“Comfortable, classic American style is what comes to mind when I think of Ashley Whittaker’s interiors,” writes cult-status designer Christopher Spitzmiller in his foreword to Whittaker’s first book, The Well-Loved House: Creating Homes with Color, Comfort, and Drama (Rizzoli, September 2021). Whittaker, a New York City-based “neo-traditionalist” interior designer who founded her own firm in 2007, says that every space she conceives stems from a love of home. Houses should be beautiful, welcoming places we return to at the end of each day, but they should also be lived in and enjoyed: “If the sofa arms are not worn through and the rugs are still pristine after ten years, then I have not done my job,” she writes in the book’s foreword. “But when the rooms show the marks of family life over time, I know I have achieved my goal: a house lived in and well loved.” For this eighteenth-century, Federal-style farmhouse in Millbrook, New York, the clients, who had just moved out of Manhattan, wanted a true country house, not a city house transplanted to the country. “We wanted to respect the past, but create living spaces that would be comfortable, inviting, and family-centric,” Whittaker writes. This view of the enfilade from the sitting room to the living room and pantry beyond captures a snapshot of the eccentric floor plan, typical of a house that has grown over centuries. Whittaker plays with color and mixes patterns with lacquered red walls, India block prints, and leaves gathered from the garden. Here’s our attempt to recreate Whittaker’s room.

1. Shelburne Vase in Medium Simon Pearce // simonpearce.com
2. American Flamingo by Soicher Marin Perigold //perigold.com
3. Pleated Daun Cotton Lampshade in Indigo OKA // oka.com
4. Carlotta Red Side Table The Socialite Family // thesocialitefamily.com
5. Shiloh Spool Ottoman in Biff Leaf InsideOut Ballard Designs // ballarddesigns.com
6. One Light Wall Sconce in Aged Brass by Hudson Valley from the Logan Collection Fogg Lighting // fogglighting. com
7. Breckenridge II in Flow Bradfords Rug Gallery // bradfordsruggallery.com
8. Morningside Pillow Cover in Wild Rose/Terracotta Serena & Lily // serenaandlily.com 9. Cochin in Blue Red on Oyster Bennison Fabrics // bennisonfabrics.com