Walking into Nell Diamond’s Windham, New York ski house, even on a snowy day, is like being embraced by colorful patterns and rich textures. Floral and gingham wallpaper acts as a backdrop for velvet couches, carved wooden furniture, vintage-inspired art, and fabrics from Diamond’s own clothing and lifestyle brand, Hill House Home. It’s a cabin in technicolor—and that was Diamond’s plan.
“We wanted it to feel really cozy cottage. We spend so much of our time there in the freezing cold winters, and so I wanted it to feel warm and homey as much as possible,” says Diamond, who aimed for a versatile design as her family also plans to spend time in the house over the summers.
For the project, which only took six months from start to finish, Diamond worked with her old school friend, Lauren Carlucci. “Because both of us grew up in the UK, we spoke the same design language,” Diamond says.
The pair took inspiration from a range of European references: British and Scottish country homes, including the Scottish hotel The Fife Arms, alongside the European mountain destinations, Lech, Austria and Zermatt, Switzerland, where Diamond grew up skiing. They particularly looked to the Austrian classic, the Hotel Goldener Berg, where plain wood finishes are juxtaposed with a riot of brightly hued furniture. Such far-flung destinations were brought closer to home, at Windham Mountain Club, the Catskills ski resort where Diamond’s husband, Teddy Wasserman, is an investor.
Ahead of Diamond’s busiest time of year—Hill House’s summer clothing drop, launching today—she took some time to give ELLE Decor an exclusive look into her new mountain home.
ELLE Decor: What were your main sources of inspiration for this house?
Nell Diamond: I’ve always loved the old Lech restaurants and their balconies, with really ornate wood carved details. The idea of carving shapes into wood, to me, always felt like secret messages.
I tried to bring in the Austrian element: The antique rug, with the velvet, with the throw blanket, with the more formal Robert Kime pillow fabrics. Layered textures felt very Austrian to me too.
How did you balance leaning into a classic mountain house look versus differentiating from it?
I’m always somebody who is led by what makes me happy versus what I think is in style or trendy. It never bothers me if somebody says something is basic. So I love leaning into a little bit of kitsch but doing so in a way that feels fresh and modern.
We spend most of our time in Windham over the winter, but it’s an amazing place to be in the summer too. So I didn’t want it to feel out of place if we were there in the summer. I didn’t want it to feel too ski-oriented. There were elements of playing with it, but also making sure it was flexible.
Inside Nell Diamond’s Windham House
Tell me a bit about how you began the design process.
I knew at the beginning there were a few non-negotiables: I knew I really wanted to try built-in beds with curtains [located in her sons’ room; Diamond also has a daughter].
I really wanted a four-poster bed. I love four poster beds. I have one at our house in the Hamptons. I have one here in the city. Something about it—you feel like a queen. I love to sleep, and I love to feel like a queen.
I wanted some Robert Kime in the house, so Lauren made this beautiful tufted bench and a couple of other Robert Kime things. And I really wanted some pillows in the Pierre Frey Tyrol fabric, which is downstairs in the sleepover room. I wanted a bunk room—I wanted to maximize the number of guests we could have in the little cabin. And then I really wanted a lot of wallpaper, a lot of print.
What was it like designing a home with such a close friend?
I’ve never had a design experience like this, where I could be so hands-off, but still feel so seen. And I think that was such a huge benefit of Lauren intimately knowing me and understanding my personal style.
I gave her the metaphorical Dropbox of my brain, and then she moved forward.
Most of the rooms have wallpaper. What was the decision process behind those prints?
I’m a print and pattern person. I’ve always loved wallpaper. It’s my favorite thing ever. I love the feeling of being cocooned. And I wanted to bring Hill House elements into the house. Our design director, Sarah Worth Mullally, sent Lauren dozens of our prints that we’ve used for clothing and said to her, “Let me know what inspires you and we can go from there.”
The print that’s in the Grandma Room [the guest room], the Sherwood Forest print—Lauren rendered it in this incredible, rich emerald green. We had always done that with a white or a cream base. In my primary bedroom, I didn’t even realize it was one of our prints until the install day because she had changed the colors.
What is your favorite piece in the house?
The built-in boys’ bunk beds. They’re just so magical and special. It really is fun for the kids to get such joy out of going to bed, which is often an arduous process. And then the plates. I think the plates just add a bit of quirkiness and funniness.
Yes, there’s the plate wall near the dining table. Tell me more about those plates.
Lauren wanted to do a plate wall. It’s such a British thing. The artist, English ceramicist Harlie Brown, made these plates to reference things that are actually in my kids’ lives. She did a painting of two little skiers, and it says, “Les twins.” My little ones are twins and they love being like, “that one’s me and that one’s me.” Then she made a plate, and it says “Le Grand Frere,” the big brother, and it’s my older son.
It’s all their favorite things. There’s hot chocolate, there’s a chair lift, there’s skis, there’s a cow. They love those plates.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Annie Goldsmith is the senior editor and digital lead at ELLE Decor, where she covers design, culture, style, and trends. She previously held positions at The Information, covering technology and culture, and Town & Country, writing about news, entertainment, and fashion. Her work has also appeared in Vogue, Rolling Stone, and the SF Standard.
