Building Blocks

At the end of a long, miserable day filled with flared tempers, angry bosses, bossy subordinates, and aesthetically assaulting wardrobes, your dwelling should greet you with calm, peace, and the emotional stability that is so markedly lacking elsewhere. Cool tones like white, dabbed with shots of warmth can envelop an entire space in a sublime cocoon and melt away the scuff marks from the last 12 hours.


With an approaching move, and an online shopping cart at Potterybarn.com bursting with delicious new furniture, I can hardly contain myself. As with most things, I feel there are no true rules to decorating, other than pleasing yourself (and anyone you happen to be sharing your new space with). Start with something you can't live without and build a room around it (a paint color, a black and white vintage print, your adorable spouse). I predictably fell in love with a white-washed wooden dresser and a silk, pewter Donna Karan bedding set. All that's missing is the perfect Nantucket cottage to nestle the new finds into. The dreams are what get you out of bed in the morning to face another day, right?