Another American Dream

Americans love a house. It's indispensable to the American dream. Of course, the houses in America are only, at the most, several hundred years old. Thus, Americans are quick to hire a decorator--arguably an American invention in itself--to make their new houses feel modern, "lived-in," fresh, or ancestral (to each his own) as soon (or often) as possible.

Making the client's house feel worn and familiar strikes me as one of the American designer's more difficult tasks.  The Badgley Mischka duo's Kentucky 1920s limestone-and-clapboard Dutch Colonial Revival qualifies, I think, as an "oldie but a goodie" in this regard. (The internet age has lowered the standards even further for admission to the American "oldie" category.) What's more? They are talented enough to decorate and develop the property themselves.

Photos taken by Roger Davies for Elle Decor