This house of an avid collector of ancient Indian and Himalayan art and Early American antiques started as a modest 1930’s center hall Colonial in Westchester County, New York. With the construction of a new stair hall and wing by architect Richard Cameron, then employed by Ferguson & Shamamian, Architects, the house took on a new life and became a fitting setting for the impressive group of museum quality objects. At the start of the decoration’s planning process, it was acknowledged that the rooms were going to be lived in and not just admired from afar. The decoration needed to bridge a collection of important furniture with the needs of a family and their daily life, thus it could not just be a series of imposing rooms for displaying objects. The clients had a large circle of friends and grown children with grandchildren that were welcomed into these rooms. It was also decided that the spaces had to suggest but not strictly reproduce historically accurate period rooms. Thus, the Living Room combines a new Bridgewater sofa and contemporary Chinese table with a group of fine antiques, including a set of 18th century Philadelphia chairs and a rare double peak American Chippendale sofa. All of this rests atop a Persian carpet, something that would ordinarily be an anomaly in an 18th century room, but here serves as the foundation that unifies the decoration. Thomas Jayne formed a casual "committee of taste" with an upholsterer specializing in antique furniture and a museum curator to help corroborate the selection of fabrics and trims used throughout the house. His choices included historically appropriate wool damask for the Living Room’s antique upholstery, but here dyed a deep pink as a subtle twist on the traditional ideal of red. He also used the same fabric to make ensuite curtains for the room, but trimmed them with custom colored fringes that drew on the yellow and blues found in the carpet for a rich effect.