The Color Antidote: Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Written by Donna Sapolin

Could it be that happiness is but a pillow (or two or three) away?

Huntington, NY-based interior designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd bubbles over with effusive warmth. One can all but hear her broad smile and gleaming eyes as she chats about what is perhaps the single most important aspect of her work-color.

If the old saw-”happiness lies within”- is true, Boyd’s designs would suggest that one can access an internal wellspring of bliss through a few well-chosen and well-paced strokes of color without. The design field has always been responsive to world events and Boyd’s rooms-finely orchestrated symphonies of hue and pattern tuned to the environment and the occupant-compose a perfect antidote to these troubled times.

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“People are deeply affected by their surroundings and they’re catching on now to color as an antidote to grimness,” she says.

The designer begins concocting the day’s potion for optimism and cheer as soon as she arises-with her choice of outfit. “I attune myself to how I’m feeling and my clothing selections are born of that,” she explains. Today’s sartorial expression is a navy blue-and-turquoise ensemble with some bits of silver thrown in, and as she makes her way to her studio housed in one of her three side-by-side retail design shops, she plans a window display in the same palette. In the second shop’s window, a vibrant tangerine, brown and Gustavian white display will materialize through a creative mix of new and vintage wares. And in the third window, an entire living room setting comprising cadmium yellows and grays will soon beckon to passersby.

“The shops are my laboratory,” says Boyd, “and people are drawn in by my concoctions. They’ll tell me they’re dying for color. They respond to the freshness and upbeat atmosphere but need guidance when it comes to infusing their surroundings with that feeling.”

Boyd began introducing color into her personal environment early on. She grew up with a kelly green Marimekko bedroom set and gravitated to painting, fashion design and music throughout junior high and high school. “I considered myself an artist before I got into design,” she says. Boyd still takes her paint box with her most everywhere she goes and keeps a sharp eye on the fashion universe, where brash designers feel free to invent with an abandon seldom seen in the interiors arena.

For her, all of the artistic fields focus on creating pleasing compositions; the differences lie in the particular ‘notes’ applied. “I’ve long used music as a metaphor for my sense of design,” says Boyd. “Just as one must strike a certain note or set of notes to produce a harmonious sound, in order to achieve visual harmony, one must also strike a particular set of notes. Design is about manipulating the visual strokes until a pleasing arrangement is achieved.” With her acute sensitivities to tone, Boyd makes an ideal conductor.

Eileen’s Favorites Products on Decorati
Console by Nella Vetrina	Loveseat by Niedermaier	Tables by Matthews and Parker Ltd.	Pendant by Lightspann Illuminations Design, Inc.
Chaise by Interior Crafts	Coffee Table by Matthews and Parker	End Table by Newell Design Studio	Table by Magni Home Collection
Coffee Table by Sandback	Lounge by Magni Home Collection	Console by Chelsea Textiles	Day Bed by Antoine Proulx

Where do you get the inspirations for your inventive palettes?

Virtually everywhere I go! But I’m particularly inspired by nature; I live just minutes from the water. I love the changing seasons and the light and I’ll do small acrylic studies of landscapes, natural patterns, and flowers.

How do you launch a project?

I generally start with something I love, like a magazine spread or a fabric. I’ll start digging into the fabric room in my studio and then just let my imagination run in a direction that seems to answer the client’s needs. My fabric room is my favorite place to be. I can lose myself for hours back there.

You said that people are drawn to color and want it in their lives. But aren’t they also afraid of it?

Yes, people are incredibly scared of color. I remind them that if they are going to use it, they should not over commit to it because visual balance is what is key. The point is to use color to the degree that it reads and registers but doesn’t overwhelm the space or the onlooker.

When we’re looking at fabrics on the board-a time when clients can get spooked easily-I remind them that they’re not yet seeing in three dimensions and try to assure them that with measured doses the end result will be beautiful.

We generally select three colors with one of these serving as the core color in the scheme and we then interpret the palette in various ways. The interaction with the client is a lot like athletic coaching. In sports, you’ll get the marathon runner that will just go for it and you’ll get other participants that can’t or won’t. The art of being a designer is knowing your client and how far you can take them. For the more tentative, less adventurous person, I’ll throw in a single bold stroke, say, a lime-green chair. I do a lot of small-doses-of-color projects. My show home rooms are the purest expression of my vision and they are rich in balanced color.

What’s the typical response of a client after the project is all said and done?

When people spring for color they feel so energized and they will often thank me for getting them there.

What about walls?

I’m very consistent in my handling of these. I feel the canvas of the walls should be clean; I like to put colorful things against them rather than make them pop. In terms of wallpapers, occasionally I’ll use a dynamic print in a small, charming spot like a clubby bar area or powder room. In those cases, I’ll go for a tone-on-tone print or a textured grass cloth; I don’t like a lot of pattern on the wall.

What are some of your favorite color combinations?

Ones that I’ve used in my show home rooms. I used yellow and a French gray in a room I designed for Millneck Manor-the yellow there is very painterly and the gray is a perfect foil for it. The room I created for the Sands Point Preserve show home relies on tangerine and fuschia-I just love the excitement and visual vibration those two tones create together! In another project I combined raspberry with citrine and kept the walls clean and clear to ground the room.

Tell me about your use of pillows; they feature prominently in your designs.

A: I’m a big pillow girl. I tend to combine a variety of textures on them and I also use a lot of grosgrain ribbon on them, which is an inexpensive way to create drama and detail. The sizes of the pillows and the compositions are carefully plotted according to the proportions of the sofa or daybed on which they’ll be placed. I enjoy creating marches of pillows-the kinds of arrangements that people just want to plop into. If one wants to have fuse different colors in a room but use them sparingly, a pillowscape is a good way to go. But the colors still have to be echoed elsewhere in the space or it may appear visually lopsided.

You’re a big fan of fashion-which designers do you find inspiring?

Roberto Cavalli and Oscar de la Renta who have no shame; they just go for it! I like Miuccia Prada for her sense of trend and detail and Kate Spade for the way she mixes vintage and modern. Catherine Malandrino and Cloe are extraordinary as is John Galliano whose design is pure theater and advances the notion of fantasy.

Have any interior designers furthered your work?

A: Yes! David Hicks-he was so ahead of his time and has been a great inspiration. One example is his concept of the architecture of a tablescape. I think about his notions when I create a pillowscape-every surface has architecture and a set of proportions that need to be considered.

Room Photographs by Mark Samu. Headshot by Steve Files.

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