Central to the renovation was the spalike transformation of the main bedroom and accompanying bath. Bright white walls and broken starter-kit furniture were replaced with warm neutrals and a mix of eye-catching elements and textural flourishes: burl wood on a Milo Baughman–style dresser, for instance, and pebble flooring, hand-troweled walls, and a travertine vessel sink in the bathroom.
To complement Singer’s statement-making contemporary design collection, the Richters introduced a thoughtful selection of vintage furnishings, including a Paavo Tynell floor lamp, a pair of Adrian Pearsall nightstands, and a refinished Børge Mogensen dining table purchased at auction in Sweden. Many of the pieces were chosen with cost in mind. “Since this is a weekend home, the goal was to be very conscious of budget,” says Keren. “I was quite resourceful with some of the vintage that I sourced.” Other items—an angular travertine coffee table, a Shiro Kuramata bathroom mirror—paid homage to Singer’s love of the 1980s.
Above, from left: Plate 14 Print by Sonia Delaunay, MoMA; IC Lights Floor Lamp by Michael Anastassiades, Flos; Armchair, Like Minded Objects; Knot Pillow by Panmilli, Etsy; Tulum Print, Max Wanger Print Shop; Strut Console Table, Blu Dot.
Above, from left: Vintage Table and Chairs, Borge Mogensen; Print, Suzanne Antonelli; South Seas Bar Car, Serena & Lily.
As Singer’s collection grew, so did her need for help bringing it together to form a cohesive look. “I’m able to pick out nice pieces, but I have a hard time with spatial visualization,” she explains. The home was overdue for additional updates, too. The main bedroom and bathroom needed a head-to-toe revamp, and an unfinished basement, used for laundry, held untapped potential as a multipurpose guest room and recreational space for the kids.
So in winter 2019 she enlisted the help of Keren and Thomas Richter, the husband-and-wife team behind Brooklyn-based design firm White Arrow, who spent months refining an aesthetic that married sophisticated details with a sense of beachy informality (not to mention kid-proof durability). “Jill is so clued in,” says Keren. “When we proposed things, she got it. It can be a struggle to convince clients of unusual materials or novel approaches to problems, but she was always game.”
“It had nice bones, a great layout,
and beautiful light. As soon as we walked in, I knew I didn’t need to see any
other places.”
