A designer curates her home with love in North Palm Beach, using a Bahamas-inspired formula of color, pattern and neutral textures for her family to gather and grow.
An oversize painting by Megan Daisy Milner hangs above an RH sofa in the family room, dotted with pillows from Walter G. The Kim Salmela ottoman, Visual Comfort & Co. lamps, Annie Selke rug and Noir side chairs provide pattern and texture. A Selamat armchair adds a midcentury modern touch. Photographed by Carmel Brantley
THE PROJECT
Palm Beach designer Caitlin Kah of Caitlin Kah Interiors (caitlinkah.com) always thought she wanted to live in a neutral home with small doses of color as a serene contrast to the stimulating environment she works in every day, designing homes for her clients that range in palette and style. In reality, as her own home unfolded into a sophisticated patterned playhouse, she was delighted with surprise to find out that wasn’t the case at all. “I love to be surrounded by color,” she says. “It’s what puts me at ease.” Over the last five years, she’s been slowly giving the house a loving face-lift to suit her family’s growing needs. The 1960s house in North Palm Beach is in the same neighborhood where her husband grew up, and his parents live right down the street. “It is a lovely, charming home that is perfect for our small family,” she says. “This is the home where we brought back both of our daughters from the hospital.”
A chair from Hive Palm Beach sits as an ode to the tropical locale, alongside a citrus-hued side table from Anthropologie and a collection of sun hats arranged against a Nobilis wallcovering. Photographed by Carmel Brantley
THE DESIGN
As she began scheming, images and memories would flood her mind—Tom Scherrer’s books she’d read and journeys she had taken. “I was inspired and continue to be inspired by many places we have traveled to in the Bahamas, such as Lyford Cay Club, The Dunmore and really anywhere in Harbour Island,” she says. “The breakfast nook is inspired by the dining room at The Dunmore.” That breakfast nook, along with the kitchen, playroom and primary bedroom, is where the family spends most of its time. “This project was a slow burn,” she says. “Whenever I had time in between crazy projects and spending time with my family, I would pay attention to my own home. I would often lay fabric and wallpaper samples on the floor in the playroom while my daughters were playing and select fabrics with my 4-year-old daughter Piper’s input. Then, I would feverishly text my wallpaper installers and curtain makers to see how fast they could turn something out for me.”
The family spends much of their time in the breakfast area, tucked into a Duralee banquette dressed in Kravet fabric beneath a Selamat light fixture. Caitlin Kah procured the tablecloth through Amanda Lindroth. The wallpaper beyond the space is by Les Indiennes. Photographed by Carmel Brantley
THE FINDS
The home itself is a treasure trove of sentimental items, with vintage and found pieces that tell a story and a few custom moments that lend a bespoke lean to the house, like the bed in the primary bedroom, where Kah wanted to create a luxuriously serene retreat. Most of the art, she says, was found alongside her husband. “Our best and favorite piece of art is the Henri Hecht Maik, which we purchased at auction on a whim,” she says. “Early on in our relationship, my husband and I loved to go to local art fairs and most of the art in the breakfast nook are found pieces, and some leftover wallpaper samples are in the mix there, too. You can turn anything into art with a frame or a ledge!”
The living room is a cozy, tactile paradise, with an inviting RH sofa, Sika-Design chairs, Schumacher draperies, and floor lamps by Arteriors Home. The coffee table is from Villa & House, and the media cabinet is by Selamat. Photographed by Carmel Brantley
THE OUTCOME
Like any good relationship, the slow burn proved worth the wait. From the whimsical Mario Lopez Torres animal chandelier in the dining room to the primary bedroom’s bed fabric block-printed by hand in India, to striped walls in the bathroom and sweet rattan chairs tied neatly in little bows in the playroom, the designer and her family feel just the way she always dreamed: cozy and happy.
Poppie’s rattan bow chairs add a sweet note to the playroom Photographed by Carmel Brantley
DESIGN DETAILS
TYPE
House
LOCATION
North Palm Beach
DESIGN
Caitlin Kah Interiors
STYLING
Nylon Consulting
Console from Mainly Baskets Home stands in the family room beneath a jungleinspired painting by Henri Hecht Maik Photographed by Carmel Brantley
RESOURCES
ANNIE SELKE
Rugs in dining room, family room and playroom
CIRCA WHO FURNITURE
Mario Lopez Torres chandelier in the dining room, dining table
HIVE PALM BEACH
Chair and fabric off of the entry
A Palm Beach moment in the dining room features a table and chandelier from Circa Who Furniture, Noir chairs, an Annie Selke rug, and an art piece by Jennifer Pino Photographed by Carmel Brantley
LES INDIENNES
Bed fabric in the primary bedroom, wallpaper beyond the breakfast area
NOIR
Black side chairs in the family room, bedside table in the primary bedroom
PALM BEACH REGENCY
Vintage rattan shelves in playroom
The primary bedroom offers a retreat with a custom bed in Les Indiennes fabric and Samuel & Sons trim, Matouk bedding, and a wallcovering from Pacific Designs International Photographed by Carmel Brantley
SERENA & LILY
Bathroom mirrors
VISUAL COMFORT & CO.
Lamps in family room, bedside lamp in primary bedroom, sconce in bathroom
painted stripes anchor Serena & Lily mirrors and a Visual Comfort & Co. sconce in the bathroom Photographed by Carmel Brantley
