Republic—I feel like I came full circle in terms of balancing what I studied in college.
When did you arrive in the Hamptons? I rented a house year-round. I took off the summer of 2001, and I met my now-husband, who’s a real estate broker for Corcoran. I met one of his clients who bought a house in Sag Harbor and they were looking for a designer, but they didn’t want a New York City decorator. At the time, there were very few designers who were out in the Hamptons full-time. I took a risk, and the rest is history. It’s probably the most intimate relationship you can have, somewhere between the housekeeper and the therapist and the hairdresser. You have to know their lifestyle, quirks, preferences, and dislikes. I also buy and build and renovate homes, and I work for architects and builders and developers. I have projects in New York, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado, and Los Angeles. I keep a small office, but we're really logical about our reach.
What’s the first step you take with a new client? A big part of it is listening and digesting what they initially share. It also matters how big their family is— is it a couple, a young family with toddlers, a samesex couple with 12 adopted children? Do they have a dog, a cat, a llama? A big starter question is how they are imagining using the house, which informs the form and function. Regardless of aesthetic, their lifestyle informs part of the design process, especially if it’s going to be a full-time residence. There are a lot more full-timers, and a lot of families who spend more days here than in the city. That’s evident in how people want to live. They still do white slip-covered furniture—that’s sort of a stereotype— but a lot of people want to have a house that if they come in the middle of other seasons, they don’t walk into a cold beach house that’s not cozy or welcoming. People don’t want it to be as literal as it has been in the past, when it was purely beach houses.
SIGNATURE STYLE Bjornen is known for infusing neutral color palettes with strategic pops of color, texture, shine—and often, a distinctly East End sensibility.
b j o r n E n : e r i c s t r i f f l e r ; to p r i g h t: m i h o a i k awa ; a l l ot h e r s c o s ta s p i c a d a s
What other changes have you seen? When I first started, there were the estate sections and maybe a few developments. Unfortunately, there’s still a McMansionization happening. People realized that they might as well get a bang for their buck, and sometimes build bigger houses than they could ever need, with rooms that they rarely use. Other than the scale of houses, the investment extends to furniture. For fabrics, they still want a great hand-feel, and a comfy, elegant look. We do a lot of high-grade durable fabrics. A lot of them are indoor-outdoor, because most homes today have an excessive amount of windows. The chlorine, the food, the dogs, the peanut butter fingers—they still want it to look a certain way, but they don’t want to replace silk rugs every five years, which they would have to do if they bought all natural fibers and didn’t stain guard them. Technology is another big change. People are more informed because of the Internet, magazines, and TV shows. Homeowners bring things to the table about fabrics, furniture, and lighting. Clients never used to say, “I want to use this vendor.” It's opened up a door to make the world that I partly live in more accessible.
Does that make your job easier? It depends on the client. I hate to make rationalizations, but the younger, the smarter the client, the more engaged and self-educated they are. That can be challenging. It’s not like they think they can do my job, but if they see something in a magazine, they’re going to measure the space and create a perfectly defined Pinterest page. It blurs a lot of lines. At some level, it’s a trust issue, and I have
to be malleable. There’s been a characterization of designers on TV shows—the maharaja of interiors walks in and commands. That’s not me! Buying one or two things—a pillow, a throw—I support that. I want clients to buy things that resonate with them. But I want it to fit. I don’t have to get paid every time I open my mouth, but people need guidance.
What are the reigning design trends today? It’s cycling faster than it ever has, whether that’s because of TV shows and magazines, or that it follows fashion trends more than ever. Out here, interiors are going in one of two directions. Either going back to neutral palettes—natural woods, lighter colors, durable fabrics with super luxe thrown in, like beautiful, textural color in throws, and natural metals like brasses, bronzes, and coppers. It's more architectural and less decorative. Or they’re caught up in the ’60s/’70s hyper glam, bright prints on prints, stripes, and saturated color.
How do you make homes feel summery? We all thrive on vitamin D, fun, and warmth. There’s nothing like light. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the ocean or in a forest, your walls are going to shine. That’s what summer is about. In terms of furniture or furnishings, it’s a white-out time. We’re lacquering and painting furniture white, and we’re reupholstering in shades of white and using indoor/ outdoor fabrics. Instead of a slip cover, you freshen things up with fabrics. Also, I’m wallpapering more than ever. It’s always textural—linen and grass cloths, big herringbones, wood grains, and large patterns. It’s no longer about totally redoing the furniture. It’s more about the hardscaping, which can feel more transformational than reupholstering a sofa and throwing some pillows on it. When I start a job, I start with the floors or windows, even if it comes out of my budget. Everything is going to look better. ß FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M