I am enjoying pouring over the September issue of Elle Decor so much – it’s a goodie! The glass house in New Canaan, a town we like to keep our eye on, was an inspired remodel of a classic modern house that had been somewhat “colonialized” over the years. I like that the family and the designers wanted to appreciate the original intent of the house, but did not feel shackled by restoring every last little impractical bit of it back to 1960, or limit themselves to strictly mid-century furnishings. There’s a gorgeous slideshow over at elledecor.com shot by William Waldron of the whole house. Here’s a sneak peek:

But I have to say what caught my eye the most, besides Michael Bay’s house, which made me think “hey, that’s the house from Hogan Knows Best!”, which immediately filled me with deep shame, were these animals. Were they donkeys or mini-horses? Turns out, they are mini donkeys. Yup, a couple of asses, just hangin’ around the perfectly manicured pool in the Hamptons. Are miniature donkeys the new trendy pet? Should the pot bellied pigs be worried? It says the owner/designers, Amy and Todd Hase are Francophiles. Does this mean miniature donkeys are all the rage in Paris? Will Kanye get one and get it platinum horseshoes from Jacob the Jeweler? Time will tell.

What’s hot? DwellStudio’s Peacock Citrine Duvet is! The July 2010 issue of Elle Decor listed this item as one of its five HOT picks. We couldn’t agree more.

While I’m thankful that our forefathers got rid of those pesky British taxes that didn’t have representation and all, I am always a sucker for a Union Jack. I think my favorite use of it lately was the quilts featured on Man Shops World by Becky Oldfield. Here are a few more dreamy shots of the U.K.’s flag I’ve been collecting lately:

Check out Timothy Oulton’s sofa:

A dash of Vivienne Westwood (she’s been doing this a long time) via Living Etc.:

From Natural Curiosities:

From Made By Girl:

From Jonathan Adler:

From one of the designers of Libertine, as seen in Domino.

From the fabulous Bonnie Cashin:

From Naked Decor:

Quilt image by William Waldron via Elle Decor
Sofa image by Michael Falco for The New York Times
Living Etc. images by Jo Berryman for Living Etc.
via Natural Curiosities
Bonnie Cashin Foundation

Ah, an afternoon post – I was very sidetracked as my Style and Substance: The Best of Elle Decor arrived today. I got so into it I haven’t even read David Rohde’s daily installment of “Held by the Taliban” in the Times yet, and that is a seriously riveting serialized read. I thought most of it would look familiar because I flip through my Elle Decor issues again and again and save and make tear sheets galore, but actually, a lot of it was new to me, and the familiar shots were all tear-sheet worthy. The book is set up by space – bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. They range from rustic Martha’s Vineyard bathrooms to opulent “Marrakesh retreats”.

Best of all, Margaret Russell, author and Elle Decor E.I.C. spares the reader from the usual flowery writing for the sake of having X amount of text on the page copy that is so common in such lovely, glossy design books. I mean really, how often do we actually read these books? 85% of the time, I buy interior design books just for the pictures, as they are usually worth a thousand words. Russell sticks to giving a nice introduction to each section, and “Style Guides” at the end of each section. In the guides, she pulls together what we can learn from the spaces and gives easy-to-follow, pragmatic advice about how to glean style skills from the images. This book is one I will pore over many times, and it also makes a great gift.

Who are your favorite interior design writers? Mine include Russell, Celerie Kemble, Jonathan Adler, Billy Baldwin and Dorothy Draper. Please share yours in the comments section.

images via amazon.com, from Elle Decor: Style and Substance, by Michael Mundy and Henry Bourne, respectively.