House Beautiful: I was in this kitchen (seriously)!

  
The current House Beautiful is a WOW issue.  Packed with great articles and tips that you can use!  Good and inspiring reading over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Last year when I attended the Interior Redecorators annual conference in Atlanta, we were treated to a visit to Serenbe. This beautiful community in Georgia's Chatahoochee Hill country is founded on the principles of sustainability and is a good lesson for all of us as we strive to live greener.  My Serenbe blog ran shortly after I returned.
 
An added bonus was a gracious invitation to visit to the gorgeous European-style country town home owned by Steve and Marie Nygren, developers/owners of Serenbe.  I will never forget two design elements:  the gorgeous kitchen created by Marie and her designer, Smith Hanes, who also talked with our group.  The French oak island is breathtaking and she told me during the visit that it was designed by a Provencal craftsman with open storage. It is a work of art.
 
So you can imagine how excited I was to see this kitchen on the cover of the December/January 2011  issue.  The magazine is filled with photos of their home and the story of this community.  The article also details my second favorite feature:  when the dining room table is not in use, it is a desk!  Marie insists that she is not a decorator but this home is a testament to her creativity. 

This issue also has lots of ideas for how we will decorate in 2011.  And an interview (with beautiful photographs) with one of my favorite designers, Windsor Smith.  I was thrilled to have met her last year when she hosted a seminar in the Kravet showroom at the Miromar Design Center in southwest Florida.  We share a love of blending vintage pieces with contemporary design.  And we are both willing to travel to the far ends of the earth to find them.  Read the article, The New Pretty.
 
Whether you are celebrating at home or away this year, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.