One Living Room, Two Different Ways

The other day I came across this living room, decorated by Mark Hampton in a home designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and first published in Architectural Digest, and it completely stopped me in my tracks. I could tell by the quality of the photo that it was taken years ago, but I couldn’t help notice how completely relevant and not-dated the design was. This living room set in an East Hampton Colonial Revival wouldn’t be out of place in the pages of Architectural Digest today.

The room feels all at once warm and casual and inviting and sophisticated, with the dark wood furniture balancing out the white upholstery in the chairs and sofa. It just proves that classic design choices never go out of style. This photo was taken in 1995, but you would never know it.

And then, after doing a quick search, I came across the same living room, also published in Architectural Digest back in 2012, but this time decorated completely different by Shelton, Mindel & Associates. I was shocked it was the same room, and to be quite honest, I didn’t like it as much.

It’s obviously still a very pretty room, and I would be more than happy to call it home, but it feels less…cozy. Comfortable. It feels more cold and stark and formal now. I much prefer the more approachable vibe of the first one way back in 95’. It’s like they stripped the room of all its character.

I texted my sister Amy and our friend Laurel about it and Laurel agreed, saying, “I am so over the stark conformity” and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Give me a lived-in, comfortable house over an updated modern one any day of the week.