Actual art feels almost beside the point when the wallpaper is doing the storytelling – especially in a collected, cross-referential project like Corey Damen Jenkins's Garden Room in Cohasset, Massachusetts. The garden room, wrapped in a sweeping nature mural, nods to the surrounding South Shore landscape and the home’s maritime provenance in a way no framed piece could compete with.
‘When we first laid eyes on its idyllic landscape and ambling waterways, we knew it would be the perfect fit for our project,’ Corey says of the Iksel mural that became both muse and anchor for the entire room. ‘I always aim to cast “lead actors” in our designs, and this mural was one that the family fell in love with, so we made careful choices to pull together a concept that garnered full support from all the supporting actors in the room.’
The most notable of whom was color, which acted as the picturesque scene's closest collaborator. Notice the auburn and caramel tones in the mural's architectural detailing find near-mirror echoes in the warm woods, blue velvets, and textural upholstery throughout the space.
‘It was important to us that we retained as much of the home’s provenance as possible,’ Corey says of the property, originally built in the 1850s by a sea captain. ‘The dining room’s fireplace is original to the house, as are the headers over the doors and windows.'
'Too often, we see many of these historic motifs ripped out in renovations because people don’t value them highly,' Corey continues. 'I feel it’s best to preserve those elements as a point of pride for the homeowners to enjoy. It also makes for great storytelling when friends and family visit.’
Despite the heirlooms – an antique mirror, a rowing helm from Oxford University’s 1927 team, crest intact – nothing about the garden room feels stuck in the past. The modern counterpoints, such as the sleek, glass-topped coffee table or blooming monochromatic chandelier, help, of course. But the real source of its vitality lies in something subtler: Corey’s orchestration of pattern through size, scale, and symmetry.
‘Various patterns can be different sizes and shapes, but they should still complement one another like various instruments in a symphony,’ he explains – a crucial principle when the room is, quite literally, swathed in pattern itself. This way, details like the plaid accent chair and graphic rug feel animated, not at odds with our main character, the mural.
But perhaps even less conspicuous are the easter eggs Corey threads throughout the space – the 'extras,' the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them details that have become something of a signature for the New York–based designer.
‘I love a subtle wink-and-nod to something fun or humorous in a room, especially if it’s an inside joke that only the family really knows about,’ Corey says. ‘Perhaps it’s something silly, or maybe it’s a shared love for something cool, different, or even unexpected.’
Here, that moment takes the form of a brass octopus – a sly nod to the home’s maritime story and a small, serotonin-boosting surprise amid the refinement.
‘These little moments of joy remind us that interior design doesn’t always need to take itself so seriously,’ Corey adds. Even a room with as much history as this one ‘can also have heart and an understated sense of humor.’
Which naturally prompted the question – one his work here all but answered for him – is he glad to see minimalism on the outs?
‘Frankly, yes!’ Corey says without hesitation. ‘Minimalism has its place in the world of design, and for certain clients it may make more sense as their preference. However, it brings me great joy to see the world opening up again to embracing vibrant color and realizing the power that it can bring to our human experience.’
So yes, the garden room is memorable for several reasons: details like the carefully calculated plaid, the unexpected octopus, and the rejection of minimalism more generally all play into the magic – but ultimately, those are still the minor actors.
Recall why they got cast in the first place. If you’re after the same sense of sweep, story, and joie de vivre, your own cinematic journey may begin right where Corey’s did: with a mural.
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Get lost in the scenic sweep of this rolling-hill mural, which swaps Massachusetts’s maritime heritage for the serene English countryside, depicting quiet pastures, undulating fields, and a classic pastoral tableau. Different locale, same scene-setting authority Corey uses to anchor the entire room.
Chances are, you don’t already have one of these at home. This golden octopus sculpture, inspired by 19th-century cabinets of curiosities, is a dead-ringer for the one in Corey’s Cohasset project. Perfect for topping a book stack or filling that awkward gap on a coffee table, credenza, or shelf.
Monochromatic, plaster-look lighting skews modern, but florals – being inherently organic – never belong to just one era. That’s why this sculptural fixture slips so effortlessly into a room layered with history. Let it bloom against a white ceiling for the cleanest contrast and maximum mural drama.
Scene-heavy murals often scare people away from introducing more pattern – but Corey would argue that’s precisely the moment to layer with intention. The trick is a throughline (color) and a point of contrast (scale). Here, the navy ties back to the mural while the graphic checks introduce a geometric note the room doesn’t yet have.
A reliable way to fake a little provenance in a room you didn’t actually inherit is to anchor it with one convincingly antique moment. This mirror isn’t old, but it carries all the gilded, ornamental cues you’d hope to score at an estate sale. Perch it on a sideboard the way Corey does to stake out a focal point with a regal presence.
Alongside one of the Garden Room’s accent chairs sits a petite mixed–material table featuring a marble base and warm wood top. The silhouette reads modern, but that hit of wood makes it fluent in the room’s broader palette of cognacs and umbers, from the leather stool to the vintage rowing helm. This lookalike is a smart little bridge-piece: contemporary, but fully in conversation with all the history surrounding it.
In case it wasn’t clear, mural walls are the new accent wall – and rooms like this make a case for decorating all four. Designers are leaning hard into this painterly, atmospheric change. See what the fuss is about.
