An Affair with a House Hardcover – October 1, 2005

Thirty years ago Bunny Williams fell in love with a run down 18th century farmhouse that was being used as a rental by college students. (That should indicate to you just how run down it had become.) She has done much to restore the house and grounds to their glory days. The landscaping projects alone have taken decades to reach their potential. As Bunny's father pointed out, had she not been a young woman when she bought the house, the project would have outlived her. Instead, she had the time and talent to bring this house into her vision of what a gracious old home should be.A renown decorator of others' homes, when Bunny was working on her own dream house, no corners were cut and no expense spared. This book describes how she envisioned the hedges, the entrance foyer, the living room, the kitchen, the patio - and then what she did to bring that vision to reality. There is an amazing sequence as she describes what she felt would be the ideal color of the entrance hall - a delicate peach that she had once seen in the table linen of a restaurant in Tuscany - and what she did to reproduce that color.The attention to detail that Bunny paid to every aspect of her home over thirty years has resulted in a place that is a true reflection of the owner's passions. The spaces devoted to her beloved dogs; the collections she has gathered through the years; the way she found the perfect place to work in an old wing chair that belonged to her late father.Bunny also loves to entertain. She shows us her dining areas; how she settled on certain tables; her collections of tableware and linens; and the storage areas. But she doesn't stop there - she shares her favorite methods of flower arranging, and gives us some lovely recipes. It's just another nice touch in this jewel of a book."An Affair with a House" isn't a decorating book, per se. It's one woman's story about how she reclaimed a neglected house and brought it back to life. This a beautiful book to spend an afternoon looking through and, if you like the traditional styles, you can find plenty of inspiration from Bunny Williams' own story.Highly recommended!!!

The reviews all ready written describe the book perfectly. I have around fifteen hundred books as I am a lover of them. This book is the most beautiful one I have ever bought. It is worth far more than the price.. The house that is the subject of the book and was restored by Bunny Williams and her husband was built in 1840, a time period when architects loved beautiful homes and not what is built today. The photography of the rooms, porches, decorative items and paintings is superb. Every page is glossy and of extremely high quality paper. I could never own a home of such incredible beauty but, it brings joy to my heart to turn the pages and admire this very old one restored to more than its original state. The Manor House as they call it, the old carriage house where the original owner pulled in the horses and carriage have all been restored and the barn turned into living quarters. Bunny searched ways to match original paint scraped from places. The magnificence of the buildings is never reproduced today. I get enjoyment looking at the pictures of the incredibly beautiful gigantic windows (this is a large size book, not a regular hardcover size). Not only have they brought beauty to each room from the furnishings for which they searched over years but, they painted inside and out and restored courtyards. I have turned these pages dozens of times. I am so appreciative that Bunny Williams admired beauty to a degree that she and her husband would spend 28 years creating a "paradiso". All the ugliness in the world today of fashion, language, music and architecture, the tearing down of old buildings of stunning architecture from a different age and replacing them with "pop art" type of designs is heartbreaking. So it is sheer joy to hold this book in my hands as a treasure. Thank you Bunny Williams for working on this book so we can be thrilled with your love of beauty that is rare these days. Thank you to John your husband whom you say is an antiques dealer for finding (I am assuming) so many of the antiques that grace the home.

"I am not sure if I believe in destiny, but I do know that after years of looking for a house, my palms began to perspire as I turned onto a tree-lined driveway in a small New England village." This is the beginning of a beautiful tale that grows in the telling, as Bunny Williams invites the reader into a creative journey that is uncommonly rich, deep, and satisfying.The author has in fact woven a number of story lines together into a seamless fabric of exceptional beauty. Each chapter begins with a piece of the actual love story - the room by room accounting of how Williams transformed a dilapidated 18th century manor house and the property on which it stands into a masterpiece of surpassing elegance and style. This is followed by a photographic exploration of each area in which every image is a composition that would stand on its own as fine art. Captions to the illustrations are instructive and helpful without deconstructing the harmony of the spaces that Williams has created. And, interspersed throughout it all, are practical tips and advice on a variety of subjects such as hunting for antiques, arranging flowers, and even setting up for a picnic.Totally absent is the self absorbed, prissy, and obsessive tone that often attaches itself to the work of great decorators. Instead, this is an intimate celebration of life complete with dogs, chickens, vegetables, flowers, and a very beloved husband. Williams makes the point that a zest for living and a keen understanding of human behavior underscore every successful design.This book is beautifully conceived, beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and beautifully executed in every aspect. I give it my highest recommendation.