The moment I decided to write about this subject, I started looking for the image I came across in a decoration magazine years ago, looking at which had evoked happiness and comfort in me – the image above. It is the entrance to an East Hampton house in Long Island, New York State built in the 18th century, which is a few steps away from the beach. (Photo: houseandgarden.co.uk)

Decoration and design is an immense issue appealing to different tastes according to people’s preferences and lifestyle. Yet some combinations and designs, like in the image above, may appeal to anyone making one feel happy and relaxed…

Photos – Left: Exterior of the house I mentioned above in East Hampton town, Long Island, NY / Right: The entrance – Decorator Steven’s Labradoodle, Sailoron on a vintage rug. Winter sky wallpaper from Gracie, Italian blown-glass pendants with brass detailing, and a vintage quartz fifties design table lamp by Carole Stupell. (houseandgarden.co.uk)
(I think the way the door can be half-opened is quite creative and the design of the entrance is in harmony with the greenery outside and the fresh soul of the nature… No wonder that the sweet Labradoodle makes a pleasant contribution to this soul.)

The article in House & Garden says the owners were keen to make the most of the light and have a more youthful spirit to which I think this entrance serves to. The house had been decorated by American designer Steven Gambrel before, and had been reinterpreted to better reflect its coastal setting as requested by the new owners. (House & Garden, September 2021 issue)

I liked the decoration of the house in general – with a warm atmosphere, and quite bright with utmost use of light:

A bright pleasant kitchen – Breakfast area: A Forties French vitrine filled with antique silverware, raw oak table, Hans J Wegner ‘Wishbone Chairs‘, and a seventies ‘Onos 55‘ brass pendant

Kitchen – continued: Tractor stools by BassamFellows from Design Within Reach / Children’s bedroom – The walls and the woodwork paints from Benjamin Moore. A jolly chair by Dune upholstered in Mark Alexander’s ‘Patina’ in burnt orange. (houseandgarden.co.uk)

The main bedroom and bathroom – bright and cosy… – Left: Philip Jeffries wall covering, a marble chimney place, a fifties ‘Holzstern‘ chandelier / Right: ‘Morris‘ ceiling light by Suzanne Kasler and ‘Berling‘ sconces by Ralph Lauren (All photos above: houseandgarden.co.uk)

The New York-based designer Steven Gambrel says a lot of the materials in the house were lightened to bring the light, like the wide-plank oat floors being sanded to achieve a paler hue. Bringing the light in design brought another image to my mind – the one I saw in another decoration magazine…

That image is the below right – located in the house (left) in Mountain Brook, a wealthy residential city in Alabama, USA, owned by architect James Carter. The article in House Beautiful says he had decorated the house with the collections he gathered for years and valued highly.

The house (left) in Mountain Brook, Alabama, USA and its saloon– Oak panels, Regency armchair upholstered with Rose Tarlow Melrose House fabric, Christopher Spitzmiller lampshades, gilded consoles, and an antique Italian globe showing the equinoxes
(The room’s double door opens onto a magnificent view of a green path leading to a large, lead obelisk – designed by the architect himself) (House Beautiful, Spring 2021 issue)

The saloon – continued: The waxed antique oak-panelled library, the fireplace, and William Kent consoles with eagles are striking.

I would like to include some more details from this elegant joyful house:

Left: The hallway leading to the master bedroom – with an antique rug and Neapolitan gouache paintings. Walls and curtains made of Rogers & Goffigon fabrics – A warm outlook which I liked… / Right: A section of the bedroom – painted to a lovely green which I adored (Cushing Green wall paint, Benjamin Moore), Reborn Antiques sconces from John Rosselli&Associates
(All photos of this house taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, Spring 2021 issue)

Below is another house with a lovely entrance – an house in Lexington, Kentucky, USA coincidentally owned by another architect, interior designer Matthew Carter, which I had come across in House Beautiful, June 2018 issue:

Architect Matthew Carter strolling in the backyard of his house in Kentucky / The blue stone terrace at the entrance of the house – a pleasant sitting area (I loved the color of the cushions covered with ‘Perennials’ brand fabric.)
(The path seen in the photos had been made of Kentucky limestone. You may like to note Kentucky is also known for its horse races like ‘The Kentucky Derby‘ and bourbon, producing 95% of the world’s bourbon. (kentuckytourism.com))

The breakfast area overlooking the terrace with tall doors designed to take advantage of the garden view / The saloon in vivid lovely pastel colors – a custom-made sofa upholstered Claremont velvet and an antique Italian mirror
(Carter tells in the article in House Beautiful that he used soft colors, his favorite antiques, contemporary art, and ethnic and vintage pieces he bought on his trips indoors.)

The dining room right next to the entree. Its double-winged glass doors open directly to the terrace –
Details: A Parsons table, green Jim Thompson fabrics linen blend curtains in harmony with light yellow-green velvet vintage French and Italian chairs, late 18th-century lipstick red leather English chairs, walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Gray Wisp, and a blueberry applique (House Beautiful, June 2018 issue)
(An interesting and inspiring combination with jolly colors… What a lovely room!)
(All photos of this Kentucky house taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, June 2018 issue)

The lovely Kentucky house and terrace above reminded me of another American house to share here: an house of a Danish couple in Cooperstown village in central New York State, USA, which I had come across in AD (Architectural Digest ) magazine, March 2025 issue. A house with a heartwarming story…

A lovely room corner and porch both with a lovely view – Left: Homeowners Danish couple Marie-Louise and Marc Hom with their two sons Alfred (at window) and Winston in the great room/kitchen with a refreshing view – vintage leather sofa and safari chairs by Kaare Klint / Right: Covered porch at one end of the terrace with Willow, the family’s Cockapoo (Photos taken by my mobile phone from AD, March 2025 issue)

The article in AD says it was close to 5 am on a Sunday when Marie-Louise knew that moving her family from Brooklyn Heights to Cooperstown, New York, about four hours north of the city, was the right decision – when their son Winston, then eight, insisted to wake her and her husband, celebrated fashion and portrait photographer Marc Hom, to admire the ‘sublime sunrise’… Marie-Louise, an interior designer, had said:
“Of course you worry whether you’re doing the right thing or not, with how you raise your kids,… but in moments like that, you realize that there is something about living in such beauty.”

The boys and friends running up from a pavilion in the garden / The 20-acre property located on a hilltop in upstate New York – with expansive views of the surrounding countryside (Photos: architecturaldigest.com)

The article further tells Cooperstown may seem like an unusual place for a pair of cosmopolitan Danes to settle and adds everything had started when they had visited friends there 20 years ago – a month after beginning to date… The couple first had rented a few weeks each year, then for longer until they decided to relocate full time, keeping their place in Brooklyn Heights and a summer cabin in Denmark. Marie-Louise had said: “It took our Scandinavian relatives a while to understand what we are doning on a hilltop in Cooperstown, … Now people come here and they’re like, ‘Okay, we get it.’“

An almost 1865 stone house – with a 1980s extension, a guest cottage, a pool set and a series of gardens with views of the Adirondacks (Photo: architecturaldigest.com)
(What a lovely house entrance!)

The pool set / The poolhouse with antiques and artworks (architecturaldigest.com)

After renting the property for several years, the family had bought it from their close friend Paul Kellogg before he died in 2021. Kellogg had led Cooperstown’s Glimmerglass Festival for many years and later the New York City Opera, and lived there with his partner, the late painter Raymond Han for three decades. Marc Holm had said: “We inherited a masterpiece,”… The Homs had worked to preserve the spirit of Kellog and Han with vast green spaces and rooms full of Han’s paintings.

Marc had grown up in central Copenhagen, while Marie-Louise was raised in a country house. Marc Holm says the house reflects both of their tastes and sensibilities in terms of modernness and also the oldness. (AD, March 2025 issue)

Photos: (Left: Winter living room – A ghost couch by Gervasoni and an antique settee surround an antique pedestal table on which stands a candlestick by Ilse Crawford for Georg Jensen / Right: Alfred (far right) and Winston in the playroom; above the fireplace hangs self-portrait by artist Raymond Han, a former owner of the house) (Details and photos: architecturaldigest.com)
(Bright, warm, and peaceful rooms …)

Photographer Marc Hom at the kitchen island – Danish wood planks by Dinesen / A collection of European blanc de blanc pottery displayed on shelves in a corridor. (architecturaldigest.com)
(A lovely countryside house with practical Danish elements as well as pleasant antique details – a perfect harmony of modernness and oldness. And with a warm story…)

The next house I want to mention is from France – the house of interior designer and former French television weather presenter Cécile Siméone in Lyon. The cosy entrance of the house I came across on the cover of Maison Française magazine, January 2018 issue had captured me…

A cosy house entrance terrace with wood elements. The exterior of the house is covered with cedar wood. (Photos taken by my mobile-phone from Maison Française, January 2018 issue)

Cécile Siméone lives in her Lyon house with his husband Dominique Casagrande, a former French professional footballer and two daughters. She used to own the popular decoration shop “Simone Sisters” located in Lyon city center, which was closed in April 2025 at its tenth year. Siméone had announced in the shop’s instagram account that her interior design projects would continue.

The house is ideally located – in the countryside but also close to Lyon city center.

A brick fireplace and bamboo chairs in the saloon – The country-style interior of the house with bohemian ethnic elements.

Cécile emphasizes naturalness in interior design and brings together different materials and original designs. Light colors, soft textures, and the warmth of wood are used.

A seating area, and the bedroom – with warm natural textures. The wide windows overlook the terrace and the garden. (All photos of this Lyon house taken by my mobile-phone from Maison Française, January 2018 issue)

A cosy bathroom – a jolly bathtub and a wide window with a nice view / A pleasant terrace of the house
(A cosy house with a natural, simple and a relaxing design …)

As this post is getting long, I will mention the boot rooms in my next post as Part 2 of this post.