The Picture Taker’s Paradise
by habituallychic
01 . 07 . 10
I love going through my old magazines. Sometimes you discover something you missed the first time around. Other times you realize that you’ve met the person whose home you’re looking at. While I’ve never met photographer Carter Smith, I do admire his photographs every month in Allure magazine and while looking through the January 2007 issue of House & Garden, I came across his townhouse (do you still miss H&G as much as I do?!). In the credits, I also noticed the article was produced by Kim Gieske, who I actually have met since the feature was published, and also Joe Zee, who is now the Creative Director at Elle magazine, and who you might have seen on The City. I also met Joe Zee once at a Marc Jacobs fashion show after party where I gushed to him about how much I loved Vitals, which he was the editor of at the time. (I miss that magazine too!) But I digress, even though Carter Smith has completely restored his townhouse, it still has that beautifully worn look that you would want in a building that is over 180 years old!
The English feeling living room is my favorite room in the townhouse. Can’t you just imagine curling up with one of the books from the shelves?! A lot of the house is made of of salvaged pieces including the door that came from Olde Good Things. If you’ve never checked them out, I highly recommend it! You never know what you will find!
The unfinished looking chair from John Derian fits in perfectly. As I mentioned in The Inside Source piece, I think there is a shift towards anything that looks old, even if it’s not a real antique.
This is the chicest kitchen pantry I’ve ever seen and that copper bench from Stephanie Odegard is to die for!
Carter, at the bottom of the stairs, had help from architect Jim Joseph of Hottenroth + Joseph. If you look closely at their website, you’ll notice that they also did work for David Netto and Deborah Needleman!
I knew Carter Smith was a photographer, but I didn’t realize that he was also a filmmaker until I reread the article. I look forward to checking out his films now!
As you can probably guess, photographers circle the globe for work so the house is also filled with treasures from his travels.
I can’t even imagine having a kitchen this big in New York!
The elephant and owl are also from John Derian. I wish I lived closer so I could make weekly visits to his chic shop!
Carter Smith grew up in Maine and the kitchen has a great Maine farmhouse kind of feel to it.
A model ship looks perfectly at home in the bathroom.
Not only was the kitchen ginormous but so is the bathroom!
Most all the other rooms have brick walls but the bedroom is papered in Lily wallpaper by Cole & Son.
And to top it all off, there’s a fabulous roof terrace. It’s funny how I admire Carter Smith’s home as much as his photography, but usually when one is creative and has a great eye, it transcends all mediums. And in no case is that more true than here!
Photos by Martyn Thompson 
18 Comments
I loved this piece and I really miss House & Garden. It was my favorite. I cried when they canceled it.
Wow – gorgeous! And ditto on missing House & Garden. One by one, they disappear… 🙁
Aloha, so very nice to surf into your blog all the way from Hawaii, love your posts ,great style!
drop in sometime and say hello
New Year wishes from across the Sea
Brandi
This is just about perfect.
Anon.
Heather..WOW….these images are just divine..I am inlove with the grey sofa in the first image…and yes..can definitely imagine curling up with a good book…and being surrounded by so many other good books…fab post..thanks for sharing x
I love the new look of Habitually Chic. I hope that the design style of this townhouse is what is going to be the design trend for the second decade of this century: great taste pulling across many styles and cultures.
Heaven! I could move right in! Thanks for sharing.
That first photo reminds me of the library at the hotel des artes in paris where we had breakfast those 2 mornings – awww – why aren’t we still there?
Gorgeous rooms/photos- I love the photo wall, elephant, and outdoor hammock!
Love these picture, especially the first three… superb!!
these are really beautiful images of creatively styled spaces. the kitchen and terrace are so inviting.
i had no idea H&G was cancelled! (forgive me for not knowing, but i don’t buy magazines where i live..) that’s nearly as disappointing as domino’s disappearance last year.
What a gorgeous space.
Woah. = What a striking and interesting space. I could get lost in that home for hours, taking in all the details.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Alaina
Wonderful, wonderful and wonderful. All that space. How luxurious.
The photo wall is the best!
I am a person who is torn between old world charm and a modern aesthetic. He seems to have both going on here weighted more on “old.” Love the clean design. And, wow, the kitchen and bath! in NYC? Covet!
One of my favorite apartments of all time. I’ve showed it to every bachelor I’ve worked with. It’s just so lovely yet so masculine and handsome and cozy…I could go on and on. Thanks for all the background details. Such a treat!
XX Kate
I adore Carter Smiths pictures as they stand outside a lot of current fashion photography and now looking at his home I can understand why.
I just wish we could see more of his work in magazines, maybe he is spending more time filming these days?
Where can we see more of Carter Smith’s work? I miss the paper magazines. We all expected them to last forever.