The Country House: Edward Lobrano

By Donna Sapolin

New York-based interior designer, Edward Lobrano took on the renovation of this 20,000 square-foot home in Hilton Head, South Carolina with comfort and ease in mind. “For their full-time residence, the clients wanted a pretty, traditional look, one that would be sophisticated and yet inviting,” he says. The designer came in late in the game, after an architectural renovation had been completed and the homeowners had chosen several rugs and fixtures.

Given the fact that the homeowners are English, Lobrano chose to give the house an English Country flavor with rooms awash in color and infused with a welcoming eclecticism. “I kept three of the four light fixtures and all the rugs they had purchased,” Lobrano recalls, “and used good antiques along with custom wares.”

In the living room, which featured a centrally located fireplace, Lobrano strove to maintain a neoclassical feeling and honor the inherent sense of Palladian balance. “The fireplace provided an opportunity to create two lovely seating areas, one at each end,” he says.

Lobrano created the seating area seen in the foreground with a sofa upholstered in a gray velvet fabric from Brunschwig & Fils, a pair of lounge chairs covered in a ribbed cotton fabric from Lee Jofa, and two 19th-century English armchairs from Florian Papp all situated around an airy glass-topped, burnished-iron coffee table from Gregorius Pineo. “On the antique chairs we wanted to use an elegant fabric that would give the middle of the room some pop and texture,” says Lobrano of his Clarence House choice. A round 19th-century Regency table purchased in London joins a larger Directoire model bought in Paris to providing additional surfaces for accents and visitors’ use.

The objective of the second seating area was to frame the fireplace and create an intimate setting that could sit up to six people.

The designer enhanced the cozy feeling by placing a lacquered table between two relatively small custom sofas made by Anthony Lawrence. “To maximize comfort, even my small sofas will have a seat depth of at least 25-26 inches.” Lobrano covered them in a mulberry-hued fabric from Lee Jofa—pretty, rather than screaming, he says, so they could harmonize with the soft tone set by the gray sofa at the other end of the room.

On each side of the fireplace, a pair of Queen Anne mirrors from Dennis & Leen flanked by new sconces from London-based Charles Edwards hangs above Formations’ Portuguese-style walnut consoles; 19th-century black porcelain lamps top them. Drapes made with a check Lee Jofa fabric echo the gold and reddish hues in the rug. “I added a rather dressed up tassel trim to the informal check to capture the casual-formal sensibility of an English country house.”

EDWARD’S DECORATI FAVORITES
Chair by Jasper by Michael S Smtih	Table Lamp by Tuell & Reynolds	Dining Chair by Mattaliano	Table by Matthews & Parker Ltd.
Arm Chair by Niedermaier	Bench by Magni Home Collection	Tabouret from Raji RM & Associates	Chair by Allan Knight
Sofa by Walters Wicker	Rocker by Mimi London, Inc.	Stool by Tucker Robbins	Chair by Jean de Merry

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A de Gournay wallpaper made in the Far East through an elaborate process of sanding and antiquing coats the walls of the dining room. This paper, which looks as if it was removed from an aged setting and reinstalled, endows the space with a tranquil sense of history and provenance. Against this atmospheric backdrop, Nestle’s vibrant chandelier and H.M. Luther’s Italianate gold mirror detailed with leaves, acorns and berries provide glitz along with whimsy. The mirror hangs above a black marble-topped distressed lacquer console, custom-made by Gregarious Pineo in the Chinoiserie style. “Go for a first-rate reproduction over a fourth-rate antique,” says Lobrano. “Most people just want a beautiful home; they’re not collectors.”

John Roselli’s lamps are topped with striped silk shades made by Blanche Field with Travers fabric. Above them, Niermann Weeks sconces add “a beautiful softness that looks great with the wall covering,” says the designer. Lobrano’s team worked for a couple of months with John Roselli to custom color the figures in front of the windows. “They help add character and life to the room,” he says.

The breakfront, Regency-style table and chairs belonged to the client; Lobrano refreshed the chairs, which previously had been upholstered in shiny blue damask with a more welcoming teal velvet that picks up on the wall tones. The sisal rug anchors the room further in sophisticated casualness.

One of several bedrooms in the house, this magical guest room features two custom twin four-poster beds from Dennis & Leen. “The 12-foot-high ceilings enabled a tall, elegant sleeping solution for those visitors needing separate beds,” says Lobrano. “These beds draw the eye upward.” In keeping with the English Country atmosphere that pervades the home’s décor, he decided to shape a toile room, using not, he says, “a dumb, clichéd toile—that two hundred-year-old ladies, gents, cows and horse type, but rather a modern English linen floral toile.” He opted for a medium-scaled; blue, rose, green and cream floral toile from Christopher Hodsoll, which he used on the walls, on the foot- and headboards, and in the drapes; he edged the latter with a George Spencer trim from Claremont. The aqua bedspreads, made with a Claremont cotton, play up both the wallpaper and the custom green-on-green jacquard carpet from Stark.

“Small doses of a deep dark brown endow a painted room with sophistication,” says Lobrano.

Lobrano complemented the profusion of flowers in the garden-like setting with pale painted surfaces featured on the beds, a Swedish armoire, an oval-backed desk chair by Tatina, and a bedside table from John Roselli. A Louis the XVth-style lacquered desk made by Minton Spidell and a pair of benches from Niermann Weeks add emphatic dark touches to the otherwise lighthearted space.

The paneled wall behind the new family room limestone fireplace surround is painted in a rich, crackled finish that lends the space a staunch, 17th-century Jacobean air. “It has the look of wood that’s been charred in a fire,” says Lobrano. The glazed walls’ rusty-toned, sueded appearance in combination with the beams’ sanded gold-leaf Florentine design, and the trimwork’s vivid green hue have a warming effect that boosts the casual atmosphere of the room and helps differentiate it from the home’s formal areas.

Lobrano shaped a generous seating area around a painted John Roselli coffee table using a custom sofa made by Anthony Lawrence/Belfair and covered in a green chenille from Travers, a pair of custom armchairs upholstered in a golden Cowtan & Tout fabric, and two walnut ladderback chairs made by Hamilton and sporting cushions wrapped in a textured rust-colored fabric from Cowtan & Tout. A new leather bench from Paul Ferrante rests between the chairs.

A contemporary wool rug from Guatemala unifies the space and “references something traditional without actually being traditional,” says Lobrano. Its geometric pattern provides a touch of modern flare and the variegated tones yield a rich palette played up by the textiles. “Flat rugs look wonderful on black cherry floors,” says Lobrano.

An early 18th-century lacquered Chinoiserie chest purchased from Hyde Park is topped by overscaled Delft ceramics from Bardith Antiques. Together they supply a perfectly aged foil for the room’s reproduction pieces and faux paint finishes. “The English Country look is a tattered but dressed up one,” says Lobrano. “The patina on this piece transforms the formal Chinoiserie technique into something that’s warm and friendly.”

“Finish and detail are everything. The simplest hand-done detail on curtains, a fine custom finish on a reproduction—these are what can truly set them apart.”

That casualness is further enhanced by the drapes, which were made by Anthony Lawrence using a Lee Jofa fabric edged with a three-inch-wide trim from Brunschwig & Fils. They hang from J. Art Iron rids given a “beautiful, built-up finish,” says Lobrano.

Circumscribed by tall windows offering up views of an adjacent dock and waterway, the breakfast room is where the family takes most of its meals. Taking his cues from the homeowner-purchased rug, Lobrano devised a soft palette of greens and rusts to bolster the sense of connection to the outdoors. Country-style dining chairs made by Richard Mulligan in L.A. wear a green finish that also appears in the ceiling and showcase a floral Lee Jofa fabric as well as a checked Carlton V. fabric. They surround a pine table from Quackenbush & Winkler under an iron light fixture.

“Fabric frames on shades can take them down a notch, making them more casual and subtly evoking patterns used elsewhere in the room.”

Lobrano’s signature reeded bamboo shades—painted a creamy hue and framed in the same fabric that appears on the chairs—soften the light while ensuring water views. “I’ll often install these under curtains, sometimes with a stained or stenciled pattern to resemble a Fortuny fabric,” he says.

Photographs by David Livingston.

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RESOURCE LIST:

The Breakfast Room: Chandelier – Marvin Alexander, New York City, Chairs – Richard Mulligan, Shears and Windows, San Francisco, Table – Quackenbush and Winkler, Hinkley, San Francisco, Window Treatments – Decorators Service in San Francisco

Dining Room: Wallpaper – DeGournay, Chinoiserie side board – Gregorious Pineo, Kneedler Fauchere
Chandelier – Nesle Ltd, New York, Table and Chairs – Antiques, Chinese Figures – John Rosselli, New York
Curtain Fabric – Old World Weaver, New York, Trim for curtains – Custom, Decor De Paris, Los Angeles
Italian Mirror – Antique, H.M. Luther, New York, Sconces – Niermann Weeks, New York

Guest Bedroom: Beds – Dennis and Leen, Shears and Windows, San Francisco, Desk Chair – Patina, Summer hill, New York, Desk – Minton Spidell, Shears and Windows, San Francisco, Carpet – Custom Stark Carpets, New York, Curtain Fabric – Hodsoll Mckenzie at Zimmer Rohde, New York, Trim for Curtains – George Spencer at Claremont, New York

Mint Green Bedroom/Master: Painted table – Melrose House at Holly Hunt, New York, Lounge Chairs – Bar Harbor Chair, Summer hill, Curtain Fabric – Bennison, London/New York, Trim – George Spencer at Claremont, New York, Mirror – Antique, H.M. Luther, New York, Occassional Chair – Dennis and Leen, Shears and Windows, San Francisco, Carpet – custom, Stark carpets, New York, Chandelier – Niermann Weeks, New York

Family Room: Carpet – Custom, Stark Carpets, New York, Ladder Back Chairs – Hamilton Inc., Los Angeles, Fabric on Ladderback Chairs – Cowtan and Tout, New York, Lounge Chairs – Anthony Lawrence, New York, Fabric on Lounge Chairs – Cowtan and Tout, New York, Fireplace screen, andirons and tools – A&R Asta, New York, Chinoiserie High Boy – English Queen Anne, Hyde Park Antiques, New York, Coffee Table – John Rosselli, New York

Living Room: Queen Anne Mirrors over consoles – Dennis and Leen, Holly Hunt, New York, Portuguese Consoles under mirrors – Dennis and Leen, Holly Hunt, New York, Sconces by mirrors – The Brighton Collection,Grey Velvet Sofa – Melrose House, Holly Hunt, New York, Velvet on sofa – Clarence House, Dutch Screen behind sofa – Antique, Malletts, London/New York, Chinoiserie Side table – Antique, Florian Papp, New York, Lamps By Velvet Sofa – Antique, Phillip Colleck, New York, Iron Coffee Table – Gregorius Pineo, Jerry Pair, New York, Georgian Style Gainsborough chairs – Antique, Florian Papp, New York, Lounge Chairs – Cameron Collection, Dallas Texas, Sheraton Style painted chairs in corners – Antique, Phillip Colleck, New York

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