Monica Fried Design strikes a perfect balance between comfort and sophistication
Amid the Old Westbury residential area in Long Island, New York-based interior design studio Monica Fried Design has crafted an ambience that radiates sophistication over seaside casual for a young couple with three children.
The new construction for the building was built and designed by Jon Bijari Custom Homes, featuring a front entryway that leads to a formal living space, and beyond that, the dining room, kitchen, family room and an outdoor pool area. Upstairs, there are five bedrooms and a large playroom for the kids.
“We joined the project mid-construction and were able to influence the material selections and vibe of the interiors,” remembers Monica Fried, whom the couple found through social media, and reached out to help design a home that suits their elevated style and taste. “The goal was to achieve a lasting elegance with well curated pieces that were both functional and chic. There is nothing trendy or too ‘of the moment’.”
Read more: Home tour: A dreamy coastal-style house in Long Island, New York

Above Inviting and cosy upon stepping through the gracious oak panelled front doors

Above An arch brass console and orca mirror, with an artpiece by Jacob Hashimoto

Above Vignette of shearling chairs, and a vintage sculpture atop the limestone side table
You could say that the front entryway serves as a teaser to Fried’s overall design of the home. Upon stepping through the gracious oak panelled front doors, the inviting and cosy space already showcases Fried’s play on shapes.
The stylishly sparse decors of an arch brass console and orca mirror, as well as a vignette of two shearling chairs with a vintage sculpture atop a matching limestone side table, harmonise with the line-patterned limestone floors and Venetian plaster walls, which Fried says are “forever materials, and that’s how we looked at designing this home.”
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In the living room, the Brazilian lounge chairs by Jorge Zalszupin and the contours of Pierre Augustin Rose’s sofa play against the edged fireplace and custom sectional in the family room. Additionally, the well-lit bedrooms’ boucle furnishings soften the virile-toned office’s dignified fringes.
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“I love the lounge chairs in the living room–such a refined moment that helped guide the rest of the selections,” Fried also adds, in regards to finding durable and forgiving pieces for the young family and their needs. “Our objective was to find fabrics and carpets that would live up to the wear and tear of toddlers but still look sophisticated and worthy of the special pieces that we were using in the project.”
Read more: Home Tour: A grand family home with a gravity-defying roof in a Malaysian forest reserve

Above Brazilian lounge chairs by Jorge Zalszupin

Above Hippo chair in ivory boucle by Norr11
The Old Westbury home complemented the homeowners’ love and collection of art with the ambient textures across the rooms, coupling neutral woods and white walls and cabinetry with stones of diverse colours and designs to create depth and interest in each space.
“The homeowners are interested in collecting art, and the neutral tones will give them more flexibility as their collection evolves,” says Fried of the art enthusiasts, who have acquired several contemporary pieces by Jacob Hashimoto and Orly Maiberg for their home.
See also: Home Tour: The minimalist Taipei home of art collector Pierre Chen

Above Stones of diverse colours and designs

Above Ambient textures across the rooms

Above Neutral woods and white walls

Above Neutrals and stones create depth and interest
The synchronisation between Fried and the homeowners in achieving chic and timeless elegance, a process that took about nine months from design presentation to move in, right about the same time the couple welcomed their third child.
“Our client moved in the week that they had their third child, a sweet baby girl,” Fried says. “She birthed a baby and we birthed our ‘baby’–a beautifully curated forever home that is livable but also very sophisticated and stylish.”
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Credits
Photography: Nicole Franzen
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