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"It was a family affair," Perry says. "We were always working with color, fabric and design." Her father, an avid painter, did drip paintings in the basement. Art books "were everywhere," and her mother wore Missoni before almost anyone else.

As a girl, Perry used to go to the mills, where she made herself useful "picking the colors." At 18, she began working there regularly. Then, eager to become more knowledgeable in the field, she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology and left for New York. Her plan had been to return to the family business once she had earned her degree in textile design, but by that time she had fallen in love, and New York has been home ever since. Today she paints and creates her fabric and clothing designs in a SoHo studio when she is not out at her country home paring down the excess, pumping up the color scheme and imposing her own minimalist aesthetic.

"Now when I walk into the house, I say, 'I live here. This is mine,'" Perry says. Even the grounds hold hints of the changes inside. A series of bright red ring sculptures that seem to tumble over the terrain "add a sense of humor and make you smile," says Perry. They're all part of her effort "to make the house feel less serious." An Alexander Calder mobile in the front courtyard has a similar effect, as does the white stucco that replaced the original brick façade.

As for the interiors, Perry has been transforming them with bright, primary colors, glossy surfaces and a playful minimalism.