Schocking Red: The Office of Politician Aaron Schock
What do you get when you cross a “Downton Abbey” fetish with presidential portraits and a generous heaping of bordello red? You get the office of young Illinois congressman Aaron Schock. The story first broke yesterday at TalkingPointsMemo.com, which had…
When A Smart Home Becomes Too Clever
The April 2002 issue of Robb Report had a Home theme, and for the back page I was asked to provide a parting shot on the concept of the smart home. What started out as an essay ended up becoming…
You Are Being Served: A Guide To Serving Trays
Are you being served, to quote a British TV show? Yes, you are — with what the media calls a “service” piece on serving trays. With bicycles and golf clubs negating a breakfast nook in my kitchen, and a piano…
Cool Or Cold? The Offices Of IBM
After our last post on space-age bachelor pads, a user left a comment saying that such midcentury interiors left him cold. Well at least they have creature comforts such as beds and refrigerators. Imagine working in the stark offices of…
The Gentleman Scholar On The Bachelor Pad
Last month Troy Patterson, author of the Slate column The Gentleman Scholar, wrote an article on the history of the bachelor pad. It includes the following observation, certainly known to all of us here, but a worthwhile clarification for anyone…
Book Cave: The Office Of William F. Buckley
Now you know how Buckley developed his infamously gargantuan vocabulary. I’m sure he had an assistant to put the bookplates in all the books, though. The New York Times ran this photo with WFB’s obituary in 2008: And included this…
Bibliophile Style: The Bookplates of Felix Doolittle
Whether fraternal club or personal dwelling, every masculine space ought to have a library. Or at least, like at MI HQ, piles of books strewn about the floor. And to help gently remind borrowers from whence the tome they are…
The Moose Is Loose: A Gallery Of Lodge Style
There are few more masculine decor schemes than the combination of wood, leather and moose heads — or anything else you can shoot. So in the spirit of the snowstorm that hit the eastern US, here’s a gallery of lodges….
The Mantiques Of Park Avenue
Here are 23 items from this weekend’s Winter Antiques Show at the magnificent Park Avenue Armory. I’m guessing you’d need about $5 million to scoop them all up. The suit of armor alone was over $1 million.
The Glass Igloos Of Kakslauttanen
If you’re in the Eastern United States, you’re already being pelted with snow and are bunkering down for tonight’s blizzard. To fuel your dreams, here are the glass igloos of the Finnish resort Kakslauttanen, where you can curl up and…