What’s a dream home on the Gulf without a spectacular view? This one is brought to us courtesy of the architects at A BOHEME Design in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The home, located in the coveted gated community of Paradise by the Sea, was built by Earthbuild construction and featured interior design by Melanie Turner. E. F. San Juan, the custom mouldings, millwork, and cabinetry firm celebrating fifty years in business, supplied Weather Shield exterior windows seen here, along with baseboards and white oak beam materials for the interior, Marvin multislide doors, and custom mahogany exterior doors for other parts of the home. The company’s work with architects, builders, and interior designers in the coastal Southeast and beyond has helped create memorable details for countless homes and community spaces for the past five decades. See more on page 18!
Photo by Layne Lillie
Vie is a French word meaning “life” or “way of living.” VIE magazine sets itself apart as a high-gloss publication that focuses on human-interest stories with heart and soul. From Seattle to NYC with a concentration in the Southeast, VIE is known for its unique editorial approach—a broad spectrum of deep content with rich photography. The award-winning magazine was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife team Lisa and Gerald Burwell, owners of the specialty publishing and branding house known as The Idea Boutique®. From the finest artistically bound books to paperless digital publication and distribution, The Idea Boutique provides comprehensive publishing services to authors and organizations. Its team of creative professionals delivers a complete publishing experience—all that’s needed is your vision.
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FEATURE
18 Defining Dream Homes Through Craftsmanship: E. F. San Juan Celebrates
50 Years
LA MAISON 16
28 Creating Happy Rooms
38 L’intermission: A Milestone Anniversary for LV
40 The World’s Best Architecture of 2025: Renowned International Festival Hits Miami
50 Petite pause: Chancey Design in Alys Beach
52 A Renovation from the Heart
60 A Home Reforged with Love
66 Petite pause: Refined Interiors by Benjamin Johnston
VOYAGER 68
70 The Breakers of Newport: A Study in Gilded Architecture
76 L’intermission: Bal Harbour Shops Is Off to the Races
78 A Living Art Gallery in Botswana: Baines’ Lodge Is Better Than Ever
86 The Pearl, Set in Place: An Intimate Hotel Designed to Move at Rosemary Beach’s Pace
90 Petite pause: Tudor Revival by Benjamin Johnston
VIE BOOK CLUB 94
96 Tailored Interiors: Inspired Living on the Page
104 The Shows Everyone’s Talking About: Streaming into Spring
110 Petite pause: Timeless Spaces by Benjamin Johnston
INSPIRATIONS 112
113 Don’t Miss the View
116 L’intermission: Escape to Alagna Mirtillo Rosso
C’EST LA VIE CURATED COLLECTION 118
LA SCÈNE 126
THE LAST WORD 131
AU REVOIR! 136
Photo courtesy of Baines’ Lodge
GOLDEN LIGHT FILTERS THROUGH TIMBER BEAMS AT BOTSWANA’S BAINES’ LODGE, WHERE EARTHY TEXTURES, WARM WOOD TONES, AND OPEN-AIR ELEGANCE BLEND SEAMLESSLY WITH THE SURROUNDING WILDERNESS.
CREATIVE TEAM
CEO / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTOR LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com
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GERALD BURWELL GERALD@VIEMAGAZINE.COM
EDITORIAL
EDITOR
JORDAN STAGGS JORDAN@VIEMAGAZINE.COM
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KATIE OGLETREE KATIE@VIEMAGAZINE.COM
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MEGHAN RYAN ASBURY, SARAH FREEMAN, ANTHEA GERRIE, MYLES MELLOR, CAROLYN O’NEIL, COLLEEN SACHS, XENIA TALIOTIS
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THE GREAT UNFURLING
In a New Light
There is a unique pull to an epiphany—a realization so clear that it requires you to see things differently at once. The phrase “in a new light” originates from the 1680s; it combined metaphors for clarity, deep understanding, and intellectual insight. This phrase describes the exact instant a new truth becomes clear to you.
As the Spring season arrives, we lean into a collective sense of renewal—a time to focus on making healthy choices, seeking goodness in our actions, and intentionally embracing positive changes. Keeping the world beautiful and inviting remains central to our vision of storytelling, and this issue continues that pursuit. From breathtaking buildings across the globe to interiors arranged with inspiring touches, residences have rarely looked as impressive as they do now.
This harmony is obvious on our cover, featuring a home in the gated community of Paradise by the Sea on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The home showcases local architectural styles from the firm A BOHEME and unique interior designs by Melanie Turner Interiors, built by Earthbuild construction. What makes this house special is the detailed custom woodwork by E. F. San Juan, a family company celebrating its 50th anniversary. Our editor, Jordan Staggs, known for her attention to detail, tells the story of this fourth-generation millwork business.
On a more personal note, I am entering a time in my life when new opportunities seem possible, and I am letting go of past disappointments from missed chances. Many people, myself included, want to move away from the fast-paced, always-on work culture common in America. Instead, we aim to work smarter, prioritize living life, and find meaning in what we do. Personally, I find a sense of purpose when I am at sea.
Though a luxury yacht is ideal for an escape, my nostalgia is rooted in the rustic lobster boats of my New England youth. Almost any nautical vessel will suffice. I fondly recall early sunlit mornings on the high-speed ferry from Hyannis to the quiet chic of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. There is profound peace in sailing at first light, before the sea has fully stirred. I am presently in a state of “utter abandonment,” ready to unfurl sails and fly across the water.
This season, I encourage you to cast off your worries and seize the goodness that daily life offers. Find your thrill, do the things you’ve long deferred, and remember: you are the only one with the power to make it happen.
To Life!
—Lisa Marie Burwell
Lisa Marie Burwell on the bay in Duxbury, Massachusetts, across from the historic King Caesar House
The Test of Time
True permanence isn’t about resisting change, but absorbing it. It’s a limestone facade that softens with age, not weakens. It’s oak floors that carry the patina of decades, telling their stories. In a culture that so often celebrates what’s new and next, the most radical choice may be to build something that really lasts, not just for today’s photograph but for tomorrow’s memory. Because when design—or a story— withstands the test of time, it does more than survive, it becomes legacy.
We want to see your everyday moments that last, so tag @viemagazine for a chance to be part of the next conversation!
@theideaboutique Obsessed with Mahjong? Us too! At Palms 30A, you’ll find everything you need to set the table in style, from the cutest sets to the perfect little details. Find your next Mahjong essentials at @palms30a, located in The Shops at The Hub.
@drlindseyhoppe We knew it was coming, but there’s just something special about seeing this magazine printed and in our hands. Being featured on the cover of @viemagazine is an incredible honor, but what makes this moment meaningful is what it represents. And yes—my team might be more excited than I am. I couldn’t have done any of this without them.
@e.f.sanjuan If you’re taking a stroll in beautiful Alys Beach, odds are you’re going to come across a lot of our work (and some absolute favorite projects at that)! Our team is so grateful to have worked on many incredible homes and community buildings in the gorgeous towns along Scenic Highway 30A and beyond. We want to see your favorite 30A walks, so tag us next time you’re out and about!
@anthealejardin A 1920s luscious 5.5-carat Sapphire, set in a marvelous and highly detailed Platinum Art Deco setting. Hours of time, passion, and love went into creating this setting in an era with no power tools. This particular Sapphire has depth and life, so much energy. Like a beautiful blue velvet, the colors and shades move and dance.
@northbeachsocial Evenings on the bay… Craft cocktails, great company, and good food are all right here at North Beach Social!
@hibiscus30a @jordanlstaggs, editor of @viemagazine, talks with Dayna Reggero on sharing hope! Thank you, VIE, for listening and sharing stories with heart and soul.
LET’S TALK!
Send VIE your comments and photos on our social media channels or by emailing us at info@viemagazine.com. We’d love to hear your thoughts. They could end up in the next La conversation!
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@churchilloaksfl An unmatched lifestyle north of 30A—267 Churchill Oaks Drive.
We collaborate with talented photographers, writers, and other creatives on a regular basis, and we’re continually inspired by how they pour their hearts and souls into their crafts. Follow these creatives on social media and don’t forget to check out our account, @viemagazine.
IN THIS ISSUE, WE ASKED THE CREATIVES: IN A WORLD OF FAST TRENDS AND INSTANT INSPIRATION, WHAT MAKES DESIGN TRULY TIMELESS?
VIE Assistant Editor @oglekatie_
Working in marketing and social media and spending countless hours on my phone, I find that inspiration moves at the speed of a literal scroll. It can be hard to separate what is here for a good time or a long time. Timeless design tells a bigger story. It pulls from history, adapts to the way we live now, and still feels relevant years down the road. When a space is created with appreciation, quality craftsmanship, and a sense of purpose, it doesn’t need to shout for attention. You just know it’s going to last.
General Manager at The Pearl Hotel, Rosemary Beach @pearlrb
Timeless design in hospitality isn’t about following trends—it’s about creating a lasting sense of place. At The Pearl Hotel, every design decision is rooted in authenticity, comfort, and connection to the surrounding Rosemary Beach® community. When a space feels both refined and welcoming and continues to resonate with guests year after year, that’s when design becomes truly timeless.
Design endures when a space or object bears the imprint of relentless iteration within its final form. In a world of fast trends and instant
inspiration, design shaped through a methodical process moves beyond style to engage the senses, carrying emotion, memory, and experimentation into lived experience. Timeless work arises from well crafted details and deliberate material connections, where surfaces meet with intention and materials engage in a dialogue. These details are the tangible resolution of many crafts or trades bringing skill and expertise to every connection. Realized through conventional construction or experimental technology, design shaped through a methodical process withstands fleeting trends and provides a multi-sensory experience that invites touch, evokes feeling, and leaves a lasting impression.
In our work, we have always strived to create bespoke, lasting interiors that are authentic to our clients’ dreams and aspirations and that also embrace the spirit of the location they have chosen for their home. In doing so, we see our work as crafting a specific narrative for them and use that narrative to inform every design decision; floor plans, furnishings, and material selection, from the largest scale down to the smallest detail. This creates work that lives in a way that can only be for them and in that location, void of trend yet anchored in their unique story. This is the very definition of timeless design. One that reflects the true nature of the inhabitants and embodies the spirit of the location.
PATRICK SUTTON
KYLE DAVIS
ANDREW MORRELL & LEMARA
KATIE OGLETREE
La maison
WHERE THE HEART IS
American Leather continues to reshape expectations around sleeper sofas through sculptural design, customization, and craftsmanship. Each piece is handcrafted in Dallas by craftspeople who combine precision engineering with detailed upholstery techniques. The brand emphasizes comfort without compromise, challenging the traditional perception of sleeper sofas as purely utilitarian. Notable designs include the Brooklyn Sofa, defined by clean lines and a modern profile; the Bronte Sleeper, which offers soft tailoring and casual comfort; and the Hollis Sleeper, recognized for its refined curves and architectural presence. Each model is designed to balance form and function for everyday living. The collection highlights American Leather’s commitment to longevity, design integrity, and thoughtful construction.
Photo courtesy of American Leather
This beautiful home in Alys Beach, Florida, was designed by Khoury Vogt Architects, built by Hufham Farris Construction, and features interiors by Heidi Perry. E. F. San Juan provided a number of custom millwork products in addition to the stunning exterior windows and doors crafted in partnership with Loewen.
Photo by Chris Luker
DEFINING DREAM HOMES
Through Craftsmanship
E. F. SAN JUAN CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
The idea
of the American Dream doesn’t always ring true today, but when a family business defies the odds and extends across generations, it’s heartwarming to see the dream become reality.
F. San Juan, Inc., a custom architectural mouldings, millwork, and cabinetry firm located in Youngstown, Florida, is an inspiring example of how hard work, astute business practices, and deep values can build something that will last a lifetime or more. In January of 2026, the company celebrated its fiftieth anniversary—a milestone that only about 10 to 20 percent of businesses ever achieve. To those who know and work with the San Juan family, it’s easy to see how this fourthgeneration family endeavor has continued to grow, evolve, and thrive through every season.
Eddie San Juan, a cabinetmaker in Miami in the mid-1900s, likely never imagined that his small business making wood cabinets would inspire his son, Edward “Ed” F. San Juan, to start his own mill and manufacturing consulting firm in 1976 after moving up to the Florida Panhandle. The family legacy was further cemented when Ed’s son, Edward A. San Juan—now the president—joined the business in the early 1980s. Shortly afterward, the mill evolved into E. F. San Juan, creating custom wood building products for homes and community spaces
in the growing coastal town of Seaside, Florida, and the rest is history.
“You don’t buy any of these parts off the shelf,” says Edward. “These are all custom-made, specifically for each project. You won’t find them anywhere else. That’s what we bring in, and it’s what we live for.”
From its humble beginnings with a single Craftsman shaper and table saw to today’s 80,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing and warehouse facility, one thing has remained a constant for E. F. San Juan—family. Edward’s wife, Mary Kathryn, joined the company as controller. Ed’s son-in-law, Buddy Czubaj, became the vice president after retiring from a career in the military. Edward and Mary Kathryn’s children, Eddie, Lydia, and Mario, grew up learning the ins and outs of the business and visiting the plant, leading Eddie to his current position as operations manager and Lydia as coordinator for custom cabinetry orders. Other in-laws, spouses, and children have served in various roles throughout the years, building a network of care and dedication to the family business whose roots run as deeply as the trees from which they craft.
By JORDAN STAGGS
“The reason I’m here has a lot to do with the passion that my grandfather instilled in me from a young age and the apprenticeship and opportunity that I had directly after college,” says Eddie. “Wood, to me, is alive—it’s warm, each piece is so unique, and it really allows us to take that beautiful piece nature created and turn it into a man-made display of beauty. To me, it’s very cool to see that take shape in our facility.”
With over 120 employees today, from those in the sales department to the manufacturing floors, cabinet plant, warehouses containing over twenty species of domestic and exotic hardwoods, and even on-site kiln, painting, and priming facilities, the San Juans consider their team members like an extension of the family, and instill in them a sense of pride for their work. The company’s just cause, “crafting a legacy of exceptionalism, teamwork, and perpetual improvement,” guides its business practices year after year as its team evolves through continued education, passion, and dedication to providing the best service to every client.
Those clients include some of the top architects and builders in the country, if not the world. The communities of Northwest Florida, South Florida, and other areas of the Southeastern Coastal US have boomed with incredible architecture over the past few decades. From the New Urbanism towns along Florida’s Scenic Highway 30-A, such as Seaside and Alys Beach, to the quarter-billion-dollar homes in Naples and Sarasota and historic renovations and newbuilds in Tallahassee, E. F. San Juan’s footprint spans far beyond its hometown headquarters. Its clients—builders and architects seeking unique, custom-made wood products that will transform
a house into a one-of-a-kind artistic statement—include world-renowned, award-winning firms such as Khoury Vogt Architects (KVA), who were recently named Seaside Prize recipients, Forbes Best in State – Architecture, New Urban Guild Barranco Award recipients, and ICAA Arthur Ross Award recipients, among many other accolades.
E. F. San Juan’s own accolades include being continually recognized by industry organizations and publications such as the Woodworking Network, National Hardwood magazine, Building Products Digest, AIA Northwest Florida, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), and more. Eddie San Juan has also been listed as one of Woodworking Network’s “40 Under 40” for wood industry leaders in 2021.
Andrés Duany, cofounder of DPZ CoDesign and town planner for Seaside, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach along Scenic Highway 30-A, spoke at the 2026 Seaside Prize on how Seaside, birthed in the early 1980s, shaped not only New Urbanism town planning around the globe, but also the level of architecture and craftsmanship in the Northwest Florida area. The best of the best flocked there to learn, develop their skills, and grow in order to create Robert and Daryl Davis’s vision of a perfect American town. Now a proud platinum legacy sponsor of the Seaside Institute, which works to
develop and celebrate New Urbanism principles around the world, E. F. San Juan was front and center on some of Seaside’s most iconic homes and spaces, like the Chapel.
“E. F. San Juan did an extraordinary job executing architect Scott Merrill’s vision on The Chapel at Seaside,” says Seaside cofounder and visionary Robert Davis. E. F. San Juan’s work on the iconic white chapel encompassed all interior and exterior millwork, including the columns, front door, and bell tower. “It’s extremely simple but very, very precise, so the requirements were pretty tough. You really had to be good at doing this kind of millwork.”
The family business’s influence in Alys Beach is even more substantial through their collaboration with the KVA-based Alys Beach Town Architects and the select group of architects and builders who have created this world-renowned community. Strolling through the pristine town’s streets, parks, and pedestrian pathways, residents and guests are surrounded by a living gallery of E. F. San Juan’s work, from intricate latticework on the mashrabiya to warm and welcoming gates and doors, colorful shutters, and unique wood features you won’t see anywhere else.
“Andrés talked about how the skilled craftsmen were learning alongside the architects when they were building Seaside,” said Seaside Institute executive
director Christy Milliken at the 2026 Seaside Prize symposia in February. “E. F. San Juan has put so much heart into the skilled craftsmanship they do and each project they’ve been part of. Along with being a supporter of the Institute and giving back, they also designed the new box that houses our Prize Keys, which was introduced at our thirtieth anniversary when Victor Dover and Joseph Kohl won the Prize.”
The enclosure, handcrafted from mahogany with a custom Seaside Prize seal, was designed by founder Ed F. San Juan, precisely measured and cut to house the bronze-cast Prize Key. Each Seaside Prize winner, past and future, will receive a box. He recently crafted a second design specially for King Charles III, who will be awarded the Seaside Prize by Robert Davis and the Seaside Institute in a future presentation.
“What’s so amazing is to meet a family like E. F. San Juan’s and have kindred souls working with us
Opposite top: A family legacy home in Seaside, Florida, featuring E. F. San Juan paneling, trim, ceiling parts, and much more
Above: Behind the scenes in the E. F. San Juan production facility with Edward and Eddie San Juan
Photos by Kyle Carpenter
Above left: A Gulf-front dream home in The Retreat with E. F. San Juan custom millwork throughout, including custom beams and mahogany window casings. It was designed by Chris Stoyles of Archiscapes and built by Gulfview Construction.
Photo by Layne Lillie
Photo by Romona Robbins
Opposite bottom: Seaside Prize Key mahogany enclosure designed by Ed F. San Juan
Photo by Hunter Burgtorf
E. F. San Juan Invincia® mahogany front door in an Alys Beach custom home by Christ & Associates and built by Davis Dunn Construction, with interiors by Cindy Meador
Photo by Chris Luker
From the beginning through the course of the past fifty years, E. F. San Juan has cemented its legacy and continues to grow not only thanks to impeccable craftsmanship and passion for quality wood products, but also a deep appreciation for collaboration, service, and building relationships.
in their craft and our craft, both creating the magic of products that have longevity, with a great sense of pride in how they’re produced,” says Seaside’s other cofounder and visionary, Daryl Rose Davis.
Viewers can learn more about the company’s involvement with the Seaside Prize, its incredible comeback from devastation after Hurricane Michael wiped out its primary manufacturing facility in 2018, and many incredible projects through its YouTube channel and social media. The video series Real Wood: Crafted Stories with Eddie San Juan is a particularly stunning look behind the scenes and into several completed projects featuring E. F. San Juan’s work, from custom Gulf-front
homes to ZUMA Wellness Center at Alys Beach, a high-end butcher shop and market on Highway 30-A, and many more.
From the beginning through the course of the past fifty years, E. F. San Juan has cemented its legacy and continues to grow not only thanks to impeccable craftsmanship and passion for quality wood products, but also a deep appreciation for collaboration, service, and building relationships. All of these are reflected in the glowing testimonies of their partners through the years.
“My experience as a builder working with E. F. San Juan extends way past a typical customer
Above: Edward, Ed, and Eddie San Juan—three generations of craftsmen who have led the family business for fifty years
Photo by Kyle Carpenter
Above right: Edward with young Eddie and Lydia showing off a circular project at the production facility
Photo courtesy of E. F. San Juan
relationship,” says John Brown, owner of Gulfview Construction. “I consider them a partner and also close friends on every single home I build. Their incredible skill, teamwork, quality, knowledge base, and level of service are simply outstanding. I would not be able to create the quality homes I do without their involvement in my projects.”
“Collaborating with E. F. San Juan was a joy, from working out the details to the exquisite realization,” says partner Michael Morrow of Kinneymorrow Architecture, who brought on E. F. San Juan for an Alys Beach home featuring stunning Satina Tropical Hardwood screens that formed parts of the facade, railings, courtyard gate, and more. “These folks have forgotten more about wood than most people will ever know in the first place.”
“In 2001, when I started Geoff Chick & Associates, E. F. San Juan was already a well-known name in the industry,” says architect Geoff Chick, who has featured E. F. San Juan millwork, ceiling materials, decking, windows, and more in many of his custom home projects since then. “The thing that really struck me was the level of service that they give to architects and builders, making sure that what we drew became a reality. E. F. San Juan helps us be better architects.”
Ed San Juan, now 87, looks back on founding the company with great pride. “You build something, and you want it to be something that continues past you,” he says. “I think what legacy means is that we want to do something here that is going to last forever and be beautiful.”
Seeing E. F. San Juan’s growth, inspired by his own cabinetmaker father and now being shepherded into the mid-twenty-first century by his son and grandchildren, he adds, “The All-American Dream does exist.”
Facing the next fifty years with a new generation of San Juans well established in the fold, the sky is the limit for what they will create. One thing is certain: it will be beautiful.
To learn more, visit EFSanJuan.com, follow @e.f.sanjuan on Instagram, and check out their documentary, facilities tour, and Real Wood: Crafted Stories with Eddie San Juan series on YouTube.
Left: Nautical-inspired custom millwork by E. F. San Juan at the Gulf-front masterpiece home in The Retreat
Photo by Layne Lillie
Middle: Mary Kathryn and Edward San Juan at Seaside Prize Weekend 2025
Photo by Hunter Burgtorf
Bottom: Edward and young Eddie at E. F. San Juan
Photo courtesy of E. F. San Juan
Opposite left: Custom railings and pergola material on a beautiful Alys Beach home by Christ & Associates, Davis Dunn Construction, and Cindy Meador Interiors
Photo by Chris Luker
Opposite right: Intricate fluted trim, wall paneling, and ceiling materials created by E. F. San Juan for this Khoury Vogt Architects home with Heidi Perry Interiors, built by Hufham Farris in Alys Beach
Photo by Chris Luker
YOUR VIEW, OUR PASSION.
E. F. San Juan’s renowned wood millwork creations are complemented by the highest quality windows and doors. Our craftsmen work seamlessly with the most trusted providers of impact-rated doors and windows, such as Weather Shield®, to create custom homes that masterfully combine security, beauty, and function. EFSANJUAN.COM
CREATING HAPPY ROOMS
By Anthea Gerrie
Photography courtesy of Mia Karlsson Interior Design
ven a house in the most desirable of locations can be problematic when daylight is in short supply and the vibe is anything but welcoming. Cornelia Busche and her partner discovered this when they moved into what they believed was the London house of their dreams after living and working in China for twenty years.
“It was such a bleak house—and these are not bleak people,” sighs their designer, Mia Karlsson, whose Scandinavian genes have endowed her with the talent to warm up the coldest and darkest of homes, a trick to which Swedes like herself bring the power of rich color, with which she flooded and transformed the residence.
“Creating happier rooms” is how Karlsson describes her brief for the house in the heart of Hampstead, one of London’s most desirable urban villages, not to mention creating a showcase for the couple’s amazing collection of Asian art and objects. “Their love of the eclectic was a joy to lean into, and we were keen to celebrate their art and antiques properly.”
This substantial home in a city where grand houses are often laid out over four or five storeys offered the advantage of four bedrooms and bathrooms across only three floors. “But it was not well arranged,” complains Cornelia, who inherited a semi-subterranean dining room in a country where such basements are a common feature of older homes usually designated for kitchens, dining rooms, and a “coal drop,” where a winter’s worth of fuel was once dispatched from the street and stored to keep a family warm before central heating became the norm.
Cornelia and her partner, who moved in with two teenage children, took what seemed like an obvious first step for the new owners of a dark house that had been neglected for decades, hiring builders to make it bright and habitable.
But bright is not always right when it comes to a warm welcome, they soon discovered. “This first renovation was dominated by white paint, tiles, and other shiny surfaces— the builder would have put in fluorescent lighting if we hadn’t stopped him,” jokes the man of the house. “The result was certainly brighter, but we were missing warmth and color.”
Top: A bespoke unit opposite the powder room houses a fulllength mirror, coat hooks, and storage for shoes and other objects.
Bottom: The welcoming peachy-pink hue of the hall is enlivened by 1970s-inspired pink chandeliers by Pure White Lines.
“But bright is not always right when it comes to a warm welcome, they soon discovered.”
“The result was certainly brighter, but we were missing warmth and color.”
This page left: Rich burgundy paint draws the whole of the selfcontained basement apartment together, contrasted here in the kitchenette with the worktop and splashback in Mia Karlsson’s favourite color, orange.
This page right: The bed in this basement apartment is contained with its own nook, dramatically papered in jungle mural wallpaper by Arte. The floor of the sleeping area has been raised to allow for storage drawers below.
Opposite top: The large family room is furnished with brightly upholstered modular units by Roche Bobois, which allow for infinite seating arrangements and footstools.
Opposite bottom: A yellow ceiling in the dining room provides a dramatic contrast with the purple walls, while alcoves showcase antique furniture brought by the owners from their years living in China. A dining table by Julian Chichester and wishbone dining chairs by Carl Hansen sit below a bespoke feather chandelier.
arlsson’s website, packed with a plethora of richlyhued projects, attracted the couple. She came to the rescue with her unique penchant for creating rooms that are playful as well as warm and welcoming.
“We like to be cozy even when it’s minus 20 outside,” explains the designer, who hails from Lapland in Sweden’s far north, which sees barely a couple of hours of daylight in the midwinter months. “We have reindeer where I grew up!”
Although her tour de force in taking on the sound but somewhat soulless residence was transforming the basement, her starting point was the entrance.
“This was the biggest missed opportunity—a long hallway stretching from the front to the back of the house with huge wow potential.” Her solution was to flood the space with the warmest and most flattering hue on the color wheel. “A once white and gray corridor with small doors and lackluster lighting became an unapologetic burst of color and joy,” she says of the space now immersed in peachy pink.
The next step was installing two sets of mirrored double doors, opening the hall to a spectacular
deep purple-red dining room with a sunny yellow ceiling on one side. On the other side, the kitchen and living room are adjacent to the terraced yard. Other highlights include a hidden home office and a powder room that presents itself as nothing less than a tropical jungle.
Wooden floors in the hall were replaced with cement tiles, which pick up the pink, trimmed with the blue and orange echoed in the living room. A major new feature was the first of many bespoke pieces of joinery, created to provide much-needed storage that seems to vanish into the walls.
Opposite a handsome arched mirror sits the powder room, which is one of several fantasy-lands the house presents—and the only one guests are likely to encounter. The pristine white tiles of yesteryear were pulled out, and forest green replacements were installed, complete with a matching sink and textured mural wallpaper awash with palms and leopards. Next door, a former tiled cloakroom has been transformed into a study paneled in pink fluted wood, which tones with office furniture in deep coral and a very non-standard cabinet with an arched top, echoing the graceful archways of the hall.
But the stars of the ground floor are the cozy living room and the dining room, decorated in the “moodier” palette Karlsson chose to set the tone for stylish entertaining. While all the light fixtures in this home have star quality, the bespoke feathertrimmed chandelier in the dining room eclipses them all. “We had to have this fixture, so it led us to the purple paint on the walls,” explains Karlsson, whose favourite color is actually the orange she specified for the joinery incorporating shutters on the living room wall, which opens onto the garden. There is a pop of bright purple here, too, in the sofa cushions, and high ceilings in both rooms offer great display space for the couple’s stash of large paintings, many brought from China. “We were constrained by the limits of the wall space we had in Shanghai, lovely though our 1920s house was there,” explains Cornelia.
“‘We had to have this fixture, so it led us to the purple paint on the walls,’ explains Karlsson, whose favourite color is actually the orange she specified for the joinery incorporating shutters on the living room wall, which opens onto the garden.”
“There is a pop of bright purple here, too, in the sofa cushions, and high ceilings in both rooms offer great display space for the couple’s stash of large paintings, many brought from China.”
This home of endless surprises holds one more—the most unexpected of all—as we come to the end of the house tour.
he three bedrooms upstairs are approached via a spectacular landing, which conjures up yet another fantasy world. “A mythical forest full of mythical creatures,” is how Karlsson describes the Andrew Martin mural wallpaper roaming across not only walls but a bespoke linen cupboard, bearing out Karlsson’s belief that “transitional spaces deserve just as much attention as rooms.” Beyond, a spectacular chandelier can be glimpsed between two bedrooms connected by the shower room shared by Cornelia and her daughter. The unexpected burst of colorful tiles in the master bathroom—blue contrasting with yellow, a color scheme Karlsson picked for the shower room—was a rare concession from the builders whose mission was to paint everything else in the house white.
The sleeping accommodation is not restricted to the privacy of the upper level. In the semi-basement, Mia conducted her greatest transformation, a fourth bedroom within a self-contained apartment—“for guests, the current guest being a teenager,” laughs Cornelia. It sits behind a huge entertainment space filled with the modular Mah Jong seating by Roche Bobois, a collaboration with renowned 1970s designers, including Hans Hopfer, Missoni, and Gaultier, allowing the seating units to be rearranged at will. The walls of this former dining room, once sterile white, are now flooded with rich burgundy, providing a perfect backdrop for the eye-poppingly colorful cushions.
This home of endless surprises holds one more —the most unexpected of all —as we come to the end of the house tour: a total transformation of the subterranean coal drop once used for nothing but a fuel store. Mostly a bar recreating the ’70s with its lava lamp and retro record player, this once-defunct area is also functional, backing onto a wall of new bookshelves.
“With wonderfully open-minded clients, we transformed this once-damp cellar, cold and unusable, into a 1970s wine bar and DJ booth,” says Karlsson, who seems proudest of all her achievements in the tiny nook she celebrates as “a warm, inviting space designed for years of memorable evenings.” She could well be talking about the whole of this once-unlovable, now totally adorable, house when she adds, “The clients love it.”
ARCHITECT: MATT SAVIOE
PHOTOGRAPHER: STEVE MANGUM
LOCATION: CHURCHILL OAKS, FLORIDA
A Milestone Anniversary
Originally created in 1896 by Georges
as a tribute to his father Louis, the founder of the Maison, the Monogram has embodied an ongoing dialogue between heritage, culture, and innovation. See the entire collection at LouisVuitton.com.
To mark the 130th anniversary of its Monogram canvas, Louis Vuitton launched a year-long celebration honoring one of the most recognizable and enduring emblems in the history of luxury. The anniversary opened in January 2026 with a spotlight on the most iconic Monogram bags: The Speedy, The Keepall, The Noé, The Alma, and The Neverfull. To coincide with this milestone, Louis Vuitton is also unveiling three exclusive capsule collections: The Monogram Origine, the VVN Collection, and the Time Trunk Collection.
Vuitton
Photo courtesy of Louis Vuitton
CHURCHILL OAKS
THE HEART OF COMMUNITY
THE WORLD’S BEST ARCHITECTURE OF 2025
RENOWNED INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL HITS MIAMI
Patios House by Studio MK27 was highly commended by judges in the Interiors category at the World Architecture Festival 2025 in Miami.
Photo by Pedro Kok
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL
In November of 2025, Miami hosted the World Architecture Festival (WAF), welcoming the world’s leading architects and designers to the Miami Beach Convention Center for three days of talks, programs, awards, exhibitions, tours, and other events.
WAF is where the world architecture community meets to celebrate, learn, exchange, and be inspired. The 2025 festival showcased leading international practices, the best new projects, and the most pressing live debates.
Key speakers and judges at the inaugural edition included Dawn Gunter of Gensler, Bernardo Fort Brescia of Arquitectonica, and Viviana Muscettola of Zaha Hadid Architects. The shortlist for awards also featured a few Florida-based projects, including the Van der Vlugt Residence in Key Largo, Island Oasis in Sanibel, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower Expansion at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. In total, the three-day festival featured over 460 live pitches from the 2025 finalists, presented to over 160 international judges.
Category winners from Day One and Day Two competed against each other on the final day of the festival, on November 14, for the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and World Interior of the Year. All of the overall winners were announced at a grand finale Gala Dinner, along with a host of Special Prizes, including the Sustainability Prize, supported by ROCKWOOL.
Day One saw shortlisted projects from around the world compete across twenty-two award categories within Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Interiors. Award winners included WOW Architects, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Batlleiroig, and Perkins&Will.
WORLD INTERIOR OF THE YEAR
FRACTAL CHAPEL BY
REGENERATIVE
FUTURE PROJECT OF THE YEAR
INNOCAD
WAFX WINNER
TREE BY NIKKEN SEKKEL
GELEPHU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BY BIG-BJARKE INGELS GROUP
Photo by Paul Ott
Photo by NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD.
Photos by BIG
LANDSCAPE OF THE YEAR
EMBRACING
FLOOD: XINJIANG RIVER
ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR BY TURENSCAPE
Judges of this year’s Completed Buildings categories said, “The play and control of daylight, of sound, and of the tactility of materials are all exemplary,” while those judging the Future Projects praised the entrants’ ambition, integration of landscaping, sustainability goals, and “respectful acknowledgement of a city’s history while embracing its contemporary design and music culture.”
The Interiors category awarded the top Hotels commendation to Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree by WOW Architects | Warner Wong Design in Singapore. Meanwhile, ADND SILO by ADND LLP in Mumbai and the Acciona Campus by Perkins&Will in Madrid took the top spots in the small and large Workplace categories, respectively.
The second round of award winners was announced following Day Two of the world’s largest international live-judged architectural event, with shortlisted projects from around the world competing for twenty-one additional categories within Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Interiors. Award winners include OMA, Sordo Madaleno, Studio Arthur Casas, and NIKKEN SEKKEI.
Judges of Day Two’s Future Projects categories commented, “This conceptual project addresses a sensitive issue of inequality through a smart and creative strategy,” and “the project’s ambition is impressive, and the architect’s empathetic understanding of place and culture comes through in multiple ways.” The Interiors entries were lauded for excellent use of mixing modern technology with traditional construction techniques, as well as “transcending the boundaries of art and science.”
Day Three of the festival culminated in the Gala Dinner, where the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year supported by GROHE, World Interior of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and Landscape of the Year were announced. A host of Special Prizes, including the American Beauty Prize supported by the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, were also announced at the closing event to celebrate the eighteenth edition of the festival.
The Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre of Las Chumberas by Fernando Menis in La Laguna, Spain, was declared the World Building of the Year. The project catalyses urban renewal in its neglected outskirts neighborhood, rising as a landmark in a fragmented built landscape. The site includes a church, a community center, and a public square, providing a vital gathering space for the locals.
Fernando Menis, founder of Fernando Menis Architecture, said, “Winning is a great gift, not only for me but also for the church neighbourhood, which will now be recognized beyond Tenerife. Over the last three days in Miami, I have had the opportunity to travel to a new place, connect with friends, and be part of the global architecture community.”
“The judges particularly admired the intensity of the architecture and the way light has been used to shape the quality and character of the interiors, enhancing the tactile nature of the surfaces,” commented Paul Finch, WAF program director. “The building manages to masterfully accommodate symbolic and everyday needs of the community of which the architect is a part. The project has become a fine addition to the architecture of Tenerife.”
World Interior of the Year went to FRACTAL CHAPEL by INNOCAD architecture in Graz, Austria. Located at a state hospital in Graz and hosted by the Protestant Church, the chapel serves as a serene retreat for patients, staff, and visitors. The design is grounded in current neuroscience and environmental psychology research, integrating biophilic elements and fractal patterns to create a peaceful, emotionally resonant space. These elements work together to promote well-being, reduce stress, and foster calm in the demanding hospital environment.
The overall 2025 winners were announced at the WAF Gala Dinner at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Photo by Turenscape
WORLD BUILDING OF THE YEAR
THE HOLY REDEEMER CHURCH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE OF LAS CHUMBERAS BY FERNANDO MENIS
Photo by Roland Halbe
Photos by Hisao Suzuki
Blending traditional craftsmanship with modern innovation, the Gelephu International Airport by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is Bhutan’s second international gateway and the Future Project of the Year winner at WAF 2025. Strategically located near the Bhutan-India border and the Paitha River and set to open in 2029, the airport will celebrate Bhutanese culture by showcasing regional crafts, and is designed to instill mindfulness in travelers through natural lighting, a grand tripleheight entry, skylights, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Indoor and outdoor lounges offer spaces for yoga, gong baths, and meditation, reflecting Bhutan’s commitment to well-being and happiness.
Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor by Turenscape in Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, China, took home the title of Landscape of the Year. It revitalizes a 102-hectare floodplain, transforming it into a vibrant ecological and recreational space. Utilizing sponge city principles, the project enhances
flood resilience, restores native habitats, and offers year-round public access. Rather than resisting seasonal floods, the design embraces water as a dynamic force, integrating it into the landscape to support biodiversity and urban resilience.
Other Special Prizes awarded at the gala included the American Beauty Prize, Best Use of Color, Best Use of Natural Light, Best Use of Stone, Best Use of Timber, Small Project of the Year, Student Charette Prize, Sustainability Prize, the GROHE Water Prize, the 40 Under 40 North America list, and the WAFX Prize supported by Dyson, which recognizes future projects that best use design and architecture to tackle major world issues, including health, climate change, technology, ethics and values. The WAFX winner was Regenerative Tree, a next-generation skyscraper by NIKKEN SEKKEI.
Each World Architecture Festival showcases new innovations and celebrates new designs. But more than that, it’s a chance for the leaders of design to come together to exchange ideas, discuss global issues, and work together to build a more beautiful, harmonious world.
For more details on the 2025 World Architecture Festival and future events, visit WorldArchitectureFestival.com and follow @worldarchfest.
Above left: African Flow by Urbanitree was a highlight of the Completed Buildings entries at WAF 2025.
Photo by Adrià Goula
Top: Populus by Studio Gang was highly commended in the Completed Buildings category.
Photo by Jason O’Rear
SPEND THE DAY WITH U S O N SCENIC HIGHWAY30A!
30A General Store
30A Yellow Fly Trading Co.
Adaro Art
Anthea Le Jardin
Fiddle Haus
Frankie’s Bike Shop
Maria Heckscher Salon
Palms
Posh Polished Nail Salon by Aika
Salt Air
Sculpt Studio
Sunset Shoes & Lifestyles
The Lens Bar
The Maddie Hatter
Vivo Spa
Fusion Art Glass
A unique village-style destination awaits you as local shopkeepers carefully craft every experience, from art to apparel, gifts, beauty, fitness, and more. Shop with us, then enjoy alfresco dining next door at The Big Chill 30A!
This home reflects the growing northern side of Alys Beach, where the native forest and the new pool amenity, The Silva, bring nature, open space, and refined living together in harmony.
— WALT & SANDRA
CHANCEY
Designed for effortless indoor-outdoor living, this Alys Beach, Florida, home centers around spacious gathering areas that flow directly into the courtyard and pool. Views of the private, wooded conservation area bring a sense of privacy and tranquility to the property, which is situated near the town’s newest amenities at The Silva. The architecture and interior design team at Chancey thoughtfully selected finishes and furnishings to elevate each space, while functional additions such as a private office and a bonus room add flexibility for modern living.
View the sales listing for this home, 71 Whitten Way, at AlysBeach.com/real-estateproperties, or contact the Alys Beach Sales Center at (850) 213-5526 or sales@alysbeach.com. To see more from Chancey, visit ChanceyDesign.com and follow @ChanceyArchitecture and @ChanceyInteriorDesign on Instagram.
Photo by Layne Lillie, courtesy of Alys Beach
A Renovation from the Heart
Story courtesy of Miftakhova Morrell Architects
by Ansel Olson and Nicholas Wilson
ocated in Charlottesville, Virginia, this architectural project, known as the Via Florence Renovation, transformed a suburban home into a calm and functional dwelling. The team at Miftakhova Morrell Architects reimagined the interiors for a family who loves to gather in the kitchen, creating a central hub for quality time together through the updated spaces and bringing modern touches into the home’s existing footprint. Finishes, furnishings, tech, and accessories were updated to achieve a serene, functional result.
Photography
The Heart of the Home
Designed to support the owners’ love of cooking as a family, the kitchen integrates minimal detailing with purposeful functionality, allowing the kitchen to serve as both stage and retreat.
continuous architectural gesture connects the kitchen and scullery, while the island serves as the psychological center of the home—a place for gathering, preparation, and daily connection. Warm, tactile materials unify the space, and standardized kitchen components with thoughtful detailing create a highly restrained design while minimizing cost and construction.
Ceramic tiling with vertical scalloping and tight seams creates a wall and backsplash that appear to be a single continuous surface, free of lighting and power that are recessed into the cabinets above. The existing gas fireplace unit was kept in place in the adjoining family room, while its surrounding trim and stone were redone to align with the updated interior. Fixture and furniture selection was thoughtfully integrated to complement and amplify the home’s tactile character.
Working within Existing Parameters
Working within the home’s modest footprint and budget, Miftakhova Morrell Architects demonstrates how precise detailing and
material restraint can yield meaningful transformation, turning a common suburban house into a tranquil space for contemporary living.
n suburban contexts, homeowners often face limited choices. Subdivision housing typically follows standardized checklists that do not always respond to the needs of individual users. The Via Florence Renovation re-energizes the space while respecting the existing architecture and economic framework of a suburban Charlottesville home. Within this small-scale intervention, meticulous detailing and careful material selection were prioritized to elevate everyday life.
The Via Florence Renovation aimed to make a significant impact through subtle, strategic moves. Wherever possible, elements of the existing home were retained and carefully modified. Throughout the design process, the focus remained on thoughtful restraint; editing a larger vision to ensure the project felt appropriate within its neighborhood context.
The original red oak floors, common in many nearby homes, were preserved rather than replaced. After being sanded three times and sealed, they revealed a refreshing light tone that maintained a connection to the home’s history. The new kitchen layout was designed around existing utility locations for the sink, dishwasher, and range hood, minimizing unnecessary construction.
“Working within an existing structure can be complex, but when approached with care, it allows for meaningful transformation achieved in a sustainable way,” says founder and architect Lemara Miftakhova.
As a practicing architect and educator with a passion for process-driven design and a deep commitment to architectural pedagogy, Lemara and her husband and business partner, Andrew Morrell, are also passionate about teaching the next generation of architects at James Madison University. Their teaching is grounded in processes they have cultivated in practice, and bridges analog experimentation, digital design, and fabrication. Their pedagogy enables students to form an individual voice through iterative making, drawing, and modeling.
“I am committed to cultivating inclusive learning environments where curiosity, experimentation, and craft are central to shaping a more thoughtful built environment,” she shares. Andrew adds, “We are interested in creating highly contextual work that utilizes texture, detail, and technology to elevate the human experience.”
The Via Florence project transforms an existing home through thoughtful renovation and preservation, uniting budget-conscious design with custom detailing to create a refined, enduring home that will be loved for years to come.
To see more projects, visit Miftakhova-Morrell.com.
Idyll Hound Proper
OKO
amici 30A Italian Kitchen
amigos 30A Mexican Kitchen
Myst 30A
Not Too Shabby
Bohlert Massey
Cuvee 30A Canopy Road Cafe 30A Olive Oil
Marble Slab Creamery
Rolland’s Beauty Bar Goatfeathers
Aja 30A
A Home Reforged with Love
By Jordan Staggs
Photography courtesy of AAHA Studio
Reworking a beloved project in the wake of devastation makes the design experience even more emotional. One of AAHA Studio’s latest residential projects, the Corsica Residence in Pacific Palisades, embodies quiet California luxury while also telling a story of resilience.
A collaboration with Jenn Feldman Designs and Shorecal builders, the six-bedroom, eight-bath home was designed as a ground-up build, with AAHA overseeing the architecture and Jenn Feldman Designs curating finishes, custom furnishings, and art.
The project took on a second life after the January 2025 wildfires caused smoke damage to the newly finished home. Rather than a setback, it became an opportunity: the design team and homeowners rebuilt every custom furnishing, textile, and upholstery piece, making the home a true labor of love, completed twice over.
“For us, the design story really begins with the facade and entry hall—they set a tone that is regal, yet quintessentially Californian,” share AAHA founders Harper Halprin and Aaron Leshtz. “We aimed to capture a sense of quiet luxury that isn’t just a surface treatment, but a holistic experience that transitions seamlessly from the street to the interior. By curating a precise dialogue between the exterior stone and the interior’s wood and marble, we created a clean, cohesive identity.”
A true standout among those custom features is the first-of-its-kind waterfall stone island in the kitchen. Clad in marble that cascades down the sides, the island brings the family together in the large-scale space, with comfortable bar seating for four. The kitchen also includes a beautiful concealed millwork pantry door, which blends seamlessly into the wall when closed. The oversized butler’s pantry beyond it provides not only storage but also an excellent prep and staging area for entertaining.
The AAHA Studio team and interior designer Jenn Feldman emphasized texture to ensure the home felt inviting while maintaining its disciplined, tonal palette. “We applied this same textural recipe to both the architecture and the interiors,” share Halprin and Leshtz.
Jenn Feldman Design and AHAA set out to create a sanctuary for the homeowners, especially during the redesign, when the family needed extra peace and comfort in the wake of the wildfire.
“When working within such a disciplined, tonal palette, the emphasis really had to be on texture to ensure the home felt warm and lived-in while maintaining that controlled, monolithic presence,” Halprin and Leshtz explain. “By specifying lime wash walls and tonal grass cloths, we were able to envelop the rooms in a way that feels like being wrapped in cashmere—creating a cohesive, calming backdrop for the life and furnishings within.”
Designing rooms for children can be whimsical, providing an opportunity to bring in playful
elements that might not work in other spaces. Mural wallpaper in those spaces provides a fun yet timeless look that can grow with its occupants. The cloud-like design was also brought in through a rounded headboard, light fixture, and other furnishings that evoke a sophisticated fairy-tale feeling.
All the home’s furniture and art were curated by Jenn Feldman Designs. While the lines of the home are distinctly clean and modern, sherpa and bouclé textures appear in cushions and furnishings, along with warm wood and custom millwork throughout the house, bringing in warmth and an organic sense of comfort and calm. The mostly neutral palette is complemented by vintage rugs from Morocco and Turkey, abstract art pieces, gold accents, and plants that provide a serene yet inviting atmosphere.
AAHA Studio and Shorecal builders worked with landscape architect Harlan Zusman on the outdoor spaces, including the beautiful backyard, which includes a garden, pool deck, patio, and lounge. Its clean lines reflect the home’s exterior, while natural stone textures provide focal points in the facade and the outdoor fireplace. Native flora surrounds both the front and rear of the home, reminding its occupants of nature’s beauty and ability to flourish even in the wake of disaster.
Visit www.AAHA.studio to learn more and see more projects from this Los Angeles-based architecture and interior design team.
Architecture sets the foundation for how a home lives and feels, while interior design brings warmth, personality, and function to each space. It determines how rooms flow, where natural light enters, and the materials used, all of which shape the overall experience. Architectural elements like windows, ceilings, and custom details create character that guides the design choices inside. When both work together from the start, the result is a home that feels cohesive, intentional, and effortlessly timeless. All this and more is explored in Refined Interiors, a recent coffee-table book by renowned designer Benjamin Johnston.
To see more from Refined Interiors, visit RizzoliUSA.com and follow @rizzolibooks on Instagram.
Photo by Julie Soefer
“I’LL BE SHARING NEWS WITH YOU SOON ABOUT A NEW CHAPTER FOR ME AND OUR BELOVED JEWELRY BOUTIQUE!”
—Lisa Peters, Owner
The Miami Design District recently presented J’OUVERT: Zak Ové in Jungle Plaza, a major public art installation on view from January 15 through February 9, 2026. The exhibition brought together two monumental works by BritishTrinidadian artist Zak Ové, transforming Jungle Plaza into an immersive environment shaped by ritual, memory, and Afrofuturist imagination. At its center stood The Mothership Connection, a nearly 30-foot-tall sculptural form referencing African iconography, architecture, and diasporic history. Surrounding it were forty graphite figures from The Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness, each posed in an open, declarative stance. The installation drew from literary, musical, and sculptural traditions while engaging the public realm. Complementary programming included artist talks, workshops, live performances, and community-focused experiences.
Photo courtesy of Miami Design District
THE BREAKERS OF NEWPORT
A STUDY IN GILDED ARCHITECTURE
By Katie Ogletree
Photography courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County
Let’s paint a small picture.
he year is 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island. Your last name is Vanderbilt. Your brand-new, and quite grand, home has just finished a two-year construction period. Morning arrives softly, though nothing else about this house is modest. You wake beneath a ceiling painted to rival the skies of Europe—the kind of detail that feels less like decoration and more like declaration. This isn’t simply your residence, but a statement of wealth. You’re making a point to be remembered. Outside your window, the Atlantic crashes against the cliffs, the multi-acre backyard is carefully manicured and symmetrical, and you begin to hear shuffling outside your door.
The Breakers, the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Vanderbilt, is a stunning example of Gilded Age architecture meticulously preserved in Newport, Rhode Island. The Music Room shows the opulence and architectural prowess of the age.
Photo by Alexander Nesbitt
Right: The Breakers sits proudly above the Atlantic on fourteen acres.
Photo by George Gray
y the time you step into the hallway, the house is already in full swing. Servants glide past each other, already anticipating the needs of those who occupy the home. Life at The Breakers is a carefully choreographed performance. Every hallway, every arch, every inch of marble has been designed to impress guests who will soon fill the spaces. The breakfast room is waiting for you downstairs, sunlight spilling across the imported stone and gilded moldings. It’s here that plans are made, whether it’s luncheons arranged, excursions laid out, or reminders of upcoming lavish parties. As the day continues, you are reminded that The Breakers is not only where you live, but also how you live. It’s a palace by the sea, built for a family whose name carries enormous weight and whose summers in Newport are as much about visibility as they are about escape. To wake within these walls is to understand that this home is power made architectural.
By the 1890s, Newport had transformed from an old colonial port town into America’s most soughtafter spring and summer paradise. The timeframe, known as the Gilded Age, was roughly from 1870 to 1910. This was a period when industrial fortunes began to take over and lifted up a new class of extremely wealthy Americans. Every corner of industry was covered, from railroad barons to steel magnates, financiers, and shipping tycoons.
Cue Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a man with money, power, and no signs of slowing down. At the time, New York represented old money from multiple generations, and the Vanderbilts had a hard time fitting in. Needing a place of their own, they followed the other wealthy folks to up-and-coming Newport. Cornelius soon commissioned the leading society architect, Richard Morris Hunt, to design his residence. It was to be modeled after the palaces of the Italian Renaissance, specifically those in Genoa and Turin, and from that a modest seventy-room stoneand-steel palazzo came to life. Jules Allard was hired to cover the decoration, with his firm most notable for creating French styles for American elites. He acquired antique furnishings and decor for his clients, mainly from the 1700s and 1800s, most of which are still in place at The Breakers.
Above left: The Great Hall
Right: The Morning Room
Photos by Alexander Nesbitt
Opposite bottom: The Kitchen
Photo by Gavin Ashworth
Now let’s switch things around.
It’s August 1895, the Vanderbilts are hosting their first party to officially celebrate and show off their mansion, and you’ve been invited! Sitting on a fourteen-acre piece of land, five stories tall, and covering about 125,000 or more square feet, here’s what you come across while attending the party.
At the heart of this “summer cottage” is the Great Hall. To say you’re left speechless is an understatement. You are greeted by Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his wife, Alice. Modeled after an open-air Italian courtyard, it stands fifty feet high. As you enter further, massive chandeliers sparkle above you, floral arrangements tower over some of the tallest guests, and silver trays move in and out of each room, carrying drinks in shiny crystal glasses. You notice the walls are carved with French limestone and multicolored marble. In the top corners, sculpted figures and gods look down, a slight nod to European intellect and traditions.
“In the top corners, sculpted figures and gods look down, a slight nod to European intellect and traditions.”
There’s a low hum, and you soon find yourself drifting to the Music Room where the orchestra is playing. This room was entirely built in France, shipped, and then assembled where you’re standing. It features a gilded coffered ceiling and marble arches, showcasing the French Baroque flair. Next, dinner is served to the guests in the Dining Room, where you find rose-colored alabaster columns, fine china with the Vanderbilt crest, and polished silverware lining the table from top to bottom. Once the many-course meals are done, the men trail off into the Billiard Room. Cigars are smoked, and politics and other worldly events are discussed, all while the clicks of billiard balls sound in the background. It carries many of the Italian Renaissance themes elsewhere in the home, with beautiful marble and stunning ceiling mosaics.
ou somehow break away from the crowd and happen to land at the doorway of Mr. Vanderbilt’s room. Unlike the bright marble rooms in the public spaces, his room is furnished with rich wood and deep-toned fabrics, in the formal Louis XIV style. Mrs. Vanderbilt’s room, which is close by, leans toward a softer, lighter palette, with lots of pale pinks, florals, and an overall airy feel. Her decor followed the elegance of French design.
As you hear carriages begin to arrive and see guests making their departures, you take one more trip over to the terrace to finish your night. There’s a slight evening breeze, but you can’t help but look with awe at the dramatic view, looking perfectly centered out onto the Atlantic coastline. Rather than a simple patio, the terrace functions as an outdoor extension of the mansion’s grand rooms, designed to resemble the formal seaside villas of sixteenth-century Italy. Made primarily of limestone and stone to match the home’s exterior, it also features heavy stone balustrades along the edges, making the terrace feel more like a viewing platform.
As you make your way back through the maze, you realize that it’s all a carefully curated tour of European grandeur in America, as if you’re traveling across continents. Italian Renaissance planning, French decorative arts, and classical Roman motifs converge under one roof on the Rhode Island coast. You had the time of your life!
Beyond it all, The Breakers reveals something deeper: a moment in American history when wealth, industry, and European influence converged to create monuments of extraordinary scale and beauty. Its decor is not random luxury, but intentional design with symmetry, proportion, texture, and craftsmanship working together to create harmony between interior splendor and the coastal landscape. Now a landmark available for tours through the Preservation Society of Newport County, The Breakers continues to tell a story not only of the Vanderbilt family but also of an era in our nation’s history.
In 1945, the Preservation Society of Newport County was created by a group of residents specifically to save another historical landmark, the colonial Hunter House. The Breakers was sold to the Preservation Society in 1972. Today, thanks to their stewardship, they own and operate eleven historic properties, including others tied to the Vanderbilt family. Visit NewportMansions.org for more history, tours, and information.
The Breakers features a massive Italian-style terrace designed for enjoying the incredible ocean views.
Photo by George Gray
Right: The Library
Photo by Alexander Nesbitt
Marble House, Photographer George Gray
Off to the Races
The Pegasus World Cup equestrian event, presented by 1/ST, kicked off its ten-year anniversary with the annual Off to the Races Fashion Show on Wednesday, January 14, at Bal Harbour Shops. This exclusive pre-race event, presented in collaboration with Bal Harbour Shops, celebrated the perfect intersection of fashion, philanthropy, and race-day tradition. Guests enjoyed a runway presentation showcasing elevated race-day fashion with a thoughtfully styled lineup of sophisticated silhouettes and occasion-ready looks from Alaïa, Brunello Cucinelli, Chloé, Etro, Givenchy, Pucci, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, and Valentino. Style Saves, an official charitable partner of the Pegasus World Cup, was presented with a $15,000 donation from the Pegasus World Cup to support its work helping underprivileged students obtain essential school supplies and access impactful mentorship programs.
Photo by World Red Eye
A LIVING ART GALLERY IN BOTSWANA
BAINES’ LODGE IS BETTER THAN EVER
Welcome to a luxury safari experience like no other, where the architecture and landscape converge to create an oasis for relaxation, adventure, and inspiration. Baines’ Lodge, An A&K Sanctuary, reopened last fall following a complete rebuild that pays tribute to Thomas Baines, the nineteenth-century explorer-artist whose watercolors first captured southern Africa’s wilderness for the world.
he six-suite property in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, A&K Sanctuary’s smallest and most intimate, combines sustainability-focused design with meticulous craftsmanship to create what designers describe as a “living gallery” where the Delta itself becomes the artwork.
Perched on the floodplains of the Boro River at the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, the rebuilt lodge draws deep inspiration from its namesake’s artistic legacy. Like every A&K Sanctuary property, Baines’ Lodge is designed to provide guests with an authentic and immersive travel experience, showcasing the natural beauty and cultural heritage of its destination. A&K Sanctuary is committed to sustainable tourism practices and actively supports local communities through conservation and development initiatives. Working in partnership with Luxury Frontiers, the design team created spaces that frame views of the wetland with such intention that the landscape reads like a series of paintings. Every material and texture references the surrounding environment: soft greens mirror the reeds, muted tans echo the sand, rich timbers ground the interiors in their African setting.
The lodge operates on what designers describe as an “African pavilion gallery” concept. Open-plan spaces defined by columns rather than walls create fluid transitions between indoors and outdoors, whilst soft greens, papyrus hues, and rich timbers mirror the natural palette of the Okavango. Raised on stilts and linked by wooden walkways, the six suites and communal areas have a distinctly nautical feel, transplanted into the reedy, wildlife-rich water-world of the Delta.
Baines’ Lodge, An A&K Sanctuary in Botswana, pays tribute to Thomas Baines, the nineteenthcentury explorer-artist.
This page: The sixsuite property was reopened in the fall of 2025 with a renovation that combines sustainability-focused design with meticulous craftsmanship to create an “African pavilion gallery” concept.
he Explorer’s Lounge is equipped with a microscope, spotting scopes, interactive maps, and a library, while Leica binoculars are provided at check-in for wildlife viewing from private decks. A swimming pool extends the watery theme, with sweeping Delta views from its sun loungers.
The gorgeous swimming pool and deck extend the outdoor living space, offering views of the Okavango Delta.
and-crafted details throughout the lodge celebrate local artisanship. Woven ceilings above the bar, created by Daliwe artisans in South Africa, mimic termite-mound interiors with navy strands echoing the Delta’s waterways. Carved woodwork subtly reflects the textures of elephant skin, while reclaimed timber from the original lodge has been repurposed across the property. Almost all furnishings are custom-made, ensuring each surface and fabric carries human craftsmanship and connection to place.
The 2025 rebuild prioritized minimal environmental impact. Sustainably sourced Lunawood throughout the property is light and durable, but can be removed after twenty years without leaving a trace. Passive ventilation and solar power provide luxurious comfort while reducing energy requirements.
The 2025 rebuild brought sustainably sourced Lunawood throughout the property, passive ventilation, and solar power to reduce energy requirements.
Opposite: Hand-crafted details throughout the lodge celebrate local artisanship, such as the woven ceilings above the bar, created by
in
Daliwe artisans
South Africa.
A&K’s bespoke itineraries offer a range of activities for guests, from open-air dining to boat excursions, safaris, and more.
The Okavango Experience
Abercrombie & Kent pioneered luxury adventure travel with its first African safaris in 1962, founded on an ethos of adventure by day, luxury by night. With just six suites and only four guests per vehicle, Baines’ Lodge offers safari experiences that balance exclusivity with ecological diversity. The private concession allows activities restricted in main park areas: walking safaris led by expert guides and night drives in search of nocturnal species.
Game drives in the early morning and late afternoon explore one of Africa’s most biodiverse habitats. The Okavango Delta’s wildlife populations are extraordinary:
elephants move through the channels in significant numbers, while lions, leopards, and wild dogs hold territories across the concession. When seasonal floods transform the landscape between May and September, the 5,800-square-mile patchwork of waterways attracts concentrations of resident and migratory birdlife.
When water levels permit, traditional mokoro canoe excursions and motorized boat trips offer different perspectives on the Delta’s wetland ecology. Scenic helicopter flights reveal the vast scale from above.
Star Baths on private decks allow guests to soak beneath the constellations, making Baines’ Lodge particularly popular with honeymooners. The minimum age is sixteen, ensuring an intimate and romantic atmosphere.
A&K’s bespoke itineraries and escorted small-group tours offer one-of-a-kind, inspiring experiences, from expedition cruises and tailormade trips to exclusive villas, safari camps, and private jet journeys, unlocking a world of possibilities for a Life Well-Travelled.
Baines’ Lodge is now accepting bookings. The property can be experienced as part of two of A&K’s signature Tailormade journeys: A&K Sanctuary Safari – Victoria Falls to the Okavango Delta or Safari Odyssey Across Southern Africa. View more on Baines’ Lodge, An A&K Sanctuary, at AbercrombieKent.com/sanctuary.
Josef Kote
Fall Impressions, 48 x 48
Eternal Light, 48 x 40
The Pearl, in Place
An Intimate Hotel Designed to Move at Rosemary Beach’s Pace
here’s no grand arrival moment at The Pearl Hotel. Instead of a sweeping grand reveal, it appears the way well-designed buildings often do: exactly where it belongs. Since opening in 2013, the boutique property has drawn inspiration from Rosemary Beach, Florida, itself, aligning with the town’s walkable scale, New Urbanist rhythm, and emphasis on connection. Designed by Dallas-based Duncan & Miller Design, The Pearl was never meant to stand apart from its surroundings, but to settle into them as though it had always been there.
That sense of alignment is evident in both form and function. The hotel’s intimate, boutique scale reflects Rosemary Beach’s village-style layout, while its open gathering spaces create a natural exchange between the building and the streets beyond. Guests are not tucked away from the town but gently encouraged to engage with it, stepping out to explore local shops, walk the neighborhood, enjoy the Gulf, and experience the community as it exists day to day.
As Kyle Davis, general manager of The Pearl Hotel, explains, “The goal has always been to reflect the rhythm of Rosemary Beach rather than interrupt it. This philosophy extends to every aspect of the property, from its architecture to the way guests move through its spaces.”
By Caitlyn Burrus | Photography courtesy of The Pearl
nside, the design language remains composed and intentional. Best described by Davis as coastal European elegance, the aesthetic favors classic proportions, layered textures, and a comfort that feels classic rather than casual. The palette draws on the Gulf, balancing calming, timeless materials with deliberate, restrained color accents. Light and breeze are treated as essential elements, shaping spaces that feel open without being exposed and refined without becoming formal. Throughout the property, materials and finishes create the atmosphere. Texture, color, and scale are used not to impress but to establish a sense of understated luxury that feels restorative and welcoming, just what guests need in a home away from home in the beach community along Scenic Highway 30-A. It’s a design approach that resists trends, allowing the hotel to feel grounded in its setting rather than tied to a moment in time.
The Pearl’s amenities follow the same philosophy. According to Davis, “They are designed to feel thoughtful rather than transactional, prioritizing quality over quantity.” The spa, dining areas, and rooftop are not isolated features but extensions of the experience, each intended to elevate guests’ experience rather than simply occupy their time.
“The palette draws on the Gulf, balancing calming, timeless materials with deliberate, restrained color accents.”
The rooftop remains one of the hotel’s most defining spaces, and one that guests and locals alike consistently remember. From this vantage point, views extend toward the Gulf and over the surrounding community, reinforcing the hotel’s relationship to its setting and its pride of place within the neighborhood.
The Pearl’s courtyard boasts its luxurious pool and hot tub, plus the Havana Beach Rooftop bar, where guests can enjoy snacks and craft cocktails with views of the shimmering Gulf beyond.
Dining and shared spaces further establish The Pearl as a gathering place for both visitors and locals. Experiences like an evening at Havana Beach Bar & Grill or a community event in the meeting rooms encourage connection without formality, reinforcing the hotel’s role as part of the community rather than as an exclusive entity.
A day at The Pearl unfolds without urgency. Davis says, “The experience often begins with a leisurely breakfast enjoyed in your guest room, followed by time at the beach, pool, or spa, an afternoon exploring town, and an evening watching the sunset from the rooftop before dinner.” The rhythm is purposefully unhurried, allowing guests time to stroll along Rosemary Beach’s many boardwalks, admire its homes and shops, pop into local dining
spots for tapas or drinks, and watch the sunset over the white-sand beach, all on their own time.
In a region known for its coastal beauty, thoughtful refinements have also allowed the property to evolve over time while remaining true to its original design intent and sense of place. Ultimately, that sense of belonging is both architectural and emotional. Guests are welcomed not simply as travelers but as members of the Rosemary Beach community. When they depart, Davis says, “We hope they carry with them a lasting sense of calm and connection, a feeling that they didn’t just visit 30-A but truly experienced it, shaped by thoughtful care, attentive service, and a genuine sense of welcome throughout their stay.”
For more information on The Pearl or to book your stay, visit ThePearlRB.com.
Whether enjoying their beautiful room or dining at Havana Beach Bar & Grill, The Pearl’s guests become part of the Rosemary Beach community throughout their stay and are encouraged to take that sense of belonging and comfort home with them until their next beach vacation.
This Tudor Revival project by interior designer Benjamin Johnston reimagines traditional architecture through a softer, more modern lens, using curves, plaster finishes, and dramatic light to create a sculptural, calming atmosphere. A thoughtful mix of antiques, contemporary pieces, and unexpected materials keeps the design feeling layered and timeless rather than tied to one era. Bold, unconventional color combinations and intentional imperfections add personality and energy, creating spaces that feel collected, expressive, and alive. See it and more in Johnston’s coffee-table book, Refined Interiors
To get your copy of Refined Interiors, visit RizzoliUSA.com and follow @rizzolibooks on Instagram.
Photo by Julie Soefer
Curating and juxtaposing elements from various design epochs is a key method that can be used to suspend a home in time.
—BENJAMIN JOHNSTON
Where It All Comes Together
BOOK CLUB
THE READERS CORNER
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Anagogic Stones, featuring previously unpublished texts rediscovered in 2023. Together, the exhibition and book reveal the depth of Caillois’s scientific curiosity and poetic imagination. For more information, visit LecoleVanCleefArpels.com.
courtesy of L’École des Arts Joailliers
From now through March 29, 2026, L’École des Arts Joailliers, in partnership with the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, presents Stones and Reveries: The Poetry and Minerals of Roger Caillois. The exhibition explores the relationship between the French writer’s literary work and his extensive mineral collection, assembled over more than twenty-five years. Nearly 200 specimens are on view, many on public display for the first time, drawn from a collection of more than 1,000 minerals. The presentation creates a dialogue between the stones and Caillois’s writings, including essays inspired by his “picture stones.”
Photo
INTERVIEW BY JORDAN STAGGS
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY RICHARD POWER
Tailored Interiors
INSPIRED LIVING ON THE PAGE
ew children grow up traveling the world, staying in famous hotels, visiting palaces, and seeing landmarks that most will never witness in person. For Patrick Sutton, spending much of his childhood seeing the world with his father, a renowned travel journalist, was the gateway to a world of imagination and inspiration in his own career. The Baltimore-based interior designer says, “I didn’t realize it at the time, but this had a profound impact on me as a designer in two ways: having been exposed to the world’s beauty, I learned about design, proportion, and elegance through my
childhood immersion into it. Secondly, through watching my father find the story, I too learned to approach each project as a unique narrative crafted from the dreams and aspirations of my clients, coupled with an understanding of the spirit of the location they have chosen for their home.”
Now, after three decades of curating spaces that transport his clients to their own personal, tailored worlds of peace and inspiration, Sutton is thrilled to have released his second book, Tailor Interiors, and to open a new office in Palm Beach, Florida. VIE caught up with him to learn more.
VIE: Have you always been interested in design and architecture? How did you know that was what you wanted to build into a career?
Patrick Sutton: As I mentioned above, I was immersed in a world of beauty, design, and elegance through my childhood travels. It was almost inevitable that my path would lead to design. One summer when I was sixteen years old, I enrolled in a pre-collegiate program at Harvard in architecture. After that experience, I was hooked.
VIE: Your latest book, Tailored Interiors, is beautiful! Did you always know you wanted to create books showcasing your work?
PS: When I decided to write my first book, Storied Interiors , I did so because the unique storytelling approach we engage in is difficult to translate into a social media post. So, Storied Interiors was a way to communicate a more complex, intellectual approach to design, rather than relying on a branded aesthetic. In my second book, Tailored Interiors , I wanted to take a deeper dive into our narrative approach to interior design, this time from an outsider’s perspective. So we hired renowned design author Vicky Lowry to convey her perspective, as well as that of the owners and collaborators, on how we approach the work.
VIE : Was it difficult to edit down the projects you wanted to include?
PS: It wasn’t that difficult, although there were some projects that we couldn’t fit in. In the end, the selection of projects was about the diversity of ideas and locations to best illustrate the strength of using a narrative to create authentic, bespoke homes for our clients.
VIE: How do you typically connect with new clients or homeowners on a project? What are the first steps you go through with them in the design process?
PS: We get most of our clients by word-of-mouth referrals. Once we are engaged, we do a deep dive with our clients to understand their goals and dreams. This interview process is then supported with conceptual imagery and becomes the narrative that guides all the decisions moving forward.
VIE: What inspires you? Does it vary from project to project? Are there elements that you try to weave into every one?
PS: I am inspired by travel and beauty. Seeing the world and all it has to offer provides a depth of design tools that we can then bring to each project. Design, in essence, is the synthesis of what you have seen repackaged and repurposed to solve the need at hand. When you understand what your client is after and you
“I
am inspired by travel and beauty.”
have seen so many design solutions in your travels, you can draw on those inspirations to create a bespoke interior for them, not just in design but in how the spaces live and work.
Clients want to be heard and come to us to help them craft a life they have imagined for themselves. So we see so many unique requests, which is wonderful. We get to learn so much from the diversity of ideas they share. If I had to sit in my studio and regurgitate the same aesthetic for all of our projects, I would be horribly bored.
VIE: Des the location play a big role in your designs? How do you incorporate that element into your work from place to place?
PS: Absolutely! There is a Latin term, genius loci, which means “the guardian spirit of a place.” People are drawn to places because of it, so understanding and embracing it is an intrinsic part of the narrative we craft for every project. Whether it is the serenity of the sea, the majesty of the mountains, or the energy of a city, all of these places inform the design.
VIE: How does it feel to walk through a completed home or other project? What’s your favorite part?
PS: Immensely satisfying. Many of these projects take years to come to fruition. My favorite part is the brief time I have with the home, once it’s complete, just before we hand it off to the owner. It is a deeply personal moment of
accomplishment—to take in all the years of planning and execution, exhale, and know you are about to better someone’s life.
VIE: Do you have any other projects or news coming up you’d like to share?
PS: Yes, I am excited about the opening of our new office in Palm Beach, Florida. After three decades of design, we are now beginning a fun new journey with our expansion into the South Florida market.
VIE: Thank you, Patrick!
Visit PatrickSutton.com and follow @patricksuttondesign on Instagram to learn more. Tailored Interiors is now available for purchase.
Photos courtesy of Patrick Sutton Design
streaming into spring
If your “continue watching” row has been looking a little quiet, this is the article to help you fix that. The past couple of months have been packed with buzzy new releases, surprise drops, and the return of shows you’ve been counting down to. Even as I’m writing this, some highly anticipated 2026 shows haven’t come out yet (cough, Euphoria Season 3, cough).
It’s the season of “Did you start it yet?” texts, surprise plot twists, and latenight binges you definitely didn’t plan on. It’s the perfect storm of opening your phone to spoilers on every social platform, finding new fictional characters to obsess over, and experiencing cliffhangers that will keep your jaw dropped while you’re heading to bed. Consider this your inside scoop on what you can’t miss out on and what you’ll be talking about for the next few months! And maybe this is a hot take, but can we please go back to releasing all of the episodes at once?
Curated by Katie Ogletree
Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton in Season 4 of Bridgerton
SPOILER ALERT: This marriage is a crime scene. In this book-turned-TV-show adaptation, marriage meets mystery, and characters are telling very different versions of the same story. When an estranged news-reporter wife and small-town-detective husband get tangled up in a local murder, both sides seem oddly connected to the case, each holding back just enough to make you question if they had something to do with it. The truth starts slipping through the cracks between their “his” and “hers” accounts. He swears one thing, she insists on another, and the deeper you go with each episode, the murkier the truth gets. By the time the final episode hits and you think
Landman
I think it’s true that Taylor Sheridan doesn’t sleep. If it’s not, then I’m starting that rumor, because how can he keep up with how many shows (fantastic ones at that) he’s creating? A high-stakes drama set inside the modern oil boom in West Texas, Landman gives you a look at everyone from the laborers working the rigs to the billionaires in their penthouse offices. The second season is still just as big as the first. Billy Bob Thornton is the gift that keeps on giving with his fast-talking and quick jabs. Watching him juggle all corners of the oil business, his ex-wife turned current wife, his kids, and, in this season, his dad, played by the legendary Sam Elliot, is all you really need. If you loved Yellowstone, this show has the same energy and swagger but trades horses and ranches for hard hats and explosions. It’s a veteran cast with Jon Hamm in season one, and Demi Moore, Ali Larter, and Andy Garcia in both.
you’ve Scooby Doo’d the whole thing, you click to see how much time is left, and there’s still forty-something minutes to go! But one thing is for sure, you’ll never guess this ending.
pros
• The lead actors, Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, are the perfect coupling I didn’t know I needed. Also, Tessa Thompson’s narration was very soothing.
• The series is six episodes and very fast-paced, so it’s very easy to knock out over a weekend.
• The ending is so shocking that you’ll definitely remember it and keep talking about it.
cons
• At some points, the twists were a little too much. There was a moment or two where I needed to pause, assess, and then dive back in.
• All the messed-up things the couple does can get unrealistic. Most people would be out of there. But hey, that’s good television!
where to watch: Netflix
pro
• The stakes are always very high. It makes for a thrilling all-or-nothing resolution.
cons
• It could use more “in the field” action. We follow the family a lot, which can get tedious.
where to watch: Paramount +
Opposite top: The 2016 Stephen King adaptation 11.22.63 is having a popularity boost thanks to Netflix.
Photo courtesy of Netflix
Opposite bottom: Season 3 marks the final installment of Tell Me Lies
Photo courtesy of Hulu
Top left: Jon Bernthal as Detective Jack Harper and Tessa Thompson as Anna in His & Hers
Conspiracy theorists, gather around! I have a show for you. Granted, this one was released in 2016, but Netflix recently gave it a real push, and it’s been on the
STILL AIRING
homepage for the last few weeks. The eight-episode miniseries follows James Franco, who plays a high school English teacher, as he time-travels back to prevent the assassination of JFK in this Stephen King adaptation. It’s labeled as a sci-fi action-adventure, but it leans more toward being a historical thriller. Every time he jumps into the portal, it takes him to 1960, so to make sure he is thorough enough, he realizes he has to live in that time period for three years, adopting a new identity and trying to stay under the radar. He eventually even locates and follows the man of the hour, Lee Harvey Oswald. The CIA, FBI, and other organizations are mentioned in such nefarious ways that you can’t help but put your tinfoil hat on. He quickly finds out that the past doesn’t want to change and pushes him back, sometimes in dangerous ways.
pros
• If you love history and some federal tea, this fills that cup. We even get a mention of Marilyn.
• It’s fast-paced and keeps the characters constantly on the move.
cons
• The ending, even though we know how it pans out, is still sad.
• Some of the time-travel rules get a little murky and confusing.
where to watch: Netflix
Attention: Here lies the next few shows that should have dropped the entire season, and sadly did not. So, we’re still waiting for the rest as of the time of this writing.
Tell Me Lies
We’re in the thick of the third season, and I’m still wondering what is wrong with Lucy, why I’m hoping
Stephen is going to get what he deserves, and why I have a mountain of other questions. They open the show with a previous-season-two cliffhanger about the information Bree receives on her wedding day. They are still flipping between two timelines: college and 2015 (present day). It’s the type of show that makes you thank God you didn’t experience a relationship this toxic, and if you did, makes you so grateful to not still be in it (hopefully). This season is darker, heavier, and has a very intense vibe. You’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Who am I kidding? I’ve felt like this since the first season!) The show continues to have that addictive quality, like you’re watching a bad car accident, but the second another secret is exposed, or on the brink of being found out, you get a major pit in your stomach. I think after every scene where Stephen gets away with something with no repercussions, I always yell, “Are you kidding me?!”
pros
• The acting! Each character really makes you believe they are confidently making these terrible decisions.
• The secrets are very good—not too predictable!
con
: Steven Demarco
where to watch: Hulu
The Pitt
Fresh off the heels of its Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series, we start another shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center with Dr. Robby. Each episode is an hour of a fifteen-hour work shift and moves in real time with no cuts or jumps. Different cases appear in each episode, while also keeping up with the cases you become invested in throughout the season. It’s interesting because, compared to Grey’s Anatomy , where we know who is hooking up or what illness everyone has, with the team at “The Pitt,” we learn next to nothing about their personal lives. The only personal parts are how they react
Bridgerton
Dearest gentle reader, it’s another season, another Bridgerton sibling, another love story. And actually, Season 4 does follow a classic love story: Cinderella . Instead of a shoe, we get a glove. Instead of a prince, we get Benedict Bridgerton. He is the carefree, can’t-be-bothered child of the bunch who isn’t
to certain cases and how it might take a toll on them psychologically. It also explores parts of the healthcare system no one talks about, like dropin workers, ethical dilemmas and hard decisions they face, and even working conditions, like not having enough supplies or rooms to treat patients. It feels grittier, more real, and more grounded, and gives you that “everything is on fire” energy.
pros
• It’s an excellent ensemble cast, so you don’t have to focus on one lead.
• Some of the low-risk cases actually finish out. They don’t linger way longer than they need to.
• It seems very realistic and is super immersive, showing every angle of a case.
cons
• If you want love and romance, don’t look in this direction.
• You might start to feel burnt out for the characters because the theme is overwhelming throughout.
where to watch: HBO Max
interested in monogamy, let alone marriage. But, of course, he runs into a woman at a masquerade ball and is instantly taken aback. Her face is covered, she has to run away before her family gets back home, and he goes out on the town to find her. It’s all coming back to you, right? We still have some sweet scenes with the previous season’s Bridgerton sibling, Francesca, and her husband, but we have to wait for the second set of episodes to drop to find out more!
pros
• The tension between the two main characters is great.
• The show’s take on the Regency era is always great for eye candy: big dresses, big houses, big families.
cons
Are we still pretending you can’t tell who someone is when their mask covers only their eyes?
where to watch: Netflix
more mysteries than ever.
Top left: Shabana Azeez, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Noah Wyle in The Pitt
Photo by Warrick Page/ HBO Max
Bottom: Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury, Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte, and Hugh Sachs as Brimsley in Season 4 of Bridgerton
Opposite top: School Spirits is back for Season 3 on Paramount+ with
Photo by Ed Araquel/ Paramount+
Opposite middle: School Spirits’ Season 2 tribute to The Breakfast Club’s iconic dance scene
Photo by Katie Yu/ Paramount+
Opposite bottom: The Beauty is Ryan Murphy’s latest thriller.
Photo courtesy of Hulu
The Beauty
Ryan Murphy is the Energizer Bunny in human form, and now he’s dropped another show. He even brought OG Evan Peters back for this one. This show has a similar vibe to The Substance, where beauty becomes contagious in a society obsessed with youth, perfection, and appearance. (Are we sure this isn’t real life?) Well, in this world, a mysterious sexually transmitted “condition” called “The Beauty” spreads across the population. If you’re lucky enough to catch it, you become physically flawless. It
School Spirits
We’re heading back to Split River High School for Season 3 like we never left—because most of the characters haven’t in decades. School Spirits is a supernatural mystery drama in which we spent the first two seasons with our lead, Maddie, who is trapped in the afterlife after her mysterious death. She’s on a mission to find out what happened to her and runs into some former students who also met their untimely demise on school grounds. Season three does a switch-a-roo where one character gets trapped in limbo at the exact moment another gets out! If it’s not one thing, it’s another in this show. At this point, it’s time to transfer or graduate early.
pro
• The mystery of each student’s death keeps you engaged, as does the larger picture of wondering what other secrets this school holds.
cons
• It’s another show where supernatural rules matter, and the audience is expected to keep up with them.
• They sprinkle in plenty of teenage drama, so if you’re only interested in the mystery, it might not be your favorite.
where to watch: Paramount +
comes with everything on your wish list: clear skin, a perfect body, and no signs of aging. You and I both are thinking that’s a dream, right? The kicker is, people start dying in disturbing and unexplained ways, and so the conspiracy investigation begins.
pros
• I enjoyed the social commentary exploring society’s fixation on this subject matter.
• In case you couldn’t tell from this list, we love a “who dunnit?”—or, in this case, “what’s dunnit?”
• It is visually stunning. I mean, we have Bella Hadid in the opening shot!
con
• It’s a little bit of a slow burn. The first few episodes require patience.
where to watch: Hulu
Photo by Julie Soefer
Inspirations
For more information, visit Swatch.com.
Inspirations
IMAGINE MORE
The Swatch x Guggenheim Collection marks the next chapter in Swatch’s ongoing Art Journey, created in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The collection features four watches inspired by works from Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Klee, and Jackson Pollock, artists represented within the Guggenheim institutions. Each design translates key visual elements of the original artworks, including movement, light, geometry, and abstraction, into detailed dials and straps. Degas’s Dancers in Green and Yellow informs a composition focused on form and motion, while Monet’s Venetian palette is reflected through color and luminous detail. Klee’s playful symbolism and Pollock’s expressive splatter technique are similarly interpreted through watch design. Together, the collection connects modern art history with contemporary wearable design.
Photo courtesy of Swatch
Don’t Miss the View
By Meghan Ryan Asbury
Right after graduating from college, I decided to work for a nonprofit that provided clean water in developing countries. Armed with a lot of optimism and little to no life experience, I found myself hopping on planes to remote villages where I would spend my days trying to build relationships with people who were nothing like me. It was one of the best and maybe craziest decisions I ever made.
On one trip with a small team in Haiti, my boss mentioned taking motorcycles up a mountain to deliver water filters. I was curious who would be driving those motorcycles, but I figured it couldn’t be that hard to drive myself. The next morning, we grabbed our bags, filled them with water filters, and then I saw it—a group of strangers sitting on some old-looking motorcycles outside. My fight-or-flight instincts were raging. I did my best to look calm on the outside. After all, I was there for work, so I could not let myself appear afraid.
Before I could think too hard about it, I was sitting on the back of an old bike with my driver. We didn’t speak the same language, but I was handed a surgical mask to keep the dust and exhaust fumes out of my nose, and our group of bikers weaved through the crowded market streets until we reached the foot of the mountain.
I don’t think I can adequately explain to you the conditions on this mountain “road” we took. It was really a rocky path between boulders that, by some miracle, these motorcycles were able to overcome. It was the longest two hours of my life. I fell off twice on the way up and once on the way down. I was not a pleasant passenger. My driver kept urging me to scoot forward on the bike seat. But the closer I scooted, the less control I had over my position on the bike—I couldn’t firmly plant my feet or hang on properly.
This is such a picture of how I can operate in life. I want to feel in control. While nothing in life is really in my control, I like to act like it is. Instead of just holding on for the ride, I fight to make things go my way, even in my relationship with God. I feel like He is up there saying, “I know you aren’t in control, but
if you just hold on to Me and trust Me, it’s going to be a lot easier to get through this painful ride. Trying to control this yourself is making it harder for both of us.”
Still, I spent most of that ride up the mountain internally screaming every curse word I could think of. A few times, we had to jump off the bikes and push them up some rougher terrain, and multiple times I fought to just keep walking rather than get back on the bike. “I’m fine,” I told myself. “I can make it up the mountain without the bike.” The few seconds of relief were worth it, even if it meant it would take longer to get to the top.
How often in life do I make things take longer because I’m trying to do them my way? Sometimes trusting God is painful and uncontrollable, but it teaches me to rely on His strength and not my own.
We finally made it to the top. I could have kissed the ground. (Unfortunately, that relief was met with instant horror when I realized we had to ride back down.) We spent a couple of hours meeting families and visiting schools. My stomach was in knots the whole time, praying silently that there was another way down.
Looking back, I realized I let the fear keep me from experiencing the joy of being on top of the mountain. Instead of enjoying the top, I feared I wouldn’t get to stay there forever.
How many times in my life have I put up walls because I was afraid of getting hurt again? How many people have I pushed away out of fear of being rejected again? How many times have I let my previous hurt keep me from just enjoying life?
This is what being on the mountaintop looked like: schools full of children seeing brown water turn clear. There were families getting clean water for the first time. I was so close to missing the beauty of it all because I was afraid of the pain that would inevitably come again soon.
I almost started crying when we headed back down. We were hitting rocks so hard that the wind would get knocked out of me. I wanted to close my eyes the whole way. It was even worse than the way up. But
then I opened my eyes and looked at the view, and at that moment, this thought came to me:
“This is painful right now, but if you keep closing your eyes and wishing for it to be over, you’re going to miss the beauty of this view you may never see again.”
The thought could be applied to every area of my life. How many times have I prayed for a season to be over? How many times have I just wished the pain would go away? How many times have I just stuck my head down and tried to get through the next task without stopping to enjoy it? I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to just grab on, trust God, and enjoy the view from the ride. No, I don’t have control when I do that. And yes, it can be painful.
But what a story I get to tell.
A couple of days later, we were on a boat, and I looked up at the mountain—the same treacherous mountain I never wanted to go near again. It was beautiful. I remembered the pain of getting to the top and coming back down, but I also remembered the view and thought, “You know what? I’d do it again.”
Meghan Ryan Asbury is an author and speaker who is passionate about helping people discover and live out their God-given callings. Connect with her on Instagram @meghanryanasbury and at AlwaysMeghan.com.
Welcome to The House of Light, a 5,400-square-foot Modern Gable-style residence designed for the ultimate waterfront living on the Choctawhatchee Bay in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. This unique concept home draws inspiration from Scandinavian simplicity and an abundance of natural light streaming through the ample floor-to-ceiling windows. Spacious living areas, a pool and outdoor kitchen, a private dock, and an on-site pickleball court provide year-round entertainment.
ARCHITECTURE BY
BurwellAssociates.com
(850) 687-6888
Florida Lic. AR0017641
Alagna Mirtillo Rosso
With the arrival of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, NH Collection Hotels & Resorts strengthens its presence in the Italian Alps with NH Collection Alagna Mirtillo Rosso. The property reopened on November 28, 2025, unveiling a renewed design that highlights the region’s authentic character while reflecting the brand’s signature elegance. Set in the heart of Alagna Valsesia, the hotel has been thoughtfully renovated to offer a distinctive experience where contemporary comfort blends seamlessly with Alpine tradition.
At an altitude of 3,786 feet, the hotel is set in the picturesque village of Alagna, within the Alta
Park. This mountain enclave, characterized by traditional wooden and stone houses, preserves a rich Walser cultural heritage that remains very much alive today. Make your reservation at NH-Collection.com.
Valsesia Natural
Photo courtesy of NH Collection Hotels & Resorts
Spring calls for a refresh. This March edition of C’est la VIE extends its point of view beyond interiors into the way we live with our decor. This shopping guide brings together items for home and body, bridging the gap between personal style and lived-in space. These pieces, selected for their craft and confidence, form a collection that extends beyond the home. Design is no longer confined by rooms, but carried into daily rituals and things we choose to keep close.
IN BLOOM
Margot Robbie in Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry at the Los Angeles World premiere
Photo by David Jon, @DavidJonPhotographt
WUTHERING HEIGHTS PREMIERE EVENTS
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights arrived in theaters this season with a series of premieres marking one of the year’s most anticipated literary adaptations. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the film reintroduces Emily Brontë’s classic through a contemporary lens. Following early screenings and global openings in Los Angeles, London, Paris, and more, tied to its February 2026 theatrical debut, the press tour has garnered significant attention.
Photography courtesy of Warner Bros.
Jacob Elordi in Bottega Veneta and Emerald Fennell in Armani Privé at the Los Angeles premiere
Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/Warner Bros.
The cast and director of WutheringHeights at the Paris photocall
Photo by Pierre Mouton
Charli xcx in Vivienne Westwood at the Los Angeles premiere
Photo by David Jon, @DavidJonPhotography
The cast and director of WutheringHeights at the London premiere
Photo by Getty Images for Warner Bros.
The cast and director of WutheringHeights at the Los Angeles premiere
Photo by David Jon, @DavidJonPhotography
Margot Robbie in Chanel by Matthieu Blazy and Jacob Elordi in Bottega Veneta at the Paris premiere
68TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS
Under the bright lights of the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the 2026 Grammy Awards delivered a night of global sounds and generational talent. Trevor Noah returned for his final run as host, guiding an evening that saw Bad Bunny make history with the first Spanish-language Album of the Year win, and Kendrick Lamar further cemented his legacy with multiple trophies and a record-breaking number of total awards. Billie Eilish’s Wildflower earned Song of the Year, while newcomer Olivia Dean scored the coveted Best New Artist award. Performances and collaborations carried on all throughout the night; an annual reminder that music continues to move culture in real time.
Sabrina Carpenter in Valentino and Billie Eilish in Hodakova
Photo by Francis Specker
Rose and Bruno Mars opened the ceremony with a performance of “APT.”
Photo by Francis Specker
Justin Bieber in Balenciaga, Bad Bunny in Schiaparelli, and Hailey Bieber in Alaïa
Photo by Francis Specker
Olivia Dean in Chanel
Photo by Stewart Cook
Kendrick Lamar in Chanel
Photo by Stewart Cook
Tate McRae in Balenciaga and Lady Gaga in Alexander McQueen
Photo by Francis Specker
Cher in Luis De Javier
Photo by Stewart Cook
Harry Styles in Dior by Jonathan Anderson
Photo by Stewart Cook
Rose in Saint Laurent, Addison Rae in Alaïa, and Laufy in Miu Miu
Photo by Francis Specker
Bruno Mars performing “I Just Might”
Photo by Stewart Cook
Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan in Dilara Findikoglu
Photo by Francis Specker
Bad Bunny accepting Album of the Year
Photo by Stewart Cook
THE DESIGN OF LIFE
BY MYLES MELLOR
1 Recently passed architect who designed the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain, 2 words
Raise
9 Pioneer of modern architecture who was influential in urban planning, 2 words
10 Flying mammal that is the subject of a 101-foot-high column in Chicago
12 ____ wall of China
13 Bring back to the original condition
15 For each
16 ____ Modern Historical era (1400-1800) (in reference to architecture)
18 Deep red color
20 Water feature, such as the Trevi ____ in Rome
22 “____be a pleasure”
24 Col.’s superior, abbr.
25 Highest point
Label 27 Mythological lover who is the subject of Antonio Canova’s “Psyche Revived by ____’s Kiss”
29 Compass direction, abbr.
30 Drawing of the exterior of a structure
on next page
Puzzle on previous page
Architecture is the stage on which we live our lives. “ ”
—Zaha Hadid
Au revoir!
BEFORE YOU GO . . .
Designed by MVRDV, the new Tiffany & Co. flagship in Beijing’s Taikoo-Li Sanlitun district introduces a facade composed of curving, translucent glass fins that rise the full four-storey height of the building. The flowing forms are inspired by Elsa Peretti’s Bone Cuff jewelry design and reflect Tiffany’s ongoing exploration of expressive, three-dimensional materials across its global storefronts. The glass fins are responsibly recycled and locally manufactured, giving the structure an ethereal presence while responding to light and movement throughout the day. Integrated lighting modules are concealed within custom brackets to preserve the design’s delicacy. At night, the facade is illuminated in Tiffany Blue, creating a diffused glow across the exterior. The facade system is fully demountable, allowing its components to be removed, reused, or recycled at the end of their lifespan.
Photo courtesy of MVRDV
Presenting Sponsor: Dugas Estate
ENCOURAGE. NURTURE. EDUCATE.
An innovative preschool experience providing individualized and holistic education for children 3 to 5 years old, from the creators of The Ohana Institute and Ohana Day School at 30Avenue.
2026 Enrollment Opportunities are Available and Limited!
