Her shop, KRB, is an NYC icon. Her mother, Suzanne Rheinstein, was a design legend. And designer, shopkeeper, and tastemaker Kate Rheinstein Brodsky continues to inspire with her colorful East Hampton home, full of style in spades. See inside and shop the look.
SHOP KATE RHEINSTEIN BRODSKY’S FAVES >>>
You come from a family of designers, including your mother, Suzanne Rheinstein. How did your upbringing influence your sense of style?
I grew up in a beautiful house that was not only elegant and considered but deeply comfortable. Surrounded by antiques and pieces my parents and particularly my mother had collected. It’s lovely to have beautiful things, but it’s really about living with them and we very much lived in that house! For my mother, living well and with care was a way of expressing her love. She set the table (always) but especially if it was just the three of us for dinner. She made simple but beautiful meals, she lit the candles. There were always fresh flowers or greens cut from the garden on the piano. Both my parents could be deeply intellectual and read enormous amounts, there were always stacks of books. They entertained almost constantly. Sometimes seated dinners but mostly buffet suppers eaten on your lap with a ginormous 19th century damask “lapkin.”
It was a very lovely way to live and it turned me into a die-hard homebody. I love to have people over and entertain, and I tend to do it the way my mother did. It also means I am a hopeless collector, put all my treasures out and I don’t save things for special occasions.
Your store, KRB, is known for a unique collection of vintage with a broad range of styles, colors, and eras, yet everything feels very curated and a point of view comes through so clearly. How would you describe the organizing principles behind your curation?
Every single piece in the store is something that I respond to in some way. I love color and I love big statement pieces but I’m equally enamored of matte black and white. Along with my very talented team, I aim to put together the store in a joyful, vibrant way.
I want the layers and textures to please the eye. Not that your home needs to be colorful at all to shop at KRB, we always make sure that there are neutrals and quieter colors. Not everything in a room can stand up, some things need to sit down.
The use of color in your Hamptons home feels very optimistic and fresh. What are some of your favorite color combinations, and how did you edit this mix of colors and patterns to achieve a space where everything works together?
I absolutely love color and green in all its incarnations is always my go to. I return again and again to green and orange. I love the balance of the warm and cool tones and I think that the orange can really range from palest peach to a rusty shade.
I knew this house would immediately begin to fill up (and it has) with pieces picked up from antique shows (I never miss the East Hampton show in July!) and favorite stores, shells found on beach walks and dried bits of allium from the garden, not to mention the usual flotsam and jetsam of life with three children and two dogs. I decided that we would keep the living room walls and paneling white, paint the floor green and let the items placed in the space be the color. I think that gives a bit of order to what quickly can become chaos.
Your store and this house share a unique ability to blend past and present. How did you balance the restoration of the house with the need to make it livable for your family? What are some of the ways you infused current design into the home?
The very first thing I did was hire Bories and Shearron. We have worked together several times and they know how my brain works, my design quirks and pet peeves. I knew they would help me figure out how to preserve the integrity of the house and enhance it while making it work for a family with 3 children, dogs, lots of cousins, guests and parties! So wonky doorways and charming hardware stayed but bathrooms were overhauled.
Tell us about your approach to vintage and antique finds. How does that come into play when it comes to layering patterns, colors and styles? How do you like to incorporate vintage/antiques?
I love vintage and antique pieces, I find they have a sense of place and a visual weight that most new pieces do not. They are often less tricky as well. I think every room can benefit from a bit of brown furniture. It is very grounding and makes a room feel “real.” I grew up totally surrounded by antiques and I was well into my 20s before I realized that not everyone thought them as fabulous as I did.
ON CHAIRISH & VINTAGE PIECES
What do you find most compelling about Chairish?
It’s infinitely satisfying to search for something specific, scroll through the results and purchase it immediately!
How does sustainability factor into your design choices and love of vintage?
Decorating with antiques is inherently sustainable and that is immensely appealing. Giving pieces a second life (or third or fourth) is a great way to keep them out of the trash.
A FEW DESIGN TIPS
Along the same lines, we also love your home’s painted floors. Any tips for paints that you recommend for holding up to floor traffic?
I use the Fine Paints of Europe Oil Paint on the floor. My painter says the trick is letting it cure a WEEK between coats.
Any tips for setting up a room to invite conversation and gathering? For example, living room arrangements you gravitate toward?
I think whenever possible, multiple seating groups is the way to go. Anchor it with a substantial upholstered piece and then have multiple lighter weight pieces—chairs, stools, ottomans—that people can move around. Rarely do people sit in perfect groups of four or five.
A FEW DESIGN FAVORITES
Favorite way to create a statement-making moment in a room? One of our oversized Leech Bowls filled with masses of flowers—lilacs, hydrangeas, lilies, peonies all make a big visual impact.
Favorite paint color? Benjamin Moore 489 Oak Grove. It’s the color of the shop floors and the floors in our house in East Hampton.
Favorite piece of decor in your home? A pair of Neoclassical Italian chests from the estate of Julia Reed given to me by my mother for a “big” birthday.
Favorite design icon? Frances Elkins.
A FEW LIFESTYLE FAVORITES
Favorite small museum? I love a house museum and I try to seek them out when we do travel. Monticello, the Nissim Commando, the Soane Museum in London are all favorites. The more back of house you can see the happier I am.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow? @christopherspitzmiller, @bunnyseye, @geraldbland
Favorite restaurant? I don’t have a favorite restaurant but I have always loved both Korean and Japanese food.
Favorite vacation destination? Hawaii. I hadn’t been since I was a child and my family and I went last year for New Year’s. It was as wonderful as I remembered.
Lead Image: Kate Rheinstein Brodsky’s Hamptons Home, Interiors by William Abranowicz / Art + Commerce.