england

It seems like no matter how far back you go in history, there have always been taxes when there was some sort of currency and governing body involved. The further back you go, the more interesting the taxes get. Some of the more unique taxes can be found in one of the most romantic periods of all time — the Regency era in Great Britain from 1811-1820. Here are the taxes to expect if you were living in Jane Austen's time, according to Regency researcher Nancy Mayer:

• Servants: You got taxed two pounds, eight shillings every year for every male servant you had. The more servants you had, the higher the tax.
• Window tax: This was a crafty way to tax the rich since bigger houses tend to have more windows. The tax increased the more windows there were in a home. To avoid the window tax, some sneaky homeowners bricked up their windows.
• Hair powder: People who wore hair powder had to pay a tax of about one pound a year.
• Dogs: Owning a dog would result in a tax, and the more dogs you have, the more you'd get taxed.
• Carriages: You had to pay 12 pounds a year for a four-wheeled carriage for pleasure. The more servants you had, the higher the tax. If you had two of these carriages, you got taxed 26 pounds, and if you had three, you'd be taxed 42 pounds.

If you think one pound a year is a small amount, keep in mind that the average farmer in that era made about 15 to 20 pounds a year.

To celebrate the royal wedding, Graham & Brown is offering 20 percent off its selection of royal designs! To mark the marriage, the brand has debuted Crowns and Coronets, the interactive wallpaper features black crowns and coronets on a white background that can be accented with self-adhesive jewels. The jewels are available in assortment of sizes and colors to suit your palatial pad.

The collection also includes a "London Calling" print, a floral Union Jack canvas, and interior paints named Cool Britannia, Princess to Be, and Jewel in the Crown. To snag the discount, just enter the code ROYAL20 at checkout.

Want to see this wallpaper up close? Continue reading.

One month before their nuptials are set to take place, the world is abuzz with curiosity about details of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. Today we've learned what their regal wedding cakes will look like. Kate has chosen a fruitcake to be the main wedding cake — perhaps an odd choice in America, but a traditional one across the pond. Its designer will be Fiona Cairns, a well-respected cake creator known for her bold designs. Although further details of the cake "will be a surprise," says Cairns, we do know this: It'll be tall and tiered, and covered in cream-and-white decorative flowers that not only mimic the architecture of Buckingham Palace but also each represent something meaningful. For instance, the cake will include roses for England, shamrocks for Ireland, acorns for strength, and sweet William flowers as well.

Just like at Prince Charles's and Princess Diana's wedding, pieces of the cake will be cut up and put into little boxes. Because of fruitcake's density, the dessert will stand the test of time, serving as a memoir for the 600 guests. As for William? He'll buck tradition with a groom's cake, a top-secret royal family chocolate cake recipe that's made out of McVitie's biscuits, a digestive biscuit enjoyed at tea.

Although both sound incredible, I'd spring for William's in a heartbeat. Which cake would you rather eat?

Yesterday, I told you about an eco-concept home called The Prince's House at London's 2011 Ideal Home Show. I especially love its cozy, anglicized Anthropologie-esque vibe in the master bedroom. The dress collage on the right-hand side of the photo (framed) is made from recycled maps by Elizabeth LeCourt. You can look into commissioning something from the artist, or try your hand at creating a similar style of artwork.

The bed is a vintage find that's been reupholstered by The Chairman and Son. Keep an eye out at flea markets for a sturdy antique frame, and then look into getting it professionally reupholstered at a shop near your home.Many of the trinkets and cozy textiles can be picked up from a variety of outlets, and many can also be made by those of you who have a knack for sewing or crocheting. It definitely wouldn't hurt to invest in some Cath Kidston fabric for the curtains, either.

For more ideas, check out the widget below.

The color green shouldn't be reserved just for St. Patrick's Day, as Prince Charles demonstrated today when he visited his "Prince's House" at the Ideal Home Show in London. The house beautifully marries tradition and sustainability — two concepts that are near and dear to Prince Charles's heart.

In a letter introducing this concept house Prince Charles wrote,

I hope people who visit the show will see that eco-homes do not have to be a kind of alien from outer space, but can be beautiful and comfortable places with a sense of identity and belonging. If the British people are to be persuaded that it’s worth living in low-carbon homes, it may be easier if the examples they see don’t necessarily look like spaceships or hermetically sealed boxes.

Designed by The Prince's Foundation For the Built Environment, of which Charles is president, this home re-creates the "natural house," a design developed by the educational charity at the Building Research Establishment in Watford, Hertfordshire. Head over to the foundation's website for a video explaining this concept house — it's brilliantly simple, relying on traditional insulation and heating and cooling concepts instead of hi-tech gadgets. For instance, sheep's wool is used as insulation in the roof and floor. In addition to the incredible eco structural features of the home, the interiors reflect a recycled, chic sensibility that continues the theme of traditional, green living. The house's cozy, Anthropologie-esque interiors were designed by Christina Moore, and are a perfect reflection of the prince's goals for the eco, traditional home.

I wonder what Prince William and Kate Middleton would say about this zinger. Burger King's CEO, Bernardo Hees, is in deep water over calling English food "terrible" and British women "unattractive." Hees told a group of University of Chicago students: "The food is terrible, and the women are not very attractive (in England). Here in Chicago, the food is good, and you are known for good-looking women."

Burger King spokespeople countered that the statement was merely a "humorous anecdote to connect with his audience," but the gaffe has British gastronomes up in arms. Some of the country's culinary authorities have spoken out against the statement, including Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing, who remarked that the CEO's comments were "an insult to British gastronomy."

From a marketing perspective, it never seems wise for restaurants to voice controversial opinions. Still, for the first time ever, British food and drink exports topped more than £10 billion. Looks like England is enjoying the last laugh.

After having a house guest visit for a week or so, I always feel I'm due for a vacation myself. It's exhausting to entertain day in and day out, and just the presence of a visitor in my home can make me feel slightly off-key. But a week isn't all that long. Imagine having 100,000 daily visitors in your home in one year.

That is a reality for a young family of six in the English countryside of Lincolnshire. In the March issue of WSJ. magazine, which hits newsstands tomorrow, interior and furniture designer David Netto introduces us to his friend and former co-worker Miranda Rock, who inherited a life at Burghley House, the largest and grandest house of the first Elizabethan age, which is open to the public all year long. When she was appointed by Burghley's preservation trust to assume her mother's role as custodian of the property, where she grew up, Miranda, her husband Orlando, and their four children packed up and left their life and friends in London for the 115-room estate on more than 12,500 acres.

Their new (old) home is filled with treasures that Europe's great museums would most certainly covet. Some of the items that came with the house are the biggest solid silver wine cistern in Europe, weighing 253 pounds; a smattering of jewel-like perfume bottles from India's Mughal Empire; more than 400 paintings; and even a fabulous marble mantel designed by 18th century Italian artist Piranesi. The trade-off for living with so much history in your midst is that you have to share it. Only a staircase divides Burghley House's private and public rooms, so the Rocks are bound to run into DSLR-straddling tourists on their way to breakfast in the family kitchen. What a way to polish up on your hosting skills.

Head over to WSJ to read the full story.

Photo courtesy of WSJ Magazine

Last month, we got word that Kate Moss had purchased a new home in Highgate Hill London, which was built by English poet William Blake and later home to many important literary figures in the Romantic movement. While I had lots of fun poring over photos of her generous new accommodations, it's her personal decorating style that I'm really after. I hoped, and assumed, her other London property would soon go on the market, giving me a chance to see if Kate's interior design style is as fashionable as her wardrobe.

As it turns out, Kate has just listed her 5-bedroom, 4-and-2-half bath St. Johns Wood home for $11.3 million. The early Victorian house has been beautifully restored and has gorgeous natural light throughout. Some standout features include floor-to-ceiling folding doors, an expansive south-west-facing walled garden, a covered entrance vestibule, a gym, a raised roof terrace, music and alarm systems, and a three-car garage. But on to the decorating . . .

The living room has a mix of exotic and polished décor with parquet flooring, a leopard hide throw, a pair of rounded barrel chairs, an antiqued mirror wall, a Persian rug, brown faux-finished walls, a horn-based coffee table, and a carved Eastern armchair. In the dining room, Kate went for a mod, '70s look with a heart-shaped neon sconce, smoky transparent Saarinen Tulip-inspired dining chairs, a slick white table, a chrome floor lamp, and a white streetlight with oversize bulbs. The kitchen has a minimalist modern style and opens up to a rear terrace, which is a lovely place to entertain in the Summer.

Tell me what you think of Kate's style when you take the full tour!

Usually, I can tell if someone's bored with me by a slight wandering of the eye (eyes, center!), but it's a whole other game when hobnobbing with the queen of England. We may know how to address her, but here are a few key signs that signal her handlers to intervene when she's through with a conversation.

When she's ready to wrap it up, but not necessarily royally bored or annoyed, she'll switch her purse from one arm to another. If she really wants out, she'll do something more dramatic, like placing her bag on the floor or spinning a ring on her finger. And when she takes meetings at Buckingham Palace, there's a discreet buzzer she can ring to have guests escorted out. Maybe this is what Kate Middleton's learning in princess training?

There are rumors that Prince Charles plays with his cuff links to signal he's done, but nobody's sure if it's that or a nervous tick. As for Princes William and Harry? It's too early to tell, but all this passivity makes me yearn for the good ole days — when royalty could be indiscriminately rude.