When I opened the Escapes section of The New York Times on Friday, the last thing I was expecting to find was a design feature about the weekend retreat of one about the city’s most interesting couples, Derek and Michelle Sanders. He owns his own architecture firm that has designed the interiors of The Standard Hotel in LA and my favorite restaurant in New York, La Esquina, which is also co-owns. She used to be an editor at Vogue before leaving to work for Juicy Couture, Miu Miu and Donna Karen where she is now SVP of DK Collection accessories.

I profiled their New York apartment when I first started my blog but for those of you who missed it, you can check it out here. You can see similarities in the apartment and the rural retreat three hours north of the city in the use if white but I really like how they decorated the converted old barn with more rustic and country looking furniture. It really fits the space.

It looks like the place is still a work in progress in some areas. The floor in the living room appears to be just painted plywood while the kitchen has wide plant hardwood floors. I personally would have liked it if they had anchored the living room seating arrangement with some kind of rug but maybe they are still searching for one. I could see a braided rug fitting in perfectly in this space.

I think the large flag lends a nice Americana feel to the place. I wish the article had shown more photos but it was still fun to peak inside and see what this creative couple has been up to lately. It would also be nice if they would grant me access to the super secret VIP reservation number to La Esquina since I’ve written about them twice. I wonder who I need to talk to about that.