{"id":173850,"date":"2025-08-25T08:17:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T08:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/173850\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T08:17:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T08:17:22","slug":"this-historic-chesapeake-bay-retreat-is-a-lesson-in-restrained-maximalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/173850\/","title":{"rendered":"This Historic Chesapeake Bay Retreat Is a Lesson in Restrained Maximalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

To transform a stately 1920s summer retreat in the Chesapeake Bay area, Corey Damen Jenkins<\/a> deployed a strategy that can best be described as restrained maximalism. \u201cThe idea was to take a grand historic home with these American Colonial Revival bones and make it feel more relatable, livable, and down to earth for a growing family,\u201d says the ELLE Decor A-list designer.<\/a><\/p>\n

New York\u2013based Jenkins is known for his signature brand of polished traditionalism that embraces modern elegance, exuberant color, and touches of whimsy. A shining example of his style is this 12,000-square-foot residence, one of ten personality-packed projects in his new book, Design Reimagined.<\/a> Out September 2nd, it\u2019s a companion to his 2021 debut monograph.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorAndrew Frasz<\/p>\n

The walls of the front hall are clad in a sunny yellow grasscloth by Kravet that has been glazed with plaster by local artisans.<\/p>\n

The secret ingredient to Jenkins\u2019s success might be his ability to use virtually any piece from a client\u2019s existing collection in a new project, be it a Louis XVI daybed, a vintage sunburst mirror, or a pair of antique wooden swans\u2014all of which figure into the interiors of the shore house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I always tell my team is that a client\u2019s vision, taste, and collection are like bricks in a brick wall,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we are the mortar holding it all together. In the end, you should see the client\u2019s personality, not ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"coreyAndrew Frasz<\/p>\n

A staircase off the front hall features a vintage sunburst mirror and a flock of crystal swallows from Lalique.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is this approach more apparent than in the Chesapeake Bay home\u2019s front hall, which features walls clad in a cheerful yellow grasscloth from Kravet. \u201cThe client\u2019s favorite color is sunshine yellow,\u201d says Jenkins. \u201cWe wanted to celebrate that.\u201d He then glazed the wall covering with a special plaster mixed on-site, giving it a textured patina that complements the space\u2019s crisp white architectural moldings.<\/p>\n

For the front hall\u2019s furnishings, Jenkins took a pair of armchairs the clients already owned and reupholstered them in a blue-striped fabric from his collaboration with Kravet.<\/a> He also added a bespoke skirted loveseat, a gilded Aerin floor lamp from Visual Comfort, and window treatments in a blue and white floral motif. (The aforementioned wooden swans enjoy pride of place on an antique console just beyond the front door.)<\/p>\n

\"DiningAndrew Frasz<\/p>\n

The second-floor library features a scenic mural, a leather-topped table, and vintage chairs.<\/p>\n

The coastal-inspired palette continues throughout the rest of the house, starting with the sky blue plaid stair runner by Patterson Flynn. The second-story library, with its cluster of antique sea-foam chairs, features a teal and mossy green scenic mural. Even the rear terrace, which overlooks the water, stays on theme with blue and white furnishings, along with an installation of antique Moroccan plates.<\/p>\n

\"coreyAndrew Frasz<\/p>\n

One of the guest rooms features a gold-and-yellow wall covering from John Rosselli & Associates.<\/p>\n

Upstairs, Jenkins used the wife\u2019s favorite color again, wrapping one of the guest rooms in a two-toned yellow botanical wall covering from John Rosselli. \u201cBecause the pattern is busy, I wanted to use simple linen drapery and paint the ceiling white,\u201d he says. \u201cThe best maximalism is governed by restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Step Inside This Chesapeake Bay House\"ElegantOpen Gallery\"\"\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To transform a stately 1920s summer retreat in the Chesapeake Bay area, Corey Damen Jenkins deployed a strategy…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":173851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1199,99042,1033,1201,171,2875,99041,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-173850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-content-type-default","11":"tag-contentid-09fa0f08-e2d4-4d0f-8665-4d2780995691","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-locale-us","16":"tag-shorttitle-inside-a-colorful-chesapeake-bay-retreat","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115088421553071752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}