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Hamptons Designer Showhouse
78 and 82 Rosko Lane Southampton, New York
July 23, 2017 – Sept 4, 2017
Open Monday – Sunday 11am – 5pm
Benefits Southampton Hospital
I am so honored to have been asked by Woodard Furniture and Traditional Home Magazine to design an outdoor porch at the Hampton Designer Showhouse in Southampton, NY. When I was asked to create a porch, I decided I wanted it to be a dining porch which would combine the casualness of the North Carolina coast with the chic high style of the Hamptons. As with all my projects, the initial design consideration was function and flow. Once I had my beautiful Woodard furniture chosen, the next step was to address the aesthetic design of the porch. That is where I really have fun but before I talk about that, let’s address the items I chose from Woodard Furniture. Are you familiar with Woodard?
Woodard is so great because they offer custom options that we designers love. I chose the Bay shore wicker dining chairswith cushions in sea salt and the Glade Isle dining table but I chose to use a custom hammered top in Aztec Bronze. To finish the space I added a pair of Van Dyke side chairs but opted to remove the large back cushion and replaced with a lumbar pillow from Woodard so the handsome mid-century back is revealed. Last but certainly not least, I chose to include a Woodard tea cart in a white lacquer which I set up as a bar cart.
The only hard surface in the space to consider was the fireplace which is a peach colored brick, so the jumping off point of the color scheme began with choosing colors that would work back with the brick. Everything else was white which I chose to keep, so the porch felt light and fresh. I honestly wanted to paint the ceiling aqua but then it would need to be repainted after the showhouse closed so I decided to keep it white but if I had been designing a porch that would remain I would definitely have painted the porch ceiling aqua or haint blue. It is the southern thing to do, right? Old wives tales maintain the porch ceilings in the south were painted blue for two conflicting reasons. One tale is they were painted blue to ward off evil spirits but honestly people are as superstitious today so that doesn’t hold credit. The other tale was the blue paint was done to ward off mosquitos, which could be more likely since paint back then was made from lye and once lick resulted in death. Today, it is more likely we paint our ceilings blue as homage to our southern past and also because blue feels like the sky and expands the ceiling to feel more expansive. I paint ceilings blue because I like adding accent colors.
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My friend and lighting designer, Louise Gaskill sent me a picture of a pair of blue alabaster vintage lamps she was considering purchasing and I immediately said buy them! I want them for the Hamptons! Louise buys vintage parts and uses them as the base to create amazing lighting with new components and adds hand gilded objects and lucite to design updated chic lighting. Check out her website here. Next Louise and I brain stormed on a custom chandelier of vintage Murano glass and sea shells. The result was one of my favorite chandeliers ever! Both the lamps and the chandelier are for sale, so if interested in purchasing, let Louise or me know!
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Perennials fabrics was also a porch partner and collaborated to provide the coral buffalo check fabric for the drapery called Playful Plaid in Tutti Frutti which framed the porch. Other fabrics on the porch include the Jake stripe by Perennials in Mango and Schumacher “Citrus Garden” as well as Woodard’s Bandeau in mint green and neutral stripe. I also adore the “Waves” Dash and Albert woven sisal rug in sand I used on the floor of the porch. It is the perfect foundation for my room and adds just the right amount of texture.
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Pashminas were folded over each chair to provide guests an option to warm up
on chilly nights.
The most trying obstacle in designing and installing the porch was the wind. I wanted
drapery that was flowing and wanted the pattern to show from both sides. There were
two options 1) double the drapery fabric which would be costly, 2) weight the panels from
the bottom. My workroom added the typical chain weight and it didn’t phase the wind in
the Hamptons! My panels were blowing like tissue paper when we installed them.
See how the drapery is blowing in this photo? This photo was taken after I went to the local hardware store and bought a heavy link chain and sewed to the hem of the drapery with
fishing line and rolled the chain into the hem of drapery to hide it. This worked fine till the wind blew the chain out of the hem and ripped through my fine sewing job. After the wind blew the chain out of the hem, I added a gallon jug of water to the inside of the drapery.
(Classy, right?) That worked for awhile but continues to be an ongoing issue.
My workroom ordered a tagging gun which I used that to attach the throws
and pillows, but even still things were blowing away.
NOTE: If you are working an outdoor space, remember to weight things as best you can!
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Bunny Williams Home provided the amazing bas relief plaster Garden art over
the mantle. The art work was inspired by Bunny’s Dominican Republic home.
It would be equally pretty inside the home but I think it is pretty perfect on my porch.
I also love the Piper baskets from Ballard beside the fireplace.
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The Gampell Stoll elephant console and palm mirror I purchased from C’est la Vintage was the perfect piece to give the porch a beachy vibe and collected look.
I realized I couldn’t have fresh flowers for six weeks either so I reached out to my friends at NDI to provide artificial florals for the porch. I absolutely adore the staghorn ferns on the walls on either side of the mirror. The rest of the florals on my porch are also from NDI. Their florals look so real you have to touch them to tell that that are artificial. I also chose the following orchids, ferns for the pedestals, roses, hydrangea, for the table and ferns for the mantle
I also realized there would be no storage on the porch so I chose this great wicker traveler’s trunk from Ballard Designs to provide extra storage for pillows and other items needed on the porch. I love the look of wicker under the white lacquer console. The trunk can also double as sitting if extra seating is needed. Ballard Designs also provided baskets by the fireplace, as well as the fabulous wicker tray on the main table which held China. Speaking of China, I was so lucky to have kind friends at Replacements in Greensboro, NC who provided the lovely china, crystal, and accents for the porch. This wasn’t your average melamine dinnerware typically found on an outdoor porch, I had to have Versace, as well as Cristobal, Waterford and French Blue Opaline for the Hamptons, right?
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Let’s give this gorgeous Replacements China a close-up! Shown here is the Reynaud Cristobal in beautiful coral design and with French Blue Opaline coupes. I adore the demitasse cups. Doesn’t the red coral seem like the perfect choice for a coastal outdoor porch?
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We then mixed in the Versace Marco Polo and Russian Dream by Rosenthal along with Tiffany bamboo flatware. The flatware was silver but I wanted gold so guess what… They plated it gold for me! I was sad that I had to remove the Versace China for the run of the showhouse tour, but it wasn’t worth taking the chance of getting broken or taken. (Dirty secret, unfortunately, people do take things from showhouses.) My favorite additions to the table were the Versace Les Tresors de la Mer Large vases. Good thing we have surveillance on the property.
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On the Woodard white lacquered bar cart, there were cobalt “Mixology” highball glasses and “Lismore” Champagnes(which were actually bud vases we repurposed for champagne, clever, right?) in turquoise from Waterford. Holding court over the cart is the “Diana bust” from the Bunny Williams collection from Ballard Designs. To add a little pattern and softness to the cart, I chose linen hand towels from Jill Seale in a snazzy blue and green marbleized pattern. On the bottom of the cart is a Versace plate from the Les Tresor de la Mer collection, some of my favorite books and all the fixing for a perfect cocktail.
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I also had this amazing clam shell from Ballard Designs which I chose to use as a fruit bowl. Isn’t that a fun accessory for a summer table? It would be fun to use as a container for orchids, succulents or to hold shells from the beach.
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I would like to send out a special thank you to Woodard Furniture and Traditional Home Magazine for asking me to design the Linden House Porch. I am so honored to be a
participate in the 2017 Hampton Designer Showhouse.
I would like to thank all my porch partners!
Special thank you to my workroom Sherri Bowman for the great job she did
fabricating my drapery, pillows and ottoman covers and to Jill Seale for making
my informational cards for the porch.
Here is a link to a great recap of the Showhouse Gala on my friend Tamara’s blog
Also on New York Social Diary below:
If you get a chance to visit the showhouse it is well worth the trip!
Visit the Hampton Designer Showhouse website here for more info and to buy tickets.
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