Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you.
Imagine an atmosphere of warmth and welcome, both down to earth and elegant. It rolls with the seasons and has an easy grace. It makes you feel happy and creative, content and refreshed, surrounded by beauty and most important, at home. That’s Country House Style, and my online shop, Hunt Club, is where I curate collections for you that express the many ways you can add country house style to your home and make it feel like a year-round retreat!
Connecticut Country House Blog
Springtime Beauty Now & Forever
I adore flowers of all kinds, but it’s the flowering branches that always make my heart sing. Quince branches kick off the spring season here at my Country House. I buy a few bare branches at a local flower shop, and force them by simply placing them in a large container with water. It really…
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Cozy Up Top 10
In the middle of January, with these frigid temps here in Connecticut, all I want to do is stay warm and cozy. For me, that starts with my home. There are certain tried and true elements that I add or move around the house to create a warm and comfy haven. Here are my Top…
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Last Minute Holiday Place Cards
I love using place cards for the holidays. And here on my site, I can go to ‘Goodies’ and print out all the cards that I need…and so can you! It’s free! Just load your printer with card stock, print, cut, and fold. That’s it! Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Nora
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Too Many Tomatoes
Summer tomatoes…nothing like them. We anxiously wait all year for the real deal. Here in Connecticut, the best tomatoes start their glorious ripening in August. We can’t get enough of the saturated rich red color and juicy sweetness. So here we are in October, hoarding the last of this year’s beautiful harvest. How to change…
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Fiona
A most beloved Murphy family member is gone. Fiona was our “Sweet Fi(Fee)” We adopted this little then-feisty Cairne Terrier on 7/7/7. As we were driving her home, Rick, Conor and I were tossing potential names around. I thought “Lucky” would be an appropriate name, but as the boys groaned, that turned out not to…
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A Little Charleston Garden Tour
It’s gardening season, and I’m always looking to be inspired! So on my last visit to Charleston, South Carolin a couple of weeks ago, my sister knew just what would make my heart sing…a stroll through the South of Broad neighborhood. May you be inspired too…enjoy. Love, Nora
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An Unexpected Adventure
When my dear friend Holly called and asked if the Murphy’s would like to join them in St. Thomas and St. John on their 45-foot Catamaran, The Orion, in April, I was quiet. This was nothing I had ever dreamt of doing. And as amazing as this sounded, my brain immediately went to motion sickness…
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Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas dear friends! Where did the last 6 months go?! After 18 years, we left our beloved Connecticut country house in Newtown, and started a new chapter at our now beloved Connecticut country house in Hadlyme. We’re calling it ‘River House’. Actually our friends were calling it that way before we were! Our 1820…
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Onward!
Well, it’s official. Two weeks from today, we will have sold our beautiful 1767 Connecticut country house in Newtown to a lovely couple from New Jersey, and moving to a newer (1820) Connecticut country house on the Connecticut River in Lyme! This big change started when Murph and I came to the clear realization that…
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What’s Coming Up At Connecticut Country House
Being homebound, I’m gazing at the gardens outside our windows that are ever so slowly coming back to life. This is what I look forward to each year. But this year, with all that we are dealing with, these gardens mean more to me than they ever have before. They represent life, as well as…
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Learn How to Make a Spring Wreath
Spring is literally around the corner next week, and even though my long bank of Forsythia at Connecticut Country House is not yet in bloom, the faux forsythia wreaths and bouquets at my entrances certainly are! The way I look at decorating my doors is to follow what’s flowering each season. This makes my doors…
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Holiday Door Quick Fix
For last minute holiday door styling, I highly recommend my 5-step simple trick: 1. Pick any wreath at your local supermarket (just be sure it’s still green!). 2. With pruners in hand, cut evergreen branches from your property, the nearby woods, or from the side of the road (I always keep a pair of pruners…
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Dress It Up
Dress it up. The moment I spotted this set of 8 silver plated cups with fanciful handles I knew it would make my place settings look absolutely fabulous! Of course, they need to be filled with something simple – yet impactful. For the holidays, I’m thinking rich red carnations. They’re incredibly inexpensive, full of volume…
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Be Our Guest
Over the years, it’s always been quite a hearty shindig of dear friends and family at Connecticut Country House for Thanksgiving. But this year we’re keeping it to an intimate gathering. Large or small, setting the holiday table is one of my favorite things to do. I always say that we don’t just show our…
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For Sale: My Beautiful Country House
This was no easy decision. Actually it was a really, really tough one…something I kept turning away from and putting off for over a year now. My sweet and beautiful beloved muse, my Connecticut country house, is now listed for sale. I stepped foot into this wonderful old house 17 years ago, and instantly fell…
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