Near and Far

Editor at Large Clinton Smith catches up with Boston designer Honey Collins about her recent Palm Beach project and how it might inspire your own gathering spot.

Designer Honey Collins anchored one end of the terrace with a custom sectional by O. Henry House and a pair of Circlet stools by Janus et Cie. The chandelier from Currey & Company is a nod to the reallife palms just beyond.

Photography by Brantley Photography

When Essex, Massachusetts-based interior designer Honey Collins was presented with an opportunity to spend a few months in Palm Beach, Florida, this past winter, she didn’t hesitate to hop on a plane. After all, substituting brief, cold New England days for tropical temperatures was a no-brainer. However, lest you think she was relaxing poolside, resting on her laurels, Collins and her design team were busy—very busy—conjuring and creating one of the most-talked-about spaces at the annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which saw more than 10,000 visitors during its month-long run.

Collins, who was born and raised in Atlanta, combined the best of both worlds in her show house space, a secondstory outdoor terrace with panoramic, postcard-worthy views of the adjacent Intracoastal Waterway.

The house itself, a large Mediterraneaninspired villa, featured the work of more than twenty design firms from across the United States. Collins completely transformed her own space—formerly an outdoor terrace exposed to all the elements— into an area equal in appeal to the home’s

Collaborating with Designer Draperies of Boston is always a pleasure! Julie’s extensive knowledge in the industry is an asset in helping bring our vision to a reality for our clients. Designer Draperies and Elms Interior Design have a shared goal of providing the best for our clients, and Julie always goes the extra mile to thoughtfully work through all the details for an exceptional result!

~ Dee Elms, Elms Interior Design

interior counterparts (including adding a roof by way of an awning lined in an ebullient aqua fabric).

“I knew I wanted it to be multipurpose,” says Collins of her outdoor living room. “A spot where you could spend your whole day.”

Although Collins combined and layered many colors, patterns, and textures, finding inspiration wasn’t difficult. With the waterfront literally yards away from the house, she zeroed in on all it had to offer. “When you’re looking out at that view, that is your color palette,” she says of the blues, greens, and other watery colors that comprise her space.

When Collins thinks back to her current life in the Northeast, as well as growing up with a well-known decorator mother, Susan Wilcox, being back down South feels like a full-circle moment.

“I definitely started with that Raoul fabric that I put on the sectional,” says Collins. “I have always loved it, and I felt like the color palette was perfect. I do think my mother had something to do with this whole thing because those are her colors—it all just came together really nicely.”

Whether in South Florida or Siasconset, Collins’s scheme is one that could easily suit a summer spot in Osterville, Wellfleet, or Bar Harbor—and beyond.