Exclusive: KDH Design Expert Hernan Arriaga Shows How To Curate Collections In Your Haute Hamptons Home!

SHARE

 

Our favorite collection in Rita Schrager's home (Casa Cuba) is this grouping of antique crosses which sit on her fireplace mantle.

 

KDH loves the look of curated personal collections in a home. They give your guest a quick insight into your personality and things that you care about and covet.  Southamptonite Rita Schrager has the most charming and special group of collections in her home and let me share some of them with KDHamptons readers. Rita tells KDH, “I have always collected things like crosses and shells. When I was a kid I would go to the beach and come home with all sorts of shells and pebbles…”

KDH breaks down some design & shopping tips for curating collections from Rita and her best friend/interior designer Hernan Arriaga below:

The design aesthetic of Hernan Arriaga [pictured above] is mid-century modern mixed with contemporary for a clean look.  Having spent many years living in the Hamptons in the past, Hernan now travels the world creating creating sumptuous spaces for his haute clientele. He tells KDH, “Curating collections for my clients is one of my last tricks I use to make a final touch in a home. It is really one of those details that make a home more personal and special from all others. Something that not only represents the owner but the family that lives in the home.”

Adding, “Lots of Rita’s collections came with her, she loves religious icons and old family photos so we put them together, bought some extra pieces that I found in the Hamptons, and exhibited them in different rooms of Casa Cuba. I love the finished product~ Rita’s home has become a part of her, absolutely, and that is exactly what I was hoping for…”

"I love my eclectic little group of salt cellars & shakers from different antique shops in the Hamptons," says Rita.
"Mecox Gardens is a great resource for earthy bowls and platters," says Rita. Mixing similar tones creates a pretty palate in her dining room hutch.
A set of vintage trays which Rita uses for serving Cuban coffee, doubles as a decorative design detail in the kitchen.
A collection of vintage tin boxes add some charm to a bookcase in the kitchen.
Rita shares,"I just picked up this set of stones at Home Nature in Southampton. They are a perfect addition to my living room coffee table!"

 

KDH asked Hernan to share his Hamptons resource list for finding great collectible pieces. Here are the haute designer’s go-to design destinations on the East End:

1.  Jean Zinenberg’s Georgica Creek Antiques, 332 Montauk Highway, Wainscott; 631.537.0332

2.  Home Nature, 6 Main Street  Southampton; 631.287.62773

3.  Yard Sale, 66 Newtown Lane, East Hampton; 631.324.7048

4.  Mona antiques, 43 Madison Street, Sag Harbor

5.  John Salibello, 2309 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton; 631.537.1484

6.  Mecox Gardens, 66 Newtown Lane, East Hampton; 631.329.9405

*go to www.hernanarriaga.com to see more of Hernan’s work, and check out our At-Home with Rita Schrager here: http://www.kdhamptons.com/casa-cuba-at-home-style-diary-with-rita-shrager/

Rita collected different pieces made from horn on a trip to Africa.
Mixed giant long wooden tribal necklaces hang from the staircase.
Family first: "I love to display old black & white family photos in vintage frames to share my Cuban heritage," says Rita.
"Antique wood carved religious icons are some of my favorite items to collect when I travel to Europe," says Rita.
Painted starfish found on a family vacation create a graphic design as well as a keepsake with a special memory attached.
Pick a theme item and find it in different materials: Curate a candlestick collection!
Beautiful coffee table books can create their own story on a coffee table in the cozy den..

 

Rita, Hernan and little Lilo collect some new memories on the back porch of Casa Cuba on Thanksgiving!