2012 Hampton Designer Showhouse Dining Room

Through the elegant entry to the right you can glimpse a sea of color. Segueing from the refined aqua of Robinson’s room, we enter a bold ode to the oceanic hue. Local design team Jennifer Mabley and Austin Handler of Mabley Handler, focussing on projects in the Hamptons and North Fork, wanted to create a dining room for the Hampton Designer Showhouse that was fresh and fun, all about the relaxed yet stylish entertaining that is so ubiquitous in these parts.

Inspired by the Jonathan Adler for Kravet Wabash fabric in Aquamarine they had seen in the spring but was not set to debut until fall, they convinced the manufacturer to get them enough for the room. This chevron pattern, on the chairs and curtains set the tone for the exuberant design.

Echoing nature’s seaside scenes, many shades of blue work together to create a harmonious setting. The bright aqua of the Kravet Gentil dining chairs is tempered by the slighter deeper turquoise of the Madeline Wenrib Haveli cotton flat weave rug and balanced by the same shade (Pratt & Lambert‘s Azurean 22-5) in the panels of the coffered ceiling and wainscoting.

The large silver-studded linen drum light fixture represents an exciting new collaboration between Michelle Hatch, above, whose beautiful pillows you may remember, and Bone Simple Design. The showhouse marks the debut of the new collection with more highly anticipated designs to come!

I loved seeing the inclusion of the stately Dunes & Duchess chandeliers in Commodore of the Yacht Club blue. They really anchor the tablescape and coordinate beautifully with the Serena & Lilly Corsica placemats (we were lucky enough to receive napkins in this charming pattern in our Traditional Home gift bags!) and Juliska stoneware. Kravet’s classic Vase dining table is the perfect foil for all the color,

as is their simple Remy two section buffet and Parsons Bench, upholstered in another of Adler’s new fabrics for Kravet – Super Nova. The walls, swathed in Phillip Jeffries’ Juicy Jute grasscloth in Blueberry, show off marine themed paintings by local artist Paton Miller.

The design team let the color do most of the talking but still styled small yet elegant vignettes including whimsical Jonathan Adler ocean themed accessories.

Identical Worlds Away etageres flank the buffet. Similar but subtly different styling keeps the visual interest going.

I think so many people are afraid to mix many shades of the same color. This room is a great lesson in how to ground a space with light furniture, dark walls and let the panoply of coordinating colors carry the day.