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About This Design
Interior Design: Paul Miller
The focus of this design was to update the front rooms of this custom home to create calming, light spaces balancing both elegance and informality. Many beautifully crafted and bespoke pieces would remain, such as the dining table and chairs and bow front living room chest, but the mandate was clear: our clients wanted to send the traditional window treatments, colors, lighting and patterns packing.
In the living room, we reimagined a pair of existing bergère chairs, exchanging a mellow, golden finish and plaid covering for fresh white lacquer and a bold blue and white, hand-blocked print. Textiles in the living and dining rooms intentionally refine the palette to hues of taupe and blue, while providing variety through a host of textures and weaves. On the drapery in both areas, geometric embroidery echoes the streamlined form of the new chandelier. Replacing classic Chinese rugs with serged broadloom in a subtle, graphic texture was key to establishing the light, modern look of the spaces - and enabled us to perfectly scale the floor coverings to the rooms. The walnut finish on the new end tables compliments the tones in the older furnishings, while offering a fresh perspective with a matte finish and spare lines.
During the design process, our clients identified the art they wanted to display in the spaces and consulted with us on selections, scale, and framing choices. The winsome colors and intricate forms in the Nancy Hammond pieces offer a soft, organic relief to the restrained silhouettes of the furnishings.
Working with one of our preferred North Carolina makers, we added a striking cocktail table with dark iron base and white-washed maple top. From the same artisans, a beautiful console table with fused glass resembling clear, rippling water reflects the graceful wilderness in the Hammond artwork. Details like gathered grasses and brilliantly colored stone beads in a simple piece of pottery further knit the room to its underlying organic theme.
This project was a good study in how warmth and comfort can be achieved within an edited, airy design. Traditional pieces reside alongside more contemporary choices, harmonized by complimentary scale and contrasting forms and finishes. Details such as repeating the dotted velvet on the dining chairs in the living room pillows help to underscore that these two rooms are to be thought of as interconnected. Each choice helps to forge a transformation that puts a fresh interpretation on the spaces without displacing quality, cherished belongings.
There to help us throughout the photoshoot was the family cat, Annie, who has a certain artistic sensitivity and penchant for stealing into a room with a soft tread.
