Amanda Lindroth’s Bungalow Revival is Where It’s At

By Lauren Wicks | Photography by Dylan Chandler

It’s always meaningful when a designer is asked by a beloved friend to design their home. It means even more when the home itself already has a place in the creative’s heart.

That was the case when Amanda Lindroth took on this Gulf Stream cottage. Located on the site of the namesake school where Lindroth attended for nine years, the location’s serendipity and sentimentality added layers of excitement and nostalgia.

Lindroth’s dear friend had purchased the house online and already had a vision before stepping inside. She coined it the “Love Shack” because of its quirkiness and coziness. The moniker proved a launchpad for Lindroth and her team who worked on imbuing a playful and laidback air. They were inspired by the Bahamian houses Lindroth has created across the Abacos, Eleuthera, and beyond versus the more proper American coastal homes.

“The client said, ‘I just really want it to be happy and light-hearted—It’s a beach house, not a palace or a mansion.’” says Lindroth. “I took her at face value, and she got herself a pink and green, silly, happy place in most of the house, plus a couple of rooms that have the gravitas needed for someone of her stature, because she’s a very proper person.”

The design process for Lindroth always begins the same: Circulating a lot of beautiful imagery to gauge client response. Lindroth and her team “permanently scour Pinterest” to find images that will help create a home’s design story and educate them on the client’s true design sensibilities. Lindroth also has plenty of conversations before a single design element is selected to ensure that she’s figured out the client’s personality, lifestyle, and interests.

Thankfully, in this case, Lindroth had decades of friendship to go off of and knew that her friend’s desire was to trade the Big Apple (and big winters) for a lower-key, but equally vibrant new chapter in South Florida. Lindroth’s team began by painting the floors—even painting a “runner” up the stairwell—and swathing the entry and living room in a watermelon pink. However, one of the less-than-endearing aspects of the home was the layout of the common areas, and Lindroth turned the original living space into the dining area and the entry hall into the living room to ensure important gathering spaces had copious natural light.

The living and dining rooms highlight the client’s New York and South Florida lifestyles, blending items collected in the client’s former home that she couldn’t bear to part with local Palm Beach finds and quintessentially Lindroth elements. The client’s beloved custom sofa upholstered with a giant ikat print from Quadrille anchors the living room along with matching stools and her beloved coffee table. The dining room’s beautiful antique breakfront was brought from New York. Lindroth cleverly skirted it in Quadrille’s Chantilly Stripe to cover up AV equipment while matching the walls and dining chairs. The table is adorned with papier-mâche flora and fauna from Casa Gusto, which also fills the China cabinet.

While the two boys’ bedrooms play up to color, pattern, and whimsy, the home’s family room offers a more neutral palette with pops of yellow, the client’s favorite color. There’s still plenty of richness and texture in this space, and one of Lindroth’s all-time favorite furnishings is the vintage rattan sofa, which she upholstered in a delicate stripe and double brush fringe.

The outdoor space was “a game of inches,” according to Lindroth, as there was no other yard or patio area to work with. That meant it had to serve as an outdoor dining room, seating area, and pool lounge space while still allowing people to move comfortably between furnishings. Lindroth brought a sense of tropical frivolity to the outdoor room with seating by O’Brien Ironworks and a custom awning that makes every day look like an excuse for a poolside cocktail party.

Lindroth featured her friend’s Gulf Stream chapter in her newest book, Island Dreaming, published by Vendome Press. “It’s nice to have a client who knows what they want, and that’s my friend exactly.”

And a Love Shack is exactly how to begin a new island — or peninsula—chapter.

Visit Luxury Home Magazine of The Palm Beaches for more Interior Design inspiration.

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