An Affair with a House

by Bunny Williams

For 28 years the world-renowned interior designer Bunny Williams has been involved in a passionate love affair with an18th-century New England manor house that she found in sad repair. From the moment she walked up the driveway and her palms began to perspire, Williams knew she wanted the affair to last forever. In her sumptuous new book, An Affair with a House , the venerable decorator describes in detail how she and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, rescued, nurtured, renovated, and decorated the well-worn house, giving it new life as they restored each room, resurrected the abandoned gardens, and filled this weekend home with family and friends.

Through photographs, anecdotes, how-tos, and recipes, Williams provides a rare inside look at a top decorator's retreat and explains how she approached the joys, pleasures, challenges, obstacles, and day-to-day realities of creating a beautiful, comfortable country home. An Affair with a House provides a wealth of advice on interior decor and such topics as mixing design styles, but it also addresses such practical matters as stocking the pantry and outfitting the linen closet. Beautiful photographs of the house, the gardens, and the property's rustic structures provide an intimate glimpse of the couple's lifestyle and illustrate a way of life we can all appreciate and learn from.

Genres: Design, Interior Design, Nonfiction, Gardening, Architecture

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jenna ✨DNF Queen✨Here, Sometimes... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible.
Rating: 5 stars

This a beautiful window into a lifetime spent loving and reviving a house, and turning it into a home.

I feel like I've been privy to the workings of a brilliant creative mind.

"I've come to learn that age is beautiful. That's why we like old furniture and old houses. Some people want to ignore the past. They think only the future is important. But I think we get to the future by going through the past." -112

Gorgeous photos. Brilliant insights into home and garden design. So much of what she speaks about is close to my own heart.

This will need to be read over and over to truly distill every drop of inspiration and insight.

I'll be in search of a copy to add to my own library.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

all I can say is yikes!!!
Great concept but the only redeaming shot was the chicken pavillon. The chicken pavillin??!!
Oh boy. The 80's are over .!

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the second half of the book most: that is where her gentle personality seemed to come through best. The first half read more like just about anyone’s interior design book about their house. It’s tiring to see the wealthy classes talk about where they like to sit to read the morning paper (especially when those comments conflict) or “sit for a quick lunch”. In this case, the second half emerged as more authentic and less contrived; I think it’s harder to be contrived when you are writing about gardens. The images are beautiful; it was interesting to see blurry photos and bits of pixelation.
I would like to see more discussion and acknowledgement of the people who run the place: the gardeners, housekeepers etc.
And on principle I feel I can’t give 5 stars to texts about “plantation houses” without further historic acknowledgement.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It's wonderful to wander through Bunny William's home and gardens even if it is only with a book. The photos are gorgeous and the text is Ms. Williams basically walking you through her estate. I only wish I had the money to incorporate her style into my own home.

[Sarah Blizzard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, I was hesitant to pick up this coffee table book. It appeared to be an indulgent kaleidoscope of perfectly outfitted grand spaces and overly decorated rooms with period antiques, maybe too much precision. But as I began to give it a chance, I became completely enthralled with author Bunny Williams’ narratives. This incredible woman is down to earth, naturally gifted and generous with everything she plans. I’m quite certain she has $$$ to spare, as each subsequently planned building (the conservatory, greenhouse, guest house, pool house…)becomes an acquisition and then an enhancement to the manor house. I mean, I can only dream of such planning, implementation (plus travels to Europe for that special rug or urn, or simply for garnering ideas while I’m in Paris…) and hired workers to keep all of the beauty natural yet refined. But Williams is dear friends with her gardener and her chefs, and the attention to detail for her guests is her charm. And the recipes are absolutely fantastic. Full disclosure, I’m an amateur designer for the homes we have enjoyed through the years so this book appealed to me for my fantasizing nature when it comes to planning spaces. “How deep can we build the windowsills? How can I incorporate the arched windows I found at the flea market?” Etc.
If one can live vicariously through the pages of a book, I’ve just had two affairs: one with the incredible estate and the other with Williams. But I know my husband won’t mind. And I haven’t spent a cent. (The beautiful book was stacked on top of other coffee table books on a shelf in our Airbnb.)

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book features Bunny Williams' renovation and design of a beautiful American estate... the grounds and acreage of which are astounding. I didn't love the decor of the home as much as I really enjoyed studying the features and exterior of the property's buildings

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great book. Now I just need a gardener and a husband who loves antiquing and no kids... No, realistically the takeaway from this book is that if you live in the same place for thirty years and care for it and fill it with things you love, it will feel like home.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Bunny Williams most notably her recent home-worthy home tour. Her home definitely does not photograph as well as the video tour. I know her and her husband are avid antique lovers but, on the page the antiques look more dirty than old if that makes sense. Her estate is lovely sprawling and quintessential New England. However, I didn’t care for the moss on the grounds the pathways, pool villa, even the roof, again it made things seem dirty and unkept rather than old to me. (Of course this is not in fact the case as she has a head Gardner) The little details about how she acquired and added onto the estate as well as the recipes she shares are welcomed. Her ideas on entertaining are warm and she seems like she’d be the best host, I loved how she said if you expect to be entertained 25/7 you probably won’t be asked back!! I’m actually going to attempt the carrot soup recipe very soon!

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a new book but the photography, the grounds, the rooms, the gardens, everything is simply timeless. I wanted to move in, be a dinner guest, bump into them at an antiques show, and visit their store in NYC. All of it. Amazing. Charming. Delightful.

[Teddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly splendid.

[Debbie Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book!

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read a whole series of books like this. Walking through different rooms in a beautiful historic house and detailing how they were decorated/why items were chosen/how various pieces of furniture and other antiques were found, with plenty of large color photos, is basically my dream book. Did it hurt that she had cute dogs and showcased them in several of the photos? It did not.

I was so enthralled by how beautiful everything was that I had to immediately take myself antiquing just so I could pretend I had a similar house to furnish with things I found. This promptly made me appreciate her ability to put things together as well as she did.

Every time I thought I'd reached the end of the book, there would be another section -- guest barn! Conservatory! Poolhouse! -- because 12 acres is even bigger than it sounds. I am not that big on plants so the details of the gardens went over my head, but I must admit they were very beautiful to look at. I can't even imagine what kind of wealth she must be sitting on if this is her weekend home and she also owns the house across the street on top of wherever she lives during the week. But she's clearly putting it to great use.

The other thing I love about this book is that one day, when someone else lives in this house and the items are scattered to new owners, there will always be a record of how it all once came together. What a wonderful legacy that is.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for one sitting, a cup of coffee and a pastry.
You would think a book about an interior decorator's thirty year passion about her house wouldn't be interesting... but it was! I looked at every gorgeous picture and read every word she wrote! At first when I was reading it I had a lot of "if only" thoughts but by the end, even though i still love her house and property I thought "okay that is a bit much"... so at least the book didn't leave me envious. But she has multiple gardens (one just for cutting and putting indoors), a barn turned into a guest house, and another guest house across the road. Her husband is a chef/antiques collector and Manor home is in beautiful Conneticut.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a picture page turner for me. I think Bunny Williams has an interesting view on design and how it's a way of life, to live beautifully. This book was about her journey finding her home and making it her own. The Manor House featured in the book has a lot of great historic characture and she's really kept the essence of it clean and clear. My particular favorite was the guest house. Everything from the 4 imposing doric columns out front to the well stocked bed and bath. I wish I could be her next guest. I'd love to see this place in person!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suppose you have all the money in the world to decorate your WEEKEND home and outbuildings, 20 acres worth. A fascinating look with a woman who takes you room by room showing how each one is decorated. She also shows the gardens, guest houses, etc. She and her husband and dogs live in New York and commute to this beautiful place every weekend in Connecticut. Of course her name really is Bunny! How cliche!

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve now read this at least twice. I enjoy RE-reading it for the small hints at how to do hospitality well, and the ethos around creating warm environments. One of my favorite things to do with Kate is to decorate and update the house, and any wisdom that springs from a good heart for others is wisdom I’ll willingly take.

[Jean Stringfellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the beautiful pictures. It so reminds me of my Holiday Drive house. I loved seeing the before and after pictures and that she used old things and kept furniture that she had had for a long time.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read. Pictures were stunning, but the text helped show the real person of the owner/author and wow, she is a talented designer. Read it when you want to sit back and imagine a life with seemingly limitless amounts of money, and a love of collecting and design.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the photos; the prose was ok.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

That house was way too fancy/froo-froo for me. Too big, too much.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! May try to buy it!

[Cydnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Goodreads has a problem with this book as it won't save to my shelf.

[Maureen Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this and you too will want to move in w/ Bunny and John!

[John Hellman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wished the recipes would be more current.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just lovely!