In our Book Club series, we hand over the mic to our Experts—inviting them to share their work, process, and top design tips in their own words. This excerpt comes from Corey Damen Jenkins’ new book, Design Reimagined, published this fall by Rizzoli.

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In the summer of 2021, I was invited to meet with a new client at her magnificent Colonial Revival home, which stands on the idyllic shores of Chesapeake Bay.

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Although we had already enjoyed several email and virtual conversations, this would be our first time meeting in person. As we sat down for lunch, the lady of the house said something to me that would set the tone for our new working relationship: “Corey, I want you to feel that you have equity in everything we do together on this project. I truly consider this a partnership.”

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Those heartwarming words resonated with me, since I, too, have always viewed these extensive collaborations from the same vantage point: we join forces with homeowners to create something beautiful. To have a flourishing relationship with any client, however, one must possess more than sheer creative ability and technical education; a degree of humility is also required. My client had a refined eye and loved scouting antique stores and auctions for serendipitous finds. She and her husband had amassed collections of fine furniture and objets d’art from their world travels, but these items needed to be given a cohesive place in the home. So, our joint inspiration here came from leveraging the family’s trove of lovely things as a starting point, and then judiciously filling in the blanks with new acquisitions and bespoke finishes sourced by my firm.

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“They often fling the doors wide open, so we steered clear of chandeliers and opted for lanterns instead.”

—Corey Damen Jenkins

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As grand as the house is architecturally, it needed to feel less formal than the couple’s other residences, as would befit a coastal retreat—elegant and tailored, yes, but not too precious, and able to stand up to children, dogs, and lots of guests. For that reason, we selected mostly textured performance fabrics and wallcoverings in summerhouse-friendly patterns like plaids and gingham checks. The family embraces the breezy coastal lifestyle, and often windows and doors are flung wide open, so we steered clear of crystal chandeliers, preferring to hang simple open lanterns. In the same vein, sunlight glows through window treatments that have been left unlined.

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Despite the relaxed aesthetic, we still made sure to add touches of fine craftsmanship. The grasscloth walls of the front hall and main stairwell, for example, were glazed with a special plaster, mixed on-site, which gives them a weathered, timeless patina. Stately walnut bookcases designed by our office hug the windows in the second-story parlor. The downstairs study underwent a surgical renovation that included the addition of a nearly 130-year-old limestone fireplace of French origin (it was last seen completely assembled in New York City’s historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel back in 1931).

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The glories of the outdoors are best enjoyed from the home’s spacious veranda. It’s important to treat terraces and porches as exterior rooms; they should receive the same amount of thought and attention as any other section of the house. Here, I knew I wanted to create expansive seating and dining areas. A center table divides the two zones. A sofa, chairs, pillows, daybed, banquette, and skirted console are clad in an array of carefully coordinated solid and patterned fabrics, all performance-rated to stand up to the weather. To add a decorative flourish, antique blue-and-white porcelain plates were mounted onto custom-fabricated metal grilles, which were then attached to the whitewashed brick walls for a multidimensional effect. Vintage ginger jars abound, partially filled with rocks and sand to make sure they stay where they belong, even on the windiest days.

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In the end, we created a harmonious interior and exterior design that truly reflects the couple’s personal taste and appreciation for beauty. The delightful renovation of this summer home illustrates what can be achieved by a true meeting of minds, where the clients and interior designer share equity in the vision they’re forging together. And that, dear reader, is what “design reimagined” is all about.

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Order Corey Damen Jenkins’ new book for more inspiration, or book a consultation with Corey to get personalized advice for your space.

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