ELEGANT RAISED ITALIANATE

Family friendly reinterpretation of an 1850’s beauty

Our clients, having lived in New York for over twenty years, decided to embrace their roots and make a move south with their young family. They purchased a lovely property by the water and immediately engaged a team of experts to add new life to their historically significant Charleston home. The bones of this house were terrific at purchase and very minimal construction needed to take place, so we were able to get right to work on bringing its personality to life.

We started with the color palette, pulling inspiration from some of the elements they loved in their Brooklyn brownstone - crisp white walls in the formal areas and their bedroom, and adding bold color in the entry and informal entertaining spaces. Various shades of yellow, terracotta, green, and purple abound. .

The family loves to entertain, so flow was critical. I wanted the first floor to tell a story, and for there to be conversations between all the rooms, so I leaned on the color palette, repeated textures and similar prints to execute that.

The clients’ fabulous art collection was a source of inspiration as well, particularly the Gretchen Howard piece in the dining room, which was used as inspiration for creating the color scheme throughout.

In the cozy family room, where lots of quality time is shared, a sectional was a high priority. We pulled a soft lavender shade from the Viola marble in the kitchen that pairs beautifully with the burnt mustard block print wallpaper on the walls, tying the two adjoining rooms together.

We repeated the hues of terracotta in the family room in the powder room nearby, adding a whimsical bird print paper that complements the Jasper Red marble countertop.

We wanted to embrace the natural light that flows into the kitchen and chose a butter yellow for the cabinets to keep it light but also interesting.

The upstairs den was our place to use saturated and deep hued versions of the color palette. This unexpected jewel box hits just right and is the perfect place to curl up and watch a movie or read a book.

The bedrooms are all expressions of their occupants - chic and elegant in the primary and fun and colorful in the children’s rooms.

Photos by Molly Rose | Styling by Boo Randle