Held in the library and great hall of the Southport Congregational Church, the 2024 Rooms With View—presented by media sponsor CTC&G—focused on a “Design for the Greater Good” theme. Every year, the multiday event—founded by late designer Albery Hadley, who had a home in Southport—revolves around a showcase of a dozen spaces created by a team of invited designers. This year, in addition to the vignettes, the Hadley Café was reimagined as the Café Americain by Sydney Frazier and Victoria Vought, and an art show was curated by Swoon Gallery. Sponsors of the event included Little Greene Paint & Paper, Waterworks, Baldwin Hardware, Eleish Van Breems, Fifth State Distillery, Knock on Wood Antiques, Ring’s End, Redi-Cut Carpets, Russell Agency, Scott Group Studio, Vaughan Designs, plus design sponsors AKDO, Pierre Frey, Jennifer Manners and Zimmer + Rhode. Read on for the inspiration behind the designs.
WORK PLACE
“The vignette was a representation of me at work surrounded by pieces I make in collaboration with different artisans that are available through my shop in Greenwich and online. The wallpaper on the ceiling is part of my collection Patrick Mele x Adelphi; the paper name is Adena Pin Wheel and is available through John Rosselli. The aesthetic is a nod to Mr. Hadley, founder of Rooms With a View, along with another design hero of mine, Bill Blass, whose Connecticut home in New Preston, apartment on Sutton Place, and timeless contributions to fashion remain at the top of my inspiration list to this day. Two Connecticut gentlemen I look up to.”—Patrick Mele, Patrick Mele: The Shop
FORCE OF NATURE
“The inspiration for the space was nature. I think when designing for Rooms With A View, it’s important to overreach a bit. I wanted to go for a powerful visual effect, so I used my wife’s [artist and textile designer Rena Levine] fabrics and wallcoverings in varying shades of green. And we covered vintage slipper chairs in a bright green Sedallo fabric. I think that layering different versions of one color in a space has a big impact.”—Dan Barsanti, Barsanti Desmone
GAME NIGHT
“My design was a female-focused mahj bar to replace the age-old cigar bar. A jewelry box with walls displaying racks of mahjong tile collections in gem tones and bright colors mixed in with some vintage pieces. A cozy experiential room that builds great memories, community and connection between women. I was inspired by my sister who recently moved to Rowayton—her bubbly personality exudes bright colors and fun times. She learned mahjong and was quick to recruit me to the game. The group of women my sister has met have become, in essence, the key pieces to a life well lived in a new town.”—E. Peyton Cochran, Epic Interiors
COASTAL SPLENDOR
“The inspiration behind the vignette was this idea of a global seaside experience: ‘Coast to Coast.’ Having experienced the coasts of Florida, Korea, Maine, Mexico, Connecticut, Costa Rica, California, etc., there is a very unifying experience of honesty, rawness and tranquility that every seaside context seems to have in common. Through my vignette, I wanted to specifically combine the design elements of Japanese fishing villages with Connecticut port towns. I believe we achieve the most objective and holistic sense of ‘good’ when we are able to carefully and respectfully combine opposing worlds. The juxtaposition of contrast and opposition is where beauty lies.”—Carissa Kim Pintello. Interior Design MFA Student, NYSID, Class of 2025
CHIC CHAT ROOM
“I wanted to create a room with a sophisticated yet comfortable ambiance where one could sit in conversation for hours with friends. The standout feature is a bespoke velvet curved sofa with plush round cushions, creating a cozy and elegant seating area. One of my favorite pieces is the large abstract painting that has subtle strokes of green that pull perfectly with the sofa below. The room fits into the theme ‘For the Greater Good’ because it is about bringing people together in conversation.” —Dana Koebbe, Dana Koebbe Interiors
INVITING OASIS
“The Hadley Cafe was converted into ‘RWAV’s Café Américain.’ We took our inspiration from the souks and riads of Morocco all the while paying tribute to the movie Casablanca. With industry partners such as Knock on Wood Antiques, Scott Group Studio, Sanderson and Schumacher, we transformed the church’s chapel into a desert oasis right in the middle of Southport, Connecticut.”—Sydney Frazier, Sydney Frazier Interior Design and Victoria Vought, Victoria Vought Designs
TRAVELERS ESCAPE
“I wanted to create a vignette to evoke majesticism. One of the most memorable small spaces I discovered while traveling in India was a tranquil field encircled by trees, home to a community of Romani people who live and travel in these intricately crafted carriages, or vardos. Each individual vardo told a story. Inspired by their cozy charm, I set out to re-create that feeling. I used vintage furniture and accessories, giving the sense of treasures collected along their travels and items passed down from ancestors. The wallpaper, darker colors, and layers of texture echoed the embrace of the trees and mystery of the Romani camp. With autumn’s arrival, I also focused on creating a space that felt like curling up next to a fire on a crisp evening—warm, intimate, and full of quiet comfort, offering an escape from the chill of the season.” —Courtney Blanton, Courtney Blanton Interiors
PATTERN PLAY
“The design of my space drew inspiration from the many trellised rooms of design history past. I set out to install true trellis or lattice work until I came across ‘Jefferson Trellis’ wallcovering by Adelphi Paper Hangings. From there—and with the help of the fabric ‘Jungle’ from Bennison—the design evolved into what I referred to as ‘Unconfirmed Bachelor Returns to Palm Beach from The Grand Tour.’” —Alexander D. Wilson, Alexander D. Wilson
SERENITY NOW
Sara Hillery’s vignette is aptly named “Nancy Goes Barefoot in Southport,” which was a nod to the esteemed tastemaker and design legend Nancy Lancaster. Originally from Virginia, Lancaster wowed the world with her famous yellow room in London designed with John Fowler. Hailing from Virginia herself, Hillery paid homage to Lancaster by designing her own yellow room with classic architectural details and well-appointed fixtures. Her vignette was designed as a more demure room where one might feel inclined to go barefoot and curl up with a book, yet elegant enough to welcome guests from the city. —Sara Hillery, Sara Hillery Interior Design
STAIRWAY TO STYLE
“I worked for Albert Hadley in the late ’80s and early ’90s as my first job out of college. I learned a lot from Albert and was inspired by the example he set in his work both in design and for this charity, the Southport Congregational Church. I wanted to do something with forced perspective in order to make such a small space appear like a much larger room. I turned to the work of the great renaissance architects Bernini and Borromini and looked at their experiments with forced perspective—the Scala Regia at the Vatican and the Palazzo Spada in Rome. ‘Barbie Bernini’ was the result and was a great way to show off the items Barbie collected during her tours, travels and parties in Rome and the items she eventually gave away to the charity!”—Douglas Wright with project architect Amy Farber, Douglas C. Wright Architects
FRESH TAKE ON TRADITIONAL
“When thinking of my space, I kept coming back to a painting I had with a modern Diebenkorn-esque feel that I felt would be the perfect focal point. I, however, wanted to pair it with more traditional aspects to create a room that felt personal with warmth. As a friend and coauthor of Bunny Mellon Style, I incorporated references to her such as using predominantly varying shades of blue, her favorite color, (“Bryan, you know I even dream in blue”), and a blue and white Schumacher paper that gave a nod to her love of toile. To add the needed ‘punch’ to the center, I added her favorite Tillett Textiles butterfly fabric in shocking yellow. I also filled the walls and painted étagère with pieces of porcelain ceramics and pastel portraits and quirky little paintings hung very much in her style. I felt that I achieved my objective of creating a very personal space with color, pattern and layering while keeping it fresh and modern in feel.” —Bryan Huffman, Bryan Huffman Interior Design
CAREFULLY CURATED
“For this space themed ‘Private Collectors Art Gallery in their Residence,’ we really wanted to feature different artists and showcase their incredible talents. To that end, even the wallpaper was art. Made just for us by the group at Phillip Jeffries, it’s called Fluent and is a take on a modern painting. Both graphic and complex—it is made of grasscloth—it created an unusual backdrop to place art on. People hear of new artists, but their work is not seen. We wanted attendees to see the incredible art local artists are creating.” —Kerry Delrose, Aliana-Mia Torres and Sarahi Reyes, Delrose Design Group
STORIED SANCTUARY
“My room was a little girl’s bedroom. The theme was ‘Liza through the generations.’ The bed belonged to my daughter Liza, the bamboo sewing table belonged to my grandmother, the needlepoint hassock was done by my mother, and the little doll’s bed was for the baby girl that my daughter is about to have. There was a portrait of Liza in the room too. How this relates to the theme ‘For the Greater Good:’ Family is everything.” —Betsy Shiverick, Betsy Shiverick Interiors