To start this project, Quiñones took his cues from Laura -- calm and collected -- and extended her personal style to the style of her and Steve’s home. “They wanted an understated but very traditional style, nothing fussy or flashy. And they wanted to be able to use family heirlooms, pieces from their other house, and the art that they’ve become passionate about collecting,” says the designer.

His gift for the great find is evidenced by the green silk settee with exaggerated high, scrolled arms. “I found it at an estate sale,” says Quiñones. “It has a beautiful back and sides -- nice, feminine lines -- and is very whimsical. Sometimes you have to buy something and trust that it will work, because you could never find it again.”

Designer Quiñones’s sharp and independent eye doesn’t rely on tony showrooms or pricey antiques shops to know what’s good. One of the living room’s most interesting upholstered pieces is its Chippendale-style camelback sofa. “Julio found it in a used furniture store, liked it, completely gutted it, and made it fabulous,” Laura praises.

Unusual detailing is a critical component of Quiñones’s approach. “Instead of using welting, I finished the edges of the camelback sofa with a kind of pleat that I’d never done before and haven’t done since,” he says. The pleats terminate at the corners with tiny rosette-like blooms, so subtle they become apparent only on close inspection. “I just thought it would look kind of neat here,” the designer adds modestly.

A 1940s gold-leaf French mirror crowns an 18th-century English sideboard.

Antique Fortuny fabric on the decorative pillows joins custom Schumacher bedding. Carving on the Louis XVI bench at the foot of the bed visually partners with the decoration on the fireplace, flanked by vintage Robsjohn-Gibbings chairs, to unify the room. 

On weekends, the sunroom is Laura and Steve’s favorite retreat, a place to sip coffee and read the papers.