CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens) - May 2014

Site Staff

Gary Brewer, Partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Designs a Shingle-Style Stunner on Long Island Sound

Excerpted from Designs for Living: Houses by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (Monacelli Press, 2014). Reprinted with permission., Photographs by Peter Aaron/OTTO,

Ordinarily, when architects discuss contextualism, the conversation focuses on design—that is, how a new building will relate, aesthetically, to its surroundings. Here we concerned ourselves with contextualism of a different sort. As is often the case in highly desirable communities with much sought-after building sites, the project came with challenges.

The Style, Inspiration and Life of Oscar de la Renta

Sarah Mower,

Though I have loved nature since my childhood, I never thought—perhaps because I have always lived in cities—that one day I would have a garden of my own. When Françoise and I arrived at Brook Hill Farm, neither of the previous owners had thought of making a garden, probably because of the natural physical beauty of the place. But I started thinking about it, and I had the idea of inviting the great gardener Russell Page to come and visit for the weekend. At that time, Françoise and I had an apartment on East Seventieth Street, overlooking the Frick Museum, and I’d watched Russell creating the garden there.

The Kitchen Gardens Steps Into the Spotlight at Some of the World's Most Exceptional Hotels

Meg Nolan van Reesema,

With more attention these days on what we eat and where it came from, a robust and well-tended kitchen garden has become a bragging right for gourmand properties around the globe. We’ve selected a few stunning destinations, whose lettuce beds and towering stalks tickle our green thumb, as well as one property close to home that, like its exotic colleagues, ensures what we see out the window is exactly what we will see, exquisitely prepared, on the plate.

Purple Reign

Photographs by Claire Ingram,

Fulfill your fantasies with these mystical jewels in regal shades of purple. Kwiat's gradient diamond earrings, a hexagonal-cut ring, circa 1930, from Steven Fox Jewelry and Briolette-cut earrings from Faye Kim Designs all feature sparkling amethyst accents.