A Fresh Scandi New England Style Home in Wales

Rhydyclafdy, Pwllheli, Gwynedd Scandi New England Exterior front

I love real estate listings from around the world and when I ran across this article in Forbes of a property in Wales billed as a Scandi New England style home – I was intrigued. It’s always fun to see what folks from other parts of the world think of as something New England. Of … Read more

The Salem Witch House – Replicas and Modern Living

33 Tarragon Dr Sandwich MA Salem Witch House replica exterior front

Here in New England we have a lot of historic homes and one of the oldest and most historic – and infamous – is the Jonathan Corwin House in Salem, MA. This house is also known as the Salem Witch House. It’s infamous because the house is the only structure still standing in Salem with … Read more

Versailles and other Grand Designs

Versailles Grand Design header

Versailles: A Private Invitation with Text by Guillaume Picon and Photos by Francis Hammond The new book from Flammarion called VERSAILLES: A Private Invitation by Guillaume Picon with photos by Francis Hammond is a gorgeous, beautiful and wonderful tome all about Versailles. I really can’t come up with enough adjectives. It’s spectacular. And huge  It’s … Read more

Hold The Doors!

Carved wood door of woods and bears

  I saw this image on Pinterest and kind of fell in love with the magical woodland nature of its carvings and stained glass. It kind of reminded me of fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. I also reminded me of: Game of Thrones character Hodor (née Wylis) who … Read more

2016 Newburyport Holiday House Tour

I made my annual pilgrimage to the 2016 Newburyport Holiday House tour on Saturday and this year, we were treated to some amazing homes and lovely, though not ostentatious, holiday decorating. The House Tour is put on and benefits the Custom House Maritime Museum of Newburyport. The first house I visited was the 1774 Lowell-Tracy-Johnson … Read more

Massachusetts’s Oldest House Just Sold – and it’s adorable.

Cape Cod Home

This adorable house in Sandwich, Massachusetts on Cape Cod sold in 2016 and was considered the oldest house currently on the market. From the real estate listing:  Meticulously maintained 1600’s English style cottage on Shawme Pond. Launch your kayak or fish from your private dock. Perfect for a second home, weekend getaway, or year-round living … Read more

2015 Newburyport Holiday House Tour

This past Saturday was a lovely one to take in the 2015 Newburyport Holiday House Tour which benefits the Custom House Maritime Museum. As I’ve written many times here, Newburyport is my favorite place in the world – I lived there for about five years and still miss it. Unfortunately, everyone in my life is … Read more

New England Design Hall of Fame Awards Dinner

Each year, the folks at New England Home magazine put on quite a soiree in honor of the current inductees into the New England Design Hall of Fame. This 9th annual celebration was held last night at The State Room overlooking all of Boston and it was a party to remember!   The 2016New England … Read more

BlogTourNola: New Orleans Garden District Walkabout

I can’t believe it’s already been two weeks since we were walking and gawking in the gorgeous Garden District in New Orleans. Our first full day at BlogTourNola started with an amazing breakfast at Chef John Besh’s Lüke Restaurant. A big thanks to KBIS for being our gracious hosts. After a hearty breakfast of beignet’s … Read more

Sights of Paris!

Linda Merrill Sights of Paris 2008 Paris Rooftops from Printemps through window

I’m back from Maison et Objet  with lots of photos of the sights of Paris to share (and a whopper of a cold that has laid me out flat since I returned on Tuesday evening!) So, I thought I’d share my Sights of Paris travel pics first and then will delve into the show as … Read more