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CHAPTER ONE

OLD MEETS NEW

One of the biggest decorating challenges arises when something old or vintage comes into your ultramodern home, or you fall in love with a new vase from IKEA that seems to have no relation to any of the pieces of antique furniture that you scavenged from your grandmother's attic. Hey, you can't help what (or whom) you fall in love with!

But these styles can work wonderfully together when you find something to unify them. Color? Shape? Texture? Theme?

When we moved into the Beekman farmhouse, we were perplexed by what to do with two of the small rooms that had originally been the servants' quarters.

One in particular wasn't big enough to accommodate a modern bed of any type, and to turn it into a closet or storage space seemed like a waste of a good window.

Instead, we turned it into a small study that we call the "writing room." We lined the walls with old portraits Brent had collected from his grandparents' antique frame business. Completely filling the wall space above the chair rail, the collection makes for a dramatic modern "gallery," and the room has become one of the most photographed in the house.

Everything old really can be new again if you only look at it in a new way.