Wednesday, January 27, 2010

House tour: A Casual Seaside Estate

I received such a positive response (online and off) to this photo of an art studio designed by Robin Bell, that I thought I'd share the rest of the house. (Trust me, you'll only get more envious from here on out). That sweet studio resides in a rambling 1880s seaside estate, that was once owned by Gloria Vanderbilt. Everyone's favorite silver fox, Anderson Cooper, grew up here.

The house is shingles style, with arts and crafts touches throughout. Bell downplayed the grandness of the house by stripping it of the floor-to-ceiling decorating preferred by Vanderbilt and giving it a more laid back cottage-y look. I love how Bell broke out of the typical seaside palette of blues and whites, in favor of creamy neutrals accented with hot pinks, candy purples and rich marigold yellows.