An early 1880s seaside cottage in New York whose former owner was Gloria Vanderbilt was renovated by interior designer Robin Bell. In her words: "It's sort of Swedish-meets-Bloomsbury style, which is English, but in a bohemian Arts & Crafts way. I downplayed the grandness of the house by decorating in a cottagey way. Everything is asymmetrical and deeply comfortable. I didn't want the furniture to look too fussy, so nothing matches except a pair of chairs."
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A poolside arbor hung with wisteria makes an outdoor dining room. The table's marble top was a marble yard castoff, and Bell designed its iron base. Bell designed the iron chandelier and hanging lanterns; both are inspired by streetlights she saw in Harbour Island, Bahamas.
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The pool house's ceiling and border were inspired by a Moroccan tile mosaic. Artisans painted it on beadboard for a tentlike effect.
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A sunburst mirror frame in the pool house has "a funny tentacled look that's almost aquatic," says Bell, who adapted the simulated bone and ivory mirror from one she spied in a shop.
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Voluptuous 50-year-old wisteria vines drape a Victorian wire gazebo under which stand Victorian wire peacock chairs and a wire table.
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The dining table was copied from an American antique at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was faux-grained by artist Lindsey Tipler.
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All the upholstered furniture in the living room was designed by Bell and arranged in one large but intimate seating group.
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Artist Lindsey Tipler also painted the faux-mahogany finish on the clients' wheelback chairs and the table in the foyer between the dining room and study.
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In the living room, Bell used a mix of antiques and modern furniture, curvy and tailored shapes. She created a fire surround mosaic of seashells. On the blue table from John Rosselli, lamps and black candle holders are from Robin Bell Design.
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Bell created a plush reading nook with a Moroccan flair on a window seat under the stairs.
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An 18th-century American harvest table with original paint and 19th-century American shawl-back chairs in the classic white kitchen. Above the island is a wrought-iron pot rack designed by Bell, hung with the clients' pot collection bought on trips to France and Italy.
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A second-floor landing has classic striped rag runners by Woodard Weave. Family photos are divided into two wall groupings: black and white on one wall, color on another.
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When the clients returned from Paris with an album of Honoré Daumier prints depicting the stages of a marriage, Bell took it apart and covered a wall of a guest bedroom with the framed prints.
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The sofa, armchair, and ottoman in the study are covered in antique toile.
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In the wife's art studio, Bell added paneling consistent with late-19th-century Shingle Style architecture.
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An amber hurricane from William Yeoward and seashell bowls from Robin Bell.
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A covered porch has a mix of antique wicker; fabric is "lemonade- and sangria-proof," says Bell.
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Bell moved the master bathroom's original cast-iron tub to the window for unobstructed sky and ocean views.
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In the master bedroom, a sandalwood four-poster bed from Sri Lanka is topped with a lattice cutwork tester cover, Monique VV in cream by Old World Weaver.
All images and information from House Beautiful.Source URL: http://interiordesignblogz.blogspot.com/2010/12/seaside-cottage-in-new-york.html
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A poolside arbor hung with wisteria makes an outdoor dining room. The table's marble top was a marble yard castoff, and Bell designed its iron base. Bell designed the iron chandelier and hanging lanterns; both are inspired by streetlights she saw in Harbour Island, Bahamas.
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The pool house's ceiling and border were inspired by a Moroccan tile mosaic. Artisans painted it on beadboard for a tentlike effect.
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A sunburst mirror frame in the pool house has "a funny tentacled look that's almost aquatic," says Bell, who adapted the simulated bone and ivory mirror from one she spied in a shop.
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Voluptuous 50-year-old wisteria vines drape a Victorian wire gazebo under which stand Victorian wire peacock chairs and a wire table.
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The dining table was copied from an American antique at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was faux-grained by artist Lindsey Tipler.
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All the upholstered furniture in the living room was designed by Bell and arranged in one large but intimate seating group.
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Artist Lindsey Tipler also painted the faux-mahogany finish on the clients' wheelback chairs and the table in the foyer between the dining room and study.

In the living room, Bell used a mix of antiques and modern furniture, curvy and tailored shapes. She created a fire surround mosaic of seashells. On the blue table from John Rosselli, lamps and black candle holders are from Robin Bell Design.
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Bell created a plush reading nook with a Moroccan flair on a window seat under the stairs.

An 18th-century American harvest table with original paint and 19th-century American shawl-back chairs in the classic white kitchen. Above the island is a wrought-iron pot rack designed by Bell, hung with the clients' pot collection bought on trips to France and Italy.
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A second-floor landing has classic striped rag runners by Woodard Weave. Family photos are divided into two wall groupings: black and white on one wall, color on another.
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When the clients returned from Paris with an album of Honoré Daumier prints depicting the stages of a marriage, Bell took it apart and covered a wall of a guest bedroom with the framed prints.

The sofa, armchair, and ottoman in the study are covered in antique toile.
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In the wife's art studio, Bell added paneling consistent with late-19th-century Shingle Style architecture.

An amber hurricane from William Yeoward and seashell bowls from Robin Bell.
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A covered porch has a mix of antique wicker; fabric is "lemonade- and sangria-proof," says Bell.

Bell moved the master bathroom's original cast-iron tub to the window for unobstructed sky and ocean views.
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In the master bedroom, a sandalwood four-poster bed from Sri Lanka is topped with a lattice cutwork tester cover, Monique VV in cream by Old World Weaver.
All images and information from House Beautiful.Source URL: http://interiordesignblogz.blogspot.com/2010/12/seaside-cottage-in-new-york.html
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