I have only met a couple of famous people in my lifetime. I saw Reese Witherspoon once in a L.A. salon where my mom got her hair done. She looked up from her US Weekly and smiled at me. I had to turn around because my high school self couldn’t control the goofy starstruck smile that was on my face. A few years before that I saw Alanis Morisette at a spa in Kauii. I still feel guilty for saying that because I lied about my age to the spa (I definitely wasn’t 18 but my mom wanted a pedicure buddy, so really it’s all her fault). I often feel this same excitement, yet on an even higher level, when I see designers I admire.
I met Charlotte Moss this past Spring at a book signing and was a bundle of nerves seeing the face behind the iconic design. In a way it was quite surreal, because she knew me as well (when Charlotte Moss says you have a “great eye” it makes your year/life). Today, I am antsy with anticipation for another celebrity designer coming to Dallas for a book signing: The renown designer Nicky Haslam. A staple in London and a legend in the world of interiors, Haslam is the quintessential model of classic taste and everlasting chic. I think nothing quite exhibits that as much as his country house in Sussex. It is everything one could dream about in terms of superb taste and high end ambience. His work speaks volumes, and his taste is timeless.
Photos by Simon Upton.
A picturesque English estate. White picket fence included.
Casual English Ambience. Casually comfortable with textured walls, a picturesque fireplace, and timeless trinkets.
English chintz, fabulous furniture, and divine display of china in the bookshelves.
A sweet fire and wonderful woodwork on the walls.
More of the garden with clipped boxwood.
An almost daring red and white striped bedroom that looks wonderfully comfortable and classic. 
More photos of the garden, complete with potted boxwood.
Tasteful traditional.