Camp Sagamore, Part III

Mrs. Vanderbilt added quite a bit of fun to the property including this very inviting "Playhouse"

Lots of taxidermy. It is also the only structure on the property designed by a professional architect but happens to be the least structurally sound and has required the most repair.

As Photographed in 1940 for Life Magazine

 Which naturally features an adjacent en plein air bowling alley. Replete with original (and working) return.

Photo from Martha

And of course, decor for all seasons

One last thing, I thought these twin cottages were my favorite. Still used by visiting family (although the property is in the care of Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks) these were built by Mrs. Vanderbilt for her children, this is one of the two.

Camp Sagamore, Part II

Let's take a look at the main compound of Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks. New York State is beautiful in the summer, a local to Upstate told me they call it the "wooing season" and I can see why.  So the main lodge is clearly the centerpiece of the property. The man who built the property was William West Durant as a self-sufficient wilderness camp from 1895 - 1897. The Main Lodge was all that stood here, inspired by the chalet style it was intended to be intimate with only five bedroom suites. Also, note Durant was a pragmatic man - the door was based on one he saw in a catalog. Not unlike many modern home decorators. 

Due to financial reasons he sold it to Alfred G. Vanderbilt in 1901 and visited the property frequently until his untimely death on the Lusitania. His second wife, married in 1911, Margaret Emerson McKim really made the property home and together they did a great deal of entertaining and building, adding so much life to the compound and making it what it is today. This is the Main Lodge's details and interiors. I just love the "rusticated" (a term the trustees of the property use lovingly) details of the main door. A blacksmith worked on site full-time and fabricated everything by hand.

Care for croquet?

I'll be honest, I didn't bring the best equipment for interior, low-light photos. So some are mine but some are "borrowed" from Martha Stewart, as below:

 Back to my snapshots:

Here's the dock, just beautiful and in keeping with the surroundings.

Dining Lodge

Here's the interior from Martha's site:

Now, my photos - because this view and this window...

Camp Sagamore, Part I

I've been traveling a lot in the past couple years. I still take photos of architecture along the way - can't break the habit. I recently had a good friend who is a terribly accomplished designer visit me in New York and just through sharing enthusiasm for architecture and design, she really encouraged me to write again. We also took a quick trip up to the Adirondacks and here I am, with photos from Sagamore, the old Vanderbilt lodge. What you can't see are the biting black flies. So let's start where you would if you were visiting the property:

Stables and Carriage House - If you stayed at the property, to enhance the image of the rustic, your car would be dropped with a driver at the end of the drive where a carriage would bring you the the house. If you were of appropriate caste, you would enjoy pomp and circumstance in the form of sparklers and such along the drive. Meanwhile your modern vehicle would sit here, waiting for your return trip.

Wood shed roof with exquisite patina

"Wigwam House" - Note the sides are made of peeled bark applied.

The view of Racquette Lake

On a more personal note, a few months ago we bought a house. After living all over the world, it feels nice to put down roots. It was built in 1886-1891 and we're redoing a lot. Some of the original plasterwork is in tact but a lot has been sacrificed for pragmatism. I'm enjoying revamping the spaces (kitchen, bathrooms, etc) remotely from New York. I thought when we finally stopped moving I would be all about the renovation blogging/journaling, but I'm just not that into it. I think I like the inspirational places most of all.

Enjoying the Fruits of Life

Hello friends, is anyone out there? I know I've pretty much stopped blogging entirely. It isn't because I am not still obsessed with design or photography, or because the move got the best of me. Although, maybe that last one is a little true.

To be perfectly candid I've experienced a lot of negativity in other areas of my life while living in Japan. It felt almost whiny to complain when my family has been so blessed and thus instead, I just didn't say anything at all. Maybe it is that, "if you have nothing nice to say..." thing. To make a long story short, I have approached the last decade of my life with openness. I've befriended people simply because they were brought into my life. Sometimes I think moving so much leaves you wanting connections to your current place and time.

The reality is that there are a lot of unhappy people in this world and at times instead of looking within, they look to express their unhappiness at the expense of others. It is okay to be unhappy, and the truth is everyone is unhappy or suffering sometimes. Yet, as I try to teach my daughter, you can't take your feelings out on others. It isn't fair and you don't know what challenges they're facing, some of which are beyond their control. Up until recently, my policy of letting everyone into my life has not always worked. I'm recognizing this idea left me vulnerable to bullying, yes bullying, from other adult women. I tried very hard to be indifferent about it but the truth is, it made me lose faith in people a little bit. In short, I've taken a page from George Washington (nerd alert) and followed a life focused within for the past several months, or really even longer. Time to start anew.

That being said, I feel incredibly blessed. Being back in New York (nay, just being back in America) has been really lovely after several years overseas. The simple joys mean so much. We've been doing great little trips around the Northeast - revisiting places and doing things I remember from my own childhood. There's been some reconnecting with old friends from before we started this crazy adventure which has been a wonderful reminder of both who I was but also of how I've grown. And there's been making new, more positive, friends which has been a breath of fresh air.

Most of all, it has been such a joy to see our daughter flourish coming home. It is amazing - she's embraced all the new experiences and friends so quickly. I hope to be like my daughter and live with resiliency and joy. I hope to find myself embracing new blessings and stages of life. And as such we're due with another child soon. I can't believe how lucky we are. I know not everything is or has been perfectly smooth sailing but I would venture to guess that's just a universal part of being human.

So while this blog may have suffered, all is well. Maybe in due course I'll have more to share - more historic houses, more architecture, more diamonds in the rough. We've been looking at farms recently, some in need of restoration. If that's the direction life takes us, I'll be sure to be back here with more to share. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy each and every simple pleasure life sends your way. Thanks for reading along! And I hope you liked my random photos from our recent trips around the Northeast!

My Miniature House, Part III

Time for the final part of this dollhouse tour. So on the very top floor there is still quite a bit of floorspace even though the ceilings are sloped. The challenge was to make the most of it. Many of the others we had seen on the web used the area as an "attic" or even another bedroom. We went with a little Federal style study and 1920's inspired bathroom. So here's the little study with the Washington Desk and Chippendale Chairs from JBM Miniatures.

The little violin was a gift from Mr. Toshi for the dollhouse. It has real strings!

The cabbage sculpture is from the National Museum in Taipei. It was a souvenir that cost maybe $3USD. I think it is kind of a quirky, cute addition. And that barrister bookcase has little tiny books in it.

Right now it is Sakura Season here in Japan. We had a mild winter so they bloomed a little early. My daughter LOVES the cherry blossoms, especially once their petals start to fall like snow. So I had to get this tiny little sakura bonsai from Etsy seller My Craft Garden.

This is the most awkward space of the house. But we decided to make it a little 1920's glam bathroom. The "modern bathroom set" was from Miniatures.com, as well as that tiny hex tile, mirror and towel rack. The gold, scales wallpaper was from my favorite paper shop here in Japan, Nakashio's which is a local family-owned boutique. All the Japanese papers I bought were Chiyogami/Yuzen style and you can find similar ones at the Japanese Paper Place. And the little bath toy is another Japanese eraser from Daiso. My daughter loves to put him in the bathtub!

The final room was a little bonus attic room. Many of the other versions we had seen on the internet made this into a storage or a sewing room. We decided a sewing room, but really more a masculine, "nautical tailoring room" would be fun. I'm a big fan of blogs like Made By Hand (thanks to my husband) that really look at bespoke suits, so this was inspired by them!

Rug, art, accessories and furniture from Miniatures.com. The plant was from My Craft Garden. I made the bolts of menswear fabrics from felt and chipboard, inspired by the "wool" blanket I saw on Otterine using felt.

Hope you enjoyed a peek inside our dollhouse project! I had no idea how much fun this would be. When I first wanted to make a dollhouse our plans started very simply. But we got very, very carried away! It is such a fun hobby, I would definitely consider doing another in the future.