Before turning her attention to interiors, designer Nicole Fisher built her career as a fashion stylist – a background that couldn't be more evident in the confident layering of prints, textures, and color inside this 1914 Colonial bungalow.
Like a well-styled outfit, the house design balances bold pattern-on-pattern with timeless classics, pairing saturated color, florals, and rich textures that sit happily alongside the home’s original architectural detailing.
Working largely within the existing footprint, Nicole Fisher preserved the home’s best-kept accessories (millwork, fireplaces, and stair detailing) while tailoring the interiors with fresh energy. The result is a home where a floral-wallpapered kitchen, a three-sided sofa, and flashes of copper prove that even a modest home can carry playful design with ease.
Perched in New Rochelle in Westchester County, just outside New York City, the 1914 Colonial bungalow offered good bones from the outset.
'That proximity [to New York City] absolutely shaped the mood,' says Nicole. 'It balances traditional East Coast architecture with a confident, editorial edge that reflects city energy. It’s also a block from the Long Island Sound, so it has a coastal style vibe,' she describes.
The homeowners turned to Nicole, who founded her eponymous studio in 2015, with a simple brief: preserve that character of the 1,940 sqft home, while giving the interiors a sense of individuality and charm. And of course, she approached it all with a stylist's eye.
Step through the traditional Colonial front door and you're greeted by vintage rugs, warm green plastered walls, and a striking lacquered power room door, complete with a porthole window – a playful nod to the surroundings.
While the original staircase and millwork echo the home’s early-20th-century character, small details add to the personality of the space. An arched niche with a glowing sconce, a rustic wooden bench, and a stair runner trimmed with a blue, studded edge hint at the mood of the rooms beyond.
Sure, it might be compact, but this transitional entryway delivers on personality. 'You enter through a layered foyer that establishes the home’s confident color story immediately,' Nicole explains. 'It was formally just a pass-through, but it’s now a space that grounds you as you walk through the door.'
'Much of the original millwork, fireplaces, and stair detailing remained intact, giving us strong architectural bones to honor while introducing bold pattern and color,' says Nicole. 'We then updated the railings, the fireplace stone (we kept the mantle), moldings, and millwork in the home.'
From the entry, the home opens into a living room where the palette introduced in the foyer deepens.
'The living spaces build on that momentum with pattern-on-pattern upholstery, rich blues, and warm wood tones anchored by original architectural detailing,' says Nicole. 'Multiple zones allow for entertaining and cozy individual spaces with a book.'
'We looked to classic American interiors and historic East Coast homes for grounding, then layered in an editorial sensibility inspired by fashion styling,' Nicole explains of the aesthetic of the home.
'The tension between tradition and boldness is what gives the home its energy. Some nautical and folk accents were brought in to emphasize the quirk and old New England vibe.'
Layered throw pillows, ottomans, and upholstered pieces bring together varied prints and textures in the space. Marble side tables, warm wood accents, and grasscloth walls add further dimension, while a Mid-Century wooden bar table and stools offer another spot to gather.
At the center of the room sits its most distinctive feature: a custom three-sided sofa upholstered in a handwoven fabric. Rather than the traditional approach of a single sofa facing one direction, the tailored configuration allows the room to work in several ways at once.
'The couch might be my favorite custom element in the house,' Nicole adds. 'It’s not a large space, but it needed to serve a ton of functions.'
'This three-sided design allows someone to be reading in front of the fireplace, watching a show, or entertaining with a cocktail.'
If the living room gently introduces Nicole’s love of layered patterns, the kitchen is where the idea is taken to its most confident.
The walls are wrapped in a rich floral wallpaper, so to sit against this, the cabinetry is deliberately more restrained yet no less special. Warm wood cabinets are paired with marble countertops and an oxidized copper hood that allows the wallpaper to remain the star.
Originally a smaller, more enclosed space, the room was extended to create a more generous kitchen with a banquette seat that now functions as the heart of the home.
'We worked largely within the existing footprint and respected the home’s original layout,' Nicole explains. 'The transformation focused on reimagining how the spaces felt rather than dramatically restructuring them.'
'The one room that got expanded was the kitchen. We combined the smaller kitchen footprint with the dining room to make a large eat-in kitchen.'
'The kitchen is expansive in storage and color, tied together with the floral wallpaper and paneled appliances,' Nicole explains. 'The original steel windows are a major focal point that let a ton of light and interest into the space.'
Nicole describes this room as the one that best captures the spirit of the home: 'warm, chic and totally unexpected,' she says.
A built-in banquette tucked into one corner reinforces the room’s sociable spirit, offering a space where cooking, dining, and hosting can all happen comfortably at once.
'Warm wood elements and classic detailing ground even the boldest moments. Mixing metals, different woods, and pattern-on-pattern allows the space to feel collected over time,' she adds.
Upstairs, the primary suite continues the home’s love of florals, but with a softer, more cocooning tone.
'The cathedral ceilings, oversized light fixtures, and color palette make you feel like you’re waking up in a hotel suite,' Nicole notes of the warm pine cladding and brown hues that give the bedroom an almost cabin-like feel.
The walls are wrapped in a delicate Pierre Frey wallpaper paired with a four-posted bed with rope-detailed canopy, which introduces a nautical note to the space, while vintage textiles and layered rugs add warmth underfoot.
'We repeated tonal blues and traditional motifs throughout the home to create cohesion,' Nicole notes.
'You’re also greeted with a guest bath complete with limestone and turquoise marble, an expanded primary suite with a walk-in closet and an abundance of color and pattern,' she adds.
The sense of personality continues throughout the guest spaces upstairs, where pattern, color, and thoughtful detailing give each room its own distinct identity.
In this guest bedroom, soft greens and warm blush tones create a calm, welcoming retreat. The fern-patterned wallpaper feels both classic and gently playful, while the floral curtains introduce a second layer of pattern that introduces a new color without overwhelming the room. The beds themselves are kept simple and upholstered in pale linen, allowing the textiles and wallpaper to take center stage.
'The guest bedrooms round out the floor with color, ease, and a space to house everything,' Nicole adds.
Nearby, the guest bathroom introduces a more sculptural moment through its materials.
A striking turquoise-veined marble sink appears to float beneath the window, while above it, an arched mirror is unexpectedly placed in front of the window. Deep teal plaster walls create a rich, cocooning backdrop to the polished brass fittings and classic detailing that keep the room feeling timeless.
'The home needed to feel collected and intentional rather than trendy, with boldness grounded in tradition,' Nicole explains.
Tucked upstairs is also a small home office that continues the home’s layered, collected aesthetic. Custom millwork in warm wood wraps one wall, providing both storage and display space. Rather than feeling overly styled, the shelves are filled with personal objects and books that give the room a lived-in character.
Among them sits the homeowner’s Emmy award, proudly displayed within the built-in shelving. 'The Emmy in the corner bookshelf has its own spot in the custom-built millwork that feels collected over time.'
Throughout the home, Nicole introduced a series of playful details that feel almost like little easter eggs – unexpected touches that reveal themselves as you move through the space.
One of the most memorable is the lacquered blue powder room door glimpsed from the entry hall, punctuated with a vintage porthole window. Peer through the circular window (from inside the bathroom) and you catch a glimpse of a mermaid painting in the foyer.
'The powder room is petite but impactful with saturated color and a copper toilet,' Nicole adds. 'The blue door was a deliberate addition that acts as a saturated punctuation mark within the traditional envelope. We lacquered this and added a vintage porthole to hit the mark on a nautical vibe. It’s kitchy but so fun.'
Elsewhere, warm copper and brass accents appear throughout the house, from kitchen fittings to smaller decorative details, bringing a subtle glow that contrasts with the deeper tones of the color scheme for the whole home.
As well as coastal touches, folk art was also an important motif in this project.
'The palette centers around saturated blues, warm neutrals, and rich wood tones. Pattern is layered thoughtfully in varying scales, so the rooms feel dynamic and intentional rather than overwhelming,' Nicole explains. 'Floral motifs, folk art, and chunky textures repeat throughout the space.'
Together, these moments create a house that feels thoughtful but never overly serious.
The greatest challenge in this project? Balancing bold patterns and color within a historical home, without overwhelming it.
'Leaning fully into that tension was the risk, and it is what ultimately gave the project its clarity and impact,' says Nicole. 'I’m glad we went with our gut on this, and the client totally embraced the vision. They were engaged and collaborative but trusted us to push the design beyond the expected.'
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