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During the holidays and throughout the year, Isabel is on ornament-sorting duty.
Whenever Annie dusts off a charming decoration in a secondhand shop, it’s
Isabel’s job to place it in the proper tub according to color. “She really
understands the beauty of vintage,” Annie says. She tells a story of how one day
when Isabel was a preschooler driving along with Mom, she spotted a broken-down
chaise curbside and pointed out, “That’s a pretty chair.” Annie agreed and
stuffed it in the car, pleased to have an accomplice.
(s) Euro Trash designer Phil Black transformed a table with good lines into a pier
mirror in Isabel’s room (seen in reflection). (t) Tins and hatboxes
hold ponytail elastics and other girlish goodies. The window treatment was
fashioned from a bolt of linen from a fabric store. (u) Following in Mom’s
footsteps, Isabel studies classical ballet.
(v) Isabel’s bed once
belonged to Princess Lilian of Belgium. “It’s the only thing of provenance in my
home—I usually don’t care about pedigree,” Annie says. When she found it at a
European estate sale, it was painted a screaming yellow. Inspired by a friend,
designer Nancy Schultz, she redid it in creamy tones.
Unsuspecting visitors often assume Annie spent tons of money on furnishings. Her
response: a hearty laugh. “This style is available at any budget,” she
insists.
“Even if something is a 1950s reproduction of an 18th-century
piece, to me it’s
important art.”
Of course, there’s a knack to
putting it all together.
“Juxtaposition—that’s my design mantra. Cover
anything ornate or gold with
simple fabrics like linen. Pair an
outrageous chandelier with a farmhouse table.
Add asymmetry for drama.
Learn to use what’s around and make it work. Believe in
yourself, and
revel in the joy and freedom of self-expression.”
(w) In an
upstairs hallway, a mirror overlaps the
wainscoting. (x) A Victorian hand mirror with lithographed
back. (y) That sumptuous vanity in
the master bath is
really particleboard covered with fabric remnants. Formerly a
drab
brown, the cane chair got a coat of paint and cotton duck upholstery.
(z) A
glove box doubles as gift wrap.
Here Comes Sinterklaas page
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