25 Oct 2008
Clean lines and a lack of bright colors don’t rule out grandeur. “It’s a large home, and there’s plenty of glamour space,” McKinstrie says.
The billiards room embodies an eclectic mix. The steel console tables are from Crate & Barrel, paried with Ralph Lauren helmet-shade lamps, large custom-made woven-leather armchairs, and an Edwardian mahogany blanket chest with a tufted leather top from Knollwood Antiques in New York City.
Van Poznak was drwan to mahogany and neoclassical furniture. The pull-up, conversational chairs in the living room are Louis XVI-style slipper chairs. “Susan wanted a fabulous 1930s contry kitchen,” in black and white, McKinstrie says. Instead, they opted for a warmer, richer dark brown and creamy off-white. He also helped steer her toward cabinet and hardware choices that were clean and simple.
There where no impulsive decisions. “Malcolm made me sit in each room and think about being it,” Susan says.
But not everything went according to plan. “Susan wanted it to look like a great turn-of-the-century home,” McKinstrie says. And she wanted it red brick. But once the brick was in place, she was unhappy with the look. McKinstrie hired a painter to express the lime out of the brick. “He took more our here, and less there, so it looks like rain washed it out over the years,” the designer says. The end result: Some visitors thought it resembled an old Georgian English home that had been renovated.
It’s difficult to imagine that three children live in the immaculate home. What’s more, Susan and John both come from large families, and their place is the holiday hub. How do you have a beautiful home and still let everyone haven fun? Getting creative with fabric is on way. McKinstrie covered the dining room’s cream chairs in Sunbrella, which Susan says looks just like the silk on the chairs in her living room. “Accidents happen!” Susan says, but on Sunbrella fabric, spills bead and roll of. “It’s practical and sophisticated,” McKinstrie notes.
In a way, those chairs embody the overall feeling of the home: elegant and sophisticated as well as comfortable and parctical.