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A Personal Design

Courtney Hanig began her design career at Brunschwig & Fils in Boston, MA, before she relocated, with her family, to the suburbs of Chicago, IL. There, she opened her own design firm Courtney Hanig Interiors. As her clientele base grew, she started branching out to projects throughout the country. In 2015, she and her family moved again, this time to New Canaan, CTโ€”and they loved the area. After an extensive search, she found the perfect house, which became their home. โ€œWe fell in love with the house,โ€ says Hanig. The colonial architecture was reminiscent of Nantucket, a place Hanigโ€™s family has been vacationing for decades. Hanigโ€™s goal for the house was to take the predominantly white home and create a warm and inviting space for her family by adding color, texture, wallpaper, rugs and draperies. โ€œI am drawn to fresh and bright colors that are impactful, but not overpowering,โ€ she says. โ€œMy personal taste falls to blues and greens with pops of color in art, pillows and accessories.โ€

And Hanigโ€™s design philosophy is all about thoughtful decorating. โ€œEverything has a purpose and a job to do,โ€ she says. โ€œThe fabrics, color, art and drapes all have to come together in a cohesive way. The term I use is โ€˜threadingโ€™โ€”I thread things throughout a room and a house to create a unified flow.โ€ Her eye for detail ensures a harmonious meeting of form, function and style to create spaces that are truly memorable.

When she works with clients, she suggests that they start by finding something they absolutely loveโ€”a rug, piece of art, an heirloom, or even their favorite color. By starting this way, it leads to a more personal end result.

She followed her own advice at home. For example: โ€œMy younger daughter chose this stunning navy and lavender Ikat for her headboards and the room evolved from there,โ€ says Hanig.

For her older daughterโ€™s room, Hanig started with a navy rug that her daughter chose. She then picked a warm, fun peony color to compliment it. โ€œI used it on only one wall and repeated the pink on throw pillows and on the corgi-sized ottoman,โ€ she saysโ€”which was made especially for their corgi, Cooper.

Her marriage between comfort and style extends to the dining room. โ€œI believe that a successful dining room is both beautiful and so comfortable that guests want to linger for conversation and wine when dinner is over.โ€

One of her favorite spots in the house? The sun-drenched sitting room off the main bedroom. โ€œI turned it into a relaxing retreat using ivory linen everywhere and adding pops of color with pillows,โ€ says Hanig. โ€œWe call it the โ€˜serenity suiteโ€™ and it quickly became everyoneโ€™s favorite getaway spot.โ€

Photography by Jane Beiles

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