I LOVE NICE THINGS.

194 Santa Catalina Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262 On a site of undisturbed native vegetation, the desert retreat designed by San Francisco architect Jim Jennings for himself is defined by an 8-foot-high concrete wall that supports a steel roof structure and encloses two courtyards. Unlike the traditional post-and-beam model where glass expanses blur the boundary between landscape and building, this house is about the walled enclosure marking the building as volume and mass. What is adapted from mid-century design is the logic and clarity of an unconventional residential structural system - and the virtue of supreme indoor-outdoor living on a small scale. The award-winning residence has been featured in Architectural Digest and several international publications.

Coinciding with Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in London, was the launch of a fashion related exhibition curated by Jules Wright from the Wapping Bankside Gallery in London on September 8 th , 2011. The exhibition highlights a selection of works by fashion photographer Deborah Turbeville and takes place at the Donna Karan flagship store in the West End from 9 th  September to 15 th  October 2011. Deborah Turbeville’s influential and avant-garde exhibition follows the successful Lillian Bassman exhibition at the store. Her out-of-age iconic style, the way she manages to illustrate sophistication, aristocracy and sensuality in her photographs is her signature. The location of the exhibition couldn’t be any more perfect. It belongs to the fashion world, and Donna Karan is the perfect store for those photographs to be showcased. The Fashion Pictures © Deborah Turbeville Her vision is one of poetry and decadence. Her works are both commercial and artistic. She seeks the scenes for her d...

Isabella Geist Southampton White Elephant One of the most famous–or infamous–houses in the Hamptons, the property currently called Elysium has been a lightning rod of controversy for more than three decades. Take a historical property on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in Southampton, throw in a crooked parvenu with bad taste, add a whiff of financial monkey business, a dollop of tough zoning laws and top it off with a $37 million price tag, and you get the makings for a true real estate disaster like this one. In a part of the world where no one bats an eye at homes that cost upwards of $20 million and excess is a foreign concept, Elysium is a tough sell. Imagine if someone turned a beautiful vintage  Rolls-Royce  into a stretch limousine and painted it hot pink, and you get the idea. Underneath there is a truly fine house–but so much has been done to it that it might be easier to just tear it down and build a new one rather than bother with fixing it. Originally...

For just $15 a day, Suffolk County residents can drive up in an R.V. and stay at the park at the end of Meadow Lane in Southampton, N.Y., where the views of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Shinnecock Bay on the other are considered to be among the most spectacular on the East palace the likes of which is seldom seen in an area of increasing architectural homogeneity. He has done a gut renovation and then a complete demolition of  the enormous house that once stood there, been through three different architects in the process of building his new one, scoured the Western world for the best monochromatic furnishings money can buy, and even done extensive work to the dunes so that they are exactly to his liking. Mr. Klein is hardly the only famous person to have taken up residence on this narrow band of very expensive land. Neighbors include David and Julia Koch and Aby Rosen and Samantha Boardman, as well as the investor Leon Black and the hotelier Ian Schrager. But it’s Mr. Klein’...

First built in 1887 for Frederick Vanderbilt as a tudor summer retreat (and later owned by William B. Leeds), Rough Point was bought in 1922 by the enormously wealthy James B. Duke, benefactor of Duke University and his second wife, Nanaline. After several major renovations (including the addition of a ballroom and service wing, and the removal of most of the tudor features) the Dukes moved in. The Duke's had one child, a daughter, which they named  Doris .  Doris Duke, The Billionairess, Philanthropist, Socialite, Art Collector, Preservationist And Founder of The Newport Restoration Foundation  James Duke died in 1925, leaving the bulk of his entire fortune (a reported $100 million) to Doris, then age 12. Her inheritance also included the Duke mansion in New York City, Rough Point and Duke Farms in New Jersey. Because of her age, though, Doris couldn't claim her inheritance until she turn 21, 25 and 30. The fortune would be stored in a trust until she could claim it, the...

Above is a picture of the baronial dining room at "Marble House", the Alva Belmont cottage in Newport RI. This magnificent room was inspired by the Salon d'Hercule at Versailles and was designed by Jules Allard. It is equal in size to that of the ballroom across the hall. "Marble House" is now owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County. 

The story read like an early version of  Fatal Vows. Claus, who had been forced by Sunny to quit his job and become a full time husband, was tired of being a "hired ornament" and wanted leave Sunny for his mistress, actress Alexandra Isles. But could he walk away from Sunny's immense fortune? Sunny told her children about her and Claus's problems and said she was fine with divorce, she had already done it once. Then, in 1979, while watching television with her husband, Sunny suddenly passed out while her seemingly unconcerned husband lay by her side. This odd behavior, aided by the fact that Claus failed to call for help, caused Sunny's personal maid, Maria, and Sunny's children, Ala and Alex, to wonder if Claus had his own murderous agenda.  What Lengths Would An Estranged Husband Be Willing To Go To End His Marriage With His Wife And Still Get His Hands On Her Money And then, one year later, Maria, Ala and Alex's worst fears were confirmed when Sunny...

'Clarendon Court', Newport RI. Built by Horace Trumbauer. In the 1970's it was the home of Martha Crawford Von Bulow, known as 'Sunny', whose estranged husband famously tried to poison her, which forced her into a coma.  Sunny managed to live into her 70's, dying in 2008, still her in sleeping-beauty 

The Waves was built by architect John Russell Pope for his most important client......himself. The lot he had bought was next door to Edith Wharton's Land's End. The house had wonderful views of the ocean and nearby Bailey's Beach. He lived in the house with his wife, Sadie, who was the daughter of Pembroke Jones, who resided in another Newport cottage, Sherwood. When John died of an illness in New York City, Sadie continued to occupy the house until World War II, when the house was used to house military personnel. The estate was then purchased by heiress Josephine Hartford Bryce, who lived their with her daughter, Nuala. Nuala went on to marry Claiborne Pell, Rhode Island beloved senator.

Designed by Jackie Kennedy and owned by the same people for decades, The Windmill is now for rent. The reason, a recent hike in property taxes. It was owned by the Auchincloss Family, who lived at the nearby Hammersmith Farm, the last farm in Newport and now privately owned. When Janet Auchincloss sold Hammersmith Farm in 1977, she and the other family members kept many of the outbuildings, where they would continue to summer for decades. The main buildings they kept were The Castle (formerly the farmhouse), The Palace (formerly the garages) and The Windmill (a windmill). For many year Jackie Kennedy herself summered at The Castle, but then gave it to her stepbrother, Hugh D "Yusha" Auchincloss, when she died. The Windmill was occupied by Nina Auchincloss, half sister of Gore Vidal, and was where she, for many years, spent her summers away from DC. With an increase in property taxes, Nina thought she would have to sell The Windmill. After celebrating Yusha's 80th birthday...

Formerly the gardener's cottage and garage to the neighboring estate, Land's End, it is now the dower house of famed Georgetown hostess Marion "Oatsie" Charles, wife of the late Robert H. Charles, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for President Kennedy. Oatsie, the current President of The Newport Restoration Foundatio, purchased the cottage when she also bought Land's End with her first husband, Thomas Leiter, in 1940. When Thomas died, she moved into The Whim with her second husband, Robert. The six-bedroom cottage was redone by Oatsie and turned into what she called " A lovely jewel ". Charles filled the home with a large assortment of antiques, including antique panels from nearby Marble House, which she purchased at it's auction and now grace The Whim's "garage" walls. Oatsie also redidi the grounds, which she filled with several beautiful gardens. 

November 6, 2012, Noreen Stonor Drexel died at her summer home, Stonor Lodge. Named after her parent's home in England, Stonor Lodge was Noreen's residence for more than 50 years. Noreen, who  was famous for her large financial contributions to the Newport Hospital, Newport Birthing Center and the Preservation Society of Newport, usually headed up Rhode Island's Republican National Committee with her good friend, Eileen Slocum, who died in 2008. Stonor Lodge was built by Noreen and her husband, John R Drexel III, who grew up in Newport and died in 2007, back in the early 1950's. Noreen also spent her winters in Palm Beach and New York City. After her husband's death, she had moved into the spacious former garage house of the estate, which she converted into a residence like her friend Oatsie Charles

Though currently for sale, Wildacre had been for many years, up until it was listed, the home of billionairess Dorrance "Dodo" Hamilton. Dodo, an heiress to the Campbell's Soup fortune whose net worth is around $1.1 billion, purchased the home back in 1998, when she first came to Newport. Hamilton set out to restore the home, which was a wreck, back into the former beauty it was. Originally built as a bungalow in 1901 by Irving Gill, with gardens designed by the Olmstead Brothers, it was, overtime, enlarged into the mansion it is today. In 2008, the estate and grounds were the scene of Dodo's 80th Birthday Party. An avid preservationist, Hamilton has purchased what remains of the Blue Gardens on the former Curtiss James estate, Beacon Hill, which she plans on restoring and living after she moves from Wildacre. 

Occupying one of the most spectacular promontories in Newport, overlooking Bailey's Beach, is the graceful estate, The Ledges, also known as The Cushing Family Compound. Howard Cushing III, the owner and current President of The Sprouting Rock Beach Association (Bailey's Beach), lives in the main house with his wife, Nora, and their two sons, Jamie and Howard.  The estate was built by Howard's great grandfather, Robert Cushing, and passed down through family hands until he ended up with it in 1964. Also living on the estate, residing in a small cottage, is Howard's brother, Thomas Cushing, and his wife, Caterine. Down the street his Howard's sister, Minnie Coleman. Recently redone by interior designer John Peixinho, the home was featured, in 2007, in the film  Evening . The Ledges is the only home on Ocean Avenue still in the hands of descendants of it's original occupants. 

Newport would not be the place it is today without people like Ruth Buchanan Wheeler of Beaulieu. Heiress to the Dow Chemical Company fortune, she has lived in the home for fifty years. Her late husband Wiley T. Buchanan, who served as President Eisenhower's (a fellow Newporter) Chief of Protocol, bought the dump of a house in the 1960's and he and Ruth restored the estate to the masterpiece it is now. Built in 1859 by a Peruvian merchant, it was later bought by William Waldorf Astor, whose aunt lived in nearby Beechwood. He sold the home to Cornelius and Grace Vanderbilt. When Grace died in 1953, the home slowly faded, until the Buchanans purchased it. After Wiley's death, Ruth married her high school sweetheart, Edward Wheeler, who died in 2009. When asked if she wished her husband had picked a different home to restore, back in 1961, Ruth quickly retorted "No" she further says "The house is perfect. It was a headache. But now it is perfect" 

Bellevue House is owned by Ronald L Fleming, the noted preservationist, urban planter and President of the Townscape Institute, who bought the home from the estate's second owner. He restored Bellevue House's beautiful rose gardens and added several intricate outbuildings, included a teahouse, which is a replicate of the main house. Built in 1910 by Ogden Codman Jr, it was the summer home of heiress Martha Codman. She later shocked her friends by marrying opera singer, Maxim Karolik, 30 years her junior. After Martha's death, Maxim continued to summer in the home until his death. It was then owned by singer and actress Jane Pickens, whom Fleming purchased it from. Fleming hopes to one day live in a small keeper's cottage at the back of the property, his kids having the main house, and that he will occasionally be invited over for dinner. 

Ochre Court Built by Ogden and Mary Goelet as a palatial showplace to gain access into society. Their son Robert offered the place to his daughter, who not surprisingly turned him down. He then donated the place to the now Salve Regina University, who still own it today.

The Harold Brown Villa Built by Harold Brown and his wife Georgette Wetmore as a summer estate. Given no formal name, unlike most of the cottages, it was a treasured family jewel. It was left to Mrs Brown's niece Eileen Slocum, who was considered the grande dame of Newport and the Republican Party and died in 2008. It is the only house on Bellevue Avenue still in the hands of the family.

The Breakers Built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his wife Alice, it was built to replace their first cottage, also called 'Breakers', which burned down. Countess Gladys Szechenyi, Cornelius and Alice's daughter leased the Breakers to the Preservation Society of Newport, who bought the estate from her heirs. It is the largest in Newport.

During the Gilded Age ~ And for a long period afterwards ~ the little seaside town of Newport, Rhode Island, was considered to be the select summer resort. One could never be "In" society if one didn't spend summers in Newport (or at the very least own a residence there). Along the oceanside, barons of wealth built colossal marble castles ~ crammed with every finest luxury of the time ~ next door to the sophisticated yet stylish mansions of the "old money" families. No matter the size or opulence, each of these regal establishments were cozily referred to as "cottages" by the seasonal summer residents. Today, many of these palaces survive in the hands of colleges, school institutions or Preservation societies and foundations. A few, however, still remain in private hands.