Familiar Ground: Kathryn Scott

Written by Donna Sapolin

Few would take issue with the notion that an interior designer should develop a deep familiarity with the space he or she is hired to design for a client. One could even make the point that the more familiar the designer is with the space, the more readily he or she can develop ideas that can maximize its functionality and appearance. How much better then if the designer had the opportunity to visit the project site and consider its limitations and its unique strengths over many years, time‑long before ever being asked to take on its decorative transformation.

Such is the case with New York-based designer, Kathryn Scott and the 10,000 square-foot Hillsboro Beach, Florida oceanfront house that she outfitted for a Chicago couple and their two visiting sons to use as a recreational haven. Scott had quite a remarkable personal history with the site. Her grandparents had once owned a 1950s beach house there and she had spent many of her childhood holidays in it. “At one point, my mother and I even lived with my grandparents for a year,” says Scott.

When the grandparents were ready to move on, Scott’s mother dedicated herself to making a home for herself on the spectacular site. Rather than knock down the by-now aged and problem-riddled structure, she opted to rebuild it in a Santa Fe modern style and enlisted an architect to guide what ended up being an arduous, decade-long process. During that time, she would occasionally ask Scott for advice. After living in the house for 10 more years but never quite finishing it, the mother decided to sell it to a developer who then turned to Scott to create an interiors scheme. Considering her legacy of connection and involvement, no one could have been better equipped for the task.

“A designer may not ever really know the little disruptions in a house unless someone tells him or her,” says Scott. “From the new owners’ point of view, I knew all the issues.”

Kathryn’s Favorite Products on Decorati
Textile by Chelsea Editions	Fire Screen by Philip Nimmo Iron Works	Chair by Mattaliano	Labyrinth by Clarence House
Wall Covering by Paul Montgomery Studio	Daybed by Donghia	Textile by Studio E	Rug by Kyle Bunting Rugs
Vase by Otium	Mirror Frame by WP Sullivan Inc.	Writing Table by Maxine Snider	Textile by Fadini Borghi

“They didn’t want the Italian Palazzo look that prevails down here these days,” says Scott. “They were very respectful of the home’s style and the direction in which I wanted to go.” The designer took her cues from the southwest-inspired look her mother had created, which held attributes in common with the classical southern Florida architectural style characterized by Vizcaya. “Both have hand-done color-infused walls in which the tone is inherent in the material,” says Scott. At my suggestion, my mother hired the Vizcaya curator to direct the work on the plaster-like Structolite walls.” This backdrop set her on a path of selecting color-rich furnishings and the beach locale suggested a scheme that would also be casual and tolerant of the sorts of assaults that a waterside location inflicts on rooms. “This needed to be a relaxed and comfortable environment where nothing could be ruined easily,” she says.

In the living room, where the goal was to create an artful yet unpretentious setting, Scott positioned two identical Doreen sofas back-to-back, each covered in a mohair fabric composed of red threads atop yellow ones that convey a three-dimensional quality. Four Roman Thomas iron floor lamps flank the sofas, casting an even glow throughout the room. A cut velvet-covered chair, also from Doreen, echoes the pink-brown hue of the fireplace surround, located at its rear. The armchair shapes the television-facing seating area in tandem with one of the sofas, Holly Hunt’s iron- and-bleached wood coffee table, and an Astuguevieille-designed chair made of tree branches and a textured hemp seat. “This chair is an example of furniture behaving as art,” says Scott. In the far right corner, a Dessin Fournir card table with an uneven, worn-looking inlaid marble top adds a sense of age to the room.

In the media area of the living room, a Rose Tarlow bench from Holly Hunt covered in a Donghia fabric provides another seating perch while injecting additional jolts of color into the space. The antique Boussac rug, selected with the aid of carpet consultant Fred Blair, harmonizes the rooms’ many warm tones. A ceramic stool cum side table in the shape of a tree trunk epitomizes a setting in which nothing matches in any overt way,  yet all the elements work together to shape a captivating and balanced look. During the home’s construction, Scott advised her mother to commission Zeluck to create mahogany window frames to hold up to the corrosive forces at work in “a backyard that is the beach.”

The living room’s fireplace-facing seating area is anchored by one of a pair of sofas from Doreen. Alongside, Scott placed a round table from Holly Hunt between a pair of Roman Thomas chairs covered in a pumice-toned chenille. The large custom ottoman from Doreen sports a sumptuous leather dress that highlights the pink hue of the fireplace surround and the Mexican Saltillo terra cotta tile floor.

Occupying the bottom-most level of the three-story residence, this bedroom’s windows are below-grade and do not offer views of the water.

“I had to play up the room’s natural qualities of coziness and privacy to face the design challenge presented by its location in one of the home’s least desirable spots,” Scott explains.

She delicately enhanced the sense of enclosure and intimacy with the four-poster bed, a custom design derived from a discontinued Christian Liagre model and crafted by a New England furniture maker. Coral lamps that rest atop British Khaki side tables reference the ocean and extend the red palette. Warm burnt umber walls and colorful Rose Tarlow floral drapes from Doreen are counterbalanced by a quiet blue-green Macchalean wool rug. “The adjacent bathroom suggested the rug color, which is similar rather than matching,” says the designer.

Scott’s design objective was to calm the visual chaos in the dining room-a narrow space that is open to the kitchen, has views of the ocean and the pool area, is punctuated by a door at each end of a built-in serving niche, and contains a variety of colors. To that end, she kept things very simple and filled the space with a substantial Holly Hunt dining table made of a thick slab of rich walnut set atop a black steel base.

The ribbed upholstery on the Victoria Hagan dining chairs from Holly Hunt emphasize the pink tones in the hand-painted cypress ceiling planks and the diamond-shaped coral floor inserts. “When my mother moved out, she took the original Holly Hunt chandelier that hung here with her. But my client liked it so much, he bought another.”

In the upper-level master bedroom, Scott focused on achieving an airy atmosphere that would counteract the room’s narrow dimensions. In a niche located opposite a fireplace, she placed a Donghia bed with a raffia headboard and side rails and covered it with a cashmere-lined custom bedspread/blanket made of Great Plains fabric from Holly Hunt. A pair of Roman Thomas cabinets with a custom configuration flanks the bed; a Holly Hunt bench upholstered in golden suede rests at its foot. “I wanted draperies that would afford privacy without totally obscuring the view or blocking the light,” says Scott. “These are made with a double layer of herringbone-weave linen by Great Plains, so they are beautiful on both sides.” A Rose Tarlow chaise from Melrose House invites relaxation and reading.

An ideal breakfast spot, the patio located off the kitchen is but steps away from the ocean. All that lies between is a row of indigenous sea grape trees that look out onto the sand dunes and water. “When I was growing up and would visit here,” says Scott, “the plants were low and the glare was unbearable. Given the size of the sea grapes now, the light is filtered and delicate, and one can sit here quite comfortably.” Scott positioned an octagonal limestone table from Michael Taylor in the now shaded area and surrounded it with four bronze chairs that wear cushions wrapped in weather-resistant fabric from Holly Hunt Perennials.

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Resource List

Living Room and Fireside Seating: Roman Thomas  Blair chairs, Fabric for Blair Chairs by Holly Hunt Great Plains “Thick as Thieves”,  Roman Thomas Gueridon Table, Cloudband Rug by Antique Oushak, Jerry Pair Ming Coffee Table and Zitan Low Table, Doreen Hyde Park Sofas, Fabric for Hyde Park Sofas by Holly Hunt “Cocktails Anyone in Bloody Mary”, Roman Thomas Giravada Lamps, Doreen Round Ottoman, Fabric for Custom Ottoman by Holly Hunt, ” Mandarin Red Cabria” and Nancy Corzine “ Soie Savage Bordeaux,” Doreen French Club Chair, Fabric for Club Chair by Holly Hunt “Dolce Vita in Terracotta,” Doreen Spencer Sofa, Fabric for Spencer Sofa  by Rogers & Goffigon “Cervo.”

Medea Room: Holly Hunt Rose Tarlow Chippendale Bench, Fabric for Chippendale Bench by Metaphores Arc En Ciel Striped Fabric, Holly Hunt Formations Tavolino Wood & Iron Coffee Table, Holly Hunt Saufo Chair by Christian Astuguevieille, Knollwood c1920’s Chinese Garden Stools, Doreen French Club Chair, Fabric for Club Chair by Holly Hunt “Dolce Vita in Terracotta,” Cloudban Rug by Antique Oushak.

Guest Bedroom: C. Robert Huggins Estuaire Bed, Knollwood Italianate Coral Table Lamps, British Khaki Night Tables, Cloudband Tibetan Rug by Antique Oushak, Doreen Drapery Fabric Holly Hunt “Bloomsbury Merlot,” Bedding by Marie Savettiere, Coverlet Fabric by Holly Hunt “Bouillie Ivorie,” Lining Fabric by Rogers & Goffigon “Bechamel/Cardiinal.”

Dining Room: Holly Hunt Principe Dining Table, Holly Hunt Dining Chairs by Victoria Hagan, Fabric for Dining Chairs by Stroheim & Roman “Heather Texture Cinnamon Red,” Holly Hunt Dennis & Leon Gothic Chandelier, Swordfish Candlesticks by Burden & Izett, Ltd.

Master Bedroom: Donghia Merbau Bed, Cactus Lamps by Duane, Roman Thomas Bedside Tables , Custom Red Oak Cabinet, Jerry Pair Julien Bench, Fabric for Julien Bench by Niermann Weeks “Nubuk baby Camel,” Rose Tarlow Chelsea Chaise, Fabric for Chaise by Holly Hunt “Fast Track,” Trim by Holly Hunt “Melrose House in Green Tea,” Tui Pranich Ironies Bard’s Side Table, Bedding: King Size Bolsters by Sandringham, Fabric for Bolsters by Holly Hunt “Secret Garden in Marble,” Coverlet by Marie Savettiere, Fabric for Coverlet by Holly Hunt “Secret Garden in Marble, Lining Fabric by Holly Hunt “Cashmere Camelot.”

Oceanside Patio: Michael Taylor Octagonal Table, Michael Taylor Klismos Chairs, Fabric for Klismos Chair Seats by Holly Hunt “Perennials Chameleon.”