“My two clients, born and raised in New York, relocated from London back to New York City in 2020,” interior designer Maggie Smith says. “They decided to settle about an hour north of the city in the quaint equestrian town of Bedford, NY which is known for its grand country estates and horse farms.”
Their 7,500-square-foot house was built in 1977 and in desperate need of a facelift. They did a few quick aesthetic updates before moving in, which included refinishing the existing wood floors and painting the interiors. Then they called on Maggie’s eponymous design firm to furnish the main living areas and redesign the bathrooms, mudroom, bar, and all fireplace facades throughout. (A phase two remodel of the kitchen and primary bath will happen in the near future.)
“The backgrounds and architecture of the home are quite traditional, but the clients have a great eye for design and appreciate the mixture of adding modern elements into a more traditional home,” Maggie explains. “While they are from New York, they have a real love and appreciation for the relaxed West Coast style. She loves a mixture of modern and vintage furniture and a minimal, contemporary vibe with natural/rustic textures mixed in wherever possible.”
Maggie is based in Seattle, but it wasn’t a big challenge to be on the other coast “Thankfully, when working with a client who has a good eye, and who is great with a measuring tape you can do quite a bit remotely,” she says. “It required a couple of site visits to review finishes and materials with the client before proceeding with final furniture selections and materials for various bathrooms and fireplaces, and then one site visit for the final install.”
This first phase of the project took roughly a year to complete and resulted in a friendship between the designer and clients. “I have never been more aligned with a client on design sensibilities and so for that reason it has been such a pleasure to work with them and in turn they have become some of my closest friends,” she says. “They love all of the spaces, in particular the entry den which offers such great light, and a real cozy yet sophisticated vibe. They call their home ‘Maggie’s House’ which I think is so sweet.”
Take a tour in the slideshow.