A Slew of Hues Make This Renovated Farmhouse Pop

Why use a few colors when you can use all of them? That’s been Kathryn O’Neal-Dunham’s motto for as long as she can remember. As a kid she dressed herself in rainbow tights and candy-color tops. After she got her own apartment in her 20s, one of her first purchases was a wood table with four chairs painted red, yellow, lime green and blue.

“I grew up in Oklahoma, where we’re not afraid of color,” she says.

Pictured: Kathryn and Gib with Reece, 12, and Rye, 9.

Three years ago, Kathryn and her husband, Gib, bought an 1850s farmhouse in Irvington, NY, and did a big renovation—new kitchen, new bathrooms, new pipes and wiring, plus an addition. She knew the risk of going color overboard was real, so she brought in designer Denise Davies to temper her wildest instincts. They filled the house with punches of color and pattern, balancing each room with neutrals in furniture, tile and the walls.

“It never seems like too much,” says Kathryn. “It just always feels happy.”

The exterior had just been painted white by the previous owners, so the couple left it as is. They like how it contrasts with the bold colors inside.

Decorating a new house means making one decision after another. But for homeowner Kathryn O’Neal-Dunham, the process is pretty straightforward: Go for color. That’s how she landed on a gutsy ikat pattern by Schumacher for the armchairs. Although she was initially dubious about the white sofas picked by designer Denise Davies, Kathryn says, “I decided I could do it if we covered them with bright pillows!” Done. The brass in the coffee table by Century Furniture and the light fixture by Currey & Company add a little glam. The chair paintings, by Christina Keating, have style and sentimental value: They were some of the first pieces of art that Kathryn and her husband, Gib, bought as a couple.

Pastels are equally welcome in this color-lover’s paradise. Doing muted hues instead of more saturated tones helped Kathryn pull off the pattern-on-pattern look—dusty purple and gray color-block fabric by Zak + Fox on the dining chairs with a custom striped rug below. Blush grass cloth wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries and a painting by artist John Beardman bring all the colors together. The space started with just one chandelier by Lambert & Fils, but it looked sad all alone, so in came another.