Way

A shingle-style home in Greenwich, designed by Mackin Architects PLLC. Photograph by Scott Frances.

It’s the kind of question that Mackin and his colleagues encounter in their Zoom meetings and masked, socially distanced on-site visits.

Another client has moved into a house that Mackin created for the previous owner and wants an upgrade. Other potential clients may be looking to capitalize on the hot suburban residential real estate market by selling now and are wondering how far they should go in renovating to do so. Mackin advises talking with Realtors and design professionals before making any moves, as there are two schools of thought — take less money and let the next owner make the place his/her own or upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms at the very least to attract a buyer with bigger bucks who’s looking for a turnkey property.

Whether you’re building a home or expanding and refreshing it, you would do well to consider Mackin and company. They are expert in what he calls today’s “hybrid” — modern flow and amenities paired with classic detailing, as seen in one project, a Dutch colonial on the Long Island Sound in Rye that makes superb use of molding, wainscoting, trim, recessed areas, diamond shaped windows, stone married to wood, cabinetry above fireplaces and covered and screened-in wraparound porches while losing nothing of modern spaciousness.

Mackin’s love of architecture was born in North Salem, where he attended public schools and deeply observed the structures in his raised ranch-house community and beyond.

“As a kid, I was exposed to different styles — Bronxville and New Rochelle Tudors, colonial beach houses and city brownstones …. There was farmland around us with old barns and old buildings and as kids we’d play in them. In the summer, we’d go to the Adirondacks and visit the old camps …. When we create something as architecture, we trigger memories, but we also invite modern elements.”

Mackin loved the feel of old buildings. At the same time, he says, “we live in today.”

He took that philosophy with him to Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he studied with Peter Blake — the late architect, critic and editor in chief of the now-defunct Architectural Forum magazine — who served as the university’s chairman of architecture and planning from 1979 to ’86. Mackin credits him with developing the school’s “very good architecture program.”

“You learn a lot at school, but you also learn a lot in life,” Mackin says. Returning to New York in 1985, he worked locally for a number of architects before branching out with his own firm in 1992.

“I was really lucky,” he says. “I knew what I wanted to do and was able to do it.”

For more, visit mackinarchitects.com.

BUCOLIC BEAUTY ON THE HUDSON

COURTESY GREYSTONE MANSION GROUP

Nestled in the Greystone on Hudson enclave bordering the Taxter Ridge Preserve high above the river, this stately Georgian offers a quiet, country retreat just 13 miles from

New York City. With every detail carefully considered, this exquisite, 8247-square-foot home is designed for 21st-century living. You enter through a covered portico to a reception hall with a soaring 20-foot ceiling. Wide plank wood floors usher you past the grand stair to generous rooms, including a great room, a living room, a formal dining room and a mahogany study, along with a gourmet kitchen and butler’s pantry that feature top of the line Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances. The second floor contains a primary suite with a sitting room, a private terrace, two primary bathrooms with luxury fixtures and two dressing rooms. Three additional bedrooms with en-suite baths complete the second floor. In all, there are six bedrooms and seven and a half baths, plus such optional features as an indoor basketball court, a home theater, a wine cellar and a pool. As the weather grows warmer, you’ll also enjoy 2,239 square feet of a multi-level outdoor terrace and veranda for relaxation, sunset views and al fresco entertaining.

Outside and in, this home — which lists for $5,995,000 — offers bespoke details, with old world millwork, custom cabinetry and mahogany windows designed to fill the home with natural light. In all, timeless beauty meets concierge lifestyle in this classic estate.

For more, contact Amy Ensign at 914-348-1777 or amy@greystone-on-hudson.com.

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QUILTING IN THE AGE OF COVID BY PHIL HALL

For the quilting world, the pandemic period has been a Dickensianworthy best of times and worst of times. On one hand, individuals who found themselves moored at home during quarantine lockdowns brought a new passion and energy to their craft. “With Covid, everyone started sewing, because we needed to make masks or we're bored,” says Mary Watt, owner of the New Hartford retail store Quilted Ewe. “Or, we're at home and we decide, ‘Let’s teach our children something that they can use later on.’ Not all school systems are offering homework or classes, so we can do something and make things together.”

Watt has also seen more newcomers to quilting finding her store.

“You can come in and buy a piece of fabric that's preprinted and you just cut the items out,” she adds. “And you can make a pillow or a little quilt. That goes a little bit faster for the newbies.” Mary Juillet-Paonessa, owner of CT Quilt

Works in Mystic, has seen a stream of customers who’ve done extensive home inventories during the lockdowns and discovered long-forgotten quilts in need of restoration. “They're going through their house and finding things that their parents put away, and they remember the quilt pieces when they were younger and want them finished,” she says. “It's a family heirloom that that they really want.” On the other hand, the communal aspect of people joining together in quilting bees has been put on indefinite hold by the pandemic, severing an invaluable social connection for many. Mary Ann Meils, president of Goodwives

Quilters, a quilting guild based at the Rowayton Community Center, ruefully acknowledges her group has not met in person for more than a year because of the ongoing health crisis. “We've been going for probably 35 to 40 years,” she says of her group. “We do a lot of charity work. We’ve done a lot of quilts for both Americares and Family and Children's

Services in Norwalk. We stay in touch, obviously, but we can't get together. It’s just too dangerous at the moment.” Also disrupted are the arts organizations that have worked to reinforce quilting’s place within the fine arts. Last March, the Katonah

Museum of Art was set to open an exhibit of Bisa Butler’s mixed media creations that incorporated quilts into a celebration of

Black culture, but the gala premiere never occurred because of state-mandated shutdowns. Still, Emily Handlin, associate curator of exhibitions and programs, says there was a happy ending of sorts when the exhibit finally opened as a virtual presentation last July and remained online through October. “It ran a little longer than expected, which was wonderful because the reception was just more than we could ever have imagined,” she says. “It probably was our best-attended exhibition in quite a while. And in terms of the range of people we reached with the

Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry’s “Corona II: Solar Eclipse,” from the collection of The National Quilt Museum. Courtesy the museum.

show, we brought in visitors from across the country and around the world. It couldn't have been better.”

Quilting can trace its roots to ancient Egypt and the pursuit has occasionally turned up in unlikely historical connections, most notably when antislavery advocates hung quilts outside their homes that included coded messages to aid slaves escaping on Underground Railroad routes. In the 1990s, the AIDS Memorial Quilt forced the nation to acknowledge the devastation created by that pandemic.

“There was a major quilt revival in the 1970s at the time of the bicentennial,” says Pamela Weeks, curator at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. “That's also when many of today’s art quilters started doing their work.”

The pandemic struck the quilting world while it was at a curious crossroads. According to the Craft Industry Alliance, an industry trade group, the estimated size of the U.S. quilting market is $4.2 billion, with between 9 million and 11 million quilters. The demographics for this pursuit are nearly monolithic: The trade group estimates that 98% of quilters are female and 65% are retired.

But one thing that remains in flux is trying to define what contemporary quilting is all about.

“Some of it is folk art and some of it is fine art,” says Weeks. “And some of it are bed coverings.” That versatility is part of the genre’s attraction.

Frank Bennett, CEO of The National Quilt Museum, observes that visitors to his museum aren’t looking for bed coverings.

“Our visitors are art enthusiasts who go to art museums,” he says. “We have very, very high reviews on Tripadvisor, where we're a Travelers ‘Choice winner.”

Bennett’s collection spans more than 650 quilts and features touring shows and rotating exhibitions. The aforementioned statistics on quilting demographics, he points out, include a growing number of teens and twentysomethings participating in youth quilting programs.

“There's a misperception out there that quilting is a dying art form, when in reality quilting is a life cycle,” he says. “I'll give you an example: There's not that many 20-year-olds playing golf right now, but there's a whole bunch of 65-year-olds playing golf right now. But you wouldn't say golf is a dying sport since there's not a lot of 20-year-olds that golf.

“It's the same thing in quilting,” he adds. “The average person becomes a quilter after their kids go off to college and they're looking for where their identity is going to go next. It's just not a thing that that many young people do, not because they have any aversion to it but because that's just not where they are in their life. They’re more focused on career building and having kids in that life cycle.”

But the New England Quilt Museum’s Pamela Weeks credits new generations as well as the Modern Quilt Guild, a global nonprofit with more than 15,000 members in 39 countries, with taking the quilting tradition in new directions.

“The modern quilters have developed another quilting revival,” she says. “And it's a true movement. It’s a younger demographic with women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are producing quilts that are art. It's a very modern aesthetic and it's wonderful.”

Still, quilters are not solitary beings and there is an energetic eagerness to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror and gather together again for their communal creativity.

“Everybody's done a YouTube video on how to make different quilt & blocks and things, but there's nothing like having the inclass, one-on-one help from a teacher,” says Quilted Ewe’s Mary Watt. “I have a large space that is about 3,500 square feet, which allows us to have at least 30 people in the shop, including our employees. We're just waiting to open our doors to get everybody back in.”

Bisa Butler’s “The Princess.” Courtesy Katonah Museum of Art.

PUBLISHING ‘HOUSE’ BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

At a time when people are working from home and thus looking for houses with intimately scaled rooms that afford privacy, this turn-of-the-20th century manor house combines traditional elegance with all the modern amenities.

The house was once part of the country estate of Arthur Hawley Scribner (18591932), one of the sons in and presidents of Charles Scribner’s Sons, publisher of such literary luminaries as Henry James, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King. (Scribner’s is now part of Simon & Schuster.) The Mediterranean-style abode, on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford, is set behind gates on 9.9 magnificently lush acres that offer panoramic views from every vantage point. Inside the 11,649-squarefoot space, you flow through jewel-colored, antiques-filled rooms that are rich in architectural elements, including stucco walls; dark-wood moldings, paneling and trim; as well as French doors, which along with a patio and a terrace look out onto manicured lawns and a pool. (There are seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half baths in the main house, with two bedrooms and two baths in the guesthouse.)

While the place has the look of something a silent-movie siren might’ve lived in many midnights ago — apologies to Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” — it is also thoroughly up-to-date, from state-of-the-art baths and kitchens to a full-house generator and lightning protection for the house and surrounding trees.

Indeed, the only kind of lightning that will strike is a bolt of love for this exquisitely detailed, $7,900,000 manse.

For more, call Ginger Ruckman at 914391-8304 or visit 69ChestnutRidgeRoad. com.

THE STORE’S THE THING AT THE HAMLET

BY JEREMY WAYNE

It was Napoleon who was credited with calling England “a nation of shopkeepers,” intending it as a snub, implying the English were not brave enough to go to war.

But the fact is, you have to be brave to open a shop, a bricks-and-mortar store — especially during a pandemic, especially in the age of Amazon and especially when you have never in your life run a store before. Who on earth would do such a thing? Enter longtime Mount Kisco residents Drew Hodgson, a British expatriate of some 30 years, and his wife, Leigh, along with Mike and Karen Ransom, their Mount Kisco neighbors and business partners (“I was the motivator,” quips Mike.)

Originally from Kendal in England’s Lake District, former musician Drew, whose regular job is in health care as an actuary, explains it like this: “We’d been thinking about doing this for years and then what with the pandemic and people not being able to get home (to the United Kingdom), we thought, let’s just do it. Let’s get on with it.”

Drew and Leigh Hodgson stacking jars in The Hamlet. Photograph by Jeremy Wayne.

The store’s name, The Hamlet New York, pays homage to William Shakespeare, but also evokes a typical, small English village. To accentuate the association, there is a bucolic view of Ambleside, another small Lake District town, painted on the left wall as you enter, beside an iconic, though as yet nonfunctioning, red British phone box. And Hamlet is also the name of Britain’s most popular cigar and no one who grew up there in the 1980s or ’90s can forget its witty commercials, in which some hapless individual, after some particularly trying ordeal, finds sweet solace in lighting a Hamlet cigar — to the soothing accompaniment of J. S. Bach’s “Air on the G String.”

If you’re expecting a pastiche of Old England, though, and a ragbag of “Keep Calm” mugs, plastic models of Tower Bridge and a bunch of other kitsch souvenirs, you have come to the wrong place. For a start, the space, a former bank, is extensive and attractively lit, with beautiful displays, stateof-the-art freezer cabinets and high-level carpentry.

When I drop in on The Hamlet just before its official launch, the place is a hive of activity, with everybody, including the Hodgsons’ two daughters, called in to lend a hand. They are hoping to open in just two days and there’s still all manner of things to be done, not least unpacking and stacking the shelves and tables with the very best of the British. And while there are no Proustian warm madeleines to trigger my childhood memories, I am nevertheless immediately catapulted across the Pond, not only to my youth but to contemporary Britain. Adele is playing on the sound system.

The British love their candy bars — “chocolate bars” in Britspeak — and there’s no shortage of them here, from Cadbury’s default Dairy Milk to its dense, ambrosial Wispa bar. There are breakfast cereals galore (including Weetabix, in its traditional stout box) the finest English jams and jellies from Tiptree, revered Frank Cooper marmalade, Coleman’s English mustard, pickles, relishes, sauces and of course, crisps. Crisps — that’s what you lot call potato chips — are the great mainstay of British life. Give a Brit a bag of crisps and he or she will be putty in your hands. Honestly, we can’t live without our crisps and at The Hamlet, a whole area is devoted to them, from classic Walker’s crisps to the racy Burt’s Guinness crisps. There is even — did I get this right? — a Champagne and Serrano chili crisp. Oh well, never say never — above all, about a crisp.

In the frozen food section, you’ll find English bacon, sausages and upscale meat pies and pasties (a traditional mincemeat-filled English pastry,) all touchstones of culinary British life. “We really want people to come in and have an experience here, something different from walking in to another grocery store,” says Drew.

“My thing is the books. I’ve always wanted a bookstore,” put in Leigh, walking me toward the back of the store where she has assembled a carefully curated collection of British authors, old and new. Representing the classics are novels by Charles Dickens, Charlotte, Jane and Anne Brontë and Jane Austen. There are volumes of Winston Churchill memoirs for history buffs; James Herriot for animal lovers; Shakespeare, for poets and romantics. Also J.R.R. Tolkien for fantasists; biographies of Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales, for royal watchers; travel books; lots of great kids’ books, like the enchanting “Mr. Men” series; and J. K. Rowling for just about everybody. On a round table, new books, both hardback and paperback, are artfully arranged, the criterion being they should have all appeared at some recent point in time on the (London) Times bestseller list.

Just behind the table, the original bank vault, with its steel door still in situ, is now the vinyl vault, housing Drew’s all-for-sale record collection — remastered Rolling Stones’ and Beatles’ albums — (I have my eye on that “Sergeant Pepper”) — along with David Bowie, Radiohead, Roxy Music, Elton John and Oasis, to name but a few. It’s all here. And if you’re wondering what Jimi Hendrix is doing among the Brits, Drew will enlighten you. “His band was all British. He was the only American.” (Spot on: He was practically an adopted Brit and even died in London’s Notting Hill.)

Back in the main part of the store, an arresting wall of teas is hard to resist. Fancy blends jockey for position with no-frills brands like Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips, strong teas known affectionately in England as “builders’ teas,” because that’s what you give the builder to drink. Mind you, in England these days, your builder is far more likely to be Polish or Croatian but will still enjoy a cuppa.

Delightful and utterly de-lovely as The Hamlet is though, the big question is will the customers come. While we’re no strangers to kosher delis, Japanese supermarkets, Swedish furniture stores and Chinese emporia, a British grocery and gift store is surely something of a novelty. “Well, we’ve been hitting it hard on social media and the word has spread pretty quickly,” says Leigh, who will be mainly responsible for the day-to-day running of the store. And Drew confesses he never knew there were so many expats in the region, “all coming out of the woodwork now.”

But, of course, you don’t need to be British to enjoy The Hamlet. And whether you’re looking for some gourmet or everyday treats, great reads or classic sounds, or maybe you just need a new teapot, this shopping adventure will whisk you to another world.

You won’t accrue any mileage, but you’ll certainly feel transported.

The Hamlet is at 23 S. Moger Ave. in Mount Kisco. For more call 914-864-0234 or visit thehamletny.com.

DO YOU

Artwork can take your home to a new plateau. There are so many art forms that can be incorporated into your home. Paintings, prints, photography (both black and white and color), sculpture and custom furniture can all bring style and uniqueness into your home. I often work with artists, art dealers, lighting designers and furniture designers to bring rooms to life for my clients. The extra time it takes to find or commission these pieces is worth it. My one rule of thumb is to buy what you love. Many of these pieces will be an investment and over time will become your most beloved possessions. They can move to different homes with you where they will take on new life in a different setting. If you are feeling intimidated about purchasing artworks, many galleries can help you, or you can consult with an art dealer on your purchases. I do recommend that you include different forms of artwork in your home and not just one form. You can unify the forms by color or style, but different media allow your eye to travel and enjoy the collections you have curated. Very often we have created rooms over a client’s favorite painting. Pulling colors out of the painting can lay the groundwork for a beautiful room. Or contrasting colors can The pandemic means also bring a different energy to a room. If more people at home, which in turn can mean a kitchen you have collected several smaller pieces, for greater effect hang them together, crewith double islands, ating a gallery wall. The frames can either BY CAMI WEINSTEINThe United States has always been a mobile society but it’s even more so now, thanks to the pandemic. new focus on private home offices. Double islands are becoming increasingly popular, one designated for prep and the other for Wares columnist Cami Weinstein says – one for prep and one for meals. all match or not depending on your room style. A new and interesting area of design is wallpaper made specifically for you by artists who can bring you more affordable versions of their paintings or murals. The colors can be created to align with your particular color scheme. These unique art forms are a way to create a personalized Many people have been moving out of dining. room. If you are feeling so inclined, you can cities in record numbers. Young families Since we are spending so much time have your own photo of a recent trip blown are moving to the suburbs years earlier at home, interior design trends are also up and made into wallpaper for a mural in than many intended to, older couples are changing. We are seeing more color, wallpa- your home. In this pandemic, it might be moving to warmer climates in droves and per and interest in artwork to create more a wonderful way to remember and documany young, single people have made their individualized homes — a welcome trend ment that trip you took to Africa or Europe way back to their childhood homes. to be sure. We want our homes to reflect pre-Covid. These photographic murals look All of these changes have created sev- our individual interests and to be tailored great in a family room or game room and eral exciting, new trends in home design. to our specific comforts. Finding unique, can conjure up memoires of a fantastic trip

Completely open concept has given way to custom pieces to add to your décor has tak- that you savored with family or friends. delineated spaces for working from home, en on a new importance, because we are 2021’s design trends are about making remote learning and exercising. Although spending so much time in our homes. De- your home about you. The look of your kitchens have always been the heart of the signers have always had fearless clients that homes will be as individual as fashion. home, we are looking at creating layouts for are searching for unusual works, but after There are so many directions to go in and families to cook together. We are pulling years of everything looking generic, we are none are wrong. Enjoy the freedom to credesks out of kitchens and using that space seeing a larger number of homeowners ate your home to be as unique as you are. for better pantry storage. Desks are getting seeking creativity and color to add to their For more, call 203-661-4700 or visit moved to a quieter part of the house with everyday lives. camidesigns.com.

TURNING NATURE INTO ART BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Floral designer Minoo Hersini believes in following where the eye leads and at Au Ciel Flowers & More in Irvington — situated in the Beaux Arts-style former Cosmopolitan Building, high above the Hudson — the eye leads, well, everywhere. As you enter the 3,000-square-foot, terra cotta-colored space, which is girded by a series of Romanesque arches, a round rack of kimono-style baby wear greets you on the right. Farther along, a $600 pink princess plant — socalled for its wide, pink-tinged leaves — holds pride of place on a table filled with succulents. As you circle around the room, the eye falls hungrily on ceramic bowls as delicate as eggshells, leafy necklaces from Portugal and subtly printed yoga mats, bolsters and wellness beads from Yogamere, a company created by Irvington designer Amy Ormond. “It’s highly curated,” says Niliou Safinya, Au Ciel’s development director and Hersini’s niece.

THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR

One of the most fascinating objects in the boutique is not for sale: A green door in the floor leads through a tunnel to the Irvington Metro-North station. It’s how Cosmopolitan magazine would get printed copies to the outside world, Hersini says. The domed, colonnaded building was designed by Stanford White for Irvington automobile pioneer John Brisbane Walker, who acquired the magazine in 1889. In 1905, he sold it to William Randolph Hearst, who moved the publication back to Manhattan. The Cosmopolitan Building, as it was known, still stands, however, flanked by a brick addition that obscures its stucco east façade. Also called the Trent Building, for the family who purchased it, the structure is home to a number of artistically inclined businesses, including Au Ciel, which has been at that location for 27 years. (The business began in Scarsdale and remained there for 15 years, overlapping the Irvington site for about eight.)

While “Au Ciel is known for flowers,” as Hersini says, the lifestyle boutique, which opened in November, was its “Covid pivot,” Safinya adds.

Along with everyone and everything else, the women and their high-end floral design business have had to adapt to the pandemic.

“It’s changed a lot,” Hersini says, referring to event planning, which is closely allied to their work. “It’s one of those industries in which people don’t talk a lot about how much it has changed….There are fewer parties.”

As we visit at a long table, which appears to be converted from a door, in the office area of the fluid space, the excited eye again begins to wander from a narrow bookcase filled with design books for inspiration to a circular tiered rack teeming with teacups. They were to be used in the Au Ciel display for the 2020 Lyndhurst Flower & Antiques Show, which never took place. The women invite us to take a teacup or two. We select two pale pink, floral-decorated beauties. Later, the women will present us with a bouquet that gracefully illustrates why Hersini has what she calls a “huge following.” The tribute consists of a variety of roses and other flowers in sherbet hues. (Hersini might work with many species of one flower, like the rose, or many shades of one color.)

There are no fillers — unless you consider the filigree loveliness of hydrangeas

Examples of Au Ciel Flowers & More’s unusual, organic arrangements. The “More” refers to its new lifestyle boutique. Courtesy Au Ciel Flowers & More.

TIPS FOR FLOWER ARRANGING

We can’t all be floral artists like Minoo Hersini. But we can create arrangements that last longer, she says, giving us added pleasure: 1. Cut the stems on an angle under running water so the stalks will absorb the moisture. 2. In placing flowers in a vase of water, “follow your eye and see where the flower needs to be.” If you have a variety of flowers, you might want to place them individually rather than grouping like blooms together. 3. Make sure to change the water every other day or so, recutting the stems under running water. Instead of five days, you’ll have a bouquet that lasts 10 to 12.

For more, see her tutorials here: • Floral Centerpiece Tutorial • All-Green Centerpiece Tutorial • Centerpieces Made Entirely of Veggies from your Local Store! • Floral Statement Piece Tutorial to be filler — no foam base. Rather, Au Ciel builds the bases for its arrangements from plant materials. (Some of the centerpieces have even been made entirely of vegetables.) The results are as beautifully, naturally constructed as birds’ nests.

PERSIAN DAYS

For Hersini, flower arranging has a calming, nourishing effect — see sidebar -- one that enables her to be a true plant parent. “I like to see my flowers happy in our place,” she says. It has been this way ever since she was a child growing up in Tehran. There she would gather muscari, the genus name for the conical, purple-blue grape hyacinth that grew by the stream that ran along her house, and bring the flowers into her room. Hersini’s family is Persian, its members' followers of Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra), whose ancient teachings on monotheism, messianism, the ultimate triumph of good over evil, judgment in the afterlife and free will have influenced other faiths. She remembers celebrating the New Year’s festival of Nowruz -- which occurs on the vernal equinox, this year March 20 — “the very moment when the season changes to spring. We leave the doors open, the lights on and the family gathers ’round the table — first the elderly, then the young — for 13 days.”

Persian gardens — based on the idea of paradise, itself a Persian word — are justly famous, their walled, geometric, symmetrical designs, characterized by rilles and pools, having influenced sites ranging from the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain, to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. (A superb example locally is the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers, home to a Mehregan harvest festival in the fall of recent years.)

It’s not surprising then that Hersini would gravitate to floral design. She left Iran right before the Cultural Revolution (1980-83), which purged the country of Western and non-Islamic influences. An interior designer by trade, she was asked by the wife of an African chief living in Greenwich to design a flower shop for her. Hersini ended up designing flower arrangements as well. Going into business for herself would prove a solace when her mother died in Iran some 38 years ago.

That was the beginning. The future, says Safinya — the go-getting yang to her aunt’s tender, soft-spoken yin — lies in tutorials and other outreach, like Au Ciel’s collaboration with the resourcED flower box program at Blue Hills at Stone Barns in neighboring Pocantico Hills. The business continues to bloom with Valentine’s Day orders having blossomed well ahead of time.

But Hersini looks beyond that: “I wish for flower design to become an art.”

In her hands and with her eye, it already has.

Au Ciel Flowers & More is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at 50 S. Buckout St., Suite G105, in Irvington. For more, call 914-591-1136 or visit au-ciel.com.

WHAT'S TRENDING

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

VERELLEN COMES TO ELEISH VAN BREEMS Eleish van Breems Home wagmag.com/ artful-living/in Westport has become the first free-standing retailer in Connecticut to carry Verellen, the Belgian-designed and American-conceived furniture line.

“Tom and Sabine Verellen’s special aesthetic and style instantly appealed to our Scandinavian design sensibilities,” EVB co-founder Edie van Breems said in a statement. “Verellen’s strict attention to detail and modern yet timeless designs have always spoken to us and exude a livable elegance that resonates with our mission at Eleish van Breems Studio.”

The new, 2,500-square-foot showroom, located in a historic building across from the Westport Metro-North station, contains more than 26 pieces of Verellen furniture, including sofas and chairs upholstered in beautiful Belgian linens, along with handcrafted walnut coffee and dining tables and chairs. The sleek, sustainable contemporary designs are balanced by the blend of lighting, rugs, Gustavian antiques and midcentury Scandinavian furniture that Eleish van Breems is known for.

“From floor models, stock items, madeto-order upholstery and case goods to custom projects, our confidence in their team is huge, and we look forward to walking hand in hand in the coming year,” Verellen said.

For more, visit evbantiques.com and verellen.biz.

SPACING OUT (IN THE BEST POSSIBLE SENSE)

In a Marie Kondo world, Debbie Harwin is on point. Since 1997, she and her team at I Need My Space has been helping clients simplify their lives. They understand that a client’s decision to “get organized” is a personal one and may have taken years to make. Recognizing that clients entrust I Need My Space with the most intimate details of their lives, the team uses a firm, yet gentle, hands-on approach to guide clients through the organizing process. Its mission is to empower clients to liberate themselves from the burdens of clutter and the frustrations of being disorganized.

For more, call 914-833-2626 or visit ineedmyspace.com.

A VACUUM FOR THOSE ON THE GO

In “Apollo 13,” Kathleen Quinlan’s Marilyn Lovell tells her astronaut-husband Jim (Tom Hanks) “When you were on the far side (of the moon) on (Apollo) 8, I didn't sleep at all. I just vacuumed over and over again.” For many of us, vacuuming is a soothing experience.

Whether you find it comforting or not, though, it’s become an even more necessary task in the age of Covid-19. But sometimes, you need a more portable model – particularly for the office or the car.

Enter the new Raycop GO, a cordless portable vacuum using the same UVC technology that hospitals do to eradicate 99.99% of viruses, bacteria and dust mites from fabrics and floors. It collects and traps fine dust, keeping those allergens out of the air in everything from rooms to recreational vehicles. And its entire filtration system, including the HEPA filter, is washable "Raycop GO is the perfect vacuum for those eager to sanitize everything, including cell phones, hotel beds, pet areas, cars, toys and shared workspaces," says Michael Lee, M.D., founder of Raycop North America. "Raycop has been creating and marketing allergen vacuums since 2005, and all Raycop products incorporate our signature safe UVC sanitization feature. Now more than ever, it's vital to keep our travel and livings spaces healthy and safe."

The vacuum retails for $149. For more, visit raycop.com.

Time to vroom with RaycopGO vacuum. Courtesy RaycopGO North America.

Serapi Carpet, northwestern Iran (circa 1890), 10 feet by 9 feet, four inches. Sold at Skinner Inc. for $37,500.

MAGIC CARPET RIDE

BY KATIE BANSER-WHITTLE

“Sheltering in place” has changed the way we use and think about the place we call home. A living room is a family social hub and also a study space, an office, a dining area — sometimes all of these at once. Bedrooms aren’t just for sleeping; they’re for working and working out, too. And many homes are also now multigenerational to a greater extent than ever. Rugs come to the rescue. Instead of one large carpet or wall-to-wall floor covering, several smaller rugs can define dedicated spaces within a bigger room. Lively, playful, serene, business-like — area rugs set the tone. The wide variety of Oriental rugs (handwoven textiles from the Middle East, with a large subset made in Iran and known as Persian carpets) are particularly adaptable to this use. They range from the traditional intricate patterns of urban workshops to exuberant tribal designs and are renowned for their rich colors and durability. The world of rugs spreads far beyond the well-known and well-loved Oriental rugs. Swedish rugs from the 1940s and ’50s are great for a modern interior or a provocative contrast in a traditional one. Chinese rugs offer a wide range of shapes, sizes and patterns, including brilliantly colorful Art Deco examples from the 1920s and ’30s. Antique and vintage rugs are a perfect fit for today’s homes and today’s values. Older rugs are distinctive, one of a kind. They’re mostly made of natural materials — wool, cotton, silk. If properly cared for, they give decades of service and hold their value. Rug expert Lawrence Kearney, with Where to start when decorating or redecorating a room? Savvy designers often recommend jumping in feet first or, if you and integrate any décor, from strictly traditional to wildly eclectic. It makes design sense and financial sense, too, to start with long experience in rugs and textiles both in auction and retail settings, offers some insider advice: • Auctions are an excellent source for estate rugs, reasonably priced older pieces that are fresh to market. • Deal with trustworthy sellers. Watch out for painted areas on old rugs. It’s been known to happen — magic markers used to fill in worn spots that can’t be repaired. prefer, working from the bottom up. In rugs, since a fine rug is often the costliest • Use high-quality pads underneath all other words, take your design cues from a single item in a room. rugs, to protect them from wear and keep favorite rug. Moreover, intriguing, unique, antique, them from slipping. A rug is a visually prominent design vintage rugs are more affordable than Today’s home design marketplace offers element. Its color, pattern and texture set ever. And combining different styles and more choices than ever before. That’s esthe palette, tone and feel of the space it periods creates an ambience that’s entire- pecially true when it comes to rugs. Careenhances. A new rug or a rug that’s new to ly personal. fully chosen floor coverings can enliven your home, can be a transformative magic Versatility is a prime guiding principle and refresh living spaces more than just carpet. in home design today. Among the many about any other design element. There is Whether it’s a treasured heirloom or adjustments that we’ve learned to make only one rule that really matters: Buy what a spectacular contemporary creation, during this largely stay-at-home year has you love. there’s a huge selection of floor coverings been the importance of making spaces For more, contact Katie at kwhittle@ today from around the world to inspire serve multiple needs. skinnerinc.com or 212-787-1114.