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WELLINGTON at Home
Needlepoint & Découpage Personalize Little Home In Palm Beach Polo STORY BY DEBORAH WELKY PHOTOS BY SUSAN LERNER
Light-filled and airy, the Palm Beach Polo home of Donald and Judy Little makes up for its relatively small footprint with a big personality. The couple have lived here for 12 years, splitting their time between Wellington and Ipswich, Mass., 30 miles north of Boston. Donald is Master of the Hunt for that state’s Myopia Hunt Club (based in Hamilton) and, locally, rides two horses in the Masters Class. “He does very well, and he’s by far the senior member,” Judy said. Trophies and awards, evidence of Donald’s equestrian prowess, fill his office, and an overflow of ribbons decorates lamp finials throughout the house. Except for them, most of the Littles’ accessories have been acquired by Judy, one by one, during shopping excursions throughout Palm Beach County. “I can’t even tell you where I got a lot of these things,” she said. “I do love the Stalk Market [in Wellington]. I used to have fresh flowers everywhere, but not anymore. Now I buy silk.”
(Below) A needlepoint pillow in the making: light, bright flowers and monkeys await the stitcher’s needle.
The only exceptions are a collection of easy-care orchids, which Judy merely takes outside and hangs in trees when she knows she’s going to be gone for any length of time. “When I come back, they’re all in bloom,” she said. “It’s beautiful.” Judy, whose daughter Andrea paints, also dabbles in the arts, stitching needlepoint pillows, creating découpaged trays and mirrors, and transforming ordinary chairs through the creative use of paint and upholstery. Hand-stitched needlepoint rugs soften Mexican tile floors throughout the home, and photographs of the grandchildren warm it even further. Son Donald has two sons: Donald III, 12, and James, 10; Andrea is mother to Tapley, 13, and Isabella, 6. “We took the grandchildren to a dude ranch last year, and they just loved it,” said Judy, pointing out a photo of Tapley, smiling in a cowboy hat. Just past Donald’s office is the master bedroom with its twin “white elephant” lamps, pastel blue needlepoint rug and stunning view of the pool. The master bath is one of three bathrooms in the home. WELLINGTON THE THE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE •• MAY MAY 2010 2010 WELLINGTON
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