A V I B R A N T
R E F R E S H
WELCOME TO A NEW LOOK
Ocean House is pleased to unveil a thoughtful refresh of all 49 guest rooms—an evolution that enhances the hotel’s signature coastal elegance while remaining true to our heritage. This exciting redesign introduces a renewed sense of vibrancy, drawing inspiration from the surrounding seascape and infusing each space with a fresh, light-filled energy that reflects the natural beauty just beyond each window.
The overall effect is immersive and echoes the charm of a welcoming and well-appointed historic seaside home. No two rooms are alike; each embraces its own architectural nuances, whether through a private terrace, a fireplace, or unique view of the water or Watch Hill Village. Carefully curated furnishings balance antique influences with refined updates, combining carved wood elements, bamboo and bobbin accents, and occasional lacquered pieces for a touch of modern contrast.
THE COLLABORATORS
Led by the acclaimed team at Iliana Moore Interiors, in close collaboration with Ocean House owner Deborah Goodrich Royce, this project built upon a longstanding creative partnership rooted in a shared appreciation for classic American design, and each carefully developed design scheme integrates original art and prints curated by Hilary Pierce of Art Collector’s Athenaeum. Rather than reimagining the rooms entirely, the refresh refines and elevates what guests have always loved—layering in greater depth, color, and personality.
Founder & Principal Designer
Iliana Moore
A lifelong New Yorker with over 20 years of experience creating luxurious interiors, Iliana Moore has completed projects across the country in coastal enclaves, mountain retreats, tropical oases, and urban pied-a-terre to deliver results that reflect each client’s individual style.
Iliana’s design approach is rooted in creating a strong sense of place. She brings a love of color and texture to each project and a reliable network of specialty craftsmen and vendors. Whether through rich paints and natural materials, contemporary and vintage textiles, and antique or newly designed furniture, Iliana works meticulously to bring out the best in each interior.
Partner & Designer
Manon Roux
Raised between Paris, France, and New York, Manon’s love of interiors and design started early. As a multi-disciplinary artist, Manon studied at the Carousel du Louvre in Paris, Rhode Island School of Design, and majored in design and photography at SUNY Purchase College.
After spending the greater part of her career working as a creative director, branding strategist, and product manager, Manon returned to her passion for interior design.
Holding onto her French roots and tradition, Manon Roux finds inspiration from around the globe. She brings a modern approach to the Iliana Moore firm and has a knack for creating family-friendly elevated designs that are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and livable.
President, Art Collector’s Athenaeum
Hilary Pierce
Hilary Pierce is The Curator of The Bemelmans Gallery at Ocean House, a beloved part of our cultural offerings here at Ocean House opened in 2023 to rave reviews and coverage by Town and Country, Barron’s, Air Mail and Travel and Leisure Magazines; and was part of the setting for a celebrity wedding at Ocean House featured in VOGUE last Summer. Pierce has been actively advising and providing curatorial services for the art collection of Chuck and Deborah Royce for over 15 years.
THE DESIGN
Three distinct design schemes guide the updated interiors, each featuring a lively interplay of patterns, textures, and hues. Floral motifs and chintz fabrics remain central to the aesthetic, now expressed with increased boldness and variation. Custom details—from tailored drapery to bespoke lampshades—bring cohesion and craftsmanship to each room, while wallpaper panels framed behind the beds introduce architectural interest and a sense of intimacy.
DESIGN SCHEME ONE
DESIGN SCHEME TWO
DESIGN SCHEME THREE
THE ART
Art plays a meaningful role in the experience, with works by local artists and thoughtfully selected pieces from the Royce Collection combining to celebrate the history and character of the hotel.
Each room features original paintings commissioned by Ocean House, each canvas a unique work: Joanne Sloneker’s art features landscapes and local landmarks, from peaceful marshes and beach paths to Watch Hill Light; Annie Wildey’s oil paintings beautifully capture ocean waves and the power of the sea. Each room also incorporates framed prints—curated and reproduced by Hilary Pierce of Art Collector’s Athenaeum—by 20th century artist Sem (born George Goursat), whose famous caricatures satirize high society at play in beach resorts, race tracks, and grand hotels in France during the Belle Époque.
Together, these elements create rooms that feel layered, personal, and equally connected to the Rhode Island coast and the rarified world of great hotels.
The Artists
Joanne Sloneker
My journey as an artist began at UC DAAP, where I studied graphic design—a foundation that still deeply influences my work today. Composition is always the first ingredient in everything I create. About 25 years ago, I returned to art more seriously and began exhibiting my work. More recently, I’ve added pastels to my toolbox. I love the flexibility of switching between the two, letting the subject or mood guide my medium. An avid traveler and passionate gardener—both constantly feeding my inspiration. Whether it’s a bustling street scene, a quiet landscape, flowers in bloom, or everyday moments with people and animals, I follow wherever inspiration leads.
The Artists
Annie Wildey
Annie Wildey is a British painter and printmaker whose subjects are the weather and its effects on various landscapes. Wildey’s paintings feature images of rolling landscapes in fog, snow-laden roads, and the tides on beaches and rocks. She has also made a series of urban landscapes depicting underpasses and bridges in New York, wanting to capture the “accidental environments comprised of structural voids between supporting columns and girders.” In printmaking, Wildey favors monotypes, and works exclusively in a monochromatic palette so as not to detract from the impact and essence of her images, as she describes. As a result, these monotypes tend towards gestural abstraction.
The Artists
Sem (1863-1934)
In the years before the First World War life in French society reached a fever pitch at the great social centers of Monte Carlo and Paris. Artists, aristocrats, industrialists and, yes, Americans mixed at the beach resorts and grand hotels like never before. Lucky for us that Sem, the artist born George Goursat, was there to record the scene. From 1900 until 1914 he produced his best work—a series of caricatures satirizing the beau monde, from J. P. Morgan and the Baron de Rothschild, to Prince Troubetskov, and the painters Boldini and Helleu. Ocean House acquired several of his finest original folios, with inscriptions and dedications written in the hand of the artist, and those works are now part of the permanent art collections of Ocean House, along with numerous prints found in the guestrooms and public spaces of the hotel.