Model Emily DiDonato is Living Every New Yorker's Fantasy
Emily DiDonato, together with design studio, Chango & Co., created the ultimate airy family home in New York.
"We wanted to create our dream Hamptons home, just closer to the city, and live there full-time,” Emily DiDonato explains. In short, the model and co-founder of vegan skincare line Covey was looking to live every New Yorker’s fantasy. Ultimately, she and her husband, financier Kyle Peterson, found their ideal spot in Westchester County, north of New York City. There, they built a home near the water with outdoor space for their growing family, and a bit of an always-on-vacation vibe. “It’s beachy but modern. We were looking at similar homes [on Eastern Long Island], but I feel like we got the dream scenario,” DiDonato continues. Next they called in Susana Simonpietri, creative director of Brooklyn-based interior design studio Chango & Co., whom they met through friends, to help complete their vision.
Coming off of years living in Tribeca, a certain level of sophistication was also on the menu. “They wanted a home that felt peaceful and relaxed and that would carry over some of their city living ideals to being in Westchester,” Simonpietri says. “They were very communicative, very easygoing, very nice, and they allowed us a lot of freedom.”
One sticking point in all of this ease? “[Kyle’s] idea of cool is dark, and [Emily’s] is light,” the designer explains. But sometimes tension is what sparks true magic. “It happens with a lot of clients—they have very different ideas of the house that they want, and as you start working with them, they realize that they actually want the same thing, so it was beautiful to watch.” His home office and adjoining powder room are masculine and moody. The office contrasts dark blue painted walls and a similarly deep blue velvet sofa and ottoman with orange pillows and a gold sconce. The powder room’s dark, tie-dye-effect paint is offset with a rich stone sink with flecks of gold and a brass faucet and sconce, and orange towels to continue the color scheme.
Throughout the remainder of the rooms, Emily’s airy moments reign, but there are hints of Kyle’s preference for darker tones as well. “Susana really helped us find the marriage between the dark and light,” DiDonato explains. “There are dark accents throughout the house in the architecture—all the windows and a lot of the hardware are black.”
The words DiDonato returned to over and over again were “definitely comfort, homey. I wanted an earthy element. I like a lightness,” she says. And indeed, exiting Peterson’s office is like leaving a cozy nook and going straight into the sunshine. A large window anchors the family room, which allows light to stream onto cream walls and a wood-accented ceiling, whose center point is a statement white chandelier. An expansive gray custom sectional wraps around the space and serves as a perfect base for the family of four—a minimal neutral coffee table sits in front of it. A tangerine-hued painting by Ludovic Philippon takes the sunshine idea literally, adding a welcome hit of vibrancy. “Kyle and I knew that we wanted things to be simple in terms of color for the furniture and the rugs, and that we wanted to bring in that pop of color through art,” the model and entrepreneur explains.
The living room is a calming sea of creams, grays, and wood tones comprised of textural pieces including a CB2 sofa, two boucle chairs, and a gray daybed for additional lounging. As a contrast to so much softness, a marble DWR coffee table mirrors the statement stone fireplace. A gold pendant lends a touch of glamour to the otherwise earthy room.
And yet so much white has not yet been undone by two charming toddlers. “My fear going into it was, We’re going to have a kid and we’re going to have to change all of this,” DiDonato explains. “I’ve had another baby since all of this started, and I’m so happy we kept that in mind throughout the process.” A mother of young children herself, Simonpietri mined her own expertise. “Every fabric that we used in the home is solution-dyed acrylic or a super–high performance fabric,” she says.
As in so many homes of young families, the kitchen has become the beating heart. And though a lovely dining room replete with a sleek wooden table, three cone pendants from Materia, and modern black chairs sits nearby, it’s the stools at an expansive marble counter that account for most of where mealtime happens. A small breakfast nook is also well-loved and gives an inviting outdoor vibe, with Carl Hansen wishbone chairs placed around a mid-century modern table. A woven pendant sits above for soft, diffused lighting when the sun isn’t streaming in. “Often the playdates are here,” DiDonato says. “You’re just always hearing our children screaming, and they say that I will miss that one day,” she laughs.
Upstairs, the comfort level goes up a notch. Brass sconces bookend a king-sized upholstered bed covered with white and beige bedding in the primary bedroom. A seating area with a shearling chair around a sculptural fireplace ups the true oasis vibe.
But it’s the home’s first nursery that has captured DiDonato’s fancy. “For her daughter, we used a lot of soft pinks and blushes because that was a moment to be more girly,” Simonpietri says. “I wanted something girly,” DiDonato echoes. “I wanted something that felt warm and cozy. And I feel like we really accomplished that.” All those pinks are made up of shades of blush with berry flourishes. Artful Black Crow Studios wallpaper hangs above a sweet and simple crib, which sits under a rattan chandelier. A deeper blush shade is used for the curtains by Kravet and the plush rug. Simonpietri added an additional seating area with a cream boucle chair and matching ottoman for evening storytime.
A move to the suburbs and becoming a mother was certainly a sea of change for DiDonato. “The first couple of months were super-weird. I felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she says. “Now I’m used to it because I feel like it’s great for kids. And I’ve met a lot of other moms here, and I’ve gotten used to the quiet and the space.” (When the kids aren’t screaming, of course.)
“Emily was a huge inspiration for the project,” says Simonpietri. “Physically and emotionally, she is very beautiful. There’s an etherealness to most of the home. It’s very uncomplicated and very honest, I think, and that’s exactly how she is.”
