Designers Michael DePerno and Andrew Fry bring their pared-down sophistication to their newest home reno.
A real estate tour through Connecticut's Litchfield County sealed the fate of interior designers Michael DePerno and Andrew Fry. Upon entering a neglected 1910 cottage, DePerno opened a jammed window, only to watch it crash to the ground. “The broker told me, 'This is your house. You're the only one who will restore it properly,' ” DePerno says.
The cherry four-poster master bed is custom; the cabinet is a vintage Japanese tansu; art (above the chair), Cecilia Hallinan.
Andrew Fry (left) and Michael DePerno in front of their barn with their whippets, Fennie and Bose.
Early in his career, DePerno proclaimed his aesthetic loyalty to clean lines, superior craftsmanship, and natural palettes. His former New York shop, Hope & Wilder, had style cognoscenti flocking to SoHo for its artful mix of white-painted furniture, handwoven baskets, and decanters blown in glass as thin as plastic wrap.
While that store closed in 1998, an equally well-edited assortment is on display at Plain Goods, DePerno and Fry's latest venture, in New Preston, Connecticut, where the offerings include everything from onyx lamps and woven-metal garden furniture to felted rugs. And thanks to Fry-who has a fashion background, having worked in marketing and communications for Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Tom Ford-the shop also sells select clothing.
“If you want a poplin shirt, we will have the six best,” DePerno says.
A painted American Empire table is framed by antique English Chippendale chairs in the dining room. The vintage sofa is by Kaare Klint.
At home, the atmosphere is just as perfectly curated, as well as warm and inviting. “We work very much in the old-fashioned style,” DePerno explains. “Rather than imposing a look on our house, we start by considering the light and the property, and then go from there to make it sing. There's a certain archaeology to it.”
The master bath's tub is from the early 20th century, and the oak cabinet is antique.
After determining whether the house was structurally sound (it was), the couple's first plan of attack was to unify the interiors. Their secret weapon: a custom blend of Benjamin Moore white paints that they alternately describe as “pure white,” “lily-of-the-valley white,” or “the color of whole milk”-a singular hue that glows as the sun rises and sets, wonderfully reflecting the surrounding green fields in summertime while rendering interiors bright and airy during short winter days.
The living room's vintage sofa is by George Smith. The antique armchair (left) is covered in a Rose Tarlow Melrose House fabric. Art, Ronald Bladen.
White also creates an adaptable background for the furniture that DePerno has been collecting his entire life. “Even as a child in Michigan, I hunted for treasures in the neighbors' dumpsters,” he recalls with a smile. In fact, the dining room's centerpiece was salvaged from the streets of New York City. While walking to meet Fry for dinner one evening, DePerno spotted a painted American Empire table with a sign attached that read FREE.
DePerno phoned Fry, already seated at the restaurant, who dashed over to help carry the table six blocks to their car. “I was hesitant, but in this space, the table really came to life,” Fry admits.
The kitchen's antique Wedgewood stove is from Antique Stove Heaven; custom hood, Vent-A-Hood; cabinet countertops, Chestnut Woodworking. In DePerno's office, the chair, English sofa, and Native American rug are all antique; art, Ronald Bladen.
Much of the upholstered furniture sports fitted white slip-covers fashioned from vintage French bedsheets. “This white is nicely faded from years of washing and ironing,” DePerno says. “I used these slipcovers a lot at Hope & Wilder, and here I am circling back to them again.”
In the front entry, the antique desk and stool are English.
The couple's successful efforts in their Connecticut cottage bring to mind Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's immortal words: “In character, in manner, in style, in all things, supreme excellence is simplicity.”
This story appears in the July/August 2018 issue of Veranda.
