I get very excited when Architectural Digest posts archival features on their website, and I was positively giddy to find this Federal-style home recently posted from the March 2007 issue. The green bedroom with the twin beds and Jour de Juin fabric has been a long-time favorite, and I have always wanted to see the rest of the house! I posted an old Pinterest tear-sheet image of this classic and timeless room on Instagram earlier this year, and it was a huge hit… click here for the fun commentary.
Located in Glen Cove, New York, the home was designed by Jeff Lincoln for Mark Bitter, co-president of Scalamandré, and his wife, Wiggie. Naturally, Scalamandré fabrics were used throughout. I absolutely adore this inviting, classic style… Pretty is due for a major comeback, complete with chintz, dressmaker details and fine antiques. Do you agree? Captions below via Architectural Digest with photography by John M. Hall.
The front entrance of the Federal-style house, in Glen Cove, New York.
“A house is soulless if it’s too perfect,” Lincoln says. Elsewhere in the living room, he harmonized an array of fabric patterns and textures. A giltwood mirror adds luster. Sisal carpet, Stark.
A Gustavian clock and antique faux-marbre columns enhance the living room.
Lincoln used red damask on the dining room walls “like paper,” he says, “so you don’t get the overly lush, grandmotherly look.” The vivid wallcovering and draperies play off the traditional mahogany furniture.
“Thoroughly country,” is how Lincoln describes the décor in the family room, where he established the ambience using a pheasant-print linen-and-cotton fabric for the sofa and draperies and a pillow. The wing chair check, ottoman stripe, plaid rug and pine breakfront underscore the room’s relaxed, rustic atmosphere.
The sunroom. On the tables flanking the toilede Jouy-covered sofa rest a pair of antique Staffordshire poodles. The windows offer a view of the backyard and playhouse, which is modeled after the main house.
Using pattern on pattern, Lincoln created depth in the guest room.
The master bedroom. With its silk-covered walls and floral canopy, headboard and bed skirt, Lincoln crafted a “plush, upholstered environment with a shot of Neoclassical formality,” he remarks. It’s now Wiggie Bitter’s favorite room.
The rear terrace is brightened by a golden palette. “Being southern, I love yellow and sunlight,” says Wiggie, who grew up in South Carolina.
Style Profile: Samantha Varvel
Welcome Home With: Artist Erin Tice
How Do You Curate Your Aesthetic?
Exploring Very Peri: Pantone’s Color of the Year 2022
Very beautiful. Love all the fabrics. How could one go wrong with Scalamandre? The ciel de lit wasn’t hung quite right, but that is nitpicking. It’s pretty perfect, and I hope they have kept it this way 10 years later. And yes, pretty is back, although making too slow a comeback, IMHO. Women’s clothes are looking better too, as well as makeup. That whole grunge/industrial look set decorative arts and fashion back 20 years. Thank goodness it’s going bye-bye. And thank you, Andrea, for reminding us how things SHOULD look! xoxo
I read all glampad blogs and literal ‘swoop’ over some decors and gardens. But this house has to be one of my favorites for use of fabrics. The fact that some of these fabrics are now discontinue or hard to find make it that more special. I could live in this house for a long time. Great job
Jeff Lincoln is so talented, in addition to being a very nice man. Thank you for posting
So beautiful! The fabrics and the colors are divine. The sunroom and the family room are my favorite. Love, love, love.
These rooms are so beautiful and comfortable a place where u can imagine having a cup of tea with a good friend and talking for hours
Why do designers use the word ‘grandmotherly’ with such derision when describing outdated interior design? Many of us grandmothers have impeccable taste honed from years of reading, traveling, and collecting? Using this word to negatively describe outdated design is quite sexist and tasteless. May I suggest we bring this point to light and ask designers to discontinue this insolent inference?
I have that exact Cheval mirror in my master bedroom! I just love it! This home is stunning and such a pleasure to view!