Decorating Ideas For Each Month

a lantern sitting on a table with a bottle of wine and some dishes

John Kernick

Creating a wonderful, weathered home in Bridgehampton, New York, design consultant Ellen O'Neill showcases the softer side of red. She filled her rooms with Parisian flea market finds, bold patterned decor, and a restrained color palette. Check out the pictures and borrow some of her decorating ideas.

a lantern sitting on a table with a bottle of wine and some dishes

John Kernick

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Antique Lantern

A Chinese lantern made of old wire and lined in the most luscious shade of mellowed pink has the patina of age that has always attracted O'Neill. Dishes from CB2.

red chairs next to a white table

John Kernick

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Red Accents

Because her house in Bridgehampton, New York, "meanders around corners and up and down steps," design consultant Ellen O'Neill couldn't make sense of the flow. So she painted everything Benjamin Moore's Linen White: "It's the blank-canvas approach." A vintage English road sign gives the dining room a focal point. Red chairs from Design Within Reach. Curtain fabric by Les Indiennes.

a red blanket draped over a striped sofa in front of a fireplace

John Kernick

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Pink Stripes

The living room makes you think of pink in a whole new way. Here, it's faded red, and no two shades — from the urn to the rug to the kilim pillows — are alike. An old cabana stripe was made into slipcovers for two George Sherlock sofas from Ruby Beets Old & New. Red cotton throw by Ralph Lauren.

a printed chair sitting on a rug

John Kernick

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A Mix of Patterns

A stack of Madeline Weinrib cushions from ABC Carpet & Home "is for friends to pull out so we can sit around the coffee table and eat in front of the fire," O'Neill says. She found the wing chair already in that toile at Laurin Copen Antiques. The rug, from Ann-Morris Antiques, is vintage Persian, "but beyond that, it's anyone's guess. I'm never one for provenance, believe me."

objects on a white ledge

John Kernick

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Modern Composure

Old-fashioned ironstone from Sage Street Antiques is grouped sculpturally with metal architectural forms from Bloom, creating a clean-lined, contemporary composition.

a dog sitting on a striped sofa

John Kernick

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Snuggled Up

Dogs always find the most comfortable spot. Cream throw by Ralph Lauren.

a black and white tile floor in a white kitchen

John Kernick

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Kitchen Serenity

White equals calmness in the kitchen. Dishes are arranged "small to large, chips at the back," O'Neill says.

a red striped hammock hanging between two trees

John Kernick

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Nostalgic Lounging

"I felt like I had run into an old friend when I saw this hammock at Ikea," she says.

wicker chair on porch

John Kernick

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Make the Most of Yard Sale Season

Design consultant Ellen O'Neill found this wicker chair—for the porch of her Long Island cottage—for $3 at a yard sale. Wet towels and bathing suits get tossed into the vintage barrel.

a white antique dresser with books on it with a painting in front

John Kernick

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Building Blocks

"I was emptying a bookcase and just left these here. There was no hook on the painting, so I propped it in front — a block on top of a block."

a mantlescape containing white and red objects

John Kernick

11 of 18

An Ocean-Inspired Mantle

Another mantelscape starts with a mermaid in the center, flanked by pieces of coral. Hand-painted bookplates tacked to the wall add color and height.

table and chairs next to a shed

John Kernick

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Green Garden

Designer Ellen O'Neill planted a garden and set up a table and chairs by the shed of her Bridgehampton home. It is the perfect accompaniment to her worn and weathered cottage.

ellen o'neill red bedroom

John Kernick

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Calm Bedroom

In a guest room, remnants of old toile are paired with Ralph Lauren bed linens.

a white bed next to a white desk with a white tv

John Kernick

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Soft and Ethereal

The bed floats in the middle of the room because "out that window is a great view of an unmown field, and I wanted to lie here and look at it," O'Neill says.

a white bench in front of a white bed

John Kernick

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Fluffy White Cloud

The bed is basically in front of the door, so she cushioned the entry with a little muslin-covered bench. "It's the same strategy you use when you walk into a room and the first thing you see is the back of a sofa. You distract people with a table." The voile coverlet, from John Derian, had a skirt long enough to work with the high vintage campaign bed and reminded her of the old-fashioned white skirts on a baby's bassinet.

a white window bench in front of a window

John Kernick

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Window Bench

A window bench, of course in white. A mannequin holds bags.

a door opening into a white bathroom with red accents

John Kernick

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High-Low Bathroom

A striped rug from Ikea brightens the bath. "There's a discipline to stripes," O'Neill says. "When I worked at Ralph Lauren, we attended stripe class — awning stripes, regimental stripes, ticking stripes. I love them all." Canvas sling chair from Bloom. Striped towels by Ralph Lauren. Good Morning towel from Pearl River.

red and white bedroom

John Kernick

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Guest Bedroom

"It's convenient to have four bedrooms with the same color scheme," O'Neill says.
"When it comes to sheets, I just buy anything with red in it. So everything works in any room." Vintage red-checked bedding from the Paris flea market echoes the red-checked window-shade fabric from Ralph Lauren in one of the guest rooms. Antique wicker hamper from Bloom. Iron bed from English Country Antiques.