When Dekay and Tate’s Nina Dekay Grauer purchased this charming two-bedroom property in Palm Beach, she envisioned it as more than just a personal retreat. The home would serve as a private sanctuary, a working showroom, and an intimate meeting space for the newly rebranded design firm—now led in partnership with Eleanor Tate Trepte. As the duo’s first project together, the residence needed to be a true embodiment of their combined talents. While it naturally reflects Nina’s distinct aesthetic, the design also highlights Eleanor’s complementary strengths, transforming the space into a living calling card for their boutique interior design firm and a showcase of their shared creative vision.

“When we started designing the house, it was really to get that ‘wow factor’ and to make the space stand out from a lot of the houses you see here,” says Grauer. “From the outside, it just looks like a little Palm Beach bungalow, but when you walk in, it’s almost the antithesis of the traditional Palm Beach look.”

The duo was inspired by Dekay Grauer’s love of midcentury style, rock and roll, pattern play, and a need for functionality, as the 1,800 square foot home needed to wear a lot of hats. And considering they were their own clients, the pair embraced the freedom and let their imaginations run wild, taking risks with color and pattern while also experimenting with storage space and how they could maximize functionality. Plus, they were able to employ a chic hidden door behind the bar (a childhood dream of Nina’s) that led to her primary bedroom suite.

One of the home’s greatest decorating challenges was the sun room, which is a long, narrow space that features floor-to-ceiling windows and a fireplace. Grauer and Trepte ended up creating a custom piece that offers storage and seating from one end of the room to the other (in an electric purple, no less) to solve the issue of a pesky layout while ensuring it is inviting and purposeful for occasions of all kinds. It offers clever hidden storage for chargers, remotes, and other less aesthetically pleasing items in the “arms”’ of the bench. Though it posed some headaches, this space became one of the most special rooms to the pair, featuring a puzzle table (both are major puzzle lovers), favorite books, and collected knick-knacks that offer a warm welcome to all who enter.

Though the home certainly colors outside of the classic Palm Beach design lines in a fresh, funky way, there are plenty of design elements that offer nods to the local aesthetic to make it feel contextual with a youthful twist. The paint selections, such as the verdant green on the living room bar and the peachy pink in the dining room, offer a spin on this classic color pairing, while there are plenty of locally sourced antiques (Delray’s Dolphin & Flamingo was a top sourcing spot), natural fiber dining chairs, midcentury silhouettes, and botanical motifs that seem to welcome a new era of Palm Beach decorating without eschewing tradition entirely.

“One of the best parts of this project was finding so many great vintage pieces, which we ended up working entire rooms around at times,” says Trepte. “It was fun to start backwards with these older pieces that we normally wouldn’t begin designing a room with otherwise and make something really special.”

The home’s light fixtures, in particular, became defining elements of each space, as nearly all were statement-making vintage finds, from the chic table lamps on the beloved mirrored credenza to the various metallic hanging fixtures that add a layer of textural elegance. The leopard print chairs used in the office also became a starting point for this all-important space for boosting creativity and meeting with clients. However, considering this home is part- design laboratory for the firm, Grauer admits it’s always a work in progress and serves as a safe space for the duo’s ideas to run wild.

“I think especially for women in this time period we’re in, from your early 20s to 30s, your style is constantly shifting and this project has been a very interesting progression to getting the house to where it is now,” Grauer says. “Ellie and I had so much fun using our love of color and a dimensional outlook on design, and it was just the perfect way to start playing with our creativity and seeing what we are capable of together.”