Westchester County-based interior designer Everick Brown is multi-lingual.
That is to say, he is fluent in more than one design language. “Most people don’t speak multiple languages,” he says. “They’re not people comfortable with different styles because they don’t understand it.” But, as he explains, if you learn to “speak” contemporary, mid-century modern, traditional, coastal, classic, cottage and other design styles, you learn to work within and across different genres to help a client translate their style. “In general, Europeans tend to embrace and integrate aspects of other cultures into their own,” says Everick. “Through my travels around the world, particularly Europe, what I really loved was how they bring together different cultures, different time periods, into one room.” This inspiration is at the root of all his projects, including updating a young family’s colonial in Mamaroneck overlooking the sound. The homeowners, a public relations professional in the music industry and a writer, “have the most adorable children—and dog,” adds Everick. While each room blends modern, traditional and cultural elements, the pieces come together to speak a language only they know: one that reflects their taste in the arts, travel, family and, most of all, color.
“We’re driven by what the client wants, how the client wants to live and how they want to feel in their home,” says Everick’s wife and business partner, Lisa Walker Brown, COO, who has become a key player in the firm’s success.
Everick has decades of experience helping clients with their design needs. He opened a home décor store in 2001 in Mount Kisco, NY, focused on accessories and smaller décor pieces. To show off his wares, he would create little vignettes in the store and in the store window. It was these curated corners that his clients were drawn to. They began requesting his services to accessorize their homes. His interior design projects became the bulk of the business and in 2008 he decided to close his store.
Today, there is no project, color or style that deters him from meeting his clients where their tastes live. When Everick and Lisa sat down with their Mamaroneck clients for a consultation, the wife confidently declared her favorite color is Benjamin Moore’s Mascarpone—an off-white with yellow undertones named after the creamy rich cheese. Turns out, Everick now considers it one of his favorite colors with which to design. “The mascarpone is like a chameleon,” he says. “It works with cool colors as well as warm colors. It looks really warm, even on a dull, cloudy day.”
Mascarpone and various shades of green became the ties that bind each room together. In the front of the house, the formal rooms (living and dining rooms) have touches of green paired with bold pink and purple. The living room’s bright pink carpet by Madeline Weinrib selected by Lisa is juxtaposed with the husband’s grandmother’s vintage sofa. Everick didn’t reupholster the sofa; when he saw it in the space, the pairing of modern and classic, surrounded by Everick’s custom built-in bookshelves filled with books the wife treasured became an ode to family traditions. In the dining room, the Graham and Brown wallpaper is accented with trim and wainscotting in Benjamin Moore’s Evening Sky. “The chandelier, Flock of Light from Design Within Reach, is him, and the rest of the room is her,” says Everick. “You see his creativity and inspiration coming through and the rest is how she lands the plane: very grounded and colorful and beautiful. The two work very well together.”
As you enter the informal spaces in the back of the house—kitchen, sunroom and family room—that green bursts forth like a new shoot in spring. Cabinets are painted in a soft Echo Garden Green Gloss, complemented by a natural wood island and hood. Marble countertops from Walker Zanger and a green and white tile backsplash in a diamond pattern is from Artistic Tile. Meanwhile, in the family room, modular sofa sectionals from Lazzoni Furniture in an earthy green are placed around a beige leather ottoman, also from Lazzoni. A fringe chandelier from M2C Studio hangs above. Another family heirloom—a rocking chair— finishes the space. A collection of ceramic cultural keepsakes adorns the family room bookshelves. “He was very respectful and made sure she had a place to organize her books in the living room,” says Everick, while she made sure his family’s ceramics sat proudly on display. “It was great to see the couple interact and how they respect each other,” he adds.
The sunroom is an extension of the kitchen and an opportunity to unite indoors with outdoors. A row of large windows is framed by a botanical valence. “There’s a biophilic moment,” says Everick of the garden-inspired space. Then, out near the pool, an office/pool cabana space is painted with Benjamin Moore Salmon Peach around the drink station, and complemented by floral tile from Artistic Tile in the bathroom beyond. The other side of the room is two walls of windows that meet in the corner. This is where the wife does most of her writing. “Color brings her joy,” adds Everick, who likes to start the conversation about his projects with color.
Upstairs in the bedroom, paint in Benjamin Moore’s Quiet Moment sets a soothing scene, accented by mascarpone trim. The primary bathroom picks up the same sunny cream color in the shower tile with a small gray flower to complement the mosaic tile floor.
What the Browns are most proud of is the inspirational feel that each room evokes, whether it is through contemporary or classical furnishings. “Most people are uncomfortable expressing themselves in their own home because they are concerned about what people will think when they come in,” says Everick. He and Lisa firmly believe a home should express who you are and where you’ve come from. “We like to use divergent thinking as part of the process,” says Everick. “We come with four eyes and two perspectives and so I think we are focused on couples and helping support them to achieve their vision.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Zach Pontz
Get the Look
This week, Everick Brown Design’s vibrant and personalized project for a young family’s waterfront home in Mamaroneck, NY, inspires these fun and colorful finds.
