Veranda

VERANDA is a forum for the very best in living well. Always gracious, and never pretentious, we keep readers abreast of the finest in design, decorating, luxury travel, and more, inspiring them with beauty and elegance. VERANDA is both an ideas showcase and a deeply pleasurable escape, a place where homes feel as good as they look.

Veranda

Editor’s Letter

The Art of Atmosphere • DELIGHT THE SENSES AND ACE THE HOLIDAY HOSTING GAME—OUR TOP SCENE-STEALERS, PLUS EDITORS’ FAVORITE PARTY TRICKS

SIZZLING BAR SETUPS • Speaking of cocktails: A flurry of new options for storing and pouring ignites the cabinet-versus-cart debate. Hidden intrigue or rolling, wide-open revelry? (Crowds known to form around both…)

Technicolor Toasts • Here, here! A rainbow array of carafes and cordials, flutes and party dishes ushers in a season of warm welcomes and joyous salutes (the more colorful, the better).

STELLAR TABLE SERVICE • Like the chicest of party attendants, nesting tables fan out among guests with near magical utility and, in materials from leather to cane, invite hours of corner conversation.

A Strong Fireside Game • With alluring, woodsy scents and crackling logs come sculptural screens handcrafted of bronze, steel, and patinaed copper.

TRANSCENDENT SCENERY

SHADES OF ROMANCE • Behind captivating patterns, soft beige and blush linings hold the secret to spot-on mood lighting, emitting a warm, inviting glow.

Sumptuous Textures • The night owls of the fabric kingdom, lavish cut velvets, soft mohairs, and wide-wale corduroys turn banquettes and sofas into favorite hubs of the after-hours crowd.

SPARKLING SHOWMANSHIP • Celestial jewels, diamond-studded braiding, and fierce big-cat patterning give holiday drama its due—and a ravishing seat at the table.

Blue-Chip Hospitality • As holiday parties put guest rooms at peak demand, cozy touches ranging from lighting to linens extend the welcome well into the weekend.

BEST DRESSED SCENTS • Intoxicating aromatics raise their profile in collectible works of art, from painted pottery to handwoven wicker.

MASTERS of DISGUISE • LONG BEFORE TECHNOLOGY’S GREAT REIGN, A DIFFERENT SCREEN INTRIGUE SWEPT THE GLOBE: DECORATIVE PANELS THAT HID PRACTICALITY BEHIND A PANORAMA OF SCENIC ARTISTRY.

MODERN SCREEN SIRENS • These aren’t your grandmother’s Coromandel panels. In dynamic materials that curve, cane, marble, and even trick the eye, the latest screens signal a shining new era for the dynamic dividers.

UNFOLDING A LEGACY • A look at how decorative screens stretched across the centuries, from the gilded heavyweights of ancient China to vivid canvases for modern art

A Couturier’s Welcome • Hubert de Givenchy’s singular gift of self-expression, contends Charlotte Moss, shined as brightly in the rooms where he entertained as it did in his sartorial masterpieces.

Behind the Green Baize Door • A spectacular cast of porcelain and silver makes a dramatic return to the center of the table in the ultimate reprise of dinner-party theater.

WHAT’S HIS IS HERS… • …and vice versa, as commanding dials meet pitch-perfect shimmer in a chic mingling of feminine and masculine details.

Objects of Enlightenment • When Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle called history “a mighty drama,” he may not have imagined jewelry, but he should have. In the hands of these designers, the artistic might of Renaissance Italy, Moghul India, and Imperial Russia shines anew.

Joyful Tidings • For a lively holiday supper with friends, Veranda columnist Joy Moyler summons the spirit of Saturday night jam sessions in her parents’ Harlem living room.

Compliments to the Host • These aren’t your standard-issue candles and wine: From precious Limoges boxes to the...