Katie Lydon
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? We currently have an enchanting home in Sag Harbor that has been a real labor of love and is very new to us! It is always a mixed journey of joy, responsibility, and worry! It is funny because, as much as I love it, I think the process of finding and creating this home has been just as fun. I find myself looking at other ideas and potential projects! I saw recently a beautiful brick barn that had gorgeous windows that stretch high and wide, so who knows!!!
What are three words to describe your style?
European
Atmospheric
Highly personal
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My mother and I decorated my room a couple of times, and the first time it was very Laura Ashley, matching green and white little flowered curtains, headboard, bed, etc. The second time was a more grown-up attempt by me, with a seagrass sisal, a beautiful brass bed, and French Provencal curtains in deep burgundy and blue.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I think the very first investment piece was a pair of English arm (Bridgewater style) sofas from ABC Home. It was for my first apartment, and the crazy thing is, I still have them! They have been recovered a few times, of course. I am currently moving into a new apartment, and I actually think it is time to retire them - almost 25 years later - but honestly, they still look pretty great!
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? I can’t hire another designer because the process is personal to me. I am constantly thinking and refining in my mind. I would, however, hire a great Architect, of which there are so many to choose from, but a midcentury specialist, perhaps, that could help create something very spare, exacting, and restrained.
No room is complete without people we love, flowers, and art.
People think of me as English, but I am really American.
Things you omit from
A flower arrangement: Don’t love Orange
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Scarcity!
A bar cabinet: Nothing!
A song for
Dinner at home: Something Jazzy. My partner and I have developed a great playlist that our respective children are not particularly impressed with. One of the first musicians we realized we both really liked was Michael Kiwanuka.
Working at your desk: Music is very distracting as it is so transporting, but I might listen to something classical, or I happen to love the music of epic film scores, John Williams, Morricone, Barry, Zimmer, and many others.
Going for a run: This is where I really listen to music! R&B, Rock, etc
Biggest Vice? Too many to mention here, but probably chocolate and worry!
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? (if the product is something specific, please include a link) I just bought some great bedding from Cultiver for Sag Harbor on a total whim! It is a very thin black and white pinstripe in a gauzy linen - it is lovely!
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility? If so, how? They definitely do. Fashion has always been a huge inspiration for me. I started in Fashion working for Tatler magazine in London and then American Vogue. But as I have aged, I find that I have a certain lane that I feel most comfortable in: well-tailored, quiet tones, and sophisticated (hopefully) pieces that endure yet remain fashion-forward. I think it perhaps reflects my overall design sensibility because I like to feel both in touch with current thinking and rooted in classic principles.
Who is your star crush? Movie Stars? Zendaya for fashion and talent. Michelle Pfeiffer, for her understated talent as well as her approach to aging, I think, has created a life and career that certainly, from the outside, seems to have taken a great deal of care, strategy, and thought.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Intense Florals, I love to see it, but I just can’t live with it!
What design book do you find yourself going back to again and again? So Many: Givenchy Style, Horst Interiors, Great Houses of England, Wales, and Ireland. Any books on style, architecture, and interiors that are well researched and have something new to say!
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? That is a sad thought. I'm just getting started. I will get back to you on this when I feel I have something to say!
A Few Favorites
Movie: An impossible ask! But a very sweet and special movie for our family was Harry Potter. Of course, it is not my favorite movie ever, but it is up there! That eternal struggle between good and evil, and what is the nature of love and family? I also happen to love the way they look, and I am always so impressed by the skill and imagination it took to make them all. I also went to boarding school in England when I was 11, and it is a very unusual cultural experience that is not always represented so positively!
Book: Another truly impossible ask! I recently reread Pride and Prejudice - I don’t know why. I was packing up some shelves, and I found an old copy. I loved every single word again for the 100th time!
Scent: I really don’t like perfume at all! I prefer a more natural scent, jasmine, floral, soft, and clean. However, for some reason, I love Bais Dyptique scented candles.
The fabric you always come back to: Linen - there is something so utterly beautiful about the texture, its humble nature, yet its sophisticated look. It feels modern and historical, and connected to nature. The multitude of textures it can create in the weave can add rich depth to the colors.
Dream project: A collaboration with Client/vendors and artists that creates something more magical, more personal, and more unique than anyone dreamed it could be! We are currently working on a new home on Captiva, and the colors and materials we can use and how they live with the gorgeous light and natural position of the home make it an absolute dream project - not least because the clients are utterly wonderful too!
Meal: My daughters think I am an almond mum, but I do like food! I eat very seasonally: in the summer, I want lighter, fresher foods, and in the winter, I crave heavier foods! Right now, I would love a cool, crisp leafy green salad with Via Carotta’s dressing!
Drink: Pelligrino and lime! I used to drink alcohol quite a bit - it was fun! But I can’t really take it so much anymore. If I had to answer this question a few years ago, the answer would have been tequila and lime.
Hotel: I love a beautiful hotel! I have been going to the island of Menorca since I was a child, as my parents had a home there and my mother still does. If I don’t stay with her, I love the hotel Torrelbank, or Casa Ponza is beautiful too. There is a tiny magical hotel in Mahon (the capital) called Cristine Bedfor.
Travel Destination: There is so much I would love to see and have yet to travel to. I am planning a trip to Mexico City, which I am dying to visit for so many reasons: design and aesthetics, culture, and yes, the food!!!
Artist: I have been reading about Georgia O Keefe lately after seeing an exhibition at MOMA. And while so much of her work is widely known, some of her drawings felt new to me and utterly beautiful and poetic. They felt like a private conversation with the universe.
A cause near and dear to me: Every Mother Counts
Thing to collect obsessively: Ceramics and table top - all the way! Vases, objets, vintage pieces, pottery, OMG I just love it! I can’t stop!
Era in the history of design: Right now, I am obsessed with Spanish and European mid-century. I don’t love the US’s more general version of Mid Century - it feels office-y - but I understand the inspiration and how pivotal the original movement was.
Museum: National Portrait Gallery in London.
Paint Color: Impossible to answer! But I obsess over whites, from Farrow and Ball’s Wimbourne White to BM Simply White, I love chalky, glossy, and everything in between!
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: I like Keith McNally at the moment. I like how he talks and thinks; he offers meaningful observations on parenting. I love following my daughters, too! I have personally found a new use for Instagram: finding new and obscure sources for lighting, antiques, and vendors from faraway places!
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? We had a dog called Tootsie, the girl’s named her when they were very little, and the name originated due to their love of Tootsie rolls! I was very resistant to getting her at first, as I knew!!! She became my little shadow, and I do think about getting another dog now that she has passed away, but I am not ready yet!!!
