Parisian awnings inspired the gray and white palette of Lynn Morgan's Upper East Side pied-à-terre. A coral ottoman and matching pillows pop in the living room. Rattan chairs and sisal rugs are Morgan staples; the topiaries and red corals are from Treillage.
"I wanted to keep the bedroom graphic," says Morgan, "playing up the colors of 'The Endless Summer' poster that my husband found." Linens and orange cashmere throw from Bloomingdales. Monograms by Number 411 in Savannah.
In the dining room, Morgan pairs wooden chairs from Stamford's Antique and Artisan Center with a zinc-top table.
Black and white graphics repeat in the bedroom.
A Pottery Barn armoire, flanked by zebra-patterned ponyskin stools from Dovecote, works as a desk and for storage; chair from West Elm.
The designer on her reverse commute.
Boat, not taxi, traffic outside Lynn Morgan Design's home on the Five Mile River.
The fabric library in the Rowayton studio.
The fabric library in the Rowayton studio.
This storyboard is pure summer.
River views inspire Morgan's team, which specializes in coastal homes.
"I start with a bold pattern to build a story," says the designer, pictured at her desk.
of

going coastal

Tropical brights look right in a designer’s city apartment and Connecticut studio
Type: 
Interior Design
Author name: 
LYNN MORGAN DESIGN
Type: 
Text
Author name: 
SALLIE BRADY
Type: 
Produced By
Author name: 
CAROLYN SOLLIS
Type: 
Photography
Author name: 
PETER MARGONELLI

It's not just the sunny colors in Lynn Morgan's rooms that make one want to exhale, but the designer herself: Relaxed and unpretentious, Morgan brings the tropical colors and effortless living of her native Savannah—where she grew up sailing and crabbing—to the homes she designs from her shingled studio in Rowayton. After 25 years of raising children in Connecticut, the designer and her husband returned to Manhattan with an Upper East Side pied-à-terre.“I needed to push myself away from my regular look,” says Morgan of the Art Deco apartment that she says required “symmetry, simplicity, and sophistication.”  For the palette,she avoided the sea blues, chartreuse greens, and bougainvillea pinks inspired by her coastal upbringing and winters in St. Croix. Instead, she used the grey-and-white awnings of Paris as a starting point for roman shades and pillows,and the black-and-whites of her husband’s City of Light photography collection as foils for bursts of coral and orange. “I like white high-gloss lacquered walls—nothing fussy,” says Morgan. Unafraid to mix high and low, she balances custom pieces with catalog finds. “Simplicity and order—that’s the spirit of a holiday, year-round.”

Resources:

Lynn Morgan Design, 147 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton, CT 06853; 203.866.1940; lynnmorgandesign.com. Treillage, 418 E. 75th St., NYC 10021; 212.535.2288; treillageonline.com. Bloomingdales, 1000 Third Ave., NYC
10022; 212.705.2000; bloomingdales.com. The Antique & Artisan Center, 69 Jefferson St., Stamford, CT 06902; 203.327.6022; stamfordantiques.com. Pottery Barn, 127 E. 59th St., NYC 10022; 917.369.0050; potterybarn.com. Dovecote, 56 Post Road E., Westport, CT 06880; 203.222.7500; dovecote-westport.com. West Elm, 1870 Broadway, NYC 10023; 212.247.8077; westelm.com. Lynn Morgan Design, 147 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton, CT 06853; 203.866.1940; lynnmorgandesign.com. Morgan uses linens from Osborne & Little, 979 Third Ave., Suite 520, NYC 10022; 212.751.3333; osborneandlittle.com. Rogers & Goffigon, 979 Third Ave., Suite 1718, NYC 10022;
212.888.3242. China Seas Linen from Quadrille, 979 Third Ave., Suite 1415, NYC 10022; 212.753.2995; quadrillefabrics.com.