EQUESTRIAN STYLE ROOMS

by Joseph Davis July 9, 2021

A DESIGN TREND THAT LEAVES US FEELING,

AHEM,

A LITTLE HORSE

For years, we’ve seen it everywhere — equestrian-style rooms packed with paddock-inspired decor.

If you ride, breed, invest, bet, groom or even appreciate horses — great. By all means, do it. If not — it's like having golf or fishing decor around when you neither golf nor fish — in other words, it’s totally pretentious. I am an occasional rider, and I don't have horsey stuff around, yet Ralph Lauren has made millions pretending to be an equestrian while selling the lifestyle to hippophobes living on cul-de-sacs in Pittsburgh.

The No. 1 rule in interior design, regardless of style, is "never have too much of anything." You don't want horse wallpaper with horse blankets and horse photos on your walls — it'll look fake as shit.

GOOD, TRADITIONAL EQUESTRIAN STYLE

One of my favorite spaces of all time!

Edited, bright and not pushy.

The marquess' prized horses line the stair hall his

country house in England.

And, no, this won't work in Miami...

These portraits of horses add an Old World tone

to this paneled room.

Casual and sporty with a touch of country

is always a good look.

Georgian architecture lends itself to equestrian-style homes as we immediately conjure images of grand English manor houses. The distressed Italian table and chandelier bring down the tone nicely.

Jockey silks are specific to a barn or the owner, so barns or owners may trick out their tack room, office, barn or even their homes in the silk colors, like the door in this entry hall.

A posh living room is anchored by a massive 1920s equestrian portrait, which adds patina, personality and gravitas to an otherwise banal room

EQUESTRIAN BEDROOMS

Probably one of the most authentic bedrooms for active equestrians and riders, Mark Badgley and James Mischka's Connecticut country home.

My client in the Palm Beach Polo Club wanted handsome and simple, so he got natural linen, rattan and raffia. The photograph, which totally makes the room, is of Secretariat in the final stretch winning the Triple Crown in 1973.

An old-fashioned vibe with modest furnishings — and that wallpaper is everything!

I’m lovin' this Hermés knock-off spread.

Just these two prints give a nice horsey touch to this space.

Too much "themed" stuff and it begins to look like a shop window….

CONTEMPORARY EQUESTRIAN ROOMS

Horse people aren't always preppy or "safe" with their interiors. A few subliminal touches, like the wooded scene, horse sculpture and saddle-colored leather seats, bring it home.

With a wall of horse photographs, there's no possibility you don't get this is a horse lover’s home.

A series of three black-and-white photos appears
modern and orderly, not overdone.

LOVE!

Saddle-colored leather, cow-hide and wicker. Done.

Just the single sculpture and the zebra skin make the statement. It doesn't need anything else.

Christian Liaigre is one of the world’s leading contemporary furniture designers and is a renowned equestrian.

This fun, cheerful space could be a lounge in a

barn or an apartment in the city.

You don't need Hermés to be horsey, either.

Kelly Klein's former home was so chic — she has, like all riders, dirty dogs, boozy friends, manure-laden boots and no free time, so this slip-covered look is easy-breezy.