Happy Birthday Apple
Happy Birthday Apple! We just had a packed weekend at the Summer House for my grandmother Apple’s 90th birthday celebration. We hosted family and friends on the lawn, the dogs and kids were running around,...
On Americana: How We Think About a Style That Endures
At Sister Parish Design, Americana isn’t just a style—it’s a sensibility. It’s something we live, breathe, and return to, season after season.
Following a whirlwind Newport Design Week—where the Gilded Age elegance of seaside houses met the relaxed charm of American decorating traditions—our team came home thinking deeply about what makes Americana feel so lasting, so beloved, and so uniquely ours.
We asked two of our leaders—Creative Director Eliza Crater Harris and CEO Susan Crater—to share how they think about Americana today. What they revealed is a shared philosophy: that beauty and comfort are best when rooted in tradition, texture, and history.
"Americana is in our DNA." — Eliza Crater Harris
“I’m always drawn to things that feel natural and familiar,” says Eliza. “Whether it’s a vintage wicker chair, a new print that looks like it’s from the ‘40s, or a house you find yourself returning to again and again, there’s something about that lived-in quality that just feels right.”
Her view of Americana isn’t about nostalgia for its own sake. It’s about finding joy in what lasts—what still feels relevant and right. “When I walk into a Newport house Sister decorated decades ago, it doesn’t feel old-fashioned. It feels effortless. Enduring.”
That timelessness, Eliza says, is core to the Sister Parish ethos. “Sister once wrote that innovation is often just the ability to reach into the past and bring back what is good, what is beautiful, what is lasting. That’s the heart of what we do.”
"We’ve always elevated the humble." — Susan Crater
Susan sees Americana through the lens of material and meaning. “One of the things Sister and Albert did so beautifully was use everyday American textiles—like burlap or mattress ticking—and make them feel incredibly chic,” she explains. “It’s the same high-low mix we strive for today with our raffia collection. There’s beauty in texture, in imperfection, in craft.”
Her favorite example? Quilts used to upholster antique furniture. “Sister famously put an American quilt on a Chippendale chair,” Susan says. “That contrast—humble and historic, elegant and handmade—is what American decorating is all about.”
To Susan, Americana isn’t a trend. “It’s comfort, memory, and invention, all in one. Our country has always been a patchwork—of people, of ideas, of craft. Americana honors that mix.”
Why It Lasts
For both Eliza and Susan, Americana endures because it tells a story—often a personal one. “There’s comfort in continuity,” Eliza reflects. “A painted floor, a childhood quilt, a room that just feels like summer—they all hold memory and warmth.”
Americana also blends beautifully. “It’s never rigid,” says Eliza. “It works with folk art or Shaker simplicity, with Bunny Mellon gardens or rustic barns. It’s adaptable, but always honest.”
How We Use It Today
At Sister Parish Design, Americana shows up in thoughtful, intuitive ways—never too literal. “We steer clear of anything that screams ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy,’” Eliza jokes. “It’s more about ease and restraint. A rag rug here, a painted floor there. Just enough to evoke a feeling.”
Susan agrees: “We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re celebrating what has made us—and our homes—happy for generations.”
In the End, It’s All About Home
Whether you live in a farmhouse, a brownstone, or something in between, Americana is about warmth. Comfort. A quiet kind of beauty that doesn’t try too hard.
As Sister herself said: “Tradition was the lucky part of my life.”
And we feel lucky to carry it forward.