Thomas Jefferson would approve of Laura Dowling’s appointment as the new White House florist. He might engage in a bit of finger wagging when Dowling jumped the gun, sharing her good news on Facebook with 64 friends which included the D.C. network.

The White House scrambled to say “yes indeed, Laura Dowling began quietly working at the mansion last week. Apparently, the Parisian trained Alexandria florist was the front-runner for the prestigious position, after trying out with two other designers.

Paris will not be the focus of Dowling’s first big gig. Rather, food, flowers and guest list will be India-inspired for a state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Nov. 24. On a technicality, the event will be called a “state dinner”, even though the largely-symbolic title of president of India belongs to Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

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A design trend called “rough luxe” isn’t only for trust fund kids, whose inheritance went bust. Between you and me, the really rich didn’t get hit so hard in the economic meltdown. According to Forbes, the world’s billionaires lost 23% of their wealth, but the stock market has moved upwards since then.

“Rough Luxe” appeals directly to members of the “Slow Living” movement.

London’s Rough Luxe HotelFor every person who wants to throttle me for taking a concept inspired by stepping back from materialism and the pursuit of shiny new things, and making it commercial — I am only reporting here. Feel free to comment.

There’s no doubt that our growing passion for simpler, and hopefully cheaper, living manifests itself in a delight for farm-to-table eating — even in our own kitchens — and craftsmanship with a history. Even if we don’t know who made our new kitchen table, we’d like to believe that we could trace its roots, if so inspired.

Especially among Americans, people seek to restore an American patina lost to strip malls and cheap imports that fall apart (which is not to suggest that American-built cars haven’t been known to follow suit). In particular, I’ve had a problem with imported lamps, even those from Restoration Hardware.

Unfortunately, even the Slow Living movement, frequently made up of Cultural Creatives who care deeply about environmental issues, must deal with scoundrels like the folks at the Forest Stewardship Council, who give bogus assurances that governments and companies are buying sustainable woods for their products.

Our desire to authenticate and connect assumes that honest people are working with us at the production end of our quest. Unfortunately, human greed gets in the way, which is why many members of the Slow Living movement want us to stop buying much of anything.

London’s Rough Luxe Hotel is a place for dialogue as well as sleeping.We can recycle, fix-up, and rehabilitate instead. Agreed. But for those who don’t have the time or inclination, “living new” these days often feels like a trip into the past, but with new, modern and hopefully earth-friendly technologies.