Sometimes the courtship between client and designer is very quick. You just click from the moment you meet. That’s how it was on this unusual project. The homeowners are a young, fun couple who live on a quiet cul de sac in the old Austin neighborhood of Tarrytown. A pair of well-travelled art collectors with three children, they wanted to do something unexpected in a house that is quite contemporary in its architecture.

The homeowners had struggled trying to make the house feel warm and inviting. After reading one of my books, they reached out and said they were interested to see my take on their home. When I viewed the property, I understood their dilemma right away. Modern architecture can be extraordinarily tricky to decorate, partly because people tend to default to rigidly austere interiors in an effort to keep the focus on the house’s bones rather than the lives within. The answer, of course, is to go the opposite direction by making each room feel layered and complex and letting the architecture speak for itself.

From the beginning, the concept revolved around their incredible art collection, which runs the gamut from serious to whimsical. It factored into every decision we made. A stunning and enormous Lichtenstein painting of a banal American living room occupies an entire wall in this living room, a witty, playful example of the kind of fun made possible by the house, the collection, and the homeowners, who are as hip and colorful as the artworks they’ve acquired. Even with incredible art, one should prioritize bringing the lighting down to eye-level. The glow it creates makes everything—and everyone—look great.

Our aim from the start was always on clean lines and keeping the focus as much on their art as the lives they live around it. They didn’t want over-the-top contemporary furniture or anything futuristic or modern. The search for the right pieces centered on vintage finds with clean, unfussy lines.

The house backs up to creek that keeps the outdoors so green and full of life, the trees through the windows sometimes look like framed works of art. Those views had a tremendous impact on the entire project. As for adding other colors, we kept the walls white and gallery-like, and the floors simple and dark. Every color we used was added after taking into consideration the art. Nothing could compete with it.

I remember a pair of leather chairs in the living room as a particularly good find—a cool wood with leather strapping. They were one of those discoveries that you happen upon and know exactly where they belong.

Altogether, this project took over a year, due to the pandemic and the supply chain and installation issues that plagued everyone during that strange period. It could have made the whole undertaking a real struggle, but the clients were incredibly agreeable and understanding. On the day of the long-awaited installation, the homeowner stood in her kitchen cooking lunch for my team. She is a really interesting, fun, and authentic person. By the end of the day, the house matched her perfectly.