A Designer Puts the Cool in a Classic Long Island Colonial

This Long Island home's façade reveals some of the upgrades architect and designer Elizabeth Steimberg put in place. The dated shutters were removed to declutter the home's appearance, all of the finishes were refreshed and a bold red door alludes to the stylish secrets and many infusions of that energetic shade beyond the home's four walls. A curved brick wall was replaced with a single set of steps leading to the front door and the landscaping follows suit with a simple, elegant overhaul.

The interior architect's firm, Elizabeth Steimberg Architects, takes on a wide range of architectural projects around the country and many at home in New York, like this lovely Long Island home. The classic center hall Colonial had plenty of Old World charm but needed an update. Her clients, whom she describes as "... a large European family who loves to entertain," were ready for Elizabeth to give it the stylish yet functional upgrade that she does so expertly.

The Argentinean-born Elizabeth says her inspiration comes from "nature, people's minds, color, texture." She earned a six-year architectural degree from the National University of Tucumán and later earned her Master's in architecture and building design from Columbia University. "After working for high-end architecture firms, I established my own practice in 1993 focusing on renovations and interiors," she says.

As you enter through the arched, red front door, a peek into Elizabeth's vision for the home is revealed. The typical center hall Colonial interior you'd expect is nowhere to be found. Vintage furniture, vibrant use of color and unique artwork command attention against the neutral walls and give the space the feel of a modern art gallery.

The beauty of this home is the way Elizabeth capitalizes on visual juxtaposition. Her treatment of the home's den is a shining example of her creativity in this pursuit. Rather than rip out the home's classic library paneling, she coated it with a bold red reminiscent of the home's front door. The space somehow feels classic Colonial and modern all at once.

Of the daring paint color, Elizabeth says, "This was a decision that my clients felt strongly about. This was the only room that was preserving its original traditional wood details and was not being modernized. By painting the wood into a solid bright color, it preserved its own unique but modernized space in the house."

Throughout the home, Elizabeth continually returns to bold, warm colors in the furniture, artwork and decor — choices that are daring and difficult to pull off, yet result in effortless elegant. She has a talent for knowing where to add color and where to refrain. In her words, "Designing spaces is like a painter and its canvas. There is no rational decision but an intuitive one that deals with balance and feel."

Elizabeth's natural painter-like inclinations, like setting a colorful perfume box in a bathroom filled with shades of gray, give the home a bespoke, signature quality. Every neutral design decision seems to have its own colorful counterpart. She even does this in the micro-details, like countering a sleek sink and countertop with a textured, board-formed concrete backsplash.

The Long Island home truly did become something completely new, but the bones are still there. Beyond the modern finishes, midcentury modern furniture and colorful artwork are the hallmarks of a center hall Colonial: bathrooms and bedrooms tucked below vaulted ceilings, gorgeous hardwood flooring and, of course, a central staircase with a winding, wooden banister.

It's the type of home that design purists would not dare change, but Elizabeth wasn't afraid of the challenge. "I preserved the front of the house. Clients mentioned at their first meeting that they were not interested in preserving its Colonial appearance," she notes. So, she set about rethinking each area of the home.

While Elizabeth and her client were not concerned with preserving the home's historical look, she somehow bridged the wide gap between modern and traditional. This signature aesthetic elevates the home's bones rather than scrapping them. Her elegant ways of finishing the walls, flooring and millwork are simple, but crucial to the end result.

Not a single visual in the home is without purpose. In the formal living room, the view is at first minimalist, but the design details quickly take your attention. The room's modern cast-in-situ fireplace contrasts the plush coziness of the linens, and an oversized rug in a soothing gray hue offers warmth in the bright white space. From side to side, the room features dots of color in the artwork and decor pieces that are reflected in the quaint game area beyond.

The client's intent for the home was to be a fun weekend spot for entertaining. So, naturally, a game table was a necessary addition. The game area, tucked between the living room at the back deck, is a lively space with a wonderful view of the home's sprawling grounds. Elizabeth chose a vintage Eames table and chair set that sticks with the color palette of the home, and a bright red arc lamp suspended above the table for evening enjoyment.

While Elizabeth's choice to leave the walls white throughout the home isn't out of the ordinary, it serves her purpose perfectly. The neutral background allows the personality she gave the home — a combination of her's and her client's — to stand out. The consistent color story throughout gives the expansive 10-bedroom home some much-needed cohesiveness.

Though this giant Colonial houses 10 bedrooms, not a single one is without a healthy dose of the style you'd expect from Elizabeth. With colorful vintage furniture, luxurious linens and enviable artwork throughout each space, there is no need to quarrel over whose room is whose.

With all of the unique furniture throughout the home, it's clear that Elizabeth has a knack for sourcing vintage furniture. So, what are her tips for finding the perfect pieces? "Research, research — there are budget-friendly ways to find vintage furniture in small suburban towns. Today the internet does wonders," she advises.

Even the home's attic-turned-guest bedroom is filled with one-of-a-kind vintage appointments, courtesy of both Elizabeth and her client. From the striped cotton shades and complementary bedding to the McCobb desk and Eames chair, there were no sacrifices of style made in the creation of the space.

Just off the main bedroom is a spa-like bathroom via a hall formed by parallel built-ins. Impressive features like a luxurious modern soaking tub, a pristine mosaic floor and double vanities are visible from the bedroom.

Amazingly, Elizabeth was able to squeeze a shower stall within a small spot of the attic at the side of the guest bathroom, continuing the flow of the mosaic tile up the walls. While her style is unparalleled, her ability to draw functionality out of places you'd never expect is what truly sets her apart as both a designer and architect.

Naturally, the architecture of this colossal Colonial contributed to a few difficulties during the renovation. Vaulted ceilings along rooflines tend to become closet space or even unusable attic space, but Elizabeth's knack for creating function where it's lacking gave the homeowners eight bathrooms in total.

This open plan Long Island kitchen has been stripped down to the bare necessities, allowing Elizabeth's penchant for dramatic, colorful details to shine.

Like the rest of the home's design, Elizabeth's design plan was centered on function. After all, the kitchen isn't there for looks. Long open shelving, expansive workstations and plenty of cabinet space ensure the family and guests have everything they need to make the most of their weekends in the home.

Opposite the cooking area are two matching Jean Prouvé tables complete with a colorful assortment of Tolix Marais chairs that pop against the kitchen's poured concrete floors. Elizabeth's use of concrete throughout the home adds to the visual cohesion created by her use of color. "The kitchen counters and floor are both tinted, poured concrete. In the living room, a small wood mantel was replaced by a custom concrete one — cast in situ — that better relates to the scale of the room," she details. "The in-situ concrete details were unusual for a Long Island Colonial home at the time the house was designed, especially a concrete floor for the kitchen. My clients were excited to explore new materials. Cracks were not an issue for them, it was part of its nature. The poured concrete floor resolved a floor level problem that was presented."

Just off the kitchen is an entertainment space fitted with a striking red pool table. Above the table are vintage pendant lights that Elizabeth says, "were customized to serve the scale of the large pool table." On display in the room is some of the client's personal art collection, continuing the casual museum-like aesthetic found throughout the home.

Like the majority of the rooms near the back of the first floor, the kitchen and pool table room feature wide sets of doors that open to the home's new deck, creating an indoor-outdoor living experience that the home lacked before the renovation. Elizabeth features more Tolix Marais chairs outside of the kitchen to make the spaces feel like a continuation of one another.

Outside, a sprawling new deck awaits. The deck is such a natural addition to the back of the home that it's hard to imagine it any other way. However, Elizabeth assures us that it was far from this before: "The original back façade looked fragmented and enclosed. To use the backyard one had to step down through narrow side doors to an also fragmented paved deck. The kitchen deck and house pavers were not connected. The new design opened up all interior rooms to an interconnected wooden ipe deck."

Ipe wood, the material Elizabeth chose for the decking, is a superior product for all sorts of structures. Native to Brazil, ipe is often chosen for decking material, as it can handle the elements extremely well and looks gorgeous doing it.

A step off the new deck leads to a stunning swimming pool embedded in the grass. Surprisingly, the beautiful pool existed prior to Elizabeth's overhaul, but she did make it the best it can be. "It was existing in shape and form but clients did not want to have a deck surround, just plain grass. We removed the stone deck, trampoline and fence (the fence was built around the house instead). A busy area was transformed into a clean, calm oasis," she notes.