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The Newport Diary


Privileged Pets of Private Newport

8 / 30 / 185 / 15 / 24

Last summer’s post on “Newport Living: A Pampered Pets Perspective” was so popular (no surprise) that I knew I needed to include a part two for 2018. It has been… Read More

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A Splendid Affair! Coaching Returns to Newport

8 / 23 / 187 / 27 / 20

An equestrian sport, a tradition and a social pastime, Coaching Weekend was introduced to America in the1880s  by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. It’s first venue was Newport and 130 years later… Read More

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Newport’s White Architectural Jewels

8 / 9 / 185 / 15 / 24

Perhaps it is because there are so few in a town noted for it’s stunning architectural diversity. But on a very late afternoon with a crystalline blue sky, at just… Read More

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The Return of Downton Abbey

7 / 26 / 185 / 15 / 24

Is it just a coincidence that the announcement of Downton Abbey’s  return as a silver screen adaption is coming out a mere three to four weeks before Coaching Weekend returns… Read More

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Out and About with Private Newport

7 / 12 / 185 / 15 / 24

Whew, summer in Newport has seemed a long time in coming! But once that sun appeared and the breezes started, there was already a varied selection of guests, get togethers… Read More

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Newport “Before and After” the Blizzard, Part 2

1 / 25 / 187 / 27 / 20

I was bemused by the fact that so many readers feel as I do about “Before and After” pictures. So I delved back into my cell phone images to present… Read More

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Newport, “Before and After” the Blizzard

1 / 18 / 185 / 15 / 24

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been intrigued with the “before and after” images in decorating magazines. This past December a version of this opportunity presented itself in… Read More

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Newport’s Holiday Doors

12 / 26 / 177 / 27 / 20

Before we finish Christmas week, I indulge in a tradition started a few years back…strolling the side streets of the Colonial areas of our town and recording their appropriately simple… Read More

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A Holiday Invitation to Marble House

12 / 19 / 177 / 27 / 20

The interiors of Marble House, a property of the Preservation Society of Newport County, are so majestic and of such sheer grandeur that they truly deserve their own post. So,… Read More

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The Tale of a Turkey

11 / 21 / 177 / 27 / 20

“Swiss Village has been a part of everybody’s life in Newport,” the late owner recalls. “The Arthur Curtiss Jameses were so generous. In summers, when I was a little girl,… Read More

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About Bettie

Author of Private Newport and Living Newport, designer of the Parterre Bench, national lecturer, and entertaining expert.
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privatenewport

You were never supposed to see these homes…

For one elegant week each spring, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week quietly opens the gates to some of the state’s most beautiful private estates and gardens.

Often called America’s largest open house, the tradition began in 1927 and now welcomes visitors into hundreds of homes usually hidden behind hedges, winding drives, and brick walls.

From classic Virginia red brick estates to grand Palladian-inspired manor houses, each stop feels like stepping into another era entirely.

Okay… but which one are you picking? 👀
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 7

772 27
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17898831606287396
You were never supposed to see these homes…

For one elegant week each spring, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week quietly opens the gates to some of the state’s most beautiful private estates and gardens.

Often called America’s largest open house, the tradition began in 1927 and now welcomes visitors into hundreds of homes usually hidden behind hedges, winding drives, and brick walls.

From classic Virginia red brick estates to grand Palladian-inspired manor houses, each stop feels like stepping into another era entirely.

Okay… but which one are you picking? 👀
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

privatenewport

before trends… this was the standard

nothing accidental, nothing overlooked

follow for more places that feel like another era ☁️
#newportrhodeisland #thebreakersnewport #newportmansions #privatenewport #gildedagemansions

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 5

476 19
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17906290311411005
before trends… this was the standard

nothing accidental, nothing overlooked

follow for more places that feel like another era ☁️
#newportrhodeisland #thebreakersnewport #newportmansions #privatenewport #gildedagemansions

privatenewport

Built around 1900 as a summer “cottage” for Anna Van Nest Gambrill, this American Renaissance-style estate is anything but ordinary.

Designed by Carrère and Hastings - the same minds behind some of the most iconic architecture of the era, this home has quietly evolved over time.

Today, it’s no longer just a private residence… but home to the National Museum of American Illustration, housing thousands of original works.

Newport always has layers..and this is one of them.

Save & follow @privatenewport for more you don’t always see ➡️
✨✨✨✨✨
#privatenewport #newportri #privateliving #gildedage #newportmansions

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 4

718 38
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17883866517545502
Built around 1900 as a summer “cottage” for Anna Van Nest Gambrill, this American Renaissance-style estate is anything but ordinary.

Designed by Carrère and Hastings - the same minds behind some of the most iconic architecture of the era, this home has quietly evolved over time.

Today, it’s no longer just a private residence… but home to the National Museum of American Illustration, housing thousands of original works.

Newport always has layers..and this is one of them.

Save & follow @privatenewport for more you don’t always see ➡️
✨✨✨✨✨
#privatenewport #newportri #privateliving #gildedage #newportmansions

privatenewport

Often called America’s largest open house, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week offers a rare glimpse behind doors usually closed.

For one elegant week each spring, homes and gardens across the state are opened - revealing layers of history, architecture, and life as it’s truly lived. A tradition dating back to 1927, now carried on by hundreds of homeowners.

From classic Virginia red brick (as seen here), to Jefferson-inspired Palladian design, to storybook cottages and Italianate manors - the range is as refined as it is personal.

There’s something quietly extraordinary about a home that isn’t staged… just opened.

Save this for your spring itinerary… and follow for more places you weren’t meant to see 🤍
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 3

340 7
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18096325154131385
Often called America’s largest open house, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week offers a rare glimpse behind doors usually closed.

For one elegant week each spring, homes and gardens across the state are opened - revealing layers of history, architecture, and life as it’s truly lived. A tradition dating back to 1927, now carried on by hundreds of homeowners.

From classic Virginia red brick (as seen here), to Jefferson-inspired Palladian design, to storybook cottages and Italianate manors - the range is as refined as it is personal.

There’s something quietly extraordinary about a home that isn’t staged… just opened.

Save this for your spring itinerary… and follow for more places you weren’t meant to see 🤍
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

privatenewport

Nothing here is accidental.

Set around a storybook-like stone cottage, often described as something out of Hansel and Gretel - this garden is just one of the many private homes opened during @historicgardenweek .

Where detail like this isn’t added… it’s expected.

Save & follow along for the kind of inspiration that’s hard to come by➡️🌳
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginiagarden #fyp #privatenewport #gardensofvirginia

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Apr 30

357 12
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18090018584242115
Nothing here is accidental.

Set around a storybook-like stone cottage, often described as something out of Hansel and Gretel - this garden is just one of the many private homes opened during @historicgardenweek .

Where detail like this isn’t added… it’s expected.

Save & follow along for the kind of inspiration that’s hard to come by➡️🌳
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginiagarden #fyp #privatenewport #gardensofvirginia

privatenewport

An outstanding botanical garden has always felt like the quiet measure of a great city… and in Richmond, that standard is met beautifully at @lewisginter

Founded in 1984 and now considered one of the top botanical gardens in North America, it has grown into an 82-acre oasis, complete with four lakes, fifteen distinct gardens, and conservatories showcasing plants from around the world.

But it’s in spring that it feels almost cinematic…
roses climbing effortlessly, peonies just beginning their debut, and the kind of blooms that stop you mid-step.

And of course, there’s always one..
that singular flower you didn’t expect to fall for.

(For me, it was this deep violet bearded iris… appropriately named Superstition.)

Even the smallest details feel considered here, pollinators drifting from bloom to bloom, the entire landscape quietly in motion.

A place worth returning to… perhaps even in winter, when the garden transforms for its famed Festival of Lights.

Save this for later - and send it to someone you’d wander here with 🌿
#lewisginterbotanicalgarden #richmondvirginia #botanicalgardensofvirginia #privatenewport #lewisginter

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Apr 28

196 13
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18262702786289214
An outstanding botanical garden has always felt like the quiet measure of a great city… and in Richmond, that standard is met beautifully at @lewisginter 

Founded in 1984 and now considered one of the top botanical gardens in North America, it has grown into an 82-acre oasis, complete with four lakes, fifteen distinct gardens, and conservatories showcasing plants from around the world.

But it’s in spring that it feels almost cinematic…
roses climbing effortlessly, peonies just beginning their debut, and the kind of blooms that stop you mid-step.

And of course, there’s always one..
that singular flower you didn’t expect to fall for.

(For me, it was this deep violet bearded iris… appropriately named Superstition.)

Even the smallest details feel considered here, pollinators drifting from bloom to bloom, the entire landscape quietly in motion.

A place worth returning to… perhaps even in winter, when the garden transforms for its famed Festival of Lights.

Save this for later - and send it to someone you’d wander here with 🌿
#lewisginterbotanicalgarden #richmondvirginia #botanicalgardensofvirginia #privatenewport #lewisginter
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Bettie's Faves

  • Charlotte Moss
  • La Dolce Vita
  • My Beautiful Paris
  • The Enchanted Home
  • The Glam Pad
  • The Lush List
  • The Potted Boxwood
  • Vicki Archer
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