These high-impact colors are straight from the 1960s. The mantra for the house was ‘sixties California surfer chic.’ I know that’s not a real design genre, but I didn’t want a cliché, the same version of an East Coast beach house you see a lot on the Jersey Shore.
In a summer home you have greater license to have fun, be irreverent. My client, Maureen Doron, took a leap of faith and said, ‘It’s bright, sunny, a little outside the box, let’s do it!’ The ‘surfer’ part is a relaxed, laid-back feeling. The ‘chic’ is taking all those elements and distilling them in a new way.
We elevated color to a kind of fashion-y thing, tailored to Maureen. She owns two high-end women’s clothing stores called Skirt, which carry lines like Milly, Trina Turk, DVF, Tory Burch—all classics with an update. That’s very much in sync with what I like to do in a house—fresh takes on the classics.
