When Andy and Jerry Brown decided to move from their longtime home in Skillman and build a new residence in downtown Princeton, the couple wanted a home that would reflect and showcase their adventurous spirits.

The Browns had traveled extensively, including repeated trips to Southeast Asia. Along the way they had collected an assortment of beautiful and meaningful mementosÑan antique wooden puppet head from Burma, painted bottles from Stockholm, a wooden bowl from Costa Rica, a ceramic table and chairs from Vietnam, among other treasuresÑthat they wanted to display in an attractive and practical way. To do this, Andy, who designed the house, incorporated built-in alcoves for exhibiting their wares and an open floor plan of interconnected spaces. Jerry set the starting point for the interior design. She took her color cue from the blown-glass pendant lights in the kitchen and built the houseÕs palette and decor from there. ÓThe house was designed by both of us to best meet our needs and wishes,Ó says Andy.

French doors and deep alcove windows keep the living room light and airy. The Browns positioned the windows closer to the ground, "making the patios and the outside gardens feel a greater part of the whole," Andy says. Some of their many objects d'art are displayed via another clever inclusion in the home: deep doorways that accommodate bookshelves. "The sitting room and living room have doorways with deep bookshelves at entrances to the rooms," says Jerry. Fortunate to have a designer friend, Jerry was able to tag along to the D & D Building in New York City (usually reserved for design professionals) to get ideas about the kinds of home products available. She incorporated clever combinations of ideas she found there. For instance, the Browns' wall coverings include a gorgeous knockoff version of the $100-a-yard designer original Jerry coveted at the D & D Building. Andy found it online for a fraction of the price.

To introduce the diverse nature of the Browns' collections, the entry hall holds a Tibetan chest that Jerry found on eBay. Centered on the chest are painted glass bottles from Stockholm, Sweden.

In the den, a painting from Hoi An, Vietnam, is displayed beside baskets painted by a disabled artist in Burma who holds the brush between his toes. .

In addition to making an elaborate statement at the entrance of the guest quarters, similar ornately carved doors from Borneo enclose the master bedroom, powder room, and home theater. On this door, the hornbill, a bird indigenous to Borneo, is depicted in the elaborate carvings. The mass and intricate detail of the ironwood doors anchor the Asian theme.

Jerry ordered the vanity­—originally a dresser­—online and had it retrofitted to accommodate a glass vessel sink from the Corning Glass Museum gift shop. At first glance, the vanity appears almost altar-like.

The elaborate wooden carving on the white onyx mantle is the equivalent of a hood ornament, retrieved from the front of an antique ox-racing cart from Burma. Tall windows let light pour in and make the rooms feel more spacious.