FOREVER YOUNG

YOUNG HUH’S ROMANTIC HUDSON VALLEY FARMHOUSE IS A DREAMY BLEND OF COTTAGE STYLE, KOREAN HERITAGE, AND STIRRING REINVENTION

- CATHERINE HONG

THE POTTING SHED STANDS AGAINST A STONE WALL JUST BEYOND THE FLOWER GARDEN. LANDSCAPE DESIGN BY SAMUEL BOWMAN. OPPOSITE YOUNG HUH ON A TRAIL THROUGH A WOODED PART OF THE MORE THAN 100-ACRE PROPERTY.

IN KOREA, FOLKTALES DON'T BEGIN with “Once upon a time.” They begin, “Back when tigers used to smoke”—a phrase invoking an impossibly distant past when anything could happen. The phrase comes to life the moment you step inside the 1820s former farmhouse in New York’s historic Hudson Valley that interior designer Young Huh calls home. Open the door and sure enough there’s a classic center hall with wide-plank floors and a stair with a polished wood banister.

But here, the foyer and staircase are covered in a misty sunrise-pink wallpaper painted in a fantastic dreamscape of Korean emblems—white cranes, twisted pines, craggy mountains—as well as a design that depicts a scholar’s studio with shelves laden with books, vessels, and most memorably, a tiger and a rabbit sitting side by side, serenely puffing on long-stemmed pipes. (Both patterns are part of Huh’s new collaboration with Fromental.)

“People ask me, is that a tiger and a rabbit smoking weed?” Huh says, laughing. Tigers, she explains, are central to Korean culture, representing guardian spirits and courage, while rabbits symbolize cleverness and good fortune. As for the fearless use of pink, it’s a deeply significant hue in the country’s culture (not to mention one of Huh’s personal favorites).

It’s an entrance that doubles as a declaration. Known for creating unabashedly romantic rooms with a backbone of European tradition, the Korean American designer has planted her own flag right at the front door, delivered with a wink of subversion. “As an Asian American moving to this area, I didn’t want to present myself as anyone but me.”