When a client wants each room to be a different color, continuity in design can prove challenging, but when a client wants every room to be the same color, how do you give each space its own personal stamp? That was the directive for Abby Leigh, principal of her eponymous design firm in northern New Jersey, when she was called to put her skills to work remodeling this Hamptons summer home for her clients and their extended family.
“She wanted the coastal chic vibe,” says Leigh. The homeowner and her children loved blue and didn’t want any dark colors, so she used light blues in different ways and in different textures. “She wanted it to feel relaxed and beachy but also a little more elevated—and it needed to be family friendly for kids and grandkids.”
The home was not new construction, but it was not going to be renovated either, so all updates needed to be cosmetic. To start, they painted the whole house and wallpapered every bedroom. “They wanted a coastal elegant feel, but they didn’t want each room to be the same,” says Leigh.
Space for the Whole Family
In the primary bedroom, she chose a textured blue grass cloth from Philip Jeffries accented with warm white trim, drapes and furnishings. A modern upholstered bench at the bottom of the bed from Crate & Barrel at the bottom of an Interlude bed is almost cloudlike.
The bunk room has a Serena & Lily wallpaper with a delicate pale blue palm leaf print that is almost abstract. A spherical rattan light from Serena & Lily hangs from the ceiling and comfy modern loungers from Pottery Barn Teen flank a scallop rattan basket from Serena & Lily and a fur throw rug. A rattan and cream Pottery Barn dresser with a scallop mirror in the corner gets a pop of color from a blue vase and orange Gerber daisies.
“We had to come up with a solution for where all the grandchildren were sleeping,” says Leigh, who finished many of the sleeping quarters with bunk beds to accommodate extended family. “We really needed to balance each room with the beds. I didn’t want it to feel like one room was heavier than the other. You don’t want it to feel overwhelming.”
The room with four bunk beds has two more trundle beds that pull out from underneath.
In the nursery, “we did a little pattern play” says Leigh. The built-in white bunk beds are complemented by a fun swirly wallpaper from Schumacher and Ralph Lauren striped fabric makes for a sweet Roman shade. A little window seat, custom made with Schumacher fabric and custom Ralph Lauren pillows, provides a cozy nook for reading “for that quintessential Hamptons touch,” says Leigh.
Setting the Scene
Set near the water in Water Mill, NY, the grounds outside are light and bright with views of polo fields and stables, but the original home was dark with brown walls and dark drapes. After the transformation, every room is now light and bright with blues and whites reflecting the view outside. The living and family rooms complement each other but each has its own personality: Both have creamy white Kravet sofas and Homenature chairs and light blue walls. But the family room walls are a bit darker with more gray, and touches here have a more casual feel, including the plaid carpet from Stark Carpet and the brass chandelier from Arteriors. “We didn’t want every blue to be the same, but we didn’t want them to clash either,” says Leigh. The key, she says, is layering different finishes and textures so one room has brass accents while another has gold. Marble, wood and brass details in the furniture and accessories also break up the blues and whites in each room. “I remember my first presentation when I pulled out all the blues and the creams, she was just like, ‘You hit it on the nail on the head. This is exactly what I wanted.’”
The powder room on the main floor pushed Leigh’s client a little out of her comfort zone with a stone-patterned wallpaper from Schumacher that has a bit more modern and abstract look, accented by a gold mirror from Made Goods.
But the family’s favorite gathering spot is the sunroom, where they can get together for breakfast or dinner with views of the tennis court and pool surrounding them. “You really feel like you are in their yard,” says Leigh. They selected a large table and cushioned chairs all from Restoration Hardware. A stone floor helps unite indoors and out.
While the traditional home still has the feel of being a year-round residence, the design “gives you the feel you are on vacation right away,” says Leigh. “It’s been completely transformed.”
