the doors and have a breeze and enjoy the view. It feels a little like being in a tree house, to sit on the balcony or rest on the bed just next to the doors. The chairs are from the Sundance Catalog, but have been discontinued. The balcony floor is made of fir. Shingles are cedar shakes, stained by hand in Evergreen. The pulley in the corner of this photo was used by our stone mason to haul granite up from the ground as he built our chimney. We try to set up as many opportunities as we can for our guests to appreciate the views, the silence, the air. This is one place they - and we - love to enjoy.

One key to good design

Many of you already know that we built a house in the Adirondacks, and so we thought we'd post some of our thoughts about home construction and design. I can safely say that I've never undertaken a project that was as rewarding as it was bewildering and frustrating, and it was definitely one of the rougher learning experiences of my life. Still, to build your home - particularly in a stunning physical setting - can be one of the most meaningful things you can do.

When we set out to build a house, we wanted it to look as if it had been part of its context for several decades, and we didn't want it to compete with the main house at Penwood, which was, after all, the real thing. One of the ways that we achieved this was to use antique doorknobs in the interior. Not only are they more beautiful than most doorknobs manufactured today, they are also far better (and usually less expensive). There's nothing like the feel of a solid brass doorknob coupled with an antique lockset and strikeplate. It's simply better than anything else you can buy today. Just remember that you'll need a fairly talented carpenter to install the locksets on your doors. And please don't be tempted to polish your doorknobs to make them look "new." A good patina is a big part of the charm (and value) of any antique, and doorknobs are no different. All you need do is oil the lockset a bit, and it will work as well as the day it was made. If after all this, you still want to use new doorknobs, then we recommend Rocky Mountain Hardware. They make an amazing product; just get ready for some sticker shock.