While you were all out enjoying your last summer vacation days, we were here at the office putting the finishing touches on Westchester Home. So I’m sure my idea of beach reading was decidedly different from yours, and you’ll find a bookish thread running throughout this issue. Our At Home With profile is on Shiela Hale, an artist and furniture designer who incorporates books and elements of nature into her work. I met Shiela at a gallery opening several years ago and thought I would be horrified at her deconstructed books with eggs nesting in the shredded pages. Instead, I was fascinated and delighted by these whimsical works of art—I think you will be, too.
While working with my team of very talented writers, I discovered that a number of them have their own books coming out this fall. Writer Jorge Arango, who introduces us to designer Stephanie Stokes’ new book in Primer, wrote his sixth book, Artistic License, with designer Geoffrey Bradfield; Savor writer Julia Sexton and photographer Andre Baranowski profile more than 60 Hudson Valley restaurants in Hudson River Valley Chef’s Table; and Jill Brooke, our Art of the Deal expert, explains how to stop adult bullying in How to Be Bullish Not Bullied – The Need to Say No. Congratulations to you all!
We also take a look inside five beautifully designed Westchester homes in our cover story, “Inner Sanctums”; address downsizing, a growing County trend, in “Living Large in Smaller Digs”; and visit Blithewold Home owner Sandra Saiger’s gorgeous Bedford Hills garden in “Nesting Instincts” . Our Home Front section is full of fun and useful information: what to see at Storm King Art Center; how to choose a home entertainment system; recipes from Christian Petroni, chef of the hot new Armonk eatery Fortina; and, of course, new stores and great new products.
As the days shorten and cool, I hope you can find time to settle into a cozy chair in front of a fire with a glass of wine and this issue—and perhaps, a good book. That’s where I’ll be.