Simple

Simple

Light and Dark

Architectural Digest

I'm just back from visiting my parents in Florida and did not have a chance to keep up with my daily perusal of the New York Times. So, on the bus to work today I read this article in the Times from last week about Duane Hampton, wife of the late interior decorator Mark Hampton. Mrs. Hampton is quite a lady and it seems she and her husband had quite a life together.

This is the living room of the Hampton's Southampton home from 1996. According to the AD article, Hampton painted the walls dark brown because "dark walls are warm in winter and cool in summer." Oh, of course. Perfectly logical. He makes it sound so simple. Yet, perhaps there should be a caption for us average folk...don't try this at home. I wish I'd had the foresight (not to mention the nerve) to try this, including the jumble of different style chairs. The room looks so undecorated and unplanned. Was that the point? I am curious about what Hampton's process was for creating this room, if there was one. Maybe I'm over planning and over analyzing when it come to "decorating" my own home. Could it really be so simple? Naturally, I'll spend some time pondering this theory. On the bus.
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12 comments:

  1. Red Door HomeApril 28, 2010 at 8:24 PM

    I have a friend who will just love this photo.(I like it too!) She has brown walls and is trying to figure out what to do with furniture. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Erica CookApril 28, 2010 at 9:29 PM

    Interesting points. I'm crazy for that bookshelf. Really. Great post. xo Erica

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  3. UnknownApril 28, 2010 at 10:19 PM

    It looks dramatic, but not hard or cold. Interesting...

    VINTAGE xx

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  4. the gardener's cottageApril 28, 2010 at 10:26 PM

    Hi Deborah,

    Mark Hampton is by far, hands down my favorite decorator of all time. I've been waiting for this book forever! I cannot wait to get it. I hope my library will carry it. He's right about the room color. I did paint my husbands office black and it IS warm in the winter and I really think it will be cool (den-like) this summer. My treatment room at work acts in the same way. It's a deep reddish/orange. In the cold months it's warm and cocooning and in the summer it has a tropical, summery look.

    My favorite photo of a Mark Hampton room was his own den. Here is this gorgeous room and on the sofa was a small needlepoint pillow that read, "What a dump." I've always wanted one since I saw that! Thanks for this post.

    ~janet

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  5. the gardener's cottageApril 28, 2010 at 10:29 PM

    p.s. Why did you take the photos of your home off your page? I loved them!

    ~janet

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  6. vignette designApril 28, 2010 at 11:05 PM

    Nothing makes my heart go pitter patter more than chocolate brown walls with white furniture! Love that contrast. I was always a fan of Mark Hampton too. Thanks for a wonderful post.

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  7. Mona ThompsonApril 29, 2010 at 11:14 AM

    I'm with you, I really love the way this fabulous room looks as you put it,"under planned and decorated".

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  8. debra @ 5th and stateApril 29, 2010 at 4:26 PM

    oh i LOVE dark walls. and how crisp with all of the white, great contrast.
    welcome home deborah!

    debra

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  9. sconeApril 30, 2010 at 3:35 PM

    IIRC, Mr, Hampton added on this living room, with a master bedroom above. And no doubt did a lot of other work, too. So it probably wasn't so simple, really.

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  10. KathyApril 30, 2010 at 5:59 PM

    D......I have a brown room too (the color of a Hershey bar..dark brown with a silver gray in it)..I accessorize with white and yellows in the winter and orange/pink/and reds...in the summer..I'll Never change it ! It truly is warm in winter and cool in summer.....thanks for the reminder..K

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  11. Tracy WatierMay 5, 2010 at 11:10 AM

    Exactly why I love Mark Hampton's designs... what a practical genius he was. Brown might be tough to pull off here in So California where the light pours in most days of the year. The darkest walls I have are in an interior hallway. They're a golden straw color from Martha Stewart called "beeswax". Since the hall is a bit dark anyway, the dark(er) color seemed right and is unexpected since the rest of the house is either white or a pale golden taupe. Don't get me wrong though...if I had a different kind of house, I'd try a darker room in a heartbeat.

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  12. TriciaMay 12, 2010 at 5:55 PM

    I love this post, perhaps because I have chocolate brown walls in our family room and I'm constantly debating whether to paint them white again or not. I see from your post today that you're also struggling with the same thing with your taupe/beige walls.

    It's so complicated isn't it?!
    Love this room!
    T

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