Connecticut: The Anti-Hamptons?

"And then one day in 1976, Billy Baldwin and I were out looking for houses for sale in Connecticut, something we did a lot together, and I saw this wonderful old stone house.  It had such a dignity about it.  The place was built in 1770 as a tavern n the old Albany Post Road.  The house came with six acres, and I bought the adjacent apple orchard, or what was left of it.  Twenty-one acres in all.  I moved in a few months later."  – The late fashion designer Bill Blass

Of all the places we visited in the US this past month – Boston, NY, Cape Cod, the Hamptons, North Carolina, Miami and the Keys – there was one destination that really beguiled us. It stood out because it wasn't flashy like Miami, it wasn't embroidered in money like the Hamptons, it wasn't a confusing (but intriguing) dichotomy of New Wealth and Old Eccentrics like Key West, and it wasn't an intense competition of real estate, careers and restaurant reservations like New York. It was understated. Subdued. Quietly beautiful. In fact, it didn't even announce itself at the border. The only indication that we'd entered the state was a small sign saying "GARDENS THIS WAY". (Which won me over right away.)

It was the state known as The Nutmeg State: Connecticut.  (Top image of Linden Hill Farm; see below for more details.)

Ever since the New Rich started saturating the Hamptons with their fast cars and flashy cash, many New Yorkers have started venturing north to Connecticut for their rural idylls. Curiously, the place was named 'The Richest State' in 2008, but you'd never know it driving through. There are few signs of the Bugatti Veyrons, Bentleys, haute couture resort wardrobes and Hérmes Kellys that cruise around East Hampton. There are far fewer monstrous houses, high-rise fences and legions of landscapers than there are in Beverly Hills or Palm Beach. (People here prefer to do the gardening themselves). And there are almost no branded high-rise buildings like there are in New York, LA or Miami. In fact, in this state, the word 'wealth' seems to be a profanity. You would no more show your signs of financial success than you would your dirty underwear. As one local told me: "The crux of Connecticut's style is simplicity." One could almost add "discretion" to that as well.

If you love gardens, architecture and country life, as we do, you'll adore Connecticut. If you haven't been to the Hamptons before, then do go, but perhaps save a few days for Connecticut, too. It will win you over with its engaging, low-key way of life.

Here are some of our snapshots of this beautifully understated place.

"Well I actually do have a country house in Connecticut with a population of 3,000. I spend a lot of time there – I write up there. So I kind of have the best of both worlds and I love going up there." – Candace Bushnell

"I was raised in Connecticut. And I honestly wasn't aware that my dad was a celebrity until I moved to Los Angeles a year ago." – Bryce Dallas Howard (on her father Ron Howard)

"I'm a nice, happily married wife and mom and I live in Connecticut." – Christine Baranski




LINDEN HILL FARM

The home of interior designer Debra Blair, Linden Hill Farm (above and below) is named after an enviable allee of Linden trees that defines the driveway. The garden was originally designed by Clive Lodge (who worked for Oscar de la Renta on de la Renta's nearby garden) and as such, it's quite formal. Set around a magnificently restored Georgian Revival house, the garden features breathtaking magnolia trees, a formal carriage drive and forecourt lined with espaliered fruit trees, a walled, medieval-style potager filled with herbs, and various smaller gardens situated around the property. 

I loved Linden Hill Farm. Both the house and garden were simple, elegant and in keeping with the architecture (and aesthetic philosophy) of Connecticut. Even the garages were gorgeous. Many thanks to Debra Blair for allowing so many of us to wander through her beautiful home.

THE VILLAGE OF NEW PRESTON

New Preston, Connecticut, is perhaps best known for being the home of the late fashion designer Bill Blass. Blass retired to New Preston after selling his company, and it was here he lived out his years in bliss nurturing his garden, entertaining friends and keeping company with his beloved dogs. We searched out Mr Blass's home (with a bit of help from Google maps), and were as entranced with this quiet corner of Connecticut as he was. It's not a large town – in fact, it's little more than a cluster of antique and garden shops and beautiful New England houses spread around a pretty waterfall and lake – but it's one of the most idyllic hamlets in the state. Perhaps even the entire country.

New Preston's popularity is due to a dedicated group of architect and garden lovers, who stumbled across the village in the late 1980s and 1999s and began preserving the traditional rural New England architecture dotted around the lake and surrounding hills, many of them well preserved 18th and 19th century homes built in the Georgian, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Shingle styles.

One of the first stores to attract New Yorkers was a tiny bookstore specialising in antique gardening books and horticultural prints. Antique shops and other upscale retail establishments rapidly followed, and many of New Preston's historic commercial structures underwent renovation.

Today, the diminutive village of New Preston and nearby Litchfield county are much-loved weekend retreats for hundreds of low-key Manhattan celebrities, many of whom have homes in the area. Current inhabitants of the area include Vanity Fair's editor Graydon Carter, comedian Joan Rivers, actress Christine Baranski,  Oscar de la Renta and his wife Annette, and and Diane von Furstenberg and her husband Barry Diller (see below). The legendary artist and magazine art director Alexander Liberman and his wife Tatiana used to have a country house here too. 

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG'S HOME

This is DVF's and Barry Diller's Connecticut home, Cloudwalk Farm (below). (Images via Francois Halard and InStyle magazine.)

DVF's farm is actually located in New Milford, a short drive from New Preston, in an area that's almost as heavily populated by fashion people. DVF bought the 100-acre, 160-year-old property, which has five buildings on it, just before her 27th birthday for $200,000. She decided to move her children here in 1977 after Calvin Klein's daughter was kidnapped. "I wanted a place where they could be free," she explained. Since then, she has added parcels of land as well as a neighbouring farm. She now has just under 200 acres, on which she has a studio for herself and her second husband, Barry Diller.  There are also chickens, a vegetable garden and 120 apple trees. DVF paid off her mortgage on December 31 1999, as a "millennium present to myself". She and Diller now spend much of their time here, hiking the Appalachian trail and pottering in the garden. (Info courtesy of the Financial Times.) 

BILL BLASS' HOME

Libraries seemed to be a passion for people of this corner of Connecticut. Here are some images of Bill Blass' house in New Preston (above and below). Bill Blass' dignified library and living areas were inspired by the library of architect Sir John Sloane in London, which is now a museum. "I'm always fascinated by the libraries of people's houses," said Blass in an interview with CNN.

Blass' home wasn't always so pared back. It became more and more so after Blass decided to declutter his life and sell (or give away) many of his antiques. In the last years of his life, the grand old home was so spartan that it had a kind of puritanical beauty. The walls were white, the windows and floors were mostly bare, the upholstery consisted of simple white cotton slipcovers and everything else had a handsome, but toned-down, monochromatic palette. Most of the furniture consisted of simple antique country pieces such as an American schoolmaster's desk. ''Rooms have to have a certain discipline to be livable, '' he once said. (Images via Bill Blass' biography and Habitually Chic.)

ANNIE KELLY'S HOME

Someone else who lives in the same patch of Connecticut landscape is Australian author Annie Kelly, who is married to the architectural photographer Tim Street-Porter (ex-husband of Janet Street-Porter). Kelly and Street-Porter have collaborated on a number of books, but this one is my favourite. That's their home on the cover. I bought a copy at the The Privet House store  – another great Connecticut place to browse on a gloriously sunny spring weekend.

BUNNY WILLIAMS' HOME

And for those who missed my recent post on Bunny Williams' Connecticut home and garden, here are some more vistas. Would post more details but still feeling a little jetlagged after arriving home yesterday so may need to go and have a nanna nap! 

The Glamour of New York (In 10 Easy Lessons)

Rule No 1: Wear good shoes. 

Unlike their Parisian cousins who prefer flats, New York woman are serious heel girls. They prefer their shoes like their architecture: high-rise and dripping with glamour. The only flats around here are those packed for the beaches in the Hamptons.

(NB No, I don't know how they do it, either. One day in this pair and I was ready for a week with my feet up. I don't think I'd make a very good New York girl...)

Rule No. 2: Take your fashion as seriously as your shoes. 

New York women know their brands like the back of their manicured hands. Some of them know them so well, they can discern a fake Chanel from a real one at 90 paces. Yesterday a woman recognised my lipstick as being a MAC one. How do they do it? Beats me. There are obviously night schools. (This sign was the fist thing that tipped me off.)

Rule No. 3: Buy a dog. 

Thousands of New Yorkers have dogs. They love them. Love them! They even buy cute doggy outfits for them from cute doggy shops. This one matched the owner's handbag. Even the royal blue harness matched the owner's blue dress. I couldn't help but be impressed.

This owner had also matched his hat to his dog. I tell you, New Yorkers are a co-ordinated bunch.

Rule No. 4: Never pay retail.

I figured this out fashion trick halfway through last week. I couldn't work out why so many SoHo girls were parading around in high-end designer clobber, and then I found an entire annexe of second-hand stalls that sold gorgeous vintage clothes and jewellery – from Chanel to Dior – for gob-smackingly low prices. There was one stall that sold authentic Chanel necklaces from $500 (complete with boxes and certificates). Incredible. There are also lots of ongoing sales in New York. I nipped into the Armani one and found frocks for $300 – one-fifth the normal Australian price. (Most sales can be found in the weekly Time Out magazine.) I believe that even Parisian women would be impressed by the New Yorker's ability to sniff out a sartorial bargain. (No mum, I didn't buy anything!)

Rule No. 5: Shop where the pros shop.

On Thursday, I discovered this place: the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue. I thought I'd hit the Design Jackpot. Spread over multiple floors are showrooms for all the big interior design and decorative home furnishing brands. I spent an hour in Kravat showroom alone. This was the Windsor Smith display. Beautiful.

Rule No. 6: Ensure your bathroom (and other living spaces) are as glam as your wardrobe.

This was a tile shop I stumbled across near Gramercy Park. Look at this tile design. Have you ever seen a more gorgeous mosaic? I would have bought it, but we don't quite have the luxury 5-star-style ensuite to put it in. 

 Here are some more from the same showroom. There were hundreds of these stylish designs. Why can't Australia have these ranges?

Rule No. 7: Do your food shopping at the Union Square Markets

This seems to be where all the truly glam New Yorkers (or at least from Downtown) buy their fresh, farmer-grown produce. There were beautifully rustic stalls featuring just-plucked vegies on hessian blankets, and delicious drinks from witty stands such as this (above). Think Collingwood Children's Farm Farmer's Market, but with five times the number of people.

Rule No. 8: Book a hotel for a glam night out, but only do it on Sunday night

If you want to experience real New York glamour, then check into one of the city's famous hotels, such as the Gramercy Park Hotel, the Empire, or the Nomad. But here's a little tip: Do it Sunday nights, when the prices drop considerably. Friday and Saturday nights are also reasonable. I paid just $200 for a night at Morgan's on Madison, and got upgraded to a suite.

Rule No. 9: If it rains, be ready with the wellies.

I saw so many New Yorkers walking around in designer wellies, I thought they were filming an ad for Hunters. Women wore them with Prada frocks, men wore them with tailored trousers, I even saw six doormen wearing them as part of their rainy-day uniform at a certain upscale hotel. Then I saw these yellow cab numbers. Aren't they cute? Imagine a little kid wearing them in Central Park? I loved them. Just loved them.

Rule No. 10: Inspiration is everywhere.

You don't need to be rich to have style in New York. There are so many stores selling replicas of the high-end collections that you can easily dress like a catwalk model for a few dollars. This was a window display in Bergdorf Goodman. I saw a similar dress in Gap for $10!