We love when our projects take us on the road. This particular home in Houston was a joy to work on – Slifer Designs senior designer Frances Karsh met the clients a few years ago when they remodeled their Bachelor Gulch home. Soon enough we were headed to the Lone Star state to update their primary home.
The design challenge was to make this home feel more current while using some of the client’s existing pieces. Before we arrived, the home felt much older; by the time we left the house was brighter, lighter and felt more like a home for a busy family.
“The house, architecturally, was Georgian-style,” says Frances, lead designer who teamed with SD president Yvonne Jacobs on the project. “The clients wanted the home to be more comfortable with a modern twist, so it’s family friendly but adult appropriate.”
The clients love the end result, which was a mixture of new pieces and reupholstered existing pieces intermingled with older pieces for a fresh, yet decidedly classic home.
“We kept the traditional bones of the home – when designing you want to make sure styles compliment each other instead of battling for prominence,” Frances adds.
But, she adds, working in a mixture of styles is what makes a home unique. These clients have an amazing art collection and the design duo was thrilled to be able to work it into the overall design concept. Adding to the design is the fact that the art is mostly modern, which worked beautifully in the traditional home.
The designers also painted the entire house – and no matter how many times we say it, it bears repeating: a fresh coat of paint does wonders for a tired, dated, dull space.
They added in cozy fabrics that bring out the texture of the upholstery for a warm, welcoming look. Using both muted pops of color with neutrals, fun patterns and textures make the room soothing and visually interesting. Again, small changes make a big difference.
The clean white on the reupholstered sofa and the throw pillow burst with color – combined with the lovely architectural features of tall, arched doorways – this room is a family favorite. Not fussy but definitely not staid or boring.
The staircase is such an eye-catching design feature but it needed a little spruce up. Fran and Yvonne had a new custom runner added.
This family does a lot of entertaining and needed a dining room that reflects their personality, which is just what they got with Helman Chang dining table that simply shines under the custom, existing chandelier, once again proving that modern works elegantly with classic.
Finally, although we didn’t update the entire home, the clients wanted bedrooms that were refreshed, modern and a definite retreat. Crisp light linens, fresh paint, simple textures and calming colors make the spaces a favorite space to escape in.
This project was a dream, proving when done thoughtfully styles can mix and compliment each other. Small changes bring big rewards, and by setting a specific budget, we were able to get the most bang for the buck.
Traditional with a modern flair: The clients love it (and so do we).