“The biggest sin was to be dull.”-Harriet Anstruther




Yesterday, reading the March issue of Town & Country Magazine, my faith in shelter magazines was restored. This was a welcome realization after I about gouged my eyes out after reading the latest Architectural Digest with the feature story of the Kardashians. More on that later but let’s get back to Town & Country. One of the articles this month, titled Home of the Brave, in T&C is about a woman named Harriet Anstruther and her English farmhouse which dates back five centuries. Something about this woman and this house completely resonated with me.

Harriet Anstruther was given the house when she was born by her baronet father, Sir Ian, which sits on 100 acres of farmland, garden and woods in the English countryside. Somehow this has a tad more class than procuring a house from the monstrous proceeds of one’s reality show based out of Calabasas, California off the 101 freeway… But more on that later. Anstuther was a single mother raising a young daughter while restoring the Tudor style home adding French drains, repairing oak beams and opening gaps above the interior doors to distribute heat from three fireplaces. She says, “You want the draft. If you get cold, put on a jumper.” My kind of woman. Call me crazy but the words “central heating” are fightin’ words.




The article explains that the house is “filled with furniture from flea markets, junk shops, and antique stores, along with modern pieces, family heirlooms, and unexpected artworks including prints that she simply tacked to one wall of the sitting room.” Now, this is how you decorate a home… Not by tenting your living room like a marshmallow version of La Cage aux Folles… But more of that later.






I think it far more impressive to have a clawfoot bathtub with taps that “can be turned on and off with your toes-crucial when you’re lying in the bath with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other” rather than have a color-coordinated closet the size of an airport hangar… But more on that later.






Anstruther inherited her fervor from her charismatic parents. Her mother still practices architecture at the age of 85. She describes her mother as the “most contrarian woman you’ve ever met, as well as clever, driven and independent.” Her father, a dashing man who wrote historical biographies, was the private secretary to the British ambassador and briefly dated Jacqueline Bouvier. Anstruther recounts her father as having a “dry, wicked sense of humor.” Her parents shared a love of opera, literature and art while living apart stretches of time between St. Tropez, West Sussex and London which their daughter credits to preserving their marriage. Somehow this just seems much more romantic than most relationships I know and just for the record I would much prefer to have my mother’s job title as “architect” rather than “momager.” But more on that later.
 




 
Anstruther herself, described as “brainy, opinionated and full of enthusiasm” studied fine art and interior design, opening her firm, HAS, five years ago focusing on residential projects and luxury developments. In 2002, Anstruther married portrait and interiors photographer Henry Bourne who shares her “bucolic life of gardening, cooking, reading and going for long walks with their two dogs” at the farmhouse on the weekends. Restoring this old home, Anstruther credits to “putting her back together again.” There are always things to do together with her husband she says, like “pruning the cherry trees or tending a meadow behind the house that bears such delights as wild miniature orchids.” Correct me if I am wrong but this relationship sounds a bit more interesting than marrying an NBA player with a penchant for prostitutes and crack cocaine...But more on that later.
 

 
Definitely pick up a copy of the new Town & Country to read the whole charming article. The next blog will not be as nice, sorry. I heard from our beloved Stephen yesterday who has gone underground due to his “winter depression.” I explained to him that I have a similar current mood except mine can be more accurately described as “winter rage.” I have kept my mouth shut about the demise of Architectural Digest this far but someone has got to say something… And I will… Stay tuned for that on Thursday.

44 comments:

  1. You are so funny! I have to delurk to tell you so. Thanks for writing this piece, which is a wonderful reminder to not get sucked into the smoke and mirrors of celebrity style. I easily get sucked into the smoke and mirrors of Instagram home decor, and it does a lot to pull me away from my home's true soul. Happy to find you. All best wishes from the Bandol area.

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    1. Why I check in with you so enthusiastically -- this post. I grew up in LA in a glass box but learned to love the indoors when I visited a friends mother's house in the English countryside. It still influences what it is to feel like home to this day. Despite being the daughter of an Earl she was one of the most unpretentious women I have known and was a very generous teacher. Although I still hate to garden. Too much work. Thank you and hope this finds you in good spirits. If this is rage please put it down in words more often.

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  2. I love reading lovely in the morning. Thank you from Colorado.

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  3. Dear Ellie - AD has been swirling around the drain for years (at least 10). Kartrashians on the cover - clearly they are desperate for readers! Better to completely ignore AD and feast your eyes on a much better "AD", "Antique Shops & Designers", out of Houston. http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/c5f2ca79#/c5f2ca79/12

    Joseph Smith paraphrased Ephesians when he said, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

    Onward and upward - Charlotte

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    1. Charlotte,

      I have that quote pinned to my inspiration board. I hope to not only seek, but be and do them.

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    2. You are so right Charlotte, Antique Shops and Designers is fab and I'm always excited to find a new one! On another note, my hubby mentioned the other day that with all the incredible losses of multi-talented people in the world this year doesn't God realize that the Kardashians are available? Ooooo, bad I know but did make me laugh.

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  4. "Correct me if I am wrong but this relationship sounds a bit more interesting than marrying an NBA player with a penchant for prostitutes and crack cocaine..." *snort* I loved that article too. It's proof I do not have to start sweet-talking Elon Musk for passage to another planet just yet.

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  5. Well, I love absolutely everything about this cottage and keep flipping between the photos to look for details but the main phrase that came to mind is: "not trying too hard." Something tells me that will not be the case for your next post and I am eagerly awaiting it...
    This rain and grey is enough to bring out the rage in anyone. This is Provence for goodness sake! What on earth is going on??
    Sending much Love and Strength over the sheep fields :)
    Heather
    PS. I know that there are so many friends here who feel the same way but I wish you could have seen the smile and heard the little "Yay" when I just happened to take a look to see if you had a new post up and there was!

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    1. Heather I was really sad today and then I saw that there was a new post and let out a little squeee! I wish that there was a "daily Ellie" that would definitely make my day!
      Xo
      Lourdes

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  6. The dark portrait of the man in the living room reminds me of the one you have.

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  7. Yes! It has finally sunk in why I love you so much, Ellie, and why the current fashion for interior design leaves me cold. Everything is white or beige or gray, new and soulless nondescript blah. And supposedly the height of elegance and class.
    I received the hulking Restoration Hardware (RH) catalogue a couple of months ago, and couldn't believe how this colorless, lifeless crap could be passed off for aspirational.
    When we bought our "new" house in 2015, we looked at some McMansions (my husband kind of wanted one), and although our bathrooms are tiny with no room for expansion, I adore our one-of-a-kind midcentury modern with 20 ft ceilings and a huge lot where I can garden and my son can run and play.
    I finally pieced it together. The current ideas of what is beautiful and what people of both wealth and taste should want/have simply aren't what makes a lovely, well-appointed home.
    You are ever a beacon in this realization!

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  8. Oooh I can't wait. AD, what the f*&# were they thinking with that cover. Didn't have a look at the mag itself, afraid my hands might burn. But can't wait to read your take on it!
    By the way the antique paisley I bought from you has not left my dining room table and it is so gorgeous, everyone comments on it. It somehow ties together my whole house.
    Currently saving up for some of your blue and white, the shop is divine these days!
    Dear Stephen I miss him, very sorry to hear about this winter depression. XO

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  9. that house is beautiful. I love homes that have evolved over many years with hand me downs, antiques, second hand things and gifted stuff.

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  10. I read this story in T&C as well and loved it! Looking forward to Thursday's post...

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  11. I stopped buying Vogue when the K's were on the cover...Now no more AD purchases at the airport. My treat for having to endure flying these days. But I load up at Heathrow with all the British garden and home magazines with well worn homes and lovely gardens. I, also, hate the trend of putting celebrities on the cover of fashion and decorating magazines. Don't we get enough of that everywhere else?
    Judith in California, not Cali!!!

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  12. I heard from STEPHEN TODAY via TEXT!!!!Looks like he is emerging!
    How on earth do you have your copy and mine isNOT here yet!!!!!!!I can't stand AD .........they LOST IT YEARS AGO in my opinion.AS TC they are A_OKAY EXCEPT for changing the HOROSCOPE PAGE!I loved having it on the last page!Now, I can NEVER find it!!!!IF The TC editors are READING HERE PLEASE TAKE NOTE...........put them back on the last page of the magazine PLEASE!
    AS for this house...............PERFECTION.SHE DECORATES LIKE ME.........and commands the HEAT control like the ITALIAN HUSBAND!!!
    AS MY DEAR AUNT KATHARINE would say........"DARLING It is ALL COLLECTED CLUTTER."AND THAT IS ME TO A TEE!!!!!!!
    XOXO

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  13. Love your post and your blog!! You make so many people laugh out loud with your posts. Count me in as another "yay."

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  14. Thank you for your post today. You make so many people laugh out loud with your blog. Looking forward to the AD post. Count me as another "yay."

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  15. I laughed and laughed. Trust you to be the sane voice in the wilderness—albeit an exquisite landscape loved by artists and parvenue tourists—about the travesty of Kartrashian media. AD must have researched newsstand and online surge having Ks on the cover. Ugh. And as for Martyn Bullard ... remember when he massacred Tamara Mellon's dining room on Million Dollar Decorators (the ONLY such show I ever watched)? There was much ooooing and aaaaahing for the cameras; off-camera, she protested and he paid for that hot mess. When she bought a place on LI, she decorated it herself (with an off-the-shelf mishmash), citing past glitches with designers. Your punctuating quips, espesh about the NBAer with penchant for prossies and crack, were hilarious. Gawd, you're funny. Oh, I loved Anstruther's pile! xxoo

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  16. Our home was built in 1917. We are the third owners. There is so much of our home that is "twice touched." Love this Town & Country post. I cannot wait for my magazine to arrive. Thank you, thank you for reminding us all that true beauty is not fake shininess. Bless you! P.S. Sending love and light to Steven. Feel better soon. You are missed!

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  17. I love this house and your take on the owners. Now bring on the Kardashian hate! :D

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    1. Nothing more to add except that I've been smiling from the moment I began reading your post, right through all of the comments. Your posts are the best breakfast!

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    2. Ellie - I love your passion; it always comes across in your posts. It makes me reflect on my own life and what's really important to me. Hugs from Olivia.

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  18. Thank you Ellie, Great post. AD has been disappointing for some time - they are now putting up DIY and 'tips from designers' as editorial, a long way from their high standard of a decade ago. I don't hate the K's but find them dull and pretentious and seeing them in magazines like AD and Vogue has diminished the magazines enormously. What a shame everything is now celebrity driven.
    On another note - you asked for questions for your book; You never say anything about your father.... Do you want to talk about him? Cheers Ana

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  19. You have brought me a much needed giggle this morning! AD has indeed gone to hell and I used to love it. I made the wrong career choices because when I was young nobody told me I could be an architect, and I was too slow to figure it out for myself. As the owner of this 1640s pile of rubble I wish now, more than ever, I had figured it out! Luckily,mI've been out of the States for so long now (15 years) that I've been able to keep away from anything Kardashian. Basically I remember their late father from OJ Simpson's trial and that's about it...lucky me!
    I'm glad to hear Stephen might emerge soon.....thinking of you, SA.
    Looking forward to Thursday's post!

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  20. I want to be those people if even for a day...lovely....dont you mean the Karsh*theads? Sorry not sorry.....& btw I have a script to T&C & havent received my copy yet..hmph....can't wait for Thursday, keep em comin..xo

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  21. I stopped reading nearly all shelter magazines a few years ago to concentrate on "House and Garden UK". What a wonderful magazine - on all levels. I have this month's "Town and Country", but hadn't opened it yet. I don't consider it a "shelter magazine".

    "A and D" lost it for me years ago. There wasn't a single featured house that didn't strike me as a "furniture showroom". I rarely got the feeling that anyone actually lived in those rooms. The houses all seemed to be professionally designed as someone's "second home in Aspen", or "summer home on Nantucket", or "third home in the Hamptons". The thing about "House and Garden UK" is that most of the houses seemed "livable". Gorgeous but livable. Maybe because "House and Garden UK" often featured the people who lived in them, much as the "T and C" article featured here does.

    "A and D" houses always seemed so soulless.

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  22. Great post Ellie! And thanks for the Stephen update...life without the two of you posting is grey and dull. I agree, T&C is greatly improved while AD is moving toward being in the category "cheap crap my nail salon offers as reading material during a pedicure ". We all know money can buy a lot of stuff, but it can't buy good taste.

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  23. Can't wait til Thursday's post. Every morning when I see "Have some...." pop up in my gmail, I know it's going to be a great day. I love this home and the owners. Being an antiques dealer in So. Cal. can be a bit lonesome at times--but the day of great design is slowly returning. MLBullard et al. is just so much self promotion and "big is always better". I can only imagine how tacky the K homes are. Thanks for my daily Eliie fix. It hit 92* in Pasadena today.....and this is winter? Be well, xoxox Mary

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  24. I used to go visit my grandparents in Omaha when I was little. It was always wonderful to be there on my own without parents around. My grandmother used to get Town and Country and I would devour the pages in the back, with advertisements for country estates with stables, boarding schools, and vacation homes. I spent a great deal of time deciding which estate I would choose. My grandmother had designed the house they lived in. It was on a lake and every room had wonderful light and was so serene and comfortable and cozy. I always think of that house when I decorate and rearrange my own. That's the feeling I want to have and I want other people to have when they come here.
    K.D.

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  25. What a wonderful post. A true representation of the good life. As for the tacky part, we can thank Anna Wintour, who is the Artistic Director for Conde Nast... owner of AD. As evidenced by the Vogue cover, Ms. Wintour has made the calculation that the K's are "the future" and sell mags. Sad. It would enrich us all if Ms. Wintour went back to England for a spell and detoxed herself from the tackiness she is jamming down our throats on this side of the pond.

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  26. Ok, I will leave my own 100 acre rural abode and go to town...which takes a lot because I hate leaving, ever....but I will hop in the truck and pick up the magazine because you said so, said it is a good read...and well, probably good for me...xob can't wait for Friday, hee hee!

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  27. Admittedly lovely. Hope I could have done as well if I had inherited a vast, furnished, ancient estate, titles, money, and looks. Maybe not, but it would have been nice to try!

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  28. Good taste, with lack of pretension & arrogance are always welcome traits.
    Clearly, the owner's are solid & balanced people who have thoughtfully
    crafted their home. Beautiful post!
    So agree with you about AD. Last renewal notice I received from them was tossed. Unfortunately, AD is no longer worth subscribing to.


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  29. I love this house. I don't have any Kardashian hate though. They are kind of like Santa Claus with black hair and smoky eyes. They exist because we perpetuate them. They are not royalty or links in a long chain of establishment. They hustle to be relevant every day and we keep talking about them so they are. At least they're funny and more visually pleasing than Donald Trump.
    That said, I love your call to action on asserting individuality in houses. I'm just so bored with everything looking the same. Not that I'll change my all white kitchen though. but if I see one more greige farmhouse table with strategically placed scratches for "rustic charm" I will cry.
    But not because I'm in a terrible depression, which I promise I'm not. Just annoyed and thinking I want to flee to South Carolina. One of the reasons being that I have decided I really want a pink dining room with a big brass chandelier. Which would look so weird in Ohio. But would work in the South.
    Thank you for the nice messages. Ellie, I hope your rage has cooled to a comfortable contempt. Do you need a Frito pie?

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    1. Why South Carolina? Come on down to Georgia! We could use your wit, wisdom and sarcasm. You and Ellie are a pair to be reckoned with - so glad you're back. I need a dose of both of you at least once a week!!!!

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    2. On your way down south, swing by Oklahoma City...quite possibly the tackiest place on earth with its "faux" everything (not tackier than Las Vegas though). The only possible exception would be northeast OK where there is a smidge of authenticy at the Will Rogers home and museum. But, to redeem us, we do have some pretty great new restaurants in downtown OKC which is experiencing something of a revitalization. What that is going to look like I am not sure, but I am hopeful and would love to have lunch with you. Hope you are getting through the winter and are able to overlook the small annoyances that just irritate the hell out of you. My mother has a big brass chandelier, and I may have to fight my brother for it when her time comes, but secretly he can have it if I get her antique brass crystal one. Ellie, thank you for the wit this morning...just what I needed. Now, I have to run to the store and get a copy of Town and Country. Hope you have a wonderful week!!

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  30. Ellie, I love you just like everyone.. you kill me. Thank GOD Stephen Andrew you are back. You were missed. Glad you are delighted enough/angry enough to post, whilst still working on your book. Can not wait.

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  31. I'm one of the quiet lurkers who reads your every word and all the comments. This post made me so happy, because you get "it" and so do your readers. We're not alone wondering "what the hell . . ." Cannot wait for tomorrow's post about the Kartrashians (someone else's cleverness, but I love it). Thank you ever so much!

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  32. Thank you for expanding my horizons and educating my vision, love this post. Glad Stephen is back.
    Thank you again dear Ellie. How goes the book??

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  33. Thank you for reminding me how beautiful my imperfect house is. Love you.

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  34. Ellie, whenever I check my e-mail instead of scrolling I always go to Quick Find and type in "Have Some Decorum" so I can read anything you may have posted first. I always find your posts, at the very least, interesting and usually very funny too. This post was both. I so look forward to reading the new issue of Town and Country to meet Harriet Anstruther via its pages, and see her home. I especially noted a photo of two white couches, their seating cushions covered in what appeared to be quilts. I have a treasured white couch as well, the cushion of which is a mess. For now, I will cover it in a white matelasse bedspread and call it good. As for AD, I so totally agree that they've lost their way and may now be trying to gain readership by appealing to readers of celebrity magazines and reality show viewers. In that regard, just this evening I read a Facebook post from my son which showed a photo of a wounded soldier whose face has been disfigured in war, but whose story hasn't appeared anywhere in print. Next to that soldier's photo is one of poor Odom who is recovering from a self-inflicted drug overdose. Below those two photos is a signboard which reads "Why Are We Making Stupid People Famous?" Enough said. I send you my total admiration, Ellie, along with all my heartfelt best wishes, highest and very best hopes, and any miracles I can conjure, along with curative magic dust to sprinkle upon and envelop you. "Keep on truckin' baby." Patricia Wilson, Columbia, CT

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  35. I get a kick out of you, but more on that later. Thank you for the laugh.

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