Every home tells a story—of the people who inhabit it now and those who came before. For Kim and Greg Richter, their winter residence on Palm Beach bridges history and modernity, conveying a strong sense of place shaped by their travels and the island town they love.
Kim, an interior designer, and Greg, founder of the asset management firm Medalist Partners, came to Florida from New York and began house hunting in 2019. During the pandemic, the couple and their Maltipoo, Oliver, lived on a yacht docked in North Palm Beach before renting a home on Palm Beach’s Golfview Road. Finally, in 2021, they found the house they wanted to buy—it just so happened to be completely gutted, with exposed beams and termite damage.
The historic midtown home, built in the late 1920s or early 1930s (“There’s a bit of controversy about when the home was built,” Kim says), was in desperate need of a fresh perspective. The Richters purchased it from a builder who already had architectural drawings from Smith Kellogg Architecture. As Kim notes, they liked the plans—with some modifications—and negotiated to include them in the purchase.
They worked closely with Kristin Kellogg to create a home that suited them, their dog, and Greg’s four grown children (and new grandchild), who visit often. Kim handled the interiors herself. “I’ve always been design driven,” she says, having designed jewelry for 20 years before designing furniture, operating a furnishings store in Greenwich, Connecticut, and eventually designing interiors for others.
The completed home expresses British Colonial and West Indies architectural language while incorporating Moorish, Indian, and Caribbean details. For the interiors, Kim curated a mix of antique furnishings, artisan textiles, and one-of-a-kind pieces and art from around the world.
One of the most notable changes to the home was relocating the front door and creating a coquina entryway draped in bleeding heart vines and punctuated by a trickling fountain to “set the tone,” Kim says. Inside, a long hallway serves as a gallery for the couple’s art collection. Bathed in a hint-of-blush hue and soft light afforded by lavender-paned Kardamyli flushmount fixtures from The Urban Electric Company, the space reflects Kim’s personal touch.
“I wanted something soft, not overly apparent,” Kim says of the hallway’s color. “I didn’t not want color; I just wanted the color to be reflective of me.”
Articulated with picture-frame panel molding, the hallway’s gallery walls conceal a jib door leading to a jewel box of a powder room, complete with Seemakrish’s Larkspur wallpaper and a painting Kim found at the Paris Flea Market.
Art remains central throughout the home. In the living room, Georgia-based artist Emmie Ruth Wise painted a sepia-tone mural. Wise lived with the Richters as she worked, giving her and Kim the chance to walk the neighborhood and infuse many examples of local flora into the design. The room itself showcases Kim’s love of treasure hunting and melding disparate styles. “A lot of what inspired me with this house were our travels,” says Kim.
Nearly every piece in every room represents a chapter in the couple’s story. On a trip to Morocco, they rode dune buggies in the desert and soared in a hot-air balloon. Kim’s favorite excursion was wandering a souk and acquiring beautiful finds to incorporate into this home, including a pair of waist-high Arabic vessels that now reside in their living room. More colorful Berber urns from the same trip appear in the family room, where thoughtfully curated pieces—such as a custom ottoman in a zebra fabric by Peter Fasano—guide the eye and steer conversation.
The home’s eclecticism shines through Kim’s masterful layering of patterns and mixing of furnishings that radiate relaxed sophistication. In the living room, traditional plantation and bobbin chairs (custom-made by The Raj Company) complement a cocktail table by McLain Wiesand and a contemporary Alfonso Marina sofa upholstered in ivory boucle. Vintage 1950s lamps from West Palm Beach’s Palm Beach Home Style, a repurposed antique traveling bar chest, a wall sculpture by artist Dan Schneiger, a rug by Patterson Flynn, and a crystal decanter set Kim gave Greg on their first wedding anniversary complete the space.
Heading upstairs, Kim points out handmade ceramic light fixtures painted the same tone as the wall, blending in and providing a soft illumination. French oak floors ground the stairway and run throughout the home. Greg’s home office is highlighted by framed photos Kim took during their African safari honeymoon.
The three guest bedrooms each have their own demure color palettes, styles, and touches from local shops. Kim prioritized comfort and minimized the closets to maximize the living space. “Nobody is living here, so you just need enough for the weekend or however long you stay,” she says.
Back downstairs, the butler’s pantry boasts lively lemon wallpaper (Le Citron by Schumacher) paired with cabinetry in Farrow & Ball’s Lichen, a soothing muted green. Kim likes to cook and uses her kitchen often; lobster potpie is on the menu for this day’s dinner, and homemade banana bread from fruit harvested from the yard rests on the Calacatta Gold marble counters. The kitchen and dining space also feature island pendant lights by RW Guild, a chandelier by The Urban Electric Company, rattan dining chairs from Casa Gusto, and a bar with antiqued mirror detailing.
This is the Richters’ first home with an open floor plan—their residence in Bronxville, New York, is a 1927 Tudor, and they also own an Art Deco apartment in New York City. Here, the dining space flows into the bright family room, with a view of the garden and pool through paned doors. The loggia, accented with cascading bougainvillea, frames a vintage French dining table from Authentic Provence. The landscape design by SMI Landscape Architecture hearkens to the Moorish-style Spanish estates Kim fell in love with while living in Marbella in her twenties.
The home’s main bedroom is a quiet oasis, with a workspace nook that displays a pencil portrait of Oliver. The focal point, however, is a set of intricately carved antique wooden doors that open to a luxurious bathroom with a freestanding tub, an onyx book-matched enclosed shower, and his-and-hers vanities. “I got the doors from a dealer of Moroccan antiques,” says Kim of the find that came mid-construction. “They are the wow factor.”
Describing these impressive details, Kim looks to the floor. “I bought this rug when I was 27 years old in Morocco, on my first trip there,” she shares. It lived with her in southern Spain and eventually landed in storage. When designing this bathroom, she knew she’d found the perfect place for it. “It just works,” she says.
That sentiment reflects not only this home but the life the Richters have built in Palm Beach, to include their involvement with local charitable organizations. Kim is on the West Palm Beach Chapter Committee for Place of Hope, a nonprofit that supports children, young adults, and families in crisis, and its sister entity, Villages of Hope, which provides independent living residential support and life-skills development for emancipated foster youth, homeless youth, single mothers, and survivors of human trafficking. Helping connect individuals with housing, knowing how a home can provide evidence of a journey along with peace and security, feels like an important way to give back.
Story Credits:
Photo shoot styling: Robert Rufino
Hair and makeup: Deborah Koepper, Deborah Koepper Beauty, Palm Beach
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