Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Designing a Room to Inspire

While I knew that the existing knotty pine paneling would be my initial point of departure; I didn’t have to look far to find the next item that would start my creative juices flowing. On my bulletin board, I had a swatch of the most delicious silk ikat fabric saved as inspiration for a future project. I was thrilled when it became the backbone of my scheme; the perfect foil to the knotty pine. I wanted the palette to be rich, luscious, sexy and spicy; for it to be unexpected. I loved the idea of putting the silk ikat on an antique chesterfield sofa; I knew that it would be quite dramatic; little did I know that would be one of the stars of the show.

The first piece of furniture I found, indeed, was a chesterfield sofa from the 1920’s. While it eluded me on my quest in Manhattan, I found it on the way to a friend’s wedding in Connecticut. A sleek 19th century wing chair was procured from Sentimento Antiques; and I fell in love with a magnificent early William IV library table at Cove Landing. From Barry Friedman, I found a graceful bronze and parchment side table by French artist Ingrid Donat. The showstopper bronze coffee table, cast from a tree root, came from Chista.

There is a dynamic that happens when juxtaposing pieces from different eras together. I felt that these items gave me a strong base to build upon so that the rest of the room could successfully evolve.

The Hamptons Designer Showhouse this year is located at 179 David’s Lane in Watermill. It has been graciously donated by the Farrell Building company. It is a classic shingle style house located on 1.5 acres.

Hours are 11-5, 7 days a week. July 26- September 6th.

631-726-8099
Watercolor Rendering: Kristen McGinnis

0 comments:

Post a Comment