Photo by Stephen Karlisch
Striped awnings and pea gravel in the front courtyard add French flair.
When two francophiles who are also antiques aficionados fall in love with a circa-1930 Spanish Revival house, something curiously exciting is bound to ensue. Amanda and Chris McNeill both love historic architecture and bought the home with the idea of preserving its integrity while also adding some French style based on ideas gathered from their travels, especially in Provence.
They hired architect Eddie Maestri to work his magic in merging the two styles. Eddie thoughtfully designed some French accents that complement the existing house, such as a sun-drenched orangerie-inspired addition on the rear and a remaking of the façade to include a pea gravel courtyard. With the architecture solidified, Amanda called interior designer Josh Pickering to make the interiors come to life. “I really needed an editor and a collaborator,” says Amanda, who sells antiques as a side business. “I had too many things in the house. Josh has such a great eye, and I knew he would help me pare down.”
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
Above an antique console, Josh added an architectural photograph of a chateau interior. “It’s so appropriate because stylistically, it’s everything in the house—all the antique furniture—but presented more like modern art,” says Josh.
“Amanda had a lot of beautiful antiques, but we needed to cull her collection and feature the choice selections in the most favorable light,” says Josh. “I created a furniture plan just like I would in any project, so in that regard, we were starting from scratch.” Josh found places for many of her existing items while presenting new fabrics and upholstery pieces. Amanda also had a vast collection of Delft and Chinese export porcelain, so a blue-and-white scheme was a natural starting point for the home’s palette. However, the designer suggested a turn in the dining room. As he explains, “I wanted this space to have a different mood, so I chose to veer away from blues.”
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
A gleaming antique dining room table is joined by a pair of host chairs upholstered in a rosy floral Schumacher print repeated on the backs of the French chairs.
Josh created a monochromatic look in the space by using a coral/red shade as an accent. He elevated the white walls with a watercolor-like wallpaper that imparts a ribbed texture. On top of that, he layered a Papiers de Paris wall covering mounted on boards to form a screen. In the nearby library, Josh and Amanda both fell in love with a large-scale floral artwork by Bill Tansey, which also helped inform the room’s palette. The duo pulled gold from the art and added in mustard velvet pillows.
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
Josh filled the family room with warm neutrals and designed Swedish-style cabinets to show off part of Amanda’s collection of porcelain.
In addition to wallpaper, Josh introduced custom pieces and details that give the house more personality. In the family room, empty space seemed to echo on either side of the large-scale limestone fireplace that was added during the renovation. “We needed something weighty in proportion to the mantel, and we wanted a place for the television that did not seem arbitrary,” says Josh. “I started looking at Gustavian and Swedish furniture and pulling images to come up with this design. It’s like a hutch and provides additional places for Amanda to display her collections.”
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
In the sun-drenched dayroom, Amanda grows citrus trees in blue planters that Josh designed.
Even the newly-added dayroom with its detailed millwork and arched French doors and windows called out for more character. “I wanted to have that old-fashioned conservatory feel that includes window benches,” says Josh. “We found a pair of reproduction French settees and slipcovered them in blue ticking stripe, which we also used for the skirted table and a pair of bergère chairs.” Amanda requested fruit trees in the room, so Josh had Versailles-inspired planters made to fit the space. To break up another white wall, he took inspiration from a photo of socialite Jayne Wrightsman in a room of her Palm Beach home that has a wall of porcelain birds sitting on brackets. “It’s such a beautiful idea and a way to add a dose of whimsy,” says Josh. “I designed the faux bois brackets and had a plaster artist sculpt them.”
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
In the library, Josh placed four chairs around an ottoman—ideal for conversations after dinner. He also gathered a portion of Amanda’s blue-and-white porcelain and grouped it under an antique desk topped with a floral painting by Bill Tansey.
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
For the guest bedroom, Josh employed a Fabricut toile for the walls and bed canopy to create an enveloping feel.
“I think a big part of my job as a designer is to be an editor and to home in on what the final aesthetic will be.”
—Josh Pickering
Photo by Stephen Karlisch
In the primary bedroom, a Fabricut mohair covers an upholstered bed surrounded by a French-style bed hanging. A rolled-arm bench is anchored at the foot of the bed on top of a soft Stark rug.
The partners in design both enjoyed the hunt as they unearthed many treasures. “We really do like the same things, so Josh was the perfect collaborator for me to work with,” Amanda says. Adds Josh, “We started finishing each other’s sentences design-wise as we went along.” It should come as no surprise that the pair is scheming on other ways to continue the relationship with a backyard pool project on the horizon.
