Sister’s Story
Mrs. Henry Parish is considered by many to be the last of America's grande dame decorators.
Cabin Fever: Eliza’s Salisbury Home Redesign
My new home in Salisbury, Connecticut is an homage to all things Sister Parish: bold, fearless color palettes paired with maximalist pattern play. With our extensive archive of prints at my disposal, I approached the design of my living room, dining room, and guest bedroom like a puzzle; gradually mixing and matching, testing and teasing out my final design schemes.
Our Sintra print anchors the room with its large-scale pattern, while pops of our Desmond and Waldingfield prints offer the perfect complement. My favorite local antique shop, Montage Antiques, is a treasure trove that I love to get lost in and sourced the vintage kantha coverlet and Eastlake style desk chair (upholstered in our Waldingfield fabric in Coral). Click here to shop the prints featured in my guest room!
As I thought out the design of my dining room, it was important to me to create several seating areas for guests to choose from; no one should feel confined to an assigned seat at a dinner party! I love how the blue painted ceiling and fireplace plays off of the subtle gold-flecked details within our Palms Grasscloth wallcovering in Green-Gold. This room is truly a feast for the eyes; everywhere you look, there’s something beautiful to spark endless dinner conversation.
In my living room (where I’ve spent most of my time during quarantine, playing with my son Rees and curling up with a strong coffee) I wanted to play with the concept of ‘cabin fever.’ The walls of the room are rustic pine boards original to the home, and with all the time spent indoors, I often felt like my family and I were snowed-in during a mountain retreat! To bring more light and airiness to the space–while celebrating those fabulous knotty walls–I employed shades of blue and green from our Performance fabric collection. The ode to my great-grandmother Sister Parish in this room can be found in the window curtains: a forthcoming fabric called Augusta, a special print pulled from the Parish Hadley Archives and given a fresh twist with the addition of our ticking ground cloth, reminiscent of Sister's classic look.
To read more about this project, check out Architectural Digest’s article, “Tour the Charming Connecticut Cabin of Sister Parish’s Great-Granddaughter” linked here.
