How perfectly this couple represents the stylistic expressions of our opposing coasts. He likes mahogany furniture, eighteenth—century soft—paste porcelain, Chinoiserie, New England artists, quiet patterns and colors. She loves flowers, the outdoors, soft fabrics and textures, saturated color, deep comfort. Botanical fabrics make her smile, he has a soft spot for Chinese export bowls. But their different approaches to this decorating project go even deeper.
"My husband wanted a decorated home: he wanted it to be beautiful. I wanted a house that we—meaning the two of us, our friends, our children and their friends—could use every inch of," says the wife. "I grew up like a lot of people. If you walked into the living room, some adult would scream. My mother kept it pristine and perfect, and that's what I thought a beautiful house meant, that it had to be off—limits to kids. I thought, before I met with Mark, that houses could either be beautiful and untouchable, or comfortable and shabby.We thought we'd do something radical and try to have both."
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