“This was a unique project in that it was previously my home,” says interior designer Kristin Fine, cofounder of the 1818 Collective. “When the house went on the market, the first people to view it came inside and fell in love with everything. After quickly going to contract, they reached out to me to discuss hiring me to help make it their own. It was an unusual process, but they were great clients.”
Located in Westport not far from Long Island Sound, the home is surrounded by a lush landscape, and the homeowners— a couple with two school-age children and two dogs—enjoy the bucolic setting from every window. Although the home was first built in the 1800s, only one room is original to that structure, which was rebuilt in the 2000s and renovated in 2020. Today, the house is spread across three levels. Upon purchase, two of the house’s six bedrooms were combined into one, with another bedroom converted into an office space, resulting in the current four-bedroom floor plan.
Fine spent a lot of time considering the smallest details in terms of what could be improved upon—from the windows and doors, all the way down to finer elements and the color palette. “I was still living in the home during the first six months of the design process,” Fine recalls. “I approached it as an opportunity to be able to stand in spaces when considering and planning all the design features. I knew that the redesign needed to represent them, their family, their narrative; it needed to be true to their story.”
In the entry, a totem by Kelly Klein tops one of the pedestals by Amy Meier. The vintage daybed is through Hostler Burrows, and the sconce is from Apparatus.
A wingback chair from Galerie Provenance and Pucci sofas offer comfy seating in the living room. The rug is from Woven.
A Clé Tile backsplash shimmers behind vintage pendants in the kitchen. The stools are also vintage. The vase is from March.
A Mobius lighting fixture through Studio Tashtego hangs above a dining table from Pinch and vintage chairs from Eric Appel, while the rug is through Nordic Knots.
Artwork by Pekka Paikkari through Hostler Burrows is complemented by a BDDW console in the dining room.
A pendant from Ruemmler sets a contemporary tone over a bed dressed in bedding from Parachute; the side tables are from Maison Gerard.
A sitting area in the primary bedroom features a chair from the Future Perfect and a vintage mirror through the 1818 Collective.
A Lawton Mull chair is paired with a Blackman Cruz ottoman, while a vintage lamp from Leif tops a Stahl + Band side table in the primary bedroom.
A tub and tub filler from Waterworks take center stage in the main bathroom, where the window coverings are from Nest Design.
The designer established a neutral palette with earthy tones that ref lect the exterior environment, while also creating calming moments throughout the home. “I always start with the family and the surrounding natural environment,” Fine explains. “We worked together collecting art for the spaces, and that process became a very useful source of inspiration, as I could see the colors and styles that inspired them and let that guide the interiors as well.”
A mix of vintage pieces with character and patina ground the pale, somewhat modern structure. In the entry, unique works—sculpture by Kelly Klein and a vintage painting— are paired with a vintage daybed atop a textural Rosemary Hallgarten rug. A layered atmosphere in the open-plan living room was created by combining old pieces with luxurious materials, simple lines with more unusual accents, and dense color or pigment with hints of ref lectivity. Pucci sofas in a fabric from ALT for Living face off across a copper-topped coffee table from the Invisible Collection, while a vintage rug anchors the space. The adjacent kitchen and dining areas also combine vintage with contemporary. In the dining room, for example, a ceramic and wire mesh Mobius ceiling fixture by Scott Strickstein illuminates a dining table from Pinch surrounded by vintage dining chairs.
Throughout the home, plaster, limewash and textural wallpaper were used to achieve subtle grounding and add to the uniqueness of the design. “It is a house that is more about texture and layers, visual and physical rather than just pattern,” says Fine.