HOMING INSTINCTS

A focus on open-plan living and easy-going charm makes this home a place everyone wants to be in

- JULIET BENNING

Creating a home from scratch was never high on the to-do list of Miranda Williams and her husband Evan. But when a plot of land came up for sale in a sought-after New York suburb, they jumped at the opportunity. ‘We found an empty piece of land two streets away from where I grew up, so it was a flip of a coin decision and we decided to go for it,’ Miranda reveals. ‘We had been living in Manhattan but always knew we would move to the suburbs as soon as our youngest child was old enough to start kindergarten.’

The couple, who have two children, very nearly ended up somewhere completely different due to Evan’s job. ‘We were previously living in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was posted, and we viewed some houses but then he was offered a fantastic position in New York City.’ But the viewings had made a lasting impression on Miranda and were to influence her future interior design choices. ‘We saw one house with an interior by the designer Cortney Bishop and I just fell in love. I became obsessed with her, following her on Instagram and studying every house she had ever done.’