When we asked Beacon Hill’s Operating Vice President Alexis Audette take part in our “5 Definitions” series, we didn’t entirely expect her to put in quite as much effort as she did. But really, we shouldn’t have been surprised. The quality of their fabrics and furnishings (one of our favorites) are a product of such painstaking attention to detail that we should have know they wouldn’t submit anything but the best.

For newcomers, the “5 Design Definitions” series is where we ask people in industries connected to the high end interior design world to define a handful of concepts we feel are central to truly high quality interior design.

Alexis didn’t just define the topics we gave her, she sent images and histories to go with each one.

So without further ado, let’s hear what Alexis has to say. I think you’re really going to enjoy this (and you might even learn a thing or two)!

1. Luxury

  • Luxury is that which is rare, beautifully crafted and brings pleasure.
  • Biedermeier chairs demonstrate the clean lines of today’s contemporary furniture, and they’re as comfortable as when they were made in the nineteenth century.

2. Lifestyle

  • Lifestyle is how we live based on our values and choices.
  • Paulette Tavormina addresses beauty and ephemerality through her still life photography.  Her images suggest a lifestyle wherein beauty resides in the every day and time is treated as a gift.

3. Beauty

  • Beauty is the Golden Ratio.
  • As demonstrated by Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture (the Guggenheim Museum), the right geometry can lead to divine aesthetics.

4. Taste

  • Taste is a discerning eye that is refined through education and exposure.
  • Growing up in a family of art historians, conservators and artists (the painting is by my mother) trained my eye, and helped me understand that cultivating taste is a lifelong pursuit.

5. Quality Interior Design

  • Quality interior design reads like a beautifully edited autobiography.
  • This image of Annabelle Selldorf’s New York apartment, with its historic and contemporary touches and restrained palette, is like a portrait of the architect herself.

About Beacon Hill: Beacon Hill brings exclusive, finely crafted fabrics, trim and home furnishings to the high end interior design trade. Inspired internationally and designed for luxury, the offerings are truly one-of-a-kind. Beacon Hill has a tradition of using refined materials, an opulent color palette and sophisticated construction to provide understated elegance for those seeking a gracious style of living.