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[Oznell]

Scott Sanders was formerly a chief interior designer for the Ralph Lauren company, and judging by this house in New Jersey "horse country",  he has a feel for that comfy "old Yankee" look that Lauren aspires to.

This was one of my favorite houses in House Beautiful's "blue" issue, in which they asked various designers to discuss their use of the color blue in their work.  Fun!

I normally am not all that crazy about wall galleries, but here I think it livens up what would otherwise be a big, blank stair wall.  Well done:

Sanders told House Beautiful he wanted to make this newer house look older, and he wanted to warm it up, so he used almost exclusively traditional elements:  blue and white china, transferware, old brass, plaids, etc.  I love the way the British tan of the sofa looks with all the blue.

He said that he pulled the color scheme from the wing chair's paisley fabric, which is "Dromoland" by Scalamandre.  You can see it a bit in the wing chair in the photo below, and even more in the center pillow on the couch:

He mixed chinoiserie, transferware, and cobalt blue glassware for a striking display in a dining room cupboard:

Above:  He decided to use autumnal colors in the family room, as a relief from all the blue in the house.

The owner had an antique brass chandelier he used in the dining room below, which cued him to start a collection of old brass for her, displayed in the living room and elsewhere.

He continued his blue theme in the master, but here he lightened and moderated it to a dreamy shade of blue-green, cool and restful:

The paint color is called "Spring in Aspen",  by Benjamin Moore.

Sorry for all the weird spacing in this one--  my computer seemed to be acting up, and it also wanted to put the images in the wrong order, etc.  I had more images of the house to put up, but finally gave up in defeat.  Is it a full moon?!

[jellyBEAN]

I wonder where in NJ this house is and what it looks like on the outside.  If its horse country I'm guessing somewhere in Somerset County or maybe Hunterdon County.

I feel its too cluttered for my taste.  It does look old fashioned.  I like the bedroom best.  I like the fireplace and the paint color on the walls.  I'm sure it's a gorgeous home in person.  Money money money here.

[spiderw]

I love the color blue throughout the rooms.  I also think you are right. Oznell, about the gallery along the staircase walls.filling up which would other wise be an empty area. I think the color in the master bedroom is lovely and perfect for the area!  With the exception of a couple of the couches which aren't my style, I think the rooms are very appealing.  I do like the family room also where he used greens and light browns, warm and comfortable looking.

[ID2]

Horribly cluttered!! Who lives with knick knacks all over the walls, all over the tables, all over the floors?? All of these photos, except the last two, are a real designers nightmare. Yuck!

[Oznell]

I wondered that too, @jellyBEAN.  To me, looking at a house is even more enjoyable if you have a geographic "context" to put it in.

I think when Jackie Onassis had a house in New Jersey specifically for riding, it might well have been in that general area.  Don't know if she kept horses herself, but she definitely rode there.  They described her house, I think, as being in Peapack, (sp?) New Jersey.   That unusual name stuck in my head!

Is Peapack in either of those counties?

Edited to add:  Oh, forgot-- one clue Scott Sanders gave was that there were riding trails visible from the house.  But of course that could be any number of places....

[Somertime]

@Oznell   Jackie O's home was in Bernardsville, NJ, Somerset County.

For me, a personal taste, all the blue accents are overwhelming and a bit jarring.  In the LR, the blue candles, blue lamp shades, the blue and white china is all I can see when I look at the room.  If they were removed and only the blue and white china were used it would please me more.  Although I like a stair wall with pictures, I do not care for the blue matting, I prefer them to relate in some way, whether it be in the framing or the matting.

The dinning room in cobalt blue, is jarring and makes me step back.  I do not care for the color of the drapes or the dining chairs or the hurricane globes on the table.  The color is very intense and that is all I can see.  It takes away from the delicacy of the wallpaper and the design of the room.  Subtle is not his style but as long as it pleases him, that is what matters.

[Oznell]

Ah, Bernardsville rings a bell with me too, @Somertime.  I'm wondering if it was the Peapack hunt club or something that she rode with.  Those more rural townships in New Jersey seem to have so many sub-communities and hamlets, it's Byzantine!

I got curious and looked up the area-- gorgeous!   All those beautiful fields and woods, yet not far from NYC.   The houses tucked in among winding roads and meadows-- dreamy...

[Oznell]

You know, it's funny, all the touches of blue to me are grace notes, that help "spark" the neutrals and make everything more interesting, even in the dining room where the contrast is marked.  Wouldn't like it near as well without.

Must be an emotional "pull" of the color blue for me as well as the aesthetics....

As for the collections, in the context of this house, I think they are totally congruent.  When this shoot was done, around 2010 I think, brass was still out of favor-- it's only been the last few years it's come roaring back for the masses in such a big way.  So I love the boldness and individuality of ranks of brass candlesticks, for example, on the coffee table, going against the "expected" grain..

The owner loved her antique brass chandelier, so, by gum, her decorator was going to give her brass!   (Which I also thinks looks wonderful with blue).

I love being made to think about choices and preferences in decorating-- these discussions are always revelatory!

[Somertime]

@Oznell   Peapack is in Somerset County as well.  She might have rented a home, there, before she purchased in Bernardsville,  Somerset County is lovely, very bucolic, rural and horse county.  Think "To the hounds"!  I would think she owned horses bu I could be wrong.  I remember Caroline's pony, Macaroni and Jackie's horse Sadar which was given to her as a gift when she was First Lady.  I often wondered what became of them.

[catter70]

I would think there would be money there, as I can't imagine what the taxes are, especially if it's Hunterdon for Somerset.