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If you’re lucky enough to be working from home right now, you’ve probably never considered your immediate surroundings more. Some of us have been using this time to make subtle, easy changes to our spaces, like turning an unused corner into a home office, giving our walls a fresh coat of paint, or investing in a pasta maker. And some of us have been daydreaming.
Despite all our efforts to make our homes as cozy and inspiring as possible, it’s hard not to dream of greener pastures or, in this case, a dream house in which to self-isolate. Designer Emily Forgot shared this sentiment recently when she asked her favorite creatives to share the houses in which they’d happily hunker down for the foreseeable future. So we thought we’d take on the challenge, too. Here’s where Team Domino would quarantine, given an unlimited budget and access to (as yet undeveloped) safe teleportation.
Benjamin Reynaert, Style Director
My quarantine dream home is nestled somewhere amid the vineyards and wicker fields in southern France. Last summer I drove throughout the region and fell in love with a tiny town called Castillon du Gard. The homes there are all a bit ramshackle. I’m envisioning an ancient stone building with willy-nilly wood beams, gently cracking plaster walls, and unexpected pops of color. I particularly love this bold cobalt blue window frame and bright ochre curtain, shown above. I would gladly trade in my current snowy Michigan quarantine for long walks, dips in the water, and plucking books off of highly stacked piles with that window ajar.
Elly Leavitt, Associate Digital Editor
My ideal spot is an apartment in Paris, complete with moody colors, Haussmanian details, and a balcony from which to work remotely and eat all the bread I stress-baked in an elegant, alfresco situation. It might be situated above a bakery that still delivers fresh goodies, and it would definitely feature tons of natural light for my indoor herb garden. (In my dreams, I’m also a thriving plant parent.) Unfortunately for me, this place already exists, and it’s owned by Costantino Affuso and Paolo Badesco in the city’s 12th Arrondissement—but maybe they would be open to a third roommate?
Gabrielle Savoie, Senior Contributing Editor
I’ve been dreaming of fixing up a historic farmhouse or cottage somewhere in the country or by the sea, possibly in New York’s Dutchess County or on Shelter Island. I’m picturing the exterior to be a little rugged, maybe with vine-covered shingles like John Derian’s Cape Cod home, and the garden to be English style with a large vegetable garden, a gunite pool for refreshing summer dips, and a covered veranda for alfresco lunches. The inside would be a colorful blend of British country with quirky modern touches and plenty of floral wallpaper (think: Frances Merrill–meets–Beata Heuman). There would be cozy reading nooks next to wood-burning fireplaces, sunny window seats, a games table dedicated to backgammon and puzzles, and a large chef’s kitchen with plenty of bread-baking and pasta-making supplies.
Linda Denahan, Photo Director
On the inside, my perfect quarantine house would be Deborah Brett’s plant-filled and almost entirely green London home. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of cooking in the emerald-tiled kitchen, playing cards on the huge sage-colored velvet sofa, and reading on the back terrace. The space feels like both a cozy cocoon and a cheerful garden all at the same time—and the foliage-print wallpaper and textiles really do bring the outside in (even to the bathrooms)! Of course, I would need to transplant it to the English countryside and add a pool and horse stables. Too much?
Lindsey Mather, Deputy Editor
Honestly, I don’t pine for more square footage (after almost 10 years in New York, I barely remember what it’s like to have a staircase to another floor). All I want is to wake up in this Brooklyn couple’s soothing mint green bedroom with its old-school-but-actually-new wainscoting. I breathe easier just looking at it. However, that’s not to say I wouldn’t appreciate the majestic ocean views at Hotel Il Pellicano in Tuscany—or a good Negroni, while we’re at it.
Liz Mundle, Managing Editor
When editor Gabrielle Savoie asked us where we’d teleport to quarantine, I happily took the opportunity to daydream (er, brainstorm) for more than an hour. I’m sheltering in place in a very small Brooklyn apartment and spend a good amount of time already thinking about where I’d rather be. I’ve been musing throughout this strange time how nice it would be to be at the beach, but we’re talking dream house here, people! Time to go big! So obviously my mind turned to Casole D’Elsa, the dreamy Tuscan farmhouse designed by Champalimaud that Gabrielle covered last spring. With a gorgeous, well-stocked kitchen, a pool, and acres for rambling, I could stay put forever.
Sophie Miura, Digital Director
Having spent a little more than a month in a 700-square-foot railroad-style apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, there are two things I’m craving: space and nature. There are only so many times I can walk to the East River or do a lap of our local park—I miss gardening! Greenery! Birds! My dream quarantine space would be a mix of two homes we’ve featured on Domino: Kip & Co. founder Alex McCabe’s gilded open-plan kitchen and Apple Music exec Jenn D’Cunha’s lush backyard. On weekdays, I’d work from the blush concrete island and wouldn’t mind making three meals a day on the moss-colored quartzite countertop. In the evening, I’d head out to the garden to chill out and mix a Negroni in the alfresco kitchen. (It’s like “cooking in the jungle,” D’Cunha told us.) I can dream, right?
What would your quarantine dream home look like?
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