For almost 30 years Bunny Williams, the celebrated interior designer, has been having a passionate affair with an 18th-century New England House. From the moment she walked up the driveway it was love at first site, even though the property was in sad shape.

In this book, the respected decorator describes how she and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, restored the well-worn house room by room, resurrected its abandoned gardens, and filled the place with family and friends. Through photographs, anecdotes, how-tos and recipes, Williams offers a rare inside look at a top decorator's weekend retreat and shares her approach to the joys, challenges, obstacles, and day-to-day realities of creating a beautiful, comfortable country home.

Below are some excerpts and photos from "An Affair with a House" by Bunny Williams.
"Up in the attic, I found a trunk labeled Manor House, with some musty old World War I uniforms inside. There's a stenciled design on the floorboards up there, symbols of some sort that may date from the time this was a safe house for slaves, or at least that's the rumor. The house comes with stories. I like to think they're true."
"Most people are afraid of scale. They're reluctant to put a big piece of furniture in a
small room. But I'll often choose a large-scale sofa and at least one big chair,
and then balance them with smaller objects. The general rule is,
the bolder the scale, the more interesting the room."
"The rooms that you use on a daily basis are the rooms people will always
want to sit in, because they have soul."
"Even more than the food is the atmosphere you create --
that's what people are really going to remember"
"I wanted the building to feel as if the trees had just waltzed out
of the woodland and formed a Greek temple"


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