Manse

If, like me, you consider yourself a bon vivant—no apologies for a luxurious lifestyle—chances are you find kindred spirits among Southerners. I recently discovered one in Georgia native James Farmer III, whose Celebrating Home: A Time for Every Season inspires the theme of this month’s Luxury Space. Interior designer, gardener, chef and self-proclaimed old soul—he’s been dubbed Martha Stewart with a drawl—Farmer is renowned for creating welcoming environments with a unique blend of sensual, sentimental and seasonal.

At Private Brokerage, we’re fortunate to see some of the most beautiful properties north of NYC transformed by the seasons: not only do the gardens change, but so do the tablescapes and recipes. I love how Farmer decided his newly bloomed camellias were an excuse to throw a dinner party and build a theme around them.

We embrace this carpe diem motto, too. Since it’s March, the month Ralph Waldo Emerson dubbed “savage and serene in one hour,” we’re imagining ways we might speed Spring along in each of the exclusive properties included here. Foraged branches on the mantel, tropical plants in the conservatory or just adding the brightest greens to your Spring Mix salad. Indulge!

Tony Cutugno Senior Vice-President Private Brokerage

Pamela Sartorius Managing Director Global Business Development

In the days of instant gratification, there’s something nostalgic and enchanting about the cycles of the seasons

One of the crowning features of the extraordinary 1908 Colonial Shingle is the bright green 4-bedroom Barn-style guest house. Ubiquitous sunlight—thanks to an abundance of clerestory windows—illuminates views of this estate’s 12 pastoral acres. Imagine the burst of Spring color you can add to a vast neutral-toned kitchen with a terra cotta pot of red tulips!

Before the first bite there’s the visual feast

Sure, this custom Colonial’s 11 foot ceilings and expansive wall space indulged the esthetic passions of its owner/art collectors, but there was always room for inspiration from nature. Five-foot-high tropical plants, bare branches foraged from the garden on the mantel and walls-full of windows affording views of the changing seasons does bring the best of outdoors indoors.