I Want To Be Bunny Williams

Yes, I know my Blogger profile states that I would like to be an international supermodel, or a forest ranger or a jockey, but I'd really like to be Bunny Williams. Can you imagine a childhood in the rolling hills of the Virginia countryside, and a first job at Stair & Co., the English antiques dealers in New York city, cataloguing glorious furniture? And then on to work at the great interior design firm of Parrish, Hadley?

It doesn't get any better than that!

Of course now Bunny Williams is a renowned interior designer in her own right; with her own very successful decorating firm and a fabled garden decor shop, Treillage, which she owns with her husband, John Rosselli. And she has three absolutely beautiful homes: in Connecticut, New York City and Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic.

She has written three great decorating books, including An Affair With A House, which is my all-time favorite. I can't tell you how much I love this book. It's the one I never tire of reading cover to cover, as much for the text as for the pictures.

Her third book, Bunny William's Point of View, was under the Christmas tree at our Little Red House this year, and I can honestly say that it will soon be as well-thumbed as my copies of her earlier books. Every page is a feast for the eyes, with stunning photos by Fritz Von Der Schulenburg. But more than that, it is wonderfully well-written, with clear, concise and easy-to-follow advice that will be helpful even if you are not decorating the mansions that many of her clients own.

Chapters include Floor Plans, Color, Lighting and Furniture, as well as Fabric, Inspiration and Layering . Each is beautifully illustrated with pictures of rooms Ms. Williams has designed. The rooms are gorgeous and lush, layered with fabulous old books, paintings, bibelots and objets d'art. You could spend hours (and I have) just poring over every room. The final chapter is a tour of her house in Punta Cana, called La Colina (The Hill). This could be a book in itself. I have never coveted any house by the ocean until I saw this one. All I can say is, "Wow!"

So I realize I'm never going to be Bunny Williams, and my Little Red House is a far cry from the beautiful homes she helps create, but her passion for old books and beautiful fabrics and glorious dishes shines through on every page. So in a strange way, I feel a real kinship with her, and in the end, that's what makes her books so enjoyable. Get these books if you can; I know you'll love them.