AT A TIME WHEN SO MUCH of the world is pursuing the next big thing, it's refreshing to encounter someone who's happily committed to what she already knows and loves. Julia Amory's tastes are radically unedgy. "I love brown furniture," she says. "I love chintz and majolica." She compares her approach to designing houses for herself and her family-husband Minot and their two children-to speaking in her native language. "This is the way Minot and I grew up," she says, "and this is the way our children are growing up." Crayon marks on the upholstery, shirred lampshades, antique quilts that disintegrate with use, a kidney-shaped vanity from the 1950s "these things make me feel safe and cozy," she says.
Her decorating vernacular provides a constant in a life that is otherwise quite dynamic. The Amorys spend summers in Southampton, New York, and the school year in Palm Beach, where she runs a growing women's clothing and textile business. "It's an incredible time to be in Palm Beach," she says. "There's been a convergence of my peers in the design space, and so many young families have relocated. We're always busy."
Southampton, by contrast, is where the Amorys kick back, fling open the doors, and slow down. "Our house is a proverbial clubhouse for all our friends," says Julia. "It's big, open, and easy; we love to have people over." Such conviviality was written into the house's DNA. The home was originally designed by legendary architect Jaquelin T. Robertson for Minot's aunt, decorator and fashion icon Chessy Rayner, to accommodate her whirlwind social life. "She entertained a lot and didn't have children," says Julia, who aimed to strike a careful balance between honoring that legacy and making the house more relaxed and livable for a family with two small children and a pair of dogs.
Denne historien er fra July - August 2023-utgaven av Veranda.
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Denne historien er fra July - August 2023-utgaven av Veranda.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Social Study
In the Chicago suburbs, a convivial family home is reimagined with intoxicating color, wild florals, and a sweeping two-story library-secret doors included.
Building DRAMA
IN A STORIED UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT, CHAIRISH COFOUNDER ANNA BROCKWAY TURNS UP THE HEAT WITH HIGH-VOLTAGE COLOR AND AN ULTRACHIC VINTAGE HAUL.
STORYTELLERS in Residence
Interior designer Stephanie Sabbe pens a new chapter for a Nashville author's guesthouse, creating a writer's cabin with muses stretching over centuries.
ELECTRIC REGENCY
Glamour, symmetry, and a bookish emerald study: In Richmond, Suzanne Kasler and Carter Skinner usher in a new era of bravado for so-called neutrals.
A Bold REWRITE
Designer Guy Oliver changes the narrative of a late 19th-century London townhouse to showcase exquisite art and literature and exude an ageless sense of comfort.
Handwriting HISTORY
WITH THE OPENING OF A NEW IMMERSIVE MUSEUM IN GERMANY, MONTBLANC CELEBRATES THE ART OF PENMANSHIP ACROSS TIME AND CULTURE.
ONCE UPON AN ODYSSEY
While sailing the Antarctic, a writer makes a thrilling discovery: an EXTRAORDINARY SHIP'S LIBRARY assembled with an explorer's heart.
The Drintmakers WORKSHOP
Venetian studio BOTTEGA DEL TINTORETTO conjures the creative spirit of its namesake Italian Renaissance painter, one hand-bound book at a time.
GOOD on PAPER
Using traditional Philippine techniques and recycled magazines and newsprint, Lori Weitzner champions the powers of page and plant with wallcoverings crafted entirely by hand.
Etched in TIME
Patek Philippe's new rose gold Retrograde Perpetual Calendar draws upon the sweeping scrolls, foliage, and volutes of a classic antique pocket watch.
