My guest this week is Benjamin Reynaert, Elle Decor’s market director, who is also a stylist and consultant for brands like Farrow & Ball and Gap. Ben sees the process of renovating as a perpetual state. He’s been working on a townhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, for a few years and isn’t focused on a finish line. He talks a lot about trying out furniture and objects and moving them around. Some of you will feel seen; those who like projects to end may need to do box breathing. We should all feel encouraged.

Ben went to RISD, styled for Martha, and edited at Architectural Digest, among other interior design publications. Most recently, he released The Layered Home, a book that celebrates the unique collections and spaces of creatives who each have an eye for curating everything from art works to pottery, books to figurines, in clever ways. And still, even Ben finds himself experimenting with new looks, searching for what feels true and comforting to him.

I think you’ll appreciate his paint tips. I liked the bedroom he designed in collaboration with my new Ojai neighbor, Nathan Turner. And I’m grateful to have his list of markets to check out (his roving brocante-style market, The Ticking Tent, is also worth following)—thank you, Ben, for giving me an excuse to plan a trip to Italy next March!

Yours in house snooping,

Amanda

I’ve always wanted to find a home that my husband and I could enjoy on the weekends, where we could entertain friends and family, and express our own personal style. We’re based in a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, so we set a 2.5 hour-by-car radius from New York City—and, low and behold, these incredible old properties kept popping up in Wilmington, Delaware, that were listed for a song. Intrigued, we drove down and fell in love with the Victorian and Federal architecture, incredible private gardens, and the feeling of being in an old New England town, similar to the one I grew so fond of during my university years in Providence, Rhode Island. ...