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A House Beautiful home tour features a five-bedroom Colonial in New Canaan, Connecticut, redesigned by Ariel Okin for a family with two young children. The design incorporates the homeowners’ bird figurine collection and nature-inspired patterns while keeping the rooms functional for family life.
Designer Ariel Okin has turned a new-build home in New Canaan, Connecticut, into a family retreat that reflects the homeowners’ love of nature and their collection of bird figurines, according to a House Beautiful home tour. The five-bedroom Colonial uses bird-patterned wallcoverings, florals and soft colors to make a previously impersonal interior feel connected to the pastoral landscape outside.
The homeowners, a married couple with a toddler and an infant, hired Okin, whose practice is based in Connecticut and New York City, to furnish and shape the house for family life. Okin described the interior as an “empty white box” when the work began. The residence sits near a horse farm, and the clients wanted to bring some of that countryside feeling indoors, she told House Beautiful.
The design combines floral patterns and stripes with airy linens, pale blues and chocolate browns. Bird imagery appears in more than one form: a Lewis & Wood wallpaper with winged motifs anchors the dining room, while a bright green bird-patterned wallcovering created with The Mural Source features in a first-floor powder room. Okin also incorporated the clients’ bird figurines, which she said required a considered approach so the collection would not make the home feel like a museum.
The article describes a range of rooms, from a welcoming entry with antique and vintage pieces to a living room shaped around the clients’ artwork. The kitchen pairs a predominantly white scheme with textured oak barstools and blue-and-white striped window treatments. Children’s spaces take a more playful direction: a nursery has striped wallpaper and primary-color accents, while the playroom is designed to feel lively. Okin said the rooms were planned to remain useful as the boys grow.
Bird Motifs Meet Family Living
The project shows how a homeowner’s personal collection can inform a home’s design without becoming the sole focus. Rather than displaying the bird figurines as an isolated collection, Okin echoed their subject through wallpaper and decorative details, linking personal objects to the broader palette and landscape-inspired scheme.
The family brief also shaped the design beyond its appearance. The article says the couple wanted rooms that worked for a toddler and an infant, with children’s areas that could adapt as the boys get older. Okin described the family room as a space used frequently, making comfort and function part of the design alongside decorative choices. For readers considering a renovation or furnishing project, the tour offers a specific example of balancing personal style with everyday household needs.
bird motif wallpaper for living room
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A New-Build With Colonial Character
The home is described in the House Beautiful report as a white clapboard Colonial set on a hill near a horse farm. Although it was newly built, Okin said its surroundings and traditional exterior provided a sense of New England character. The interior, by contrast, began as a largely blank, white space that did not yet reflect the family living there.
Okin worked with Mike Cerreta of Cerreta Builders on the project, according to the article. The dining room was conceived as a lasting gathering space: Okin said she imagined the family hosting Thanksgiving there years into the future. That goal helps explain the use of traditional patterns and furnishings alongside more youthful choices in the nursery and playroom.
““It was an empty white box when we started working on it.””
— Ariel Okin, designer, quoted by House Beautiful
Project Details Not Reported
The source is a design-focused home tour, not a full account of the project’s schedule or budget. It does not state when the work was completed, how much the renovation or furnishing cost, or which parts of the new-build were altered beyond the interior design. The report also does not identify the homeowners by name or provide their own direct comments.
Details about the bird figurine collection, including its size and origins, are not given. The article describes the design and quotes Okin, but does not provide independent information about the family’s experience of the home beyond the designer’s account of their gratitude after moving in.
No Further Project Update Listed
House Beautiful’s article presents the home as a completed design project and does not announce a follow-up, sale or planned renovation. No next project milestone is identified in the source material. The immediate development is the publication of the home tour, which documents Okin’s approach and the rooms she designed.
Key Questions
Where is the home featured in the tour?
The five-bedroom home is in New Canaan, Connecticut, near a horse farm, according to House Beautiful.
Who designed the home’s interior?
Ariel Okin, a designer based in Connecticut and New York City, led the interior design, according to the report.
How does the design reflect the homeowners’ interest in birds?
Okin incorporated the family’s bird figurine collection and repeated bird imagery in wallcoverings, including designs in the dining room and a first-floor powder room.
Was the home designed for children?
Yes. The clients have a toddler and an infant, and Okin said the nursery and playroom were designed to feel engaging while remaining adaptable as the boys grow.
Are the project’s cost and completion date known?
The House Beautiful report does not provide a budget or completion date. It also does not describe a forthcoming project milestone.
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