HeatHer SmitH maciSaac

K at i e R i d d e R

Rooms “Traditionalist? Modernist? Iconoclast? Don’t try to pin Katie Ridder down. Her

trademark is the ease with which she bridges cultures and continents, high and

low art, periods and styles. Yet to call her work eclectic is to miss the point, for

while it reflects diverse influences, it’s recognizably the product of a single

sensibility — one with a distinctive take on color, texture, proportion and scale.”

— N e w Yo r k H o m e

K at i e R i dde R

RoomsKatie Ridder’s extraordinary

palette of primary and second-

ary colors, her playful mix of antiques

and modern pieces, and her eye for

unusual decorative accents have estab-

lished her as a leading figure in the world

of interior design. Clients from Argentina

to Virginia have commissioned her to

design the interiors of their lofts, Japanese

pavilions, summer houses, and Park

Avenue apartments. Now this beautifully designed book, organized as a seamless

progression of interiors from entrances and stair halls to living rooms, studies and

family rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms, lets readers in

on the secrets of Katie Ridder’s eminently livable and remarkably stylish approach.

Everyone can derive design inspiration from her unique yet accessible solutions—

whether it’s something as charmingly simple as a coral finial atop a table lamp or as

dramatically daring as intense blue walls stenciled in an oversize paisley motif—on

every page of this idea-saturated book.

Complete with a chapter devoted to her signature details—which range from

fancifully embroidered trim to her own line of irresistible wallpapers—and an

extensive list of the sources she favors and recommends, Katie Ridder Rooms is as

useful as it is inspirational.

HeatHer SmitH maciSaac writes on design and travel for Elle Décor, Travel &

Leisure, and other publications. Formerly Architecture and Design Editor at House

& Garden, Creative Director at Travel & Leisure, and Home Editor at Martha Stewart

Living Omnimedia, she is also a design consultant for hospitality, real estate, and

retail clients. She is the author of Lars Bolander’s Scandinavian Design (Vendome).

240 color images

240 pages, 10 x 12 in.

Hardcover with jacket

ISBN: 978-0-86565-272-9

US $50.00 * CAN $57.50 * UK £35

Pub month: November

Distributed in North America by

Abrams Books

To place an order

Please call your sales representative or

Hachette Book Group at 800.759.0190

or fax 800.286.9471

Distributed outside North American by

Thames & Hudson, Ltd.

To place an order

Please call your sales representative or

Thames & Hudson at +44 (0) 20 7845 5000

or fax +44 (0) 20 7845 5050

To inquire about publicity

mphillips@vendomepress.com

The Vendome Press

1334 York Avenue

New York, NY 10021

www.vendomepress.com

KR blad cover.indd 1 6/10/11 1:33:01 PM

K AT I E R I DDE R

ROOMS

K AT I E R I DDE R

ROOMSHEATHER SMITH MacISAAC

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

T H E V E N D O M E P R E S S

N E W Y O R K

Contents

INTRODUCTION • 7

ENTRANCES AND STAIR HALLS • 10

LIVING ROOMS • 30

STUDIES AND FAMILY ROOMS • 80

DINING ROOMS • 112

KITCHENS • 138

BEDROOMS • 162

BATHROOMS • 204

DETAILS • 220

SOURCES • 236

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • 238

Entrances and Stair Halls

“More than a ‘wow factor,’ I look for the ‘delight factor’

when I design front halls.”

A French gilded-iron table, a pair of Persian inlaid rosewood chairs

and custom-made melon-shaped linen lanterns add a variety of

form as well as international flavor to the generous foyer of an

English Arts and Crafts–style house. Grasscloth-lined walls balance

the deeper tones of the stained wood floor and dimensional front

door painted an unusual French violet.

Everyone wants to feel welcome

entering a home, even those who

live there. Like a smooth flight, an

inviting entrance hall sets the mood for the rest of

the journey. And though it’s a transient space, it

leaves a permanent impression. In spite of being

the first room one steps into, the entrance hall

tends to be the last that Katie finishes when deco-

rating a house, though its design is always in her

head, progressing in tandem with that of the rooms it con-

nects to. Which may be surprising, except for the fact that it’s

the one space that is flexible enough to swing in one direc-

tion or another in response to the completed living room or

dining room adjoining it.

There are elements Katie likes to include in every

entrance hall to make the space every bit as interesting as it

is inviting. Entries don’t usually require much

furniture but they do need to be well furnished.

Most important is providing something to focus

on from the front door. That might be a stunning

chandelier, a beautiful painting, or a sculpture

on a pedestal, especially in halls with limited

floor space. It could be as simple as a mirror,

which adds light and sparkle, alters the percep-

tion of a space, and serves as a final checkup

before you step out the door. It could be a lavish bouquet of

flowers or an orchid with a single bloom atop a hall table.

Katie always provides for a living thing in her plan for the

entrance hall. In addition to contributing a lovely scent,

flowers or a plant project an air of freshness, growth, and

nurture. She loves fresh-cut branches—flowering in spring,

dotted with berries in fall—for their height and variety. Plants

10

s t u d i e s a n d f a m i l y r o o m s 91

o p p o s i t e Marbleized paper lines the back of

bookshelves that are painted the same glossy

coral as the trim and under-window cabinets

The burnished leather of vintage chairs picks up

the warm hue.

a b o v e Lavender walls of leather set into strips of

painted wood lend a distinctive air to a small study

carved out of a former passageway. Katie plays the

natural pattern of the zebra carpeting off against

the grid of the walls.

o p p o s i t e The dining room of an oceanfront house references

the sea, in warm tones. Butternut squash–colored wallpaper in an

Art Nouveau pattern envelops the room while chairs painted

an orangey red echo the faux coral of the chandelier.

a b o v e A custom sideboard of pearwood and shagreen fills a

niche and supports a pair of Murano lamps that, like the chandelier

and painting, add bright notes of red to a color scheme of blues and

greens. A sheer embroidered panel behind silk curtains disguises

an uninspiring view.

d i n i n g r o o m s 133

132 k a t i e r i d d e r r o o m s

l e f t Katie added iridescent

trim to orange silk curtains and

silver leaf to the ceiling to lend

her own dining room a quality

she strives for in rooms used

mostly at night: luminosity.

A glazed Spanish urn and a

bamboo chair from Hong Kong

provide lively and diverse

decorative accents.

o p p o s i t e Appliquéd evil

eyes of red Thai silk embellish

custom dining chairs upholstered

in yellow silk and gray mohair.

A vintage fixture of carved

glass beads adds a glow at

night, while grasscloth walls

and a sisal carpet soften

hard surfaces.

k i t c h e n s 149

o p p o s i t e Ribbed-glass cabinet panels, glass-

composite counters, stainless steel, and ebonized

floors ensure that natural light penetrates deep

into a spacious kitchen in Arkansas. The distinctly

shapely silhouette of Cherner stools tempers the

mass of the central island.

a b o v e A banquette of embossed leather

accented with nailheads turns a bay window into

a comfortable place to relax as well as dine. Wood

blinds, a wood tabletop, and a paisley shade for the

hanging fixture also contribute to creating a warm

entertaining area of the kitchen.

182 k a t i e r i d d e r r o o m s

a b o v e A fanciful pelmet, its profile derived from a window pattern

of an Indian palace, helps define the daybed in a teenager’s room

as an inviting place to hang out. A window-like antique mirror,

a hanging fixture of pierced brass, and toss pillows in assorted

patterns contribute to the lounge-y atmosphere.

o p p o s i t e A custom bed upholstered in red cotton tucks into a

nook formed by curtains and a shallow pelmet of embroidered silk.

Fabric shades for swinging sconces pick up the cheerful pattern of

the toss pillow, while red embroidered stripes on the sheets echo

the piping of the tiebacks and pelmet.

Bathrooms

Like a spring garden in full bloom, the grassy green walls of a

powder room in San Francisco are strewn with hand-painted

tin flowers modeled after botanically correct antique versions in

porcelain. A nineteenth-century rococo mirror framed in cobalt

glass and gilt wood reflects a window to a courtyard.

Fi r s t a n d f o r e m o s t, a

bathroom needs to have a

fresh, sparkling air, and

nothing spells clean like shiny white porce-

lain. Katie loves a white bathroom or, more specifically,

white bathroom fixtures—sink, tub, toilet. Yet, like any

other room she decorates, Katie’s bathrooms blossom with

color. Clean is one thing; clinical is another. Just because a

bathroom is a utilitarian space doesn’t mean you can’t have a

little fun. Color brings life to a room you spend a consider-

able amount of time in. Plus nothing sets off white fixtures

like a contrasting hue.

In her bathrooms, Katie tends to strike a balance between

white and color in one of two ways. When the floor and ceil-

ing are white, then color goes on the walls, either as tile—

again in a hue with presence—or as wallpaper in unusual

colors and patterns. Heavily trafficked bathrooms may get a

208

wear-and-tear-resistant dado of tile or

beadboard, with only the higher section

of wall covered in wallpaper. And if the room

presents some odd angle or otherwise awkward

architecture, she might run the wallpaper right up

to and over the ceiling. Not only can wallpaper make

a bathroom (a space often neglected in terms of decora-

tion) feel complete, it can hide a host of sins.

In bathrooms where the walls and ceiling are white or

light, then color goes on the floor, usually in the form of

tile in a strong shade or bold pattern. Large tiles from

Morocco bring the latter together seamlessly. One of

Katie’s favorite and signature materials, these encaustic

cement tiles come in patterns from classical to exotic to

whimsical. Smooth to the feet yet not slippery, they’re cool

in summer and can be soothingly warm in winter if radiant

heat is installed. Because Moroccan tiles are not widely

216 k a t i e r i d d e r r o o m s

a b o v e r i g h t A vanity on

one side, twin sinks on the

other, and mirrors above create

an infinity effect. A band of

polished nickel ringing the

room extends the shimmer of

the mirrors. A touch of red on

the sconces spices the cool

palette of the room.

a b o v e l e f t An elegant,

burnished-metal tub from

Waterworks occupies its own

windowed bay in a bathroom

in Arkansas. Peacock blue trim

picks up the deepest color

in Katie’s Turkish-inspired

Attendants wallpaper.

o p p o s i t e An antique stool

tucks under a Carrara marble

vanity trimmed in polished

nickel strips and handles to

match the bathroom faucets.

The wide mirror, with sconces

installed atop it, visually

doubles the space.