Oversized chairs and a bright palette make this great room with adjacent lanai the perfect family destination. 

 

Seek Your Own Sanctuary 

 

If an interior designer does her job well, when you walk into any of her clients’ homes the life reflected should be the client’s, not the designer’s.  

 

Rye-based designer Shannon Murray says that a key element in her design process is gathering inspiration and insight from her clients’ preferences—down to their colors—and lifestyle, and then creating an aesthetically pleasing, functional environment.  

 

“A home should tell the story of who lives there and be their sanctuary,” she maintains.” 

 

With the likelihood that all of us will be staying at home more than we did before the pandemic, Murray says that having a place to gather, in addition to the kitchen, is essential.  

 

Formal living rooms and dining rooms are giving way to larger, more casual spaces, reports Murray, who has lived in a 1920s farmhouse in Rye for close to 20 years that she has renovated and expanded over the years.  

 

“Move out the stuffy furniture and put in a custom-sized sectional. Add a desk or large worktable with comfortable chairs and ottomans nearby so everyone can be part of the conversation,” recommends Murray. And when choosing fabrics and fit out costs for new pieces or old items, the mother of two teen-agers encourages clients to use indoor/outdoor, performance fabrics. “Life happens.” 

 

In addition to family homes in Westchester, she has designed ski homes in Vermont, getaways in Florida, homes in Denver and San Francisco, and commercial spaces, including ZLife and Landsberg Jewelers in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center.  

 

This designing woman wisely moved her business, Shannon Murray Interiors, out of her home five years ago to a loft in downtown Rye.