east hampton fire island - Kim E Courtney Interiors

new york cottages & gardens
holiday 2013
New York Cottages and Gardens
COTTAGES-GARDENS.COM | HOLIDAY 2013
CENTRAL
PARK WEST
EAST
HAMPTON
FIFTH
AVENUE
FIRE ISLAND
NEW HYDE
PARK
cottages-gardens.com
RICH
ROMANCE!
MEG BRAFF
INTERIORS
BEDROOM
“We thought about families staying in
this room for weeks on end and how we
could make the space more comfortable,”
says Braff, “so beauty and functionality
were our priority.” Braff’s own Brighton
Your Pavillion fabric on accent pillows
and the bed skirts complements beautiful
bedding donated by Jane Wilner Designs
and a reversible cotton Stanton carpet
from Country Carpet.
DREW MCGUKIN INTERIORS
BEDROOM
A House
from
the
Heart
In a groundbreaking project sponsored by Kravet and NYC&G, 27 design firms recently
transformed the drab and dated rooms of the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island
(RMH-LI), breathing new energy into this important refuge for seriously ill children and their
families. The final result? Proof that great design is not just about sorting through paint
chips and fabric swatches. Great design can change a person’s outlook on life.
INTERVIEWS BY MICHAEL LASSELL | PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEITH SCOTT MORTON
FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE RESOURCES.
ANTHONY
BARATTA, LLC
GREAT ROOM
“In the late 1980s my partner, Bill Diamond,
and I designed the dollhouses in the great room,
and since then they’ve become a landmark of the
house,” says Baratta, who was also the creative
director of RMH-LI’s Project Design 2013.
“I repainted them and freshened the room with
bright-colored upholstery on new Restoration
Hardware furniture. During the process I loved
seeing what the other designers were doing in
their rooms. I learned a lot about doing things in
ways I had never previously considered.”
“The room’s trapezoidal floor plan and sloped ceiling suggested a
prism,” says McGukin, “so we took off with the idea of white light
passing through a prism into a full spectrum. To ground the loftiness
of the space, we created a network of moldings that accentuates
the height but still makes you feel comfortable and protected.
The amount of donations and sheer giving that has gone into this
bedroom is amazing. There’s something inherently healthy in striving
to be a better version of anything, especially yourself.”
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PAPPAS MIRON
DESIGN
BEDROOM
“To create a serene, peaceful, and elegant room, the
incredibly talented Kenneth Widener painted a faux
bois pattern on the walls in calming shades of lavender,
aqua, and apricot,” says firm co-principal Tatyana
Miron (below, at right). “To brighten the space, we hung
mirrors on the wall opposite the window,” adds her
partner, Alexandra Pappas, “and beds with scalloped
headboards generously donated by Avery Boardman.
Compared with the limitless energy and spirit of the
staff at Ronald McDonald House, our job was easy.”
ANNE TARASOFF
INTERIORS
BEDROOM
“We wanted a calm and welcoming room
for the families to come ‘home’ to,” says
firm principal Anne Tarasoff, “and we felt
that a palette of soft blues would achieve that goal, including
the plaid walls, which were hand-painted in a three-stage process and
bring a bright pearlescence to the space. Good design is not just visually
pleasing; the lifelong benefit of good design is feeling content and
complete in your environment.”
SUZANNE COSTA
INTERIORS
BEDROOM
“I took my cue from
Shakespeare’s phrase
‘One touch of nature
makes the whole world
kin,’” says Costa.
“Nature has always
soothed the human spirit,
and our goal was to
create a room that fills the
heart with peace and quiet
the minute you enter, with
wood and organic textures
throughout and even a tree
swing. The paint colors, Benjamin Moore’s
Turmeric and Mascarpone, remind me of the
color of autumn leaves.”
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holiday 2013
MICHAEL
TAVANO DESIGN
BEDROOM
“I used traditional shapes modernized with bold,
uplifting colors to make the room feel familiar to
the families,” says Tavano, “including a Karastan
broadloom carpet and custom draperies that go to
the ceiling, visually enlarging the space. And all the
Kravet fabrics I
used are designed
for outdoors,
so they’re really
durable. It’s a joy
just knowing that
this room will
have a positive
effect on the
lives of Ronald
McDonald
House families
for years to
come.”
KIM E. COURTNEY
INTERIORS & DESIGN
MEDIA ROOM
“We call this room ‘the bridge,’” says firm principal
Kim Radovich, “as a metaphor for passing from illness
to health. Artist Lisa Levine donated some
incredibly powerful images of
bridges for the room, and to make
the space more functional, we
replaced old doors with pocket doors
and used an awkward column to
install outlets for charging electronics.
I believe the energy of a space can
transform the spirit.”
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