TL;DR
Get decor and gifts delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
Designer Ariel Okin has completed the transformation of a five-bedroom New Canaan, Connecticut, home for a couple with two young children. The design draws on the clients’ love of nature and bird figurines, using patterned wallpaper, soft colors and practical family spaces. The source report does not give the home’s address or project cost.
Designer Ariel Okin has reworked a five-bedroom Colonial in New Canaan, Connecticut, into a family home that brings its owners’ love of nature and bird figurines into the interior design. In a House Beautiful home tour, Okin describes how floral and bird-patterned wallcoverings, soft colors and rooms planned for young children helped give the new-build a more personal feel.
The clients, a married couple with a toddler and an infant, asked Okin to make their new house feel connected to the pastoral landscape around it. The home sits near a horse farm, and Okin said the surrounding setting informed the choice of floral patterns, stripes, airy linens, pale blues and chocolate browns. The report identifies the residence as a white clapboard home but does not provide its street address.
The owners’ bird figurines became one of the project’s defining details. Rather than placing the collection throughout the house as a display, Okin said she carried the theme into the rooms through decor. In the dining room, a Lewis & Wood wallpaper features birds among its motifs. A first-floor powder room has a bright green bird-accented wallcovering designed in collaboration with The Mural Source.
Other rooms follow related but distinct approaches. The living room pairs pale blue millwork with neutral grasscloth, antique furniture and patterned fabric, while the kitchen uses blue-and-white stripes and textured barstools to add color to an otherwise white space. The nursery and playroom depart from the home’s quieter nature-inspired palette, with stripes and bright colors intended to suit the children as they grow. Okin worked on the project with Mike Cerreta of Cerreta Builders, according to the report.
Bird Motifs Personalize the Interiors
The project offers a specific example of how a homeowner’s collection can inform a broader interior scheme without turning a room into a display gallery. Okin said incorporating the birds was a particular design challenge; she used wallpaper and other visual references to echo the collection across the home. The approach gives the house a connecting theme while leaving the figurines as personal objects rather than making them the sole focus.
The family’s needs also shaped the design choices. The children’s rooms were planned to feel engaging at their current ages while remaining adaptable, and Okin described the family room as a place that needed to be both attractive and functional because the clients spend much of their time there. For readers interested in home design, the tour shows how a project can balance personal style, everyday use and a sense of place without treating those aims as separate.
The article is a design feature, not a report of a sale, renovation dispute or public planning decision. Its news value is the publication of a detailed home tour showing how one designer translated the owners’ interests and the Connecticut setting into a finished interior.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From New-Build to Family Home
Okin said the house began as an empty white box that felt impersonal, despite its appealing New England setting. The home’s location near a horse farm and its classic Colonial architecture gave the designer a starting point for bringing landscape-inspired colors and patterns indoors. The report does not describe structural changes to the new-build.
The design relies on a mix of new and vintage pieces, according to the tour. The entry includes antique and vintage furnishings; the living room features an antique French commode and Victorian-era chairs; and the dining room combines bird-patterned wallpaper with a custom settee. The article also names products and makers used in individual rooms, including Farrow & Ball paint, Schumacher fabric and furniture from several retailers.
Okin said she imagined the dining room remaining useful and personal over time, including as a place where the family might host Thanksgiving years later. That goal sits alongside the more immediate need to make the nursery, playroom and shared living spaces work for a young household.
““It was an empty white box when we started working on it.””
— Ariel Okin, interior designer, as quoted by House Beautiful
Project Details Not Disclosed
The House Beautiful report does not state when the project was completed, how long the work took or what it cost. It also does not name the homeowners or provide the home’s address. The article presents Okin’s descriptions of the clients’ preferences and the design process; it does not include direct comments from the homeowners beyond her account of their response after moving in.
The source describes selected rooms and furnishings, but does not provide a full inventory of the bird figurines or clarify whether every item in the collection is displayed in the home. No independent assessment of the home’s value, energy performance or construction history is included.
No Further Project Milestone Reported
The source report presents the home as a completed design project and does not announce additional construction, a sale or another planned milestone. Okin’s account says the family had moved in and sent her a note of gratitude, but gives no date for that move.
For now, the published House Beautiful tour is the available update on the residence. Any further information about the homeowners, project schedule or future changes to the house would depend on a new statement or report; none is identified in the source material.
Key Questions
Where is the home?
The five-bedroom home is in New Canaan, Connecticut, near a horse farm. The report does not give its street address.
Who designed the home?
Ariel Okin, a designer based in Connecticut and New York City, led the interior design. The report says she worked with Mike Cerreta of Cerreta Builders.
How did the owners’ love of birds influence the design?
Okin carried the theme into the rooms with bird-patterned wallcoverings, including a Lewis & Wood paper in the dining room and a green bird-accented design made with The Mural Source for a powder room. The clients also have a collection of bird figurines.
Was the home designed for children?
Yes. The owners have a toddler and an infant. Okin said the nursery and playroom were designed to feel lively for the children while remaining suitable as they grow.
How much did the project cost, and when was it completed?
The House Beautiful report does not provide a project cost or completion date. It says the family had moved into the home by the time Okin described their response.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
