Aesthetic
ACCORD
INTERIOR DESIGN: CAROL EGAN
TEXT: JORGE S. ARANGO
PHOTOGRAPHY: RICHARD POWERS
IF THE UNITED NATIONS WANTS TO SEE WORLD HARMONY
at work, perhaps it should consider a summit in New York’s
Hamptons, where, for starters, Ukranian-Russian relations dwell in
a state of blissful détente. The owners of this breezy, beachy blue
getaway are Mikhail and Natalia Filimonov. Mikhail, who runs a
hedge fund, is from the Ukranian port city of Odessa; Natalia is
from St. Petersburg, Russia’s imperial capital.
But international cooperation doesn’t end there. The Filimonovs’
designer, Carol Egan, is Irish. The Scandinavian-inflected vibe she
created for the interiors resides within an essentially Mediterranean
stucco exterior. And the couple’s children—Sasha, 26 and living in
London; Nicky, 13; and Danny, seven—were born in the U.S. Yet
despite the fact that, as Egan notes, “the gap between Mikhail
and Natalia couldn’t have been wider, like north and south
poles,” the aesthetic accords negotiated here achieve a perfect
rapprochement. The couple did have a few specific requests:
“that the art should be properly presented,” says Mikhail, “and that
the home feel cozy and warm.” Otherwise, he admits, “We were
a blank piece of paper.”
