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At a time when so much of the world is pursuing the next big thing, it’s refreshing to encounter someone who’s happily committed to what she already knows and loves. Julia Amory’s tastes are radically unedgy. “I love brown furniture,” she says. “I love chintz and majolica.”
She compares her approach to designing houses for herself and her family—husband Minot and their two children—to speaking in her native language. “This is the way Minot and I grew up,” she says, “and this is the way our children are growing up.” Crayon marks on the upholstery, shirred lampshades, antique quilts that disintegrate with use, a kidney-shaped vanity from the 1950s—“these things make me feel safe and cozy,” she says.
Her decorating vernacular provides a constant in a life that is otherwise quite dynamic. The Amorys spend summers at their home in Southampton, New York, and the school year in Palm Beach, where she runs a growing women’s clothing and textile business. “It’s an incredible time to be in Palm Beach,” she says. “There’s been a convergence of my peers in the design space, and so many young families have relocated. We’re always busy.”
Personal family touches motivated her design choices in Palm Beach, where Minot has deep roots and Julia has spent time since she was a little girl. There the couple bought a 1940s Island Colonial in West Palm Beach, which she infused with notes of Southampton, along with a distinctly local twist. “There’s a lot of pink,” she says. “We’re not trying to rewrite the history of Palm Beach here.”
Pale conch-pink grass cloth lines the living room and kitchen walls (the floors are stained pale pink), and the living room chintz is a pink variation of the Colefax and Fowler Fuchsia pattern used in her Southampton home’s library. “Some people go crazy about not repeating motifs,” says Julia. “I like the cohesion it gives.”
Indeed Julia is all about connecting dots on multiple levels. She repeats motifs not only within a single room and from one house to another but also from past to present. She contacted Manuel Canovas to ask whether the French fabric house would reissue Joy, a print her grandmother had dearly loved (she ended up finding vintage yardage on eBay and had pillows made from it for the family room sectional).
And she channels creative mentors such as Nancy Lancaster (for the cozy warmth she brought to patrician interiors), Lee Radziwill (for her Manhattan bedroom that sparked Julia’s love of that Fuchsia chintz), Tom Scheerer (for his color palette at Lyford Cay Club), and Mimi McMakin (whose sunroom prompted Julia to hang majolica plates so that they climb plantlike up her kitchen wall).
Despite all these venerable influences, Julia does not think of herself as a designer. “These houses aren’t decorating projects,” she says. “This is just how we live.”
For a family who moves north and south with the seasons, there’s wisdom in her choice to prioritize living over design and to welcome the passage of time as an ally. “I love using chintzes in places that get a lot of sun,” says Julia. “They seem to get better with age; they bleach out so beautifully, acquiring a nostalgic patina that’s unique to a sunny, happy place. You don’t fight it. You just embrace it.”
Exterior
The entrance to Amory’s 1940s Island Colonial in Florida is painted a welcoming jade (Arsenic by Farrow & Ball). Landscape design, Adam Istler.
Loggia
Fretwork seating on the loggia is outfitted by Botanica Trading.
Living Room
Minot perches atop an antique secretary in the living room.
Bar
A brilliant galley-style bar lures guests with aqua trim and cabinetry (Whispering Hills by Ralph Lauren) and trellis-patterned walls.
Dining Room
Braided grasscloth wallpaper and linen voile slipcovers lend textural beauty to the dining room. Chairs, Amy Berry.
Girl’s Bedroom
A pink Anna French check mingles with dainty florals in Honor’s bedroom.
Upstairs Bath
In an upstairs bath, shades of the garden arrive in gingham sink skirting (Brunschwig & Fils) and a Renaissance-inspired wall motif (Soane Britain).
Primary Bedroom
Roses flourish on Amory’s bedroom walls and dressing table; the mirror is Indian.
Pool Casita
English cream dachshund Gracie oversees mornings by the pool steps from a guest casita. Amory is wearing a dahlia-patterned cover-up from her collection.
Featured in our July/August 2023 issue. Interior design by Julia Amory; photography by Nick Mele; styling by Grace Harris and Rachael Burrow; written by Celia Barbour.
