There was never any question about what I would use for my first website’s logo. The wooden bench which now sits in its own stately place within my “winter garden” bears the hallmarks of what inspires my creative endeavors and informs my days: serendipity – without which life would not be quite so charming or as much fun!

Thirty-five years ago (!) my husband and I were in Ireland at Birr Castle. Taking an early morning walk, I came upon the most otherworldly, Alice-in-Wonderland kind of bench. The master of the castle, the Earle of Rosse, had used double Rs, back to back, to create a high center for his design; the “legs” of the R, which swooped off to each side, looked like curved devil’s pitchforks.

Entranced, this image stayed with me for years, popping into mind at the oddest times. Then one day, I was stirred to take action – and to honor my first book, Private Newport: At Home and in the Garden. The bench is personal, a one-of-a-kind…my initials laced into a version of Chippendale fretwork. It’s got a wild streak about it, yet not too crazy to be regarded askance and not too ladylike so as to be boring.

And here it now sits, the centerpiece of our main garden as well as a perfect image to be seen as you enter our library, on axis with the bench, to catch any visitor’s eye.

The moral to this story, my friends? Hold on to a dream, no matter how long, for anything is ultimately possible!