2007 HC&G IDEA HOUSE TOUR

"Since this bedroom is the smallest in the house, I wanted to make it a cozy and warm retreat," says designer Sheila Delaney of SKD Interior Design. She started by painting the walls a warm, sea foam color to evoke the ocean and light in the Hamptons. A Tibetan silk and wool sea blue carpet with touches of gray adds to the marine motif. "When dealing with a small room," Delaney explains, "it is important to enhance the light, so I used simple window shades and no curtains to maximize the light and a very pale blue wall color, which is set off and defined by a creamy white trim." A cozy window seat alcove with cushions was designed as a spot to read or simply to gaze at the wooded landscape in the back of the house.

"The room is really all about textures, from the woven rattan night stands to the bamboo dresser and white lacquer tables in front of the window," Delaney says. An earthy but elegant chandelier—a white marble plate secured by long leather cords—and a mirror with a frame cut from a tin ceiling almost beg to be touched. The artwork, too, adds texture—in a sense. "I wanted the artwork to be about dogs at the beach," she explains. "I'm a pet lover, and have a dog." Striking photographs by Jim Dratfield from his "Petography" series hang above the bed.