R5 Photo Spread: Interior Designer Barbara Feinstein's Georgian Colonial in Scarsdale

“It’s hard working for yourself,” Barbara Feinstein says. “I’m very demanding!” When decorating her own vintage Georgian Colonial in Scarsdale, the designer created spaces that look more expensive than they are, thanks to her artful mix of high-end, semi-custom furniture, reinvented legacy pieces and mass-produced items found online and at affordable staples like Ikea, Pier 1, and Crate and Barrel. First, she installed reproductions of the dining room’s original moldings throughout the public spaces and replaced two overly modern mantlepieces with more traditional ones. “I wanted to respect the integrity of the original design,” she says. But when it came to the furniture, “I don’t like things that are terribly tradition-bound. Today, we like sofas that are embracing and chairs that are cushioned and lush.” She punctuated her warm, neutral palette with paint and upholstery in vibrant, rusty reds and oranges, even on the ceiling in the master bath. (“The ceiling is the fifth wall of a room; it’s a huge opportunity lost if you don’t do anything with it.”) The hue also finds its way, however subtly, into her teenage daughter’s room, combining with chartreuse and black to create a fun hangout. “To me, color goes a long way toward expressing a feeling of welcome,” says Feinstein. “Even though it’s a fairly formal house, it still feels comfortable.”

A Hickory Chair secretary desk turns a corner of the living room into a cozy workspace. The landscape painting atop it is a Barbara Feinstein original.

A door opens onto another view of the living room, where matching Century armchairs flank an Arteriors side table. Feinstein floated a Safavieh rug on a custom sisal rug to “make the room seem more expansive.” In the hallway, a rusty-red Pearson bench pops against Farrow & Ball wallpaper.

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Living room walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Mexicana provide a vibrant background for neutral pieces. Feinstein reupholstered her existing Drexel Heritage sofas in neutral linen from Brunschwig & Fils and topped them with Pier 1 pillows. The matching cabinets, coffee table, and end table are from Swaim (“the quality is outstanding and it’s made in the U.S.”), but the mirrors are from Bombay & Co, and the lamps from Visual Comfort. The large, rolling ottoman is one of her B Fein private-label pieces; expansive enough to accommodate several guests, it’s covered in a Kravet Ultrasuede.

With its original millwork and Neirmann Weeks chandelier, the dining room is elegant but not overly formal. Chairs from Artistic Frame covered in Brunschwig & Fils chenille encircle a cast-stone table from Artifacts International. The hurricane lamps are from Arteriors.

For her office, Feinstein laid a Davis and Davis carpet on the floor and framed the arching windows with yards and yards of rich coral fabric “without taking away from the light or the shape.” The lamp is from Home Goods, the ceiling fan is Casablanca, the stool is from the Wisteria catalog, and the desk is an ”old piece” she had repainted.

In the master bedroom, a white-lacquer Century headboard covered in Pindler & Pindler’s brown satin meets Sanderson’s dark Asian floral wallpaper. The bedding is Crate and Barrel, the custom oversized bolster is covered in a Kravet stripe. Hickory Chair side tables, Chelsea House lamps, and a bench from Global Views
complete the look.

In the master’s sitting area, a Baker Dressmaker chandelier floats over a Swaim ottoman. The Hickory Chair sofa is covered in Pindler & Pindler velvet, while accent pillows pick up the wallpaper print and a Restoration Hardware floor lamp offers an illuminating touch. Feinstein paired a Home Goods slipper chair with a Global Views side table.

Designer:
BARBARA FEINSTEIN
B Fein Interior Design
51 Greenacres Ave, Scarsdale
(914) 261-1114;
bfeininteriordesign.com

Photographer: Scott Gabriel Morris