Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo

Victoria and Nick Sullivan are a quintessential power couple: He is the fashion director at Esquire Magazine and she's launching her much-loved children's store, White Rabbit England, in the United States. "I'd like to open a store in almost every state," she tells us. They live with their two children--Charlie, 4, and Florence, 7--in a Brooklyn brownstone. Here, we talk to Victoria about lemonade, hammocks and coming to America.

What was it like to move here from England?
When we moved here four years ago, we had all our furniture shipped over. The morning it arrived, I left the house with the kids, and when we came home for tea time at six, Nick had set up everything practically how it was in England. It was suddenly like home again.

Moving in New York can be rough. How did you get all your furniture into the Victorian brownstone?
Everything came in through the window in the front!

Tell us about this adorable--and huge--photo.
I took that snapshot of Florence when she was two. Later, there was an exhibition in London about editors' favorite photos, so they blew up this one. It's still on the wall, big as a bunny! Florence loves it; Charlie's turn next...

Is there a travel theme to your decor?
My husband Nick likes to do travel writing, so he loves globes, and we're both big map people. Outside these photos, we also have portraits of George Washington and the Queen!

Do your kids have English accents?
Not anymore. They're pretty American, although they can fake a Dick Van Dyke accent from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. "Please, Mummy, may I have some lemonade?"

What a fun household.
We also have a new family member: We adopted an abandoned long-haired white Persian last weekend! The kids had been nagging me. We named him "Parsley." He slept on my face yesterday; it's quite extraordinary to have a cat purring in your ear all night.

Why did you keep everything white in the hallway?
It keeps it looking light and clean. We've gone for color in the past, but white looks great with the wood floors.

When you're all at home, where does your family tend to hang out?
Everyone loves the deck. It's beautiful and green with sun shining. We have lots of parties--we do Parma ham and pasta.

Do you ever serve English food?
We serve Pimm's. We had it on Labor Day with gin, mint and lemonade. And when people come to visit, we put the Union Jack on the door, so they know where we are.

Do you use the hammock?
We're on our fourth! Nick always forgets to put it away in the winter so it rots. The hammock is a big hit with both kids and adults.

The garden looks amazing.
It's like a forest. We have squirrels, red cardinals flying around--even a wild turtle who walks back and forth in the garden. We feed him strawberries.

Does the master bedroom leads straight into the garden?
Yes, we love it. The decor is shabby chic. I found the dressing table at Portobello Road in London. Luckily my husband liked it; it was a groovy find.

Do your kids like your bedroom, too?
I catch them in there all the time, trying on my shoes and my jewelry. Charlie likes to wear my high heels. My husband brings funny hats home from photo shoots, so we have helmets, bowlers hats, captain's hats and top hats. We like to play dress-up in this house.

You sell lots of night lights in your shop. Which do your kids have?
All of them, actually! The mushrooms, rabbit cottage...

Do your kids share a bedroom?
Yes, they do really well on that, actually.

What's Florence's favorite toy?
She loves the "Wendy house" from Peter Pan.

What's Charlie's favorite toy?
He has a teddy and blanket that go everywhere with him. He's a bit like Linus from Snoopy.

Thank you, Victoria! Want more? Read all our Cookie house tours and read our story about traveling to England's lake district.