HOUSE TOUR: @OscarPRGirl's Outrageously Colorful Hamptons Getaway
For a young executive at Oscar de la Renta, Miles Redd creates a bright and breezy weekend retreat that exemplifies carefree glamour
By Kate Betts
For a young executive at Oscar de la Renta, Miles Redd creates a bright and breezy weekend retreat that exemplifies carefree glamour
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120th Century Studios
"She reminds me of a René Gruau illustration," says decorator Miles Redd of his client Erika Bearman, also known on social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr as OscarPRGirl. With her lithe frame, wide, dark eyes, and arched brows, the stylish senior vice president of communications for Oscar de la Renta has the look of a fashion sketch by the renowned Italian-born illustrator who made his name in the 1950s drawing advertising images for couture houses such as Christian Dior and magazines like Vogue and Marie Claire.
Erika Bearman in the living room of her home in Southampton, New York; her skirt is by Oscar de la Renta, and her shirt is by J. Crew. The demilune tables are made of reclaimed wood, the dining table is by Crate & Barrel, the chairs are by Oscar de la Renta for Century Furniture, and the floral watercolor was purchased at Christie's.
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220th Century Studios
Living Room
In the "selfies" Bearman posts on all her social-media platforms, she often strikes the pose of a seasoned fashion model, wearing the latest de la Renta ball gown or a midriff-bearing mermaid-style skirt with a halter top—her style signature. So it's no surprise that a giant 1960s Gruau poster featuring a glamorous couple in an Italian ad hangs in the living room. You would swear it was Bearman and her husband, Jonathan, an investment banker.
The living room sofa is by Dune, and the Louis XV–style armchair was found at Christie's; the sconces are from Visual Comfort, the stool is from Treillage, and the walls are painted in Benjamin Moore Impervo in Very Green.
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320th Century Studios
Entrance
"The twinkly eyes, the raised eyebrow, and her smile just made me think of Gruau," says Redd, who, as creative director for Oscar de la Renta's home collection, met Bearman when she joined the company in 2008. The pairing is perfect: Bearman personifies the youthful élan of today's plugged-in fashionistas, and Redd has made the look of Hollywood Regency–meets–Crayola colors his calling card.
The antique bench and console in the entrance are Chinese, the ceiling fixtures are by Circa Lighting, and the Venetian mirror is from John Rosselli Antiques; the ceiling is papered with a custom-made stripe, the wallpaper is by Lee Jofa, and the floors are painted in a high-gloss custom color by Fine Paints of Europe.
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420th Century Studios
Garden
"Miles was the first person I called when my husband and I bought this house two years ago," says Bearman, striding through the black lacquered back hallway of her 1910 Southampton village house in a pair of sky-high Manolo Blahnik suede pumps and a patchwork denim skirt on a recent Sunday afternoon. "Miles knows me and he knows my taste. There was nobody else." Of course, who else could match a fashion muse's appetite for color, texture, and quirky glamour?
The chairs in the garden have cushions covered in a Perennials acrylic; the tableware is by Oscar de la Renta.
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520th Century Studios
Kitchen
Redd had his work cut out for him. The house, which had been owned by a fashion photographer, was dark and threadbare. The layout was a bit wacky, the yard was a wilderness, and there were ugly stained-glass windows that had to be removed. But the place had great bones: high ceilings, a ballroom-size bedroom, and a large garden. Bearman immediately recognized a sleeping beauty.
A Viking stove with a custom-made hood, an Ikea clock, and custom cabinetry with Restoration Hardware handles in the kitchen.
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620th Century Studios
Kitchen
"Erika was very clear about what she wanted," Redd remembers. "She said, 'I like black and white, emerald green, and a strong yellow. Oh, and navy and hot pink.' " So Redd got to work creating interiors he calls a little bit baroque but weirdly minimalist.
The kitchen's stools are by Design Within Reach, the ceiling fixture is from YLighting, the refrigerator and wine cooler are Sub-Zero, and the photograph is from Natural Curiosities.
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720th Century Studios
Powder Room
He painted the living room a glamorous shade of emerald green and papered the tented ceiling of the entrance hall—formerly the dining room—with turquoise-and-white stripes meant to recall the cabanas at Bearman's favorite Harbour Island hotel.
The medicine cabinet in the powder room is by Restoration Hardware, the fittings are by Waterworks, and the wallpaper is by Marthe Armitage.
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820th Century Studios
Guest Room
Upstairs, in a guest bedroom, he mixed a colorful cocktail of canary-yellow floors and retro-looking wallpaper in a turquoise-and-white bamboo pattern. Even the smallest room in the house, a first-floor guest bedroom, was doused in hot pink.
The only color Bearman refused outright was red, which happens to be Redd's signature. "I felt bad, but he got some red in anyway," she says, pointing to a tiny strip of grosgrain trim on the lampshades in the living room.
In a guest room, the custom-made bed is dressed with bedding by Schweitzer Linen, the Juan Montoya chair is from Century Furniture, the cowhide rug is custom printed, and the walls are painted in Benjamin Moore Aura in Pink Corsage, in a flat finish.
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920th Century Studios
Guest Room
"I never thought I would live in a house with so much color," Bearman says. Yet despite the formality of all the colorful paint, Redd insists the place remains a classic beach house, with casual touches like the sisal floorcovering in the living room (a nod to Oscar de la Renta's Punta Cana home) and the sunny yellow guest room. The floor of the master bedroom is covered in a rug made of Ikea bath mats topstitched together. And it is all easy to maintain. The paint Redd used on the floors throughout the house is the kind usually reserved for the hulls of yachts. Sofas and chairs are upholstered in washed or bleached linen, some printed with an old-fashioned chintz meant to evoke the look of Southampton's old-world WASP beach "cottages."
The armchair in another guest room was found at Christie's, the sheets are by Schweitzer Linen, and the wallpaper is China Seas' Lyford Trellis.
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1020th Century Studios
Master Bath
Both Redd and his client share a love of entertaining, and so festive touches are sprinkled throughout. There's the requisite bar in the living room, and a console in the front hall is decorated with a bright-turquoise ice bucket from de la Renta's home collection. There are many graphic elements, too, including a series of sketches by the famous 1930s fashion illustrator Eric.
In the master bath, the cabinetry is custom made, with fittings by Restoration Hardware, the sconces are by Visual Comfort, the wallpaper is by Marthe Armitage, and the wood floors are painted in Fine Paints of Europe Hollandlac Brilliant in Ebony Blue.
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1120th Century Studios
Master Bedroom
In the chic black-and-white kitchen, an oversize photograph of a tiger graces one wall, and a giant poster from a James Bond movie hangs in the tailored, nautically inspired master bedroom.
"Now if that doesn't get the party started," Redd says with a laugh, "I don't know what will."
The master bedroom features a custom-made bed upholstered in a Gastón y Daniela velvet, the side table is by Eero Saarinen, and the armchair and stool are by CQ Home Decor; the rattan chair is by Ikea.
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