apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love the drapery.

i love the swedish style. It's relaxed yet so sophisticated at the same time.

I'm glad Kit Bond has a cozy, elegant place to kick back when he's not fighting to deny us the same health care we taxpayers so generously provide for him.

How very interesting — and surprising. I've visited Kit Bond's estate in Mexico, Mo. (his hometown, and mine) and the house looks absolutely nothing like this. It's all dark, heavy draperies, peeling paint and permanent cigar smell.

I'm sorry- I do have to say that I'm surprised a site like AT, which frequently highlights environmentally-friendly ideas, would feature a politician whose record is so lacking where the environment is concerned. (And how must the same-sex couples you've featured on House Tours feel, given his voting record against gay marriage?)

laurainboston, I completely see where you're coming from but I think that they posted this as a beautiful home where AT readers can find some inspiration.

Yes, it may be a little WASP-y or too vanilla for some but I absolutely love this home. Upon checking out the Home & Design posting the bedroom is a bit overwhelming with the striped, stuffed headboards and toile-like wallpaper.

where is the color????? its too much... i could almost only see a lady living here....alone.

Yeah, but the guy loves his dog.

They had me at the Swedish case clock. That's probably the only thing they and I agree on, though.

This comes across as cold to me, which is not usually the feeling I get from such a light, airy color scheme. Politics aside, the home seems rather waspy and sterile (and that family portrait with the dog is just. too. much).

Having grown up in the Kansas City area, I've been a casual observer of Senator Bond for many years. I couldn't disagree with his politics more.

However, he and his wife have exquisite taste. I loved their place and only wish I could afford something similar for myself. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that Kit Bond's mother was a silver collector. It's a Kansas City obsession. I think silver must have been such a status indicator at the turn of the century when the region was coming into its own. People's families had to have sterling silver or they were nothing. Then those same families ate squirrel through the Depression with the sterling silver.

Kit Bond's politics are at a low point. Let him enjoy his silver and let the rest of the country get some ordinary benefits that most people in civilized countries enjoy.

I don't know much about this guy and am not a fan of his politics, but man, that is one gorgeous clock.

I like the house, don't care about his politics, and really don't think that the site needs a litmus test to post photos of spaces or design.

Oh please ... we're looking at someone's house, not their political or social views.

Sure, it could use a little color, but just because it's not full of outrageous colors or has an über-modern addition added to it that looks out of place doesn't make it uninteresting.

classy home, i love the drapes as well and all the chairs. i love the use of gray, it doesn't seem boring or sterile to me. I prefer neutrals in the house because I find it calming. However I would use a darker neutral tone sparingly if this was my house (lol I wish)

How nice that the wife of a Republican U.S. Senator gets to spend her days choosing Swedish Antiques and French wallpaper & china, and Holly Hunt draperies in her free time from consulting for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library...

...Still waiting for the trickle-down wealth that is supposed to have been Reagan's legacy - Oh wait, it appears to have stopped trickling when it reached the Senator's living room.

I guess everyone has such different tastes. This would be my dream home. Such a subtle elegance.

More DC-stodgy

his politics & elitism suck big time but the house is gorgeous.

I read AT because I want to see interesting homes and apartments, not because I want to read about politics.

...which is exactly why I don't *care* how the guy votes while I'm admiring his wallpaper. Sheesh, can we layoff the political commentary for a little while at least?
There's no need to seize on every available opportunity to state your political position. It's like no place is safe from becoming a soapbox.

/rant

Sorry, but c'mon, it's just obnoxious!

mabaihua, I get your annoyance, but really. No design exists in a vacuum. We by nature put things into context, and this is one context that, like it or not, inflames the passions of a great number of people. To completely ignore that would be as strange as commenting on only the design influences and material choices of Klu Klux Klan robes on a fashion site. (Not that I'm comparing Senator Bond to a Klan member, just making a point.)

That said, I stand by my opinion of this as "cold", and I would say that even if these were Ghandi's digs.

How bland.

It looks good in the pictures, but it seem like it would be hard to actually live with. I need a little color.

like riffraff, I love the idea (and pictures) of these serene, whitish, monochromatic places. For me, I'd worry I'd muck 'em up with stuff, and dirt, and chochkes and they'd lose their serenity pretty darn quick.

It looks a bit impersonal for me, too designed. I've visited a lot of houses on the French Atlantic coast, and they all look the same (without the Swedish antiques): off-white background, subdued colors, ceruse wood... done, done and done !

On a side note, I'm sorry, but I could not help laughing at the family portrait. Forced smile, the inevitable dog, and the wife time-warping from the mid 50's...

It has as much personality as a hotel room. Ok, luxurious hotel suite.

As a European I know nothing about Senator Bond but I've really enjoyed the comments. It is never a good idea for elected representatives of the people to appear like this.

PS Are senators elected?

It's not as if anyone went and did an actual house tour of this. This is lifted from a magazine--there are so many other choices of things to lift from publications and blog here on AT. This post represents a choice among many and I personally would like to see other stuff here on AT, which I've mentioned quite a few times on AT/DC and I know I'm not alone. I know others have said they like this stuff; I'm simply expressing my opinion, so don't anyone go crazy over it.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

Since AT is such a fine resource for design inspiration, I am pleased to see the inclusion of this beautiful home. Swedish style is lovely, simple, and quite appropriate for the type of regal--but understated--home we expect for U.S. Senators. The use of calming, cool grays is especially lovely.

However, I am shocked by the comments on this post. True liberalism (in the European, or classical, sense) is an appreciation for the open marketplace of ideas; this means understanding, and respecting, the intellectual foundations upon which one's opposition rests. Artists, writers, and musicians have historically considered themselves liberals and I am disappointed by the narrow-minded views expressed in the other comments. Shame on you for marring the artisan class's intellectual history with such an ignorant American "liberal" perspective.

I'm not a fan of white on white, but this looks very serene. I can appreciate this style and admire it, but wouldn't want it for myself. Correction....I do want the clock and the bed looks like a cloud in Heaven...so soft and plush and comfortable.

I would probably like this place more if Kit Bond wasn't such a bastard.

IF this was posted with no names attached, I wonder what the comments would be?

Ah yes, Palmetto, but the Bonds did not get the article published with no names attached--the whole reason they're pimping out pictures of their house to Home & Design magazine is to increase his public profile and make people have warm fuzzy feelings about his lovely family and home life. So I think the criticism is totally fair game.