Oh, how wise, wise, wise! Bunny bought this painted English chest at an auction; the mirror is a carved French antique, and the hydrangeas and their pots are all made of tole. The interior designer and her husband, John Rosselli, an antiques dealer, are selling their longtime home for $3.995 million. Fast forward, Bunny had her friend Gil Schafer III, the famous architect, do the mathematics needed to create a proper Greek temple, and a local carpenter Gerald McMahon did the rest. The weather took its toll me and my horrible migraines this summer so Im glad to see it go. Indeed, the entire house is ornamented with pieces from his collection. You need a tall arrangement to draw on the height; it actually makes it more intimate. This logic also applies to the nine-foot-tall Rococo scroll mirrors that Bunny found and had painted white to look like plaster. Her design firm, Bunny Williams Inc. was established in 1988, with her home furnishings collection, Bunny Williams Home, being founded in 2008. A few of the homes inhabitants, namely their threemixed-breed dogs, also require a more laid-back approach to living well. Hi, Im Laurel, and Laurel Home is the website and blog for Laurel Bern Interiors. com Shes in the green room, shes in the pink, la verde, la rosa. I am led to la verde, one of two bedrooms in the Greek templestyle pool house (there are four more in the main house). Its good exercise, youre outside, and whats more beautiful than a flower? If the presidential campaign field werent already so crowded, some might suggest Bunny Williams throw her hat into the ringthe tastemaker, gardener, entertainer, and celebrated interior designer inspires that much confidence. And sometimes, as she charmingly related in her recent keynote speech at the Design Bloggers Conference; she cant seem to pull herself away from the computer, reading all of our wonderful blog posts. Laurel Bern Interiors/Laurel Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees, by advertising and linking to amazon.com and other affiliate marketing companies, 1996-2023 Laurel Home 1996-2023 Laurel Bern Interiors, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I know what it costs in water bills and landscaping bills monthly and I am out there with the crew for over an hour each week when they come for maintenance directing traffic so to speak. Bring Out Indoor Comforts. When I first visited the property over ten years ago, there was a stone wall with steps in it that terraced the land from the lawn, by the house, down to a flat area where a reflection pool with carp and goldfish was; and that water feature still forms the centerpiece of the garden. https://www.gardenconservancy.org/, To see Bunnys Instagram look at https://www.instagram.com/bunnys_eye/?hl=en, Bunnys website http://bunnywilliams.com/  and https://www.instagram.com/bunnywilliamshome/?hl=en, Johns website http://www.johnrosselli.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/johnrosselliassociates/?hl=en, Trade Secrets, Ct website http://www.tradesecretsct.com/. She finished her story about John which made everyone laugh. Having spent more than 40 years developing her craft as the secretary at renowned New York firm Parish-Hadley, Bunny later established her own company, Bunny Williams, Inc. She and her husband, the successful antique dealer John Rosselli, also opened the Treillage on Manhattan's Upper East Side in the early 1990s. lol I imagine that this room if one were paying retail would [] I have always looked forward to Christmas as a special time., This article originally appeared in the November/December 2017 issue of VERANDA. A warm palette and a wide range of textures and materialslinen, velvet, satin, sea grass, rough cotton, polished woodcreate depth and interest in the library. Appointment hours are Tue and Thu 10AM - 3PM, Sat 10AM -2PM. The Cornwall Library is delighted to announce a benefit event at the home of our neighbors, legendary Interior designer Bunny Williams, and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli. My 20 All-Time Favorite Benjamin Moore Paint Colors. lol..hahahah! The Barn also has a small kitchen, which Bunny laments could have been a bit bigger, a flower arranging room, bathroom and guest bedroom. Of the several businesses they own, its Bunnys favorite. If you look carefully at the top photo, you will see a new sculpture that was found at RT Facts in Kent, Connecticut that was just installed earlier this Spring, according to Bunnys Instagram bunnys-eye. To be clear, Ive never met Bunny Williams husband. It is hard to imagine that the now lush tropical garden was once a rocky coral outcrop requiring two feet of topsoil to be trucked in. Verrrry doubtful, but maybeeee, if she reads blogs? A slightly worn table and set of chairs areperfectly at home on the porch. I need to give you a hug!. Looking at the tablescape you see a collection of frogs and matte white ceramic gourds made by Bunny and Johns friend, famed ceramicist Christopher Spitzmiller. magnificent home and thanks to One Kings Lane for this story! You both deserve much praise with your restoration of that beautiful gem of a house, the surrounding gardens, hen house, Conservatory, and barn. (and trying not to tower over her!) What a treat to see that in person! It is the centerpiece of her book, An Affair with a House. I also think that your gardens were beautiful too this year Fred, especially the formal one in the backyard. As in the past, and still today, stone pavers surround the pool and a low boxwood hedge creates the feeling of stepping into an enclosed space. The interior designer and her husband, John Rosselli, an antiques dealer, are selling their longtime home for $3.995 million. It makes things much more jolly. The table holds as many as 18 for a sit-down lunch that doesnt begin until mid-afternoon. Buy things you love and youll have them forever, she advises. Fred- Your dedication of your Own time in taking us on this tour with you and writing up such a Glorious, fact filled report is just Wonderful. The bed, made of bone, was designed by John and built in his shop; the limestone-topped bedside table is from Bunny Williams Home. In the barns great room, a German wood stag head and a Regency convex mirror, both from, Inside Bunny Williams's Falls Village Home, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Bunny Williams mantra is to furnish your home with what you love; furnish with qualitythings that will stand the test of time. After 15 years as business partners in Treillage, their beloved but now shuttered garden-and-home store, and 12 as a couple, John and Bunny, who founded her namesake firm in 1988 following 21. 2023 Cond Nast. It was very quiet in the room when she said that. I was set to stay at the Westin in Punta Cana, expecting to spend a few hours a day up at the house in formal interview mode, when, a week before the trip, I received an email from Bunny's assistant alerting me that "Bunny has made arrangements for you to stay at La Colina." The original fish pond is now surrounded by other parterre beds and new stone paths give the space a much more formal look. (Oh my, I spy a Greek key pattern above their heads!) Oh man. Frankly, no plant does perfectly indoors. YupI just have to become more dedicated! The cutting and vegetable garden is surrounded by a wooden fence that was replicated from a section of early 19th-centurary fence from Maine, found at the Farmington Antiques Fair. Hi there Paula, best of luck keeping your chickens safe. Your email address will not be published. It is from the 1940s and previously belonged to socialite Dorothy Hart Hirshon. I was giddy and forwarded the email to my mother and husband. Shopping the Up-scale Stores in New Preston, Connecticut 9-18-2017, Thats why I love going in a room thats a little messy or the chair cushion is a little saggedI know they sit in it. Trelliage will be missed, truly one of the great stores for the person who wanted to learn about the just right place for things. Its not real. Reid Rolls. Heres a shot of the conservatory and a small part of the extensive and most exquisite gardens ever! John Rosselli Another victim of the pandemic, the wonderful NYC store of John Rosselli (also the husband of Bunny Williams) shuttered a while back. It doesnt look real and it sounds too corporate. Yes? Bunny stenciled the original pine floorboards in the entryway with a pattern resembling giant tortoiseshells. AROUND SEVEN OCLOCK the group convenes on this same terrace for freshly blended daiquiris before moving through the Monticello-inspired triple-hung windows and across the great room to a loggia overlooking the courtyard. She was incredibly lucky to spend a day with Bunny and wrote about it on Loi Thais blog, Tone on Tone. We had our own gardner who happily taught me everything he knew about gardening, various plants and soil along with my grandparent neighbors with their organic garden who were more then happy to let me help them in their garden when they were there working on it. Posted on June 30, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome. Great Decorating The Secret Trick You Need for Success! Bunny Williams and John Rosselli with their dogs, Annabelle and BeBe. Every item on this page was chosen by a Veranda editor. Decorated with handsome antiques and sparkles of gold, the house has a sense of history and gravitas, but also of life and change. Treillage takes its name from the iconic garden antiques store founded by Bunny and her husband John Rosselli in New York. Im sorry, I dont receive notifications on new posts it seems so I just saw this! Henceforth Bunny Williams Home was born. The only man-made object is a 19th-century Greek oil jar that Williams and Rosselli found on a trip to the South of France. Lamps, Floor Lamps, Candlesticks & Hurricanes, Sconces, Hanging Fixtures & Flushmounts and Wall Lanterns. Be brave, Laurel! An armillary in the center of the garden acts as the focal point of the space, and rusting garden towers, designed by Bunny, provide vertical tension. She is very appreciative and understands the collective PR value. I think that this room looks just as fresh and classic now in 2015 as it did in 1988. And I had to do my research. Bunny painted the wallsherself, achievingthe watercolor-over-plaster effect by thinning the paint with water. After-all she's just a person. Visiting Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) Dorinda Medleys home Blue Stone Manor in Great Barrington, Massachusetts 7-17-2017, It reflects light, and to me its not formalto me its happy. John Rosselli's apartment makes the case for collecting. Over the course of 30 years, Bunny has worked to transform her weekend retreat, located in the town of Falls Village, in the northwest corner of Connecticut, into a place thats stunning but never intimidating. In addition to running her own business and overseeing multiple home decor collaborations, for the past 25 years she and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, ran Treillage, a trendsetting garden shop on Manhattans Upper East Side that sold patinated urns and weathered furniture long before anybody else did. This is your chance to meet her. One Living Room Layout - Seven Different Ways! Bunny Williams, Doyenne of Cozy Chic, Lists Upper East Side Home. Set the dish in the warm oven until the butter has melted. I started a Instagram site, as at this moment I dont have time to write blog articles. I was planning a buying trip to London and needed someone to take over the shop, so he moved his inventory over and that was that.. In her speech she says how she loves table cloths from places like Pier One Imports (uh huh) and Anthropologie! Volta 2in Square Shallow Regressed Trim Narrow Flood Beam 3500K 85CRI in White - Volta LED downlight series represents an innovation in design and technology for architectural lighting. To me, the Sunken Garden area of the estate has seen the most reworking. Bunny used a natural-tone palette so that when you are in this room you feel like you are already in the garden., Bunny has a grand conservatory, but she also has plenty of plants indoorsand ideas about how to show them to their best advantage. When it comes to interior design and garden planning, Bunny Williams is an icon. The couple split their time between homes in Connecticut and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, where Bunny continues to cultivate her gardens and her incredible legacy. Writer Chloe Malle in the entrance court of La Colina, Bunny Williams and John Rosselli's retreat in the Dominican Republic. Preparing for my early February trip to Punta Cana required some foresight: trekking to my building's basement to extract my favorite summer clothes, getting a bikini wax and pedicure, searching for TSA-friendly-sized mosquito repellent and SPF 50 sunblockand figuring out how to fit into my carry-on the king-size green vinyl mosquito net my husband ordered online and insisted I take with me as a defense against Zika virus. . Bunny Williams has had a long and distinguished career in design yet continues to harness her unbridled creative energy, evolving and always moving forward with curiosity and enthusiasm. Required fields are marked *. "Treillage was something entirely new when it opened, but all good things come to an end. Furlow had a shop on 66thStreet near my own, filled with lovely things. Two sets of French doors were added to the east side of the space, and sliding barn doors were added over them to keep the look of a barn from outside. Chicken wire completely covers all the surface of the aviary and goes from roof to deep into the ground so unwanted predators would not be able to attack the birds. He already had a partial space in an old carriage house . Studies interior design at Garland Junior College in Boston. Inside, the stereo is switched on and one couple begins to dance, gently twirling over the striped dhurrie to the Temptations My Girl. Theres not a mosquito in sight. I met my idol Bunny Williams and not only that we shared a lovely hug! sconces or lamps; ways to showcase blue-and-white porcelain; and suggestions for how to edit one's home. The creche was inspired by the Neapolitan Baroque version on display at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today, Bunny shares her chaise with just one dog, Bob, a terrier mutt whose wiry wheat-colored coat matches the flecked Coralina stone of the terrace. And work for them for as long as possible. Truly no one like Bunny Williams (who else hand stencils tortoise shell patterns?) One of my favorite bits of advice: She urged all young designers to work for someone whose tastes align with yours BEFORE venturing out on your own. John is an extraordinary cook, and he loves to cook, and I love setting the tableI can set a table in 15minutes because we have all the china and everything., To people who dont do much hosting or who are nervous about the demands it makes, Bunny says relax. I dont want to tell you, she says. Companion Posts on Fred Gonsowski Garden Home. The daughter of a horse breeder, her upbringing was in Virginia. And that one thing alone is what makes her the super star of super stars! Now were in the larger of two green houses where tables of tender annuals and tropicals are displayed. A Way to Garden..A Tour of Margaret Roachs Columbia County Garden in Copake Fall, NY 6-6-2016, I have two tall torchieres that bounce light off the ceiling, and everything else is candlelight. For a time she used real candles but eventually switched to electric-powered Luminara candles. YOU DO ALL YOUR GARDENING BY YOURSELF TOO!! Dolores, The room is constructed of conservatory windows, dating from about 1840, taken from a Hudson River house that had been demolished. Its become a hackneyed term for people to build a consistent image on their websites, products, etc. Its never enough! Their home and gardens are exqusite but knowing the costs of the maintenance they must be paying I shudder for them to maintain all those georgeous gardens and their pool. The front facade of Bunny Williams and John Rossellis Falls Village, Connecticut retreat, which was the subject of Bunnys iconic coffee table book An AFFAIR with a HOUSE, where she covers the decorating of the house and other buildings and the laying out of the gardens. Priceless Ming vase on top of Indian cotton. The greatest thing about the house, says John, is that everyone can get away from each other; theres chaises and little nooks and crannies.. Every time I see blue and white, I know I can put it together. Illustrating her point, she takes a marbleized Christopher Spitzmiller pasta bowl, a recent gift from the ceramicist, and sets it on top of a Spode Blue Italian dinner plate. Then, they fell in love and got married! The pool house was inspired by a book of 18th-century follies Bunny came across while in France. Co-owners Bunny Williams, an interior designer, and John Rosselli, an antiques dealer, met while attending the Chelsea Flower show in London, where they bonded over a mutual dissatisfaction with how difficult it was to find lovely things for the garden. Yes, graphic artists can help you style and express that image into professional packaging, but its not up to them to create it out of nothing. You open some good wine, and its just a joy. Soon after opening the John Rosselli showroom, the company became the exclusive distributor for British designer Robert Kime fabrics in America. Well, she already is and the best Ive ever seen! Also notice how pictures have been stacked up the walls and tall elements add vertical tension in the space. So now I have my little remote control and I light them all at once.. via Architectural Digest. Its fun to do something you havent done before, she says. In the property's restored carriage house, tiles that Bunny Williams and John Rosselli had made in Italy surround the fireplace and complement Gatewood's porcelain collection. She broadens her smile, as if shes reacquainting with an old friend. And giving John a reason to want to hate me. The building consists of two square pavilions connected by an octagonal wire aviary. Happy March to all! Casual and Timeless Dining Room Furniture, Casegoods Bookcases, Etageres and Desks, Ugh! The Truth About Flush Mount Ceiling Lights & 24 Under $200! My earlier foray into Bunnys china room confirms that this table setting for 14 does not make a dent in the designers inventory of dinnerware whether in blue and white or other colors. Wow! Those who visited fondly recount the shop as a welcome escape from city life. 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And blog for Laurel Bern Interiors in love and youll have them forever, she says an... Dish in the space a much more formal look hi, Im Laurel, and whats more than! Makes the case for collecting broadens her smile, as if shes reacquainting an... Reacquainting with an old carriage house Laurel, and Laurel home is the website and blog for Laurel Interiors.