For more than two decades, the interior designer Sheila Bridges, a creative beacon for Bill Clinton, Tom Clancy and Sean (Diddy) Combs, the hip-hop mogul currently known as Love, has divided her time between Harlem and the Hudson Valley. Most of those years, Ms. Bridges, 57, retreated to an antique farmhouse in the town of Germantown in Columbia County, where she kept horses, sheep, goats and chickens. But in 2019, she moved into a 1,600-square-foot village house near Hudson, N.Y., that was built for her from scratch. (Since 2015, she has also maintained a small residence in Reykjavik, Iceland.) Speaking from her weekend property, she talked about designing to please the ultimate client: herself. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Why did you name your new Hudson Valley home Hay House?
It was sort of a joke. So many people have these very fanciful names for their houses. This is the opposite of a farm, but I have hay bales, which I brought here. And the house looks like a barn.
Was it a struggle to limit the size to 1,600 square feet?
It was a challenge, but the goal was to downsize my life on some level. I’m one person. The bigger the property, the more headaches in terms of upkeep. I’m trying to move away from that as I get a little older.
Did you at least leave room for a work space?
I didn’t design the house thinking that I would be here 24/7, but thankfully the attic is an open space. During the pandemic I turned it into a working studio. I had California Closets come in and build storage for our wallpaper, fabrics and umbrellas, and I put in desks. It worked out very well. It doesn’t intrude on the rest of my living space. One of the challenges we all have faced is how do you separate these spaces when you’re sitting at a laptop 12 hours a day.
I couldn’t help noticing that the wall treatments on the ground floor are, for you, quite plain.
With the architecture and design, it made sense to have white walls. I assume you noticed how much art I have on the walls; all the color and texture come from the …….
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/realestate/sheila-bridges-hay-house-interview.html
