I love going through my old magazines. Sometimes you discover something you missed the first time around. Other times you realize that you've met the person whose home you're looking at. While I've never met photographer Carter Smith, I do admire his photographs every month in
Allure magazine and while looking through the January 2007 issue of
House & Garden, I came across his townhouse (do you still miss H&G as much as I do?!). In the credits, I also noticed the article was produced by Kim Gieske, who I actually have met since the feature was published, and also Joe Zee, who is now the Creative Director at
Elle magazine, and who you might have seen on
The City. I also met Joe Zee once at a Marc Jacobs fashion show after party where I gushed to him about how much I loved
Vitals, which he was the editor of at the time. (I miss that magazine too!) But I digress, even though Carter Smith has completely restored his townhouse, it still has that beautifully worn look that you would want in a building that is over 180 years old!
The English feeling living room is my favorite room in the townhouse. Can't you just imagine curling up with one of the books from the shelves?! A lot of the house is made of of salvaged pieces including the door that came from
Olde Good Things. If you've never checked them out, I highly recommend it! You never know what you will find!
The unfinished looking chair from
John Derian fits in perfectly. As I mentioned in
The Inside Source piece, I think there is a shift towards anything that looks old, even if it's not a real antique.
This is the chicest kitchen pantry I've ever seen and that copper bench from
Stephanie Odegard is to die for!
Carter, at the bottom of the stairs, had help from architect Jim Joseph of
Hottenroth + Joseph. If you look closely at their website, you'll notice that they also did work for David Netto and Deborah Needleman!
I knew Carter Smith was a photographer, but I didn't realize that he was also a filmmaker until I reread the article. I look forward to checking out his films now!
As you can probably guess, photographers circle the globe for work so the house is also filled with treasures from his travels.
I can't even imagine having a kitchen this big in New York!
The elephant and owl are also from
John Derian. I wish I lived closer so I could make weekly visits to his chic shop!
Carter Smith grew up in Maine and the kitchen has a great Maine farmhouse kind of feel to it.
A model ship looks perfectly at home in the bathroom.
Not only was the kitchen ginormous but so is the bathroom!
Most all the other rooms have brick walls but the bedroom is papered in Lily wallpaper by
Cole & Son.
And to top it all off, there's a fabulous roof terrace. It's funny how I admire Carter Smith's home as much as his photography, but usually when one is creative and has a great eye, it transcends all mediums. And in no case is that more true than here!
Photos by Martyn Thompson
Of course, Carolina Herrera's home looks just as chic as the designer herself. I just wish there were photos of it online! I did find some good ones on The Peak of Chic that came from a Dutch design magazine but it doesn't seem like it has been published in an American magazine in quite a few years. I scanned in some of the photos that were included in the book Carolina Herrera: Portrait of a Fashion Icon from Assouline but I think it's time for François Halard to work his magic and photograph the Herrera townhouse top to bottom! I'll even volunteer to assist him!
