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The breakfast nook features Furbish Studio Simone Mural wallpaper, the split-reed chairs are vintage, the dining table is Gabby Montello, and the light fixture is the Monroe by Palecek.
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In the sunroom, designed for dining and lounging, the chandelier is vintage, the table is an Orren Ellis Fallin extendable dining table, and the dining chairs are Laura Masters Entangled Chairs in yellow.
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Bull’s-eye paintings by Stephanie Henderson inspired the use of circular pieces in the room. The sofa is by Interlude Home, the custom ottoman is by Stewart Furniture, and the Monolith coffee table is by Global Views.
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The pistachio-hued kitchen cabinets are accented with brass hardware by Pepe & Carols, the backsplash is Carrera marble, and the scalloped jute runner is Gautam International.
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Janie Molster discovered this large abstract painting by Richmond artist Janie Pinney while scrolling through Instagram, and she used it as the launchpad for her design vision.
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Yellow becomes an accent in the guest bedroom, where Suzani textiles and a chinoiserie pagoda-style bamboo headboards flirt with Pierre Frey’s Les Palmiers wallpaper and other black-and-white accents. The nightstand is by Made Goods, and the Denise Fiedler collage is from Quirk Gallery.
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Framed with bamboo, F. Schumacher & Co.’s Mrs. Howell Natural, a Madagascar grasscloth wallcovering creates a jewel box-like space for displaying selections from Molster’s porcelain collection. The mirror is 17th-century Italian, and the scroll console is by Woodbridge Furniture.
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The sunroom walls are painted Benjamin Moore Dune White. The chaise is Marina by Four Hands, the ruffle-skirted settee is by Highland House, the side tables are by Currey & Company, and the rug is Buenos Aires by Stark.
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The drapery fabric in the primary bedroom — Zoffany’s Phoebe in cadmium yellow — features magnificent peony blossoms. The woven blinds are by MannKidwell; the Nemi side tables flanking the bed and the Brennan twisted iron canopy bed are by Made Goods.
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A collection of high- and lowbrow porcelain ginger jars on display. The painting is by Kevin Rutan from Greensboro, North Carolina. The Chinese cabinet and stone pelican are vintage. The rug is an antique.
As the first full winter of the COVID-19 pandemic approached in late 2020, Janie and John Molster were looking for an escape to a sunnier climate when they secured a rental getaway in South Florida. They fell in love with the area and, by the end of the season, were under contract to buy a condo in Delray Beach.
The dwelling is on a 1970s club property with views of the golf course and the Intracoastal Waterway. Outside, a path to the beach is just steps away. “We fell in love with this little strip of Florida that is so narrow that you have Intracoastal and the ocean right beside each other,” Janie says. “[Looking out our windows,] we can see a beautiful, manicured lawn, and we can see the boats going by. That was majorly appealing, straight away.”
While there were plenty of draws, the property hadn’t seen significant updates since the mid-1980s. The Molsters set to work upgrading systems, installing hurricane windows and doors, and opening up doorways to create more gracious access between rooms and bring in additional light.
Then, the interior decorator and owner of Janie Molster Designs set her sights on transforming the boxy, white interior. For inspiration, she turned to the vibrant colors and textures outside her window.
“It’s such a rich, verdant green and sunshine all year round,” she says. “So, I immediately gravitated towards yellow and green. It seemed natural, in a place where we spend so much time outdoors, to bring the outdoors in. The inside and outside seem to be having a conversation.”
Her starting point was a 6-foot-tall abstract painting by Richmond artist Janie Pinney that Janie discovered while scrolling through Instagram. She immediately recognized the color palette she had in mind and contacted Pinney to see if it was available. The painting became the launchpad for Janie’s vision.
The color palette plays out through vivid colors, a variety of textures and materials, and bold patterns, with layers of wallpaper, textiles, artwork, and furnishings. Tones of green and yellow are the connective tissue that creates cohesion throughout the condo, while each space brings its own personality and function.
In the living room, a trio of green and yellow fabrics come together in two custom-design circular ottomans, creating an interplay with a pair of bull’s-eye paintings by Stephanie Henderson, a natural rattan lounge chair, and the palm trees outside.
Off the kitchen, a striking mural wallpaper from Furbish Studio, featuring green leaves and yellow flowers set on a pink background, turned a white hallway into a tropical breakfast nook. A pair of swirling split-reed chairs, a white rattan table and a jute rug complete the look.
If you keep scale and proportion and color balance as your three mantras, the rest of it should fall into place.
—Janie Molster
“The breakfast nook is in the back of the home and doesn’t enjoy all of the pretty green and water views,” Janie says. “It really needed its own views, so we made them up with this scenic wallpaper. Wallpaper is so fun and transformative, but it can also be helpful in spaces that don’t have a lot of architectural personality.”
Janie says the primary bedroom is a notable detour from her typical style, with a gilded canopy bed and floral drapes embracing the windows and bed frame. “My clients usually have to fight me to use a lot of floral patterns,” she says, “but I had this sample of a green and yellow floral fabric that I literally drove around with for three weeks. The more I looked at it, the more I became attached to it.”
With sunbursts, palm trees and abstract patterns lining the walls and ceilings, and pop art paintings and bohemian tapestries adding bursts of pink, turquoise and peacock blue, it would be easy to create a visual overload. Janie often taped samples to walls and boards to live with them as she sussed out which patterns and textures worked together and fostered a natural segue between spaces.
The result is part Palm Beach paradise, part Southern charm, part groovy ’70s — and all Janie. While color was key, she says she didn’t set out to follow any particular style or aesthetic. She didn’t even create the schematics and plans she would have assembled for a client. She simply chose pieces that caught her eye and that felt right.
“It was more of a buy what I love and hope I can make it look good,” she says. “I did a little more throwing caution to the wind. But if you keep scale and proportion and color balance as your three mantras, the rest of it should fall into place.”
