Every room should have an element of surprise that attracts the eye and draws a smile. Karen gives her clients the comfort to make that daring choice. It might come in an unexpected mix of color or a modern pop in an otherwise traditional setting. In every room she decorates, the client’s personality prevails. For Karen, success is having her client walk into a room and think, “I have great taste.”

Rooms need to function as beautifully as they look. Karen loves the challenge of reconfiguring difficult rooms to make them work fluidly, of transforming wasted corners into cozy built-in bookcases with reading seats. Having raised four children in New York City, Karen is well versed in devising innovative solutions to store the clutter of everyday family life and in hitting the balance between quality and value. No matter how gorgeous a room, it doesn’t work unless it is well thought out, unless it can be lived in and shared. 

Karen’s aesthetic—a passion for color and a penchant for understated elegance and well-worn antiques—is informed by nearly twenty years of living in England, France, and Italy. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, she studied decorating from the bottom up, training in upholstery, gilding, caning, antique restoration, and curtain making. She studied the history of antiques at Sotheby's in London and drafting at the New York School of Interior Design. 

Karen's started her collection of wallcoverings “Aux Abris” launched in 2014. It is named after her beloved summer retreat in Shelter Island. Please go to Auxabris.com to see the full collection.