Photographed by Greg West, Produced by Marsha Jusczak
Above: After selecting a leather sectional for the family room, designer Barbara Vaughn realized large furniture wouldn’t fit up the existing staircase. “It ended up being quite an experience because we had to remove the windows and move the furniture in,” she says.
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| HIGHLIGHTS OF OLD YORK'S 2010 DECORATOR SHOW HOUSE |
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When the Museums of Old York chose the 2010 Decorator Show House, they knew they had a good shot at success. Twin Cottage was nearly identical to the 2007 show house, Mayfair. Both were built by silversmith Henry Blanchard Dominick for his daughters in the early days of the twentieth century.
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Jane Derby of J. Covington Interior Design approached the harbor side bedroom as a true guest room, complete with two twin beds. “I wanted it to be a quiet retreat for guests,” she says. She started with having an antique chest hand painted. After the existing carpet was pulled up, Cheryl O’Donnell of COD Decorative Painting stenciled the wooden and plywood floorboards underneath.| Below left: A “peaceful, relaxing place” was also the aim of Meredith Bohn of Meredith Bohn Interior Design in designing the York Street bedroom. She had another goal as well: “I wanted to show how you could put together a wide variety of patterns and shades of greens for a cohesive look.”
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| Despite their similarities, Museum of Old York Executive Director Scott Stevens says the houses aren’t carbon copies. “Last year’s had been expanded by the owners,” he says. “It was a big house; there was a lot to see. It gave the designers an interesting range—you had the twentieth century part and the more recent part.” |
Left: In her approach to the dining room, Nicole Yee of NY Interiors was inspired to unite the grand and sophisticated tone of Twin Cottages with its seaside location and feel. A painting by New York artist Robyn Prezioso was selected to hang on the wall. “It had extremely vibrant blues, so that was my other inspiration,” Yee says. She scoured antique stores for the blue Depression-era glass on the table. Right: Anne Cowenhoven of Accent & Design designed what she calls the “kitchen suite.” She strove to address what she said many clients are looking for in the current economy: “an update without doing major changes.” To tie together two countertops, one black granite, the other cream Corian, Cowenhoven found wallpaper that had the appearance of line drawings of vegetables on a brown background. The breakfast room, shown, picked up on the brown tones and slightly oriental feel of the walls.
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The 2011 Decorator Show House will be one of the few located in York Village and the oldest home ever selected by the Museums of Old York. The ancient part of the house was built as a tavern in 1719; John Adams once stayed there in his travels as a lawyer. “This year it’s not a summer cottage; it’s a home that has been been lived in by the same family since the 1700s,” Stevens says. For the designers, the age of the home will bring new and exciting challenges.
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