From Florida to Maine, Leandra Fremont-Smith is designing distinctive spaces worth talking about. Through an eclectic mix of the contemporary and antique—with attention to detail and astute restraint—Leandra harmoniously marries the classic with the unexpected, creating multifaceted interiors that showcase her aesthetic vision alongside her clients’ personal tastes. This month, she shares with us two standout examples of design relative to place, revealing how a home’s geographical location influences the inspiration for its interior.
When two of Leandra’s existing clients from Boston asked her to update their winter getaway in Palm Beach, Florida, she took on the project with enthusiasm, embellishing every nook and cranny of the 1960s bungalow. “This is a weekend retreat in Florida, so we wanted to focus on re-creating the chic feel of old-school Palm Beach,” Leandra explains. “It’s elegant, but it has a relaxed, fun feel to it.”
To capture the playful and colorful flair that defines Palm Beach design, Leandra introduced a palette of blues and fresh neutrals punctuated by bright oranges. Bold prints depict tropical motifs (such as the aqua palm tree wallpaper in the powder room), while non color elements like glam mirrored surfaces, touches of Lucite, and lacquered bamboo provide a welcomed contrast.
The juxtaposition of eye-catching ornamentation and tasteful refinement, a hallmark of Palm Beach chic, weaves its way throughout the home, from the eclectic chandelier and vibrant blue silk rug in the dining area to the living room’s woven-back chairs and gold-trimmed tortoiseshell coffee table. The real showstopper—a custom-built wet bar with fretwork shelves and a mirrored back lacquered in vibrant Hermès orange—waits just around the corner from a soothing all-white kitchen. When asked about her philosophy of color and pattern, Leandra doesn’t hold back: “In my mind, great interiors are defined by layers of colors, patterns, and textures in a harmonious blend, which create a space that feels cohesive instead of overwhelming.”
Nearly 2,000 miles north, Leandra’s tailored layering of both bold and refined details brought new life to a large, Shingle style home nestled in the town of Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island. “My goal was to introduce a cheerful and bright interior that reflects the surrounding beauty of the gardens and nearby ocean,” Leandra says.
Known as Hedgefield, the residence was built on the original location of the Kimball House Inn, a historic hotel that was razed in the 1960s. The lot remained a grassy field until 1989, when Camden architect Christopher Glass designed the quintessential Maine summer home in its place, incorporating defining Shingle style features—a wide wraparound porch, a curved upstairs balcony, and an oculus window. The property is best known, though, for its English Gertrude Jekyll–style garden by MDI-based landscape designers Dennis Bracale and Erika Lindquist, complete with a stacked stone wall, outdoor garden rooms, potting sheds, and even a flower bed arranged in a formation of flower petals when seen from above.
To reflect the garden’s grandeur and channel the essence of a coastal cottage, Leandra paired energetic tones with natural textures for the interior, resulting in a peaceful but lively summer sanctuary for the homeowners and their three young sons. The wife—who also happens to be a close childhood friend of Leandra’s from their summers spent in Maine—wanted a palette of blues and greens reminiscent of the sea glass she collected on MDI beaches in her youth. “My goal is to help bring out a client’s creative vision,” Leandra explains. So, what better use of seaside hues than to paint the kitchen cabinets a peacock blue?
A triumphant use of color, pattern, and texture abounds in every space of the home, most noticeably in the TV room, where a mélange of blue bohemian prints decorate the walls, shades, rug, and furniture. “The interior of the home is a reflection of the garden,” Leandra says of Hedgefield’s whimsical flair. In the living and dining rooms, various materials and textures—like hand-blocked green-and-white wallpaper, neutral drapes, and a sisal rug—create polished layers with a classic, elegant appeal.
No matter the longitude and latitude, no matter a bungalow or a stately home, no matter a white kitchen or blue, Leandra’s definition of successful interior design holds true: “A design is effective when the end result is a place that my clients love to call home. There may be bumps in the road, but as long as the process between the client and myself is positive and communicative, we will create a harmonious space.”
