Habitually Chic®'s Logo  

Hampton Designer Showhouse: Living Room by Robert Stilin

by habituallychic

08 . 03 . 09

I think it’s important to remember that Showhouses aren’t always reality. Sometimes the rooms are a little over the top or just might not appeal to everyone. As I’ve mentioned before, I think it’s important to keep an open mind. There is usually some aspect of a room that you can take away or be inspired by even if you don’t like the entire room. Just because it’s not your style, doesn’t make it wrong.

The Living Room is the Hampton Designer Showhouse was designed by Robert Stilin who also designed the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year with Ina Garten. My friends and I really liked this room in person. The walls are a pale lavender which sets of the modern and contemporary art. It also has a small kitchenette attached so to me it had the look of a very chic city apartment for an art collector and was also very soothing and relaxing. I also didn’t even notice until I looked at the photos that they hung the art over the paneling. I know this might not appeal to everyone but I have to say that it worked in person. It was a bit of a masculine room but it could be reworked for a woman by lightening up the upholstery fabrics. It’s also important to keep in mind that many people live in the Hamptons year round so they might not want a beachy feeling home but one that reflects how they also live in the city and that’s how this room feels to me. To each his own.



Photos by Heather Clawson

7 Comments
Comments Closed

  1. ArchitectDesign™ August 3, 2009 | 5:01 pm

    Love that he used 2 coffee tables like that! What a great space -although I can’t believe thats just a kitchenette -it looks huge!

  2. Red Door Home August 3, 2009 | 5:58 pm

    It always amazes me how different a room can look in person as compared to how it looks in a photograph. Features that appear absolutely wonderful in person can look completely wrong in pictures.

  3. High-Heeled Foot in the door August 3, 2009 | 6:09 pm

    Hmm I don’t know what to think of this space. It’s not really my style so I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

    I have to agree with you that I love that it doesn’t scream beachy. So that’s a plus and I’m loving the wall color, but I’m just not sure about the rest.

  4. Paula Grace Halewski August 4, 2009 | 12:32 am

    It is definately a masculine room. I bet if I saw it in person I would love the details because it has many of them ~ espcially the art. I actually like masculine ~ the upholstery looks to be all the same fabic. It is a nice constant in a room that seems to showcase the art. The art looks easily changeable which, in real life, will keep the room interesting.

  5. Anonymous August 4, 2009 | 11:07 am

    Good morning – this is my first time ever responding to a blog (and I love yours by the way!) That being said – my reaction to the images of the living room in the Hampton Show house is that it looks like a real room that is lived in and as such it inspires my imagination about the person who may inhabit the space. I find myself telling stories about that person – the art they have collected and the life they have lived to have been able to collect and arrange such an eclectic mix of furnishings and accessories. Other rooms often seem to be about the room or the furniture – this room seems to be about an individual. The style is not what I personally care for but I did find myself spending more time thinking about it than I have other images of past rooms.

  6. mazen studio August 5, 2009 | 2:18 am

    This room is spectacular. I have a great deal of admiration for Robert Stilin’s work, which is always layered, sophisticated and engaging. The focus on art, collected furnishings, and sculptural objects speaks of a well lived life focused on experiences. Life isn’t static, and our homes should be an ever evolving expression of who we are at any given point. As Anonymous said, I definitely get a sense of who inhabits this space – I’m not sure I can say the same for all the other rooms.

    Congratulations to Robert Stilin on engaging an often reluctant public to think about the meaning behind the interiors we live in and the objects we live with.

  7. q August 5, 2009 | 4:27 am

    i certainly enjoy looking at what’s been done to this space – especially all the artwork!