Living Room

 In my Chelsea apartment, I wanted to imitate the living room in my great grandmother's maisonette apartment on 920 Fifth with layers of textiles and colors securing the room from the busy city outside. I followed my instincts to use deep bold colors.  Colors that my great grandmother would most likely have detested like emerald greens and bright indigos. Deep, rich colors like these make me feel the luxury of city living along with a sense of escapism that I so need when I shut the door on the busy messy streets.  If I learn one thing from the women in my family, follow your imagination and don’t care about what anyone else thinks!  

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.

My family's summer home in Dark Harbor, Maine, has been in the family for generations, beginning with my great-grandmother Sister Parish. Her daughter (my grandmother Apple) has kept Sister's design aesthetic constant since Sister passed, but Apple has injected a bit of her own taste as well. I love how this room feels like you're living in an I Spy book; there's so many interesting textures, fabrics, and objets d'art to look at!