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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
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.