7 Things I'd Buy for My Home if Money Was No Object
If I won the lottery, I wouldn't tell anyone—but there would be signs.
Expensive is relative. When I was in my teens, taking a trip to Ikea and picking out whatever throw pillows and picture frames I wanted for my room felt like the height of luxury—and I look back now on those shopping sprees with fondness and gratitude. Back then, I was very much still trying on different aesthetics to see which would make my space feel, at last, like a true expression of how I viewed myself.
To that end, the concept of newness was exciting. Maybe a new, distressed turquoise dresser (ha!) would finally be the key. Maybe if I scoured the shelves of Target for a striped throw that conjured the beautifully-bookish-reluctant-trust-fund-granddaugher je ne sais quoi of Rory’s pool house I could finally relax. Looking back, I realized that when it came to interior decorating, I equated money with the ability to surround myself with whatever was on trend in that moment.
But the problem with that approach is that chasing trends—even if you have the funds to do it well—will always feel hollow, since it’s impossible that every trend will fit in with one’s sense of personal style. In my 30s, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to intentionally identify and articulate what speaks to me when it comes to interior design. I think about what made my heart skip a beat when I was a little kid (my grandma’s house with its gallery walls and ever-changing upholstery), a teenager (our family friends’ New England home with plush drapes and double-hung wood windows) and an adult (the work of incredible designers like Heidi Caillier and Rita Konig). The through lines—English furniture, rich color, painterly touches—are slowly but surely becoming my personal guideposts when I think about what to bring into my home.
A side effect of this aesthetic journey has meant that what feels luxurious to me is no longer about newness but rather about quality. When you’re confident in what you like, you’re more willing to invest in quality, because you know you’ll still like it in 5, 10, 25 years. And to me, quality often means handmade, bespoke, one of a kind.
Which brings us to this list. If money was no object and I was free to furnish my home with total abandon, here are the first seven things I’d immediately write a check for.
1. Custom de Gourney wallpaper
You better believe I’d be ripping a page from Beata Heuman’s perfectly Scandi-chic playbook faster than you could say, “18th century Swedish farmhouse.” I, too, would identify a stunning antique fresco for the storied wallpaper house to hand paint, replacing the original flora and fauna with meaningful plants from my life, like the blackberry brambles that grew next door to my childhood home, or the bleeding hearts I lovingly cultivated in my very first garden plot.
2. Royal Copenhagen Dinner Service for 10
Imagine eating not only holiday meals and birthday dinners off of these perfectly classic hand-painted porcelain plates, but lukewarm pizza and Chinese takeout. The original Blue Fluted dinnerware, designed before the United States was a country, is so beautiful that it can even make a kitchen sink piled high with dirty dishes look like a museum-worthy still life painting.
3. Antique Marble Chimneypiece
If you ever want to turn the most elegant shade of green with envy, may I suggest taking a scroll through the stock of Jamb’s antique chimneypieces? Page after page of the most mouthwatering mantels carved from marble—Georgian, Regency, French and Italian. Unfortunately, an acquisition like this would also require purchasing a grand house in which to install it. But those are problems for future Hannah to solve.
4. Sterling Silver Flatware
Hand wrought by the silversmiths at Allan Adler, this flatware is forged from pure silver and will run you just over $3,000 per place setting. But what’s a bit of money in the face of high-shine silver, elegant tines and subtle Georgian detailing? I’m also quite positive flatware this chic would make ice cream taste (impossibly) better.
5. Oil Painting by Jean-Pierre Cassigneul
Original art: the ultimate expression of one-of-a-kind-ness. As I get older, it’s become more and more important to me to fill my walls with original works, whether they be scribbles from my daughter, block prints from a local artist or this stunning oil painting slated to sell at action at Sotheby’s. She really speaks to me: the languid pose with narrowed eye, the glowing algae green, the midcentury floral cushion for which the painting is named. I could be very happy waking up to her every morning.
6. Hand-Painted Delft Tiles
Clearly I have a thing for hand-painted blue-and-white pottery. I’ve long admired the look of Delftware in general, but there’s something about a wall of these delightfully naive tiles that perfectly combines staid elegance and cozy charm. It’s a combination I can’t get enough of. I would very happily stare at a backsplash of authentic 18th century Delft tiles (sourced by John Derian) while washing my hands. Or commission a full kitchen clad in a cerulean scene hand painted by Tyler Hays of BDDW. Twist my arm.
7. A Stupid Amount of Designer Drapery
I’ll leave you with the least specific (but perhaps most dramatic) item on my list: a truly obscene amount of lush, triple width, pinch pleated drapery made from the most beautiful fabrics money can buy. Oh, you need one thousand yards of Jean Monro’s hand-blocked Hollyhock? Sure! Rolls of Robert Kime silk and spools of Samuel & Sons bullion fringe to match? Absolutely. To quote millennial tastemaker Lizzie McGuire, this is what dreams are made of.
Now that you’ve gotten an intimate look at my ultimate, there-is-no-budget wish list, I’d love to hear what dreams you’re secretly nurturing. A $20,000 shower perhaps? Wall-to-wall cashmere carpeting? This is a safe space.