Style at The Mount

Image from paperolive

Hi Kichaas! Soon I'll be visiting The Mount, the gorgeous estate of Edith Wharton.  Several years ago I went on an Edith Wharton marathon and read nothing but her novels.  I didn't get through them all but I did hit the big ones:  Age of Innocence, House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, Old New York, The Buccaneers.  What's your favorite?

I also read a few of her travel books.  What a life!  Motoring around Italy and Europe each year, mingling with the rich and famous.  She memorialized many of those places and friends in her autobiography, A Backward Glance, which I read right before this trip!

Image from noveldestinations

Edith Wharton was quite the style maven at the turn of the 20th century.  She wrote The Decoration of Houses with architect Ogden Codman.  It was first published in 1897 and it's still in print!  It was the first interior design book to recommend throwing the heavy, frilly, Victorian-style out the window.  Instead it suggested focusing on symmetry and classic design principles.  It's considered one of the most influential decorating books of the past century.  You can still see its influences today.

Image from pbcstyle

"Every house is a mad-house at some time or another." 

— Edith Wharton