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Hamptons Cottages and Gardens, July 15-31, 2005
"Charm School"
With a neutral color scheme and a mixture of furniture and objects from three centuries, interior designer Markham Roberts creates a classic, lived-in look for a new Southampton home
When Markham Roberts embarked on decorating a 15,000 square foot house in Southampton, the client's list of edicts was short and straight to the point: Keep the color scheme neutral, and integrate as many of the furnishing from the couple's previous summer home as possible.
Roberts was happy to oblige. "I used every single piece of furniture they had in their former house. Most of it went into the nine bedrooms," he says. "Any client loves to hear 'We can use this.'"
But there is a slight difference of opinion between Roberts and his client, when it comes to how faithful he was in keeping the palette neutral. "He says that it's neutral but every time I look, there's color. I would say it's a little bit muted, but with splashes of color. There are splashes of raspberry in my bedroom and accents such as two lime green vases," she says, clearly loving the results.
For the walls, Roberts used white paint as well as textured wall coverings like grass cloth. "Then I contrasted that with stronger colors and patterns in other places," he explains. "With a client who doesn't love a lot of strong color and pattern, you still need to find ways to make certain things stand out. I brought in color, but I had to sneak it in where I could - with the chocolate rug, the green sofa."
The two-story shingled house is a new construction designed to look as if it's been here for a hundred years. "My client's husband is fascinated with traditional old houses, but he opted for a new house so that it could be built to his specifications. If you do it well, you have the opportunity to have the charm of an old house, along with perfect air conditioning, perfect wiring for computers and all that is the best of both worlds," Roberts says. Arched doorways and an abundance of molding help evoke an earlier period, but what really gives the house the patina of age is the landscaping. "The best money they spent, aside from hiring me of course, was planting mature trees," Roberts says. "It makes a huge difference."
Rather than adhere to a particular era with the furnishings, Roberts chose to create an interior that looks as if it evolved over several generations. "There are 18th, 19th and 20th century things as well new furnishings. The pieces came from different places and work together. It looks more lived in and normal than if it were all one period," Roberts says. Using pieces that the client already owned help create a sense of history and continuity for the family.
The dining room is a perfect example of his approach in the design, a soufflé of pieces from a variety of sources, tied together by a rug with Chinese medallions that Roberts designed and had made in Tibet. He chose some classic George III-style chairs to pair with the table, an 18th century French mahogany piece the client already owned, but he had an amusing revelation while watching television. "I was watching The Sopranos one night, and they have the same chairs!" Roberts and his clients still loved the chairs, confident that the beautiful antiqued chalky white finish in which he had them painted differentiated them enough from the look in Carmella Soprano's living room. He swathed the chandelier with crystal beads to dress it up. "It's a wrought iron piece that you see everywhere, but I wanted to make it look one of a kind. The client's mother, a professional faux finisher, hand painted bamboo shoots over a bronze colored grass cloth for the walls.
Each room has its own character, but the neutral tones on the walls maintain the flow. "They are all very different but I don't walk from one to the next and feel jarred," the client says.
"Very chic, but very casual and exceedingly comfortable," is how Roberts describes the home. "It's a tailored look, but very relaxed. The family actually uses the house, and they wanted it to be comfortable. There's nothing too fancy or fussy about it," he says.
Roberts managed to decorate all 26 rooms of the home in 9 months, competing it in time for the winter holiday season. After more than a year in the home, the living room is the client's favorite, but the kitchen is where the family congregates. "They use it for birthday parties and as a gathering place," Roberts says. "They spend a lot of time on the porch. When you have 15,000 square feet, it will be years before all the rooms are used."
"Charm School"
With a neutral color scheme and a mixture of furniture and objects from three centuries, interior designer Markham Roberts creates a classic, lived-in look for a new Southampton home
When Markham Roberts embarked on decorating a 15,000 square foot house in Southampton, the client's list of edicts was short and straight to the point: Keep the color scheme neutral, and integrate as many of the furnishing from the couple's previous summer home as possible.
Roberts was happy to oblige. "I used every single piece of furniture they had in their former house. Most of it went into the nine bedrooms," he says. "Any client loves to hear 'We can use this.'"
But there is a slight difference of opinion between Roberts and his client, when it comes to how faithful he was in keeping the palette neutral. "He says that it's neutral but every time I look, there's color. I would say it's a little bit muted, but with splashes of color. There are splashes of raspberry in my bedroom and accents such as two lime green vases," she says, clearly loving the results.
For the walls, Roberts used white paint as well as textured wall coverings like grass cloth. "Then I contrasted that with stronger colors and patterns in other places," he explains. "With a client who doesn't love a lot of strong color and pattern, you still need to find ways to make certain things stand out. I brought in color, but I had to sneak it in where I could - with the chocolate rug, the green sofa."
The two-story shingled house is a new construction designed to look as if it's been here for a hundred years. "My client's husband is fascinated with traditional old houses, but he opted for a new house so that it could be built to his specifications. If you do it well, you have the opportunity to have the charm of an old house, along with perfect air conditioning, perfect wiring for computers and all that is the best of both worlds," Roberts says. Arched doorways and an abundance of molding help evoke an earlier period, but what really gives the house the patina of age is the landscaping. "The best money they spent, aside from hiring me of course, was planting mature trees," Roberts says. "It makes a huge difference."
Rather than adhere to a particular era with the furnishings, Roberts chose to create an interior that looks as if it evolved over several generations. "There are 18th, 19th and 20th century things as well new furnishings. The pieces came from different places and work together. It looks more lived in and normal than if it were all one period," Roberts says. Using pieces that the client already owned help create a sense of history and continuity for the family.
The dining room is a perfect example of his approach in the design, a soufflé of pieces from a variety of sources, tied together by a rug with Chinese medallions that Roberts designed and had made in Tibet. He chose some classic George III-style chairs to pair with the table, an 18th century French mahogany piece the client already owned, but he had an amusing revelation while watching television. "I was watching The Sopranos one night, and they have the same chairs!" Roberts and his clients still loved the chairs, confident that the beautiful antiqued chalky white finish in which he had them painted differentiated them enough from the look in Carmella Soprano's living room. He swathed the chandelier with crystal beads to dress it up. "It's a wrought iron piece that you see everywhere, but I wanted to make it look one of a kind. The client's mother, a professional faux finisher, hand painted bamboo shoots over a bronze colored grass cloth for the walls.
Each room has its own character, but the neutral tones on the walls maintain the flow. "They are all very different but I don't walk from one to the next and feel jarred," the client says.
"Very chic, but very casual and exceedingly comfortable," is how Roberts describes the home. "It's a tailored look, but very relaxed. The family actually uses the house, and they wanted it to be comfortable. There's nothing too fancy or fussy about it," he says.
Roberts managed to decorate all 26 rooms of the home in 9 months, competing it in time for the winter holiday season. After more than a year in the home, the living room is the client's favorite, but the kitchen is where the family congregates. "They use it for birthday parties and as a gathering place," Roberts says. "They spend a lot of time on the porch. When you have 15,000 square feet, it will be years before all the rooms are used."