Features Archives - Amy Hirsch

Coastal Cottage in House Beautiful

While reading this month’s House Beautiful, I fell in love with this sweet little cottage in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

While reading this month’s House Beautiful, I fell in love with this sweet little cottage in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Designed by Frank Roop, this home is perched directly over the water and features quite a picturesque view.

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 1 — The cottage overlooking Captain Jack’s Wharf.

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 5 — Designer Frank Roop

The cottage is super small and quaint — size doesn’t matter! The nautical theme and details throughout the cottage are so pretty and clever. Although space is limited, with plenty of light and a bright palette, the design doesn’t feel cramped at all. Roop’s selections of furnishings are proportionate and multi functional to the space and I absolutely love the color palette -a sea of blue. The upholstered wall in the bedroom is genius!

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 2 — The living room.

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 4 — Nautical details on the stair railing.

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 3 — Porthole windows set directly into the kitchen back splash.

House Beautiful Coastal Cottage 6 — The home office.

To see more photos of the home, visit the House Beautiful website. You can also read an interview with Frank Roop about this project here.

Photos by James Merrell

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Method Monday

This is a design scheme we came up with for a coastal home with views of Long Island Sound.

This is a design scheme developed for a coastal home with views of Long Island Sound. The architecture embraces the view so that the all you see from the spectacular rear of the home is the sea. In contemplating the design, we wanted no obstruction to the breathtaking setting. One of the challenges of a home with a wide open floor plan is choosing furniture so that nothing competes . There needs to be a cohesive feel throughout the space. To achieve this, we chose a monochromatic, neutral palette. There are transitional elements and a user friendly approach for this family — they have children and also like to entertain. We kept a textural sense by combining the oak floors and douglas fir ceilings with cozy, warm fabrics. The patterns are not overly bold, resulting in a welcoming, comfortable home that makes the most of the beautiful seascape.

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Swimming Pools

When it comes to swimming pools, I prefer designs that are an integration of the home’s architecture.

When it comes to swimming pools, I prefer designs that are an integration of the home’s architecture. For me, the pool has to be parallel with the home’s interior — I gravitate toward designs that are very structured. Infinity pools are hot right now if you have the environment for one. The landscape around the pool can complement the style of the pool or have a more organic feel. Here are some examples of gorgeous swimming pools.

What does your ideal swimming pool look like?

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My Personal Collection on The Local Vault

This collection is an eclectic mix of beautiful living room items, all available for purchase through The Local Vault.

It’s been a year since my family and I sold our charming 1940’s center hall colonial, a home and life full of so many rich memories. It’s time for a new start and we are about to begin our journey. While collaborating with The Local Vault recently, I considered what to do with the trove of items from our house. They are great pieces and served a wonderful role in my family’s life, but like anyone I want to shed some of the old and start new. What to do with them? Well, sell them of course! One thing many people do not know about me is that I am not sentimental about certain things, especially once I have enjoyed them. I can easily let go and move on after they served a purpose and I have grown from their use. Plus, change is good for the soul. You can peruse my collection and hopefully something you’d love to have in your own home will catch your eye. Everything has a wonderful spirit and I am thrilled for someone else to take pleasure in these pieces.

You can see the full collection and shop online here.

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Linda Colletta

Linda Colletta is an abstract expressionist painter who lives and works in Bridgeport, CT.

Linda Colletta is an abstract expressionist painter who lives and works in Bridgeport, CT. She began her career in art as a scenic painter in the music television industry after studying the Parsons School of Design. Linda’s artistic approach is focused on creating paintings that add beauty to the world.

When I first met Linda, I instantly felt like I’d known her all my life. She seems truly connected with her work, a trait you quickly notice about her. Linda’s paintings offset either a traditional or modern setting so well. Her high impact work features bright, bold color with a lot of movement. Some of her paintings took serene to me, while others are definitely playful.

I love that Linda’s work can be curated. She can engage with clients to create custom, one of a kind pieces. If I select her work, for myself or for a client, I know she is completely vested to it.

You can see more of Linda’s work on her website. She is also on Facebook.

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Dining Room: Before and After

While this dining room was a good size and had some nice features, it lacked a cohesive, finished design.

Last week, I shared some before and after photos of a library we designed for a client. Today’s before and after features another room in that same home — this time, the dining room. Like the library, the dining room needed a facelift to brighten and update the space. While the dining room was a good size and had some nice features, it lacked a cohesive, finished design.

While the dining room provided proportionate and generous space for large gatherings, the overall feel of the room started to look dark and dim compared to the adjacent rooms which echoed a whiter, brighter approach.

We were so lucky to have a great dining table which remained untouched. We reupholstered the Rose Tarlow dining chairs in a simple linen. Our objective was to eliminate the purple and green palette that saturated the room. A custom white plaster was applied to the walls and the pine mantel was painted a white to match the existing trim. The plaster adds a more modern edge and allows texture within the space. The window treatments became unified with a beautiful wool fabric for both the roman and drapery panels. The drapery hardware is understated, yet the contrast of the nickel rings adds the right amount of detail to the space.

Lighting is jewelry to any space, and these pieces are so impressive in scale that they finish the room properly. Initially, the custom chandelier was allocated for another space within the house, but sometimes an unexpected surprise turns into a happy reallocation!

The existing console table and mirrors remained, but we added the braided sisal rug, modern art, and ceramic lamps. The natural light filtered throughout the dining room adds a whisper of grace; the finished room has such presence now.

To see more photos of our design projects, visit my website or my Houzz profile.

Library Design: Before and After

This particular library design, part of a whole-house remodel, involved a dramatic transformation that completely changed the mood and feel of the space.

The journey of a project from start to finish always fascinates me. This particular library design, part of a whole-house remodel, involved a dramatic transformation that completely changed the mood and feel of the space. The library originally had knotty pine ceilings and walls that darkened the room and detracted from some of the more desirable features, such as the built in shelves and the fireplace. Here’s what the library originally looked like:

We lightened up the library by painting the walls a light grey. We chose a custom medium charcoal grey lacquer for the ceiling, reupholstered the furniture, and updated the lighting. For the floor, we chose a rug with an all over pattern that mirrors the hue of the ceiling. Complimentary artwork and carefully edited accessories round out the finished library.

This project is a great example of how a room doesn’t need a complete remodel to achieve a new look!

Custom Rugs

About half of the rugs I install for clients are custom, which really allows us to hone in on the color, style, construction, texture, and pattern of the piece.

I love custom rugs. About half of the rugs I install for clients are custom, which really allows us to hone in on the color, style, construction, texture, and pattern of the piece. If I see a rug that I feel isn’t quite right for a client, I can adjust the color or keep the pattern but change the construction. The beauty of a custom design is that we can design a rug around a particular room.

Sometimes I will see a big rug that’s perfect for a client but needs to be tailored down to fit a space. Or, I’ll really like the border of a rug so will keep that element but leave the rest of the piece open.

When designing a custom rug, you have to aware of geometry and how the pattern will lay out over the entire surface of the finished rug. You also have to take into consideration the amount of traffic a rug will endure. For family room, I would create a hand tufted, completely indestructible wool rug. Another rug might consist of linen and silk with a traditional sumac construction and an integrated weave of high and low pile. A custom design results in a rug designed to look, and live, perfectly in a space.

Walter Arnold: The Art of Abandonment

Arnold’s series “The Art of Abandoment” has taken him to a host of dream-like places, from empty and decaying castles to haunted looking asylums.

I first became acquainted with Walter Arnold‘s photography after a friend saw his work at the iconic Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. A Florida native, Arnold eventually made his home in the mountains of North Carolina. The local natural beauty surrounding his new home inspired Arnold to pick up camera and learn photography. One day, he stumbled across an airplane graveyard and discovered a passion for abandonment photography — the art of photographing places and things that have been left behind.

Arnold’s series The Art of Abandoment has taken him to a host of dream-like places, from empty and decaying castles to haunted looking asylums. He has a gift for capturing the unusual light of these forgotten places. His photographs allow us to glimpse the beauty that used to exist in many places. They invoke a kind of stillness and leave viewers wanting to know more about why these places were abandoned.

What I love about these photos is that they show the complete opposite of what we design and curate. These are places that are no longer cared for. In spite of the decay and ruin, you can still see the architecture, what once was there, and find inspiration in the beauty of desolation.

It's Always Summer Here — It’s Always Summer Here

Arnold’s photos are available as metal prints, meaning the images are actually infused into the surface of a sheet of aluminum before being treated with a high gloss finish. The resulting print is astonishingly vibrant, lending a light to the abandonment photos that must be seen to be fully appreciated.

You can see more of Walter Arnold’s photography on his website. You can also find him on Facebook.

Winter Design Books

I am always looking for new design books to add to my collection, and this year some great new titles have been released.

Interior design books are much more than a source of inspiration for me. They’re a valuable resource, too. I am always looking for new books to add to my collection, and this year some great new titles have been released. It’s always fascinating to read about another designer’s approach to a project or to see an interior take shape from another perspective. I never get tired of looking at beautiful photos in a well done design book!

Any of these books would make a great holiday or hostess gift.

Here are my picks for design books.

1. Carrier and Company: Positively Chic Interiors