Inside a Newport ‘cottage’: A Q&A with designer Glenn Marr

This home, on the market for $3.4 million in Rhode Island, reflects his love for lighting and all things eclectic.

The living room has cream walls and bookshelves with salmon interiors.
. Michael David

Since designer Glenn Marr began his career over four decades ago, he’s built a word-of-mouth business that’s taken him from Europe to Palm Beach, Fla., to New York. 

The designer sat down with Boston.com to talk about 130 Carroll Ave. in Newport, R.I. — a home he designed for longtime clients. The custom-built contemporary cottage is on the market for $3,400,000. It offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 4,352 square feet of living space. Renee Welchman of Keller Williams Coastal has the listing.

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(This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.)

. – Michael David

Q. You’ve been a designer for more than 40 years. How has your work changed over time?

A. The truth about design is there are new things that come out that are pretty exciting but really rare. If you’ve been lucky enough to come upon great design, then do your take on it. Everything is very cyclical — it comes and goes. 

I’ve stayed true to myself in the sense that I am very eclectic. I can’t stand when someone says, ‘Oh, that’s so ugly.’ I look at it and I think: Maybe you haven’t seen it in its right place. It might be ugly here, but if it’s put in its place, it’s going to be beautiful. Everything has a place. Good design is good balance.”

. – Michael David

Q. How did you get involved with 130 Carroll Ave.?

A. This is the seventh home I’ve done for them. They’re both fairly astute in their sense of design, and they pretty much give me carte blanche on designs because I know them so well. But, like any project, it’s really knowing your client and knowing their taste so that when you walk away, they truly take ownership of it.

Q. How did the home look before you got to it?

A. The house itself is a contemporary cottage, but in Newport “cottage” has a different meaning for sure. It’s a little grander than a cottage. As for architecture, it was a clean palette to go into.

. – Michael David

Q. What was your inspiration for this home?

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A. [One of the homeowners] is an artist. She had some beautiful, bold, bright paintings that I pulled colors from for the space, so you get pops of color here and there. … I happen to love things from all eras, from all periods and all walks of life. When it’s all put together, I think it’s really based on color. It all works, somehow.

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Q. What design aspects do you value most?

A. For me, lighting and color balance are the two most important things in design. A great piece of lighting can change everything about the room. It just sort of sets the tone for what’s going to be in there and what you’re seeing.

. – Michael David

Q. Tell me more about the lighting in 130 Carroll.

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A. Most of those came from Lumens. I happen to love their product line. They were individually each picked for the space to reflect what was going on. The one over the dining room table is one that I love so much I’ve used a few times. It’s called Dahlia, and I just think the movement of it is exciting.

Q. A lot of the furniture in this home looked antique. Do you ever buy second-hand pieces and/or refurbish them?

A. For many years, I sourced through estates. Sometimes I would buy out an estate just for several pieces I really wanted. Looking at something as not necessarily what it is, but what it could be — that’s my favorite thing about this business. There’s not a place that I don’t walk through for resources.

Q. What are the challenges of this job? What makes it all worth it?

A. Every client brings out something different in you, and that’s a challenge for you in each project. With this particular house, I feel like I know [the clients] inside and out. They will express their opinions about things or what they might like there, and it’s my job to expedite that and bring it in. Reveal day is always the best. That’s what I like — when I can get in my car and drive away, knowing I’ve accomplished that joy for someone.

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