A symphony of white plays out in the living room, with a lacquered, sectioned wall for the bronze fireplace; a braided wool Stark carpet; and Colonia sofas covered in Sanderson fabric. End tables by Atelier of Prague, Inc. Benches from Studium V. All lighting from MSK Illuminations, Inc.
A CLEAR CONNECTION
Multistory views place first among the living room’s luxuries. On a Gothic- inspired console, wooden cogs f
A Bruno Fonseca painting leads to the dining room, where a B&B Italia table and chairs in Shyam Ahuja fabric invite 14.
A wall of Mexican tile was removed from the kitchen's hearth area to create a serene breakfast nook.
Asian influences contribute to the guest bedroom's feeling of escape.
A flexible upholstered headboard is equipped wiht a built-in, purple-laminate nightstand that folds down between twin beds.
An understated lamp by MSK Illuminations
of

a place on the lake

Designer Barbara Ross brings serene sophistication to a late-'80s house in Litchfield County
Type: 
Interior Design
Author name: 
Barbara Ross
Type: 
Text
Author name: 
SALLIE BRADY
Type: 
Photography
Author name: 
Peter Margonelli

Whole-house renovations are not adventures one dives into on a whim. But in the compelling instances when “ideal location” trumps “move-in condition,” it can pay for homeowners to commit to the dream, take a deep breath, and turn the reins over to a designer with whom they share a vision. That is the sort of intuitive relationship that designer Barbara Ross enjoyed with the owners of this late-1980s home on Lake Waramaug, Connecticut. When the couple—a prominent literary agent and her husband—hired the New York designer to redo their 12,000-square-foot country home, they made the initial decisions and then left the details, deliveries, and construction dust to Ross. “The client looked at everything—elevations, renderings, fabrics—changed two things, and didn’t see the house again for six months,” says Ross.

The key to success in this case was tapping into the clients’ need for precision and elegance in a way that made the most of the home’s pastoral Litchfield Hills location and multistory windows. So out came poor-quality interior fittings, hollow-core doors, plastic baseboard and corner bead, and incongruous Mexican floor and fireplace tiles. And in went a multitextured white palette, effective lighting, and theatrical Kravet cotton curtains that flow from floor to ceiling. Knowing the house’s destiny as the site of dinner parties and weekend gatherings, Ross “cleaned” the opening between the living and dining room’s columns—widening it to make it more “crowd friendly”—and created storage space for the clients’ six sets of dishes.

Working with her associate, Lauder Bowden, Ross sourced everything from the 1950s Karl Kemp pottery near the living room fireplace to Asian antiques and Louis Poulsen’s iconic Artichoke lamp in the breakfast nook, and arranged accessories like sculpture against art-gallery-like white surfaces.While public rooms are cool and crisp, the five bedrooms had to be “soft and welcoming, each with its own personality,”says Ross of spaces that theme
Asian, tropical, and modern, “but work together, because they share the same easy, elegant attitude.”

Resources:

Barbara Ross from BHR Design Group, Inc., 420 E. 54th St., NYC 10022; 212.471.8982; bhrdesign@aol.com. Stark Carpet, 979 Third Avenue, Suite 1102, NYC 10022; 212.752.9000; starkcarpet.com. Colonia Designs, 21-21 41st Ave., Long Island City, 11101; 718.472.4100. Sanderson, 979 Third Ave., Suite 409, NYC 10022;
212.319.7220; sandersonfabrics.com. Atelier of Prague, Inc., 970 Lexington Ave., NYC 10021; 212.452.4828;
janrosol.com. Studium V, 150 E. 58th St., 7th Fl., NYC 10022; 212.486.1811. MSK Illuminations, 235 E. 57th St.,
NYC 10022; 212.888.6474; mskillumination.com. Single chair by the Fireplace is from GBC, 200 Lexington Ave.,
NYC 10016; 212.684.6987. The fabric was from Calvin Klein, 654 Madison Ave., NYC 10021; 212.292.9000;
calvinklein.com. Calvin Klein, 651 Kapkowski Road, Elizabeth, NJ 07201; 908.659.0540; calvinklein.com. Pottery at Fireplace is from Karl Kemp & Associates Ltd., 34 & 36 E. 10th St., NYC 10003; 212.254.1877; karlkemp.com. Antique cogs are from Amy Perlin Antiques, 306 E. 61st St., NYC 10065; 212.593.5756; amyperlinantiques.com. Apropos, 200 Lexington Ave., Suite 102, NYC 10016; 212.684.6987; apropos-furniture.com. Holland & Sherry, 979 Third Ave., Suite 1402, NYC 10022; 212.355.6241; hollandandsherry.com. William Switzer & Associates,
Ltd., 979 Third Ave., Suite 1801, NYC 10022; 212.207.8332; williamswitzercollection.com. The drapery fabric is from Kravet, 979 Third Ave., Suite 324, NYC 10022; 212.421.6363; kravet.com. (pages 76–77) B&B Italia, 150 E. 58th St., NYC 10155; 212.758.4046; bebitalia.it. Shyam Ahuja, 201 E. 56th St., NYC 10022; 212.644.5910; shyamahuja.com. Far Eastern Antiques, 799 Broadway, NYC 10003; 212.460.5030; fareasternantiques.com. M2L, 215 E. 58th St., NYC 10022; 800.319.8222; m2lcollection.com. Chandelier in the dining room and the Paulson lighting in the Kitchen are from MSK Illuminations, 235 E. 57th St., NYC 10022; 212.888.6474; mskillumination.com. The drapery is from Roger Arlington, Inc., 979 Third Ave., Suite 1411;212.752.5288. Maya Romanoff, mayaromanoff.com. Beauvais Carpets, The Fuller Building, 595 Madison Ave., 3rd Fl., NYC 10022; 212.688.2265; beauvaiscarpets.com. Avery Boardman Ltd., 979 Third Ave., Suite 414, NYC 10022; 212.688.6611; averyboardman.com. Antique coffee table and chair are from Far Eastern Antiques, 799 Broadway, NYC 10003; 212.460.5030; fareasternantiques.com. Delphi Interiors & Cabinets, 3611 22nd St., Astoria, NY 11106; 718.361.1561. MSK Illuminations, 235 E. 57th St., NYC 10022; 212.888.6474; mskillumination.com. The drapery is from Roger Arlington, Inc., 979 Third Ave., Suite 1411;212.752.5288. Barbara Ross from BHR Design Group, Inc., 420 E. 54th St., NYC 10022; 212.471.8982; bhrdesign@aol.com. Karl Kemp & Associates Ltd., 34 & 36 E. 10th St., NYC 10003; 212.254.1877; karlkemp.com. Artichoke Lamp designed by Poul Henningsen and manufactured by Louis Poulsen is available at DWR, 142 Wooster St., NYC 10012; 212.471.0280; dwr.com.