Earlier this year, we bought a ridiculously old house.
There are also rules.
A lot of rules.
Photographed by Robert Fairer,Vogue, February 2009
Both of the formal (i.e.
My husband is incredibly by the book when it comes to all things British.
Where art thou, you might ask?
Writer Mosha Lundström Halbert surveys her new domain.
Writer Mosha Lundstrom Halbert surveys her new domain.
Because despite my husbands roots, I am an easy-target expat.
(I like mine a bit creamier, as the dairy here is divine.)
Some of the lessons Ive learned so far?
One: hodgepodge must be embraced over seamless uniformity, a fact which certainly applies to my floors.
I originally envisioned bleaching all the original herringbone on the first floor to match my icy hair.
Well, it turns out each room has a different wood varietal and therefore different whims.
Shades of dirty blonde and honey brown it is!
Two: history doesnt care that youre not a bath person.
Its easy to forget that showers are a relatively modern home flourish.
Our place has so many tubs, I wonder if it might have once been a bathhouse?
Id like to rip many of them out immediately.
This is not the setting for a techy shower or too many shiny hard surfaces.
Im trying to think Middle Earth, not Miami.
Three: aloofness is your secret weapon.
All my favorite protagonists have a healthy dose of it, along with stubbornness, delusion, and grit.
Ive found that around here, if you ask enough questions, people just give in and help you.
Stay tuned for more.
(Im still working out a name for this hybrid design approach: Ye Olde Hygge?
Im the descendant of Vikings.
Did I mention we have stables to muck out?
And neglected tennis courts closer to a prison yard than Wimbledon?
And a family room we plan to convert into a mini-pub, complete with pints to pull?
And a sauna situation Id like to Scandi-lize with a cold plunge?
Theres a lot of ground to covermost of it covered in bird droppings.
Just call me Lady of the Manure.
