Rooms: Family Room
“They sat together by the large window. Carlisle, responding punctually to the interchange of inquiries and observations which Lady Pastern introduced, allowed her gaze to dwell with pleasure on the modest cornices and well- proportioned panels; on chairs, tables and cabinets which, while they had no rigid correspondence of period, achieved an agreeable harmony born of long association. “I’ve always liked this room,’ she said pleasantly. “I’m glad you don’t change it.” “I have defended it,’ Lady Pastern said, “in the teeth of your uncle’s most determined assaults.” “your uncle,” Lady Pastern continued, “has, during the last sixteen years, made periodic attempts to introduce prayer- wheels, brass Buddha’s, and a totem-pole, and the worst excesses of the surrealists. I have withstood them all. But change can be positive.” -- Swing Brother Swing by Ngaio Marsh
