Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Required Reading: A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life

Search

Start typing to search...

Search
Hostess GiftsIssue 39 — London Teatime

Required Reading: A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life

September 27, 2011

Our meme for the day is A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life, the title of a recent book by Mary Randolph Carter and introduced to us by our friend Kathleen. The longtime creative director for Ralph Lauren, Carter encourages us to embrace the things that come into our lives: collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, and so forth. She uses her own photographs to illustrate eight homes that have a very personal decorating scheme. "The homes I love and the ones I share in this book are put together by people who have a lot of confidence in their own taste," says Carter. "I do believe the personal touch is important and prefer to see a house that is truly lived in and put together by the people who love it."

Required Reading A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life portrait 3

Above: A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life, published by Rizzoli, is $34.65 at Amazon.

perfectly kept house living with work

Above: We especially like Carter's "Living with Work" chapter; photo via The Love Bells.

mary carter selby 1

Above: A detail from Carter's own office, photographed by The Selby.

Required Reading A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life portrait 6

Above: Mary Randolph Carter's own work space at Ralph Lauren. "I love to see and enjoy the things I have, so my life is an open book," she says.

(Visited 462 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection

Product summary  

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Shopper's Diary: The Old Curiosity Shop in London

September 27, 2011
Next Post

Shopper's Diary: Hooper & Shaw in Cornwall, England

September 28, 2011

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on Required Reading A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life portrait 11 17

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

v5.0

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack