Sophisticated Living Magazine

05/28/2026

In the Dulac family, a love of cooking passes down through the generations with the same care as a beloved heirloom. However, unlike physical treasures that are often locked away for safekeeping, their family’s culinary inheritance has been generously shared with family and friends. Luckily for Louisvillians, since Tim and Brittany Dulac, a father-daughter duo, opened Elderberry Provisions in Chenoweth Square, we can all experience what it’s like to have a seat at their family table.

-

Read more at “The Twine That Binds,” from Louisville’s May/June issue at the link in bio and slmag.net/louisville.

-

Photos by Tony Bailey

-

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

It started on a napkin. Somewhere around 2009, three Saint Louis University law students — Thomas Harvey, Michael-John Voss, and John McAnnar — sat down at Café Ventana and sketched out an idea: a nonprofit law practice that would give poor and homeless St. Louisans the kind of legal muscle money usually buys. No fee. No catch. Just free representation for people trapped in a system that was, by almost any measure, designed to keep them there.

-

That napkin became ArchCity Defenders.

-

The organization has spent 15 years fighting for St. Louis’ most vulnerable residents —and Blake Strode is making sure the mission keeps growing. Read the rest of the story, “Defenders of the Dispossessed,” from St. Louis’ May/June issue and the link in bio and slmag.net/stlouis.

-

Story by Christy Marshall / Photo by John Lore

-

-

-

05/22/2026

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 on June 1, 2026. To mark the centennial of her birth, the Hollywood icon is being celebrated globally with major citywide festivals, official memorabilia, museum exhibitions, and high-profile auctions, and in Sophisticated Living. In the May/June issue, among the new books profiled in our “Bibliotaph” feature is “Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs,” by photographer Sam Shaw, a close friend and confidant of the starlet. See more at sophisticatedlivingmag.com/of-note

-

And, in this week’s Sophisticated Scoop, we share Hotel Bel-Air’s nostalgic reimagining of what Marilyn’s “perfect day” at the hotel might look like today. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Monroe frequently stayed at the Los Angeles property for days and even months at a time, at one point using the hotel as a romantic hideaway with Joe DiMaggio, drawn to the privacy, romance, and understated glamour tucked across the estate’s 12 acres of gardens. Throughout the month of June, the hotel is celebrating her legacy with nostalgic touches, such as the “Some Like It Sweet” hot fudge sundae and Monroe’s Passion, the hotel’s signature cocktail inspired by the icon herself. Read the newsletter at the link in bio.

-

Images: Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, New York City, 1954 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd / ACC Art Books.

-

Presidential Suite living room at the Hotel Bel-Air

-

-

-

05/21/2026

05/19/2026

As construction continues at VOCE Hotel & Residences in Midtown Nashville, the project has reached a major milestone. Its tower crane is now installed, signaling that vertical construction has begun for a fall 2027 delivery. With almost 60 percent of residences already sold and prices scheduled to increase imminently, the window to purchase at current levels is narrowing quickly.

-

The development features private residences alongside luxury boutique hotel suites, supported by more than 40,000 square feet of amenities and 60,000 square feet of high-end boutique office space. Located along the West End corridor, VOCE places owners minutes from Nashville’s central business district, entertainment hubs, and major institutions.

-

Read more at Sotto Voce from Nashville’s May/June issue at the link in bio and slmag.net/nashville.

-

Photos courtesy of Casrland Vastland Companies

-

-

05/18/2026

“The early bird gets the worm,” or so the saying goes. For the 2026 SOPHI Awards, the early submissions get a 20% di$count on the entry fee. Or fees, depending how many projects you submit.

Submit your entry (s) now thru Monday, June 1 at theSOPHIawards.com.

05/18/2026

Every interior designer imagines their “dream” client. For Jenny and Jenna Schnabel, the creative mother-daughter duo behind Schnabel Interiors, it is a young couple who discovered them via an online search. “They hadn’t worked with a designer before, yet they were one hundred percent willing to trust us and let us push them outside their comfort zone,” explained Jenna.

-

After living and studying in Europe, Jenna worked in fashion for the likes of Neiman Marcus and Giorgio Armani before launching an interior design career in Chicago two decades ago and eventually relocating to Lexington to work alongside her mother, Jenny, whose business and reputation were already established. “Working together has been a dream come true for us. We are passionate about what we do and want to work with people who are kind, trust us, and share our values,” Jenna remarked. The timeless, worldly aesthetic for which Schnabel Interiors is known perfectly aligns with the homeowners, one of whom is an Irish native.

-

Read the rest of the story, “Tailored Tradition,” from Lexington’s May/June issue at the link in bio and slmag.net/lexington

-

Photographed by Sarah Shields; styled by Margaret Zainey-Roux

-