UNLOCKING THE DESIGN SECRETS OF LISA SHERRY'S LATEST HOME RENOVATION.
SEE HOW A DOSE OF LISA SHERRY DESIGN THERAPY REIGNITED ONE COUPLE'S PASSION FOR HOME.
My clients LOVED their home, a 100-year old white-brick charmer in a leafy established neighborhood with adjacencies to the park and greenway. However, over time and with life changes, they came to feel that the house did not love them back. Trouble in paradise!
As an interior designer, I sometimes find myself in the role of marriage counselor. In today’s blog and home tour, I’d like to share a story of how I helped a very happy couple fall deeply and passionately in love with their home – all over again. A healthy dose of Lisa Sherry Interieurs design therapy made all the difference. Today, I'll share design tips and secrets.
To begin, the first floor of the original circa 1920s home was a jewel box, a series of small individual rooms: a little kitchen, breakfast nook, powder room, living and dining room, and a pair of bedrooms. An earlier renovation to open an upper level came at the expense of the shrinking bedrooms.
My clients said a home that once felt warm and intimate had come to feel cramped and claustrophobic. The home did not match the couple’s emerging desire for a complete first-floor living area, and a strong post-Covid desire to entertain.
SEEING TRHOUGH WALLS
I’ve been told that one of my design superpowers is seeing through walls. My first and most essential design recommendation was to gut the first floor, removing all but structural walls, and opening the floor plan. As the jackhammers blew through old plaster, moldings and framing, the space blossomed with wonderful synergy.
MAXIMIZING LIGHT & SPACE
In my world, walls are the archenemies of natural light. An open floor plan maximizes windows, natural light and views of the world outside. My interiors are always personal and communal, a world apart AND part of the natural world.
A BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE
Pre-renovation, a dreary basement was home to this family’s laundry room. I sought to elevate the laundrette, literally and figuratively. First, working with the architect, we introduced a small addition with laundry (and pantry) to the first floor. Next, I took the woe out of wash day, selecting fixtures, flooring, appliances, rugs, tile and wallpaper with imagination and care. The laundry room is not an afterthought, but integral to the style and spirit of the home.
DOG DAYS
I love clients who are intentional and communicative about how they want to live in their space. For this couple, all-inclusive single floor living and gracious entertaining space were primary. However, another heart’s desire emerged as planning commenced: a dog wash for a future canine. We revamped the laundry room for Fido!
HOW I DID IT. UNLOCKING DESIGN SECRETS.
This renovation is striking in its simplicity and elegance. If everything seems to work together effortlessly, it’s because Lisa Sherry Interieurs curated every design detail with care. It's central to my design philosophy. Let's get specific. Here are a few design decisions that made all the difference in this project.
Throughout most of the first floor, Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace unites and elevates the space. I specified eggshell on the walls, flat for the ceiling and semi-gloss for trim.
Eight-inch floorboards and square trim modernize and open the space.
Clean, slab-front cabinets in white and taupe bring the formerly dated kitchen into the 21st caentury. Paired with rough-hewn brass fixtures and hardware to add a bit of understated bling.
Panel-ready refrigerator and dishwasher morph kitchen and living area into a seamless whole.
Six-foot freestanding kitchen island on wheels, custom sourced by LSI, is great for parties and daily food prep. My clients say it's a workhorse!
The lovely surprise of black-and-white wallpaper in the rear entry and laundry room sets the stage for the experience of the home. I paired it with black fixtures in the laundry, and on door hinges and knobs throughout the home.
Illuminate: Detailed lighting plan throughout, includes 4-inch recessed cans, strategically placed fixtures and task lamps.
Past, present and future live in harmony. The hardwood floors are original to the 100-year old house, but modernized in a white oak finish, and topped with antique runners and rugs.
Is love lovelier the second time around? I think my clients would say yes. When I first met with this couple, they were just about ready to divorce their house. With patience, communication, jackhammers and a lot of white paint, today they are more in love than ever before.
PROJECT CREDITS:
Architect: White Oak Residential Design
Contractor: Lanier Builders
Photography: Kenton Robertson