Ariel Okin
Photo by Donna Dotan
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Anywhere on the water. A shingled saltbox on the bay somewhere is my dream!
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Tailored
2. Layered
3. Classic
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? In the first house I grew up in, until I was around ten or eleven, my bedroom was an explosion of pink chintz and white wicker. My mom designed the room, and the walls, bedding and window treatments all matched. When we moved into the next house that I spent most of my childhood in, my parents worked with Judy Kling of J.K. Kling and Associates, who is the chicest person on the planet. I vividly remember getting to pick out schemes for my room in their office with Judy and her daughter (an experience, in hindsight, that ignited my love for design.) That room had gray blue walls with crisp white trim, an upholstered scroll bed with a footboard in a beautiful linen that matched the walls, tufted skirted slipper chairs by a bookcase with coral velvet pillows, and three black and white framed photographs that I got to choose from one of Judy’s art print catalogues – one of Grand Central Station with light streaming in through the windows, one of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and one of the Rat Pack. I guess those choices were a pretty good indication that I was an old soul at twelve – ha!
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A pair of oversized Gracie panels, in the Hampton Garden colorway but in a custom pattern, that my husband gifted me for my birthday as a “first real house purchase”. They make our family room complete and they make me so happy.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be?
Billy Baldwin or Albert Hadley.
No room is complete without: Books and table lamps with great lampshades.
People think of me as outgoing, but I am really pretty shy!
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Lilies
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Caviar
A bar cabinet: Not big on rum in this house
A song for:
Dinner at home: Oogum Boogum by Brenton Wood – always puts me in the best mood.
Working at your desk: I stream WQXR all day – it’s so relaxing.
Going for a run: My workout music is straight 2000’s rap!
Biggest Vice? Chocolate in any form, and Etsy.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Skincare (another vice – I can’t help myself) and this Josef Hoffmann botanical print cabinet that I have been coveting for one hundred years: https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Botanical-print-cabinet/24810D501471E928.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I think the basic tenets of my design ethos can be found in how I dress – tailoring is huge for me (I’m 4’11!) so everything needs to be tailored to some degree, and I think that reflects itself in the shapes I use in my work. I also tend to have a pretty neutral base palette with trusty staples – high waisted cropped jeans, white t-shirts that fit really well, trusty blazers – and then I build in accessories from there, much in the same way that I start with a relatively neutral palette in our design work and much of the zhush comes in pillows, artwork, etc. Although during Covid, I don’t think my legging/sweatshirt combo reflects much of anything!
Who is your star crush? Paul Newman!
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
All white minimalism with extremely modern lines – I love it when I see it, but it’s just not me.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? That’s so tough! Either On Decorating or Billy Baldwin Decorates.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Comfort, warmth, timelessness.
Your Favorite:
Movie: Tie between Something’s Gotta Give and Goodfellas.
Book: Anything Austen or Wharton.
Scent: Angel by Thierry Mugler, and amber essential oil.
The fabric you always come back to: Schumacher’s Rocky Performance Velvet is in heavy rotation in our projects for its durability and colorways. Pierre Frey’s Braquenié is a personal favorite because it’s so gorgeous.
Dream project: A Mizner bungalow or Volk regency in Palm Beach.
Meal: Bolognese
Drink: A crisp Sancerre or a spicy marg.
Hotel: Ocean House in RI
Travel Destination: Palm Beach and Capri
Artist: Pissarro, particularly street scenes
A cause near and dear to me: UJA and anything animal related.
Thing to collect obsessively: Tabletop – I have so many mismatched plates, bowls, cups, saucers, etc. Vintage Royal Copenhagen in the fluted half lace (my wedding pattern) and spongeware is my kryptonite. My MIL is an avid Emma Bridgewater collector and now I’ve gone down that rabbit hole too!
Era in the history of design: Art Deco
Museum: The Frick
Paint Color that always looks great: Borrowed Light, Farrow & Ball
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: @roman_and_ivy
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? All the dogs!!!!!!!
