John Bossard approaches every project as a collaboration. “There’s nothing worse than walking into somebody’s home, and there’s zero soul of the client in the space,” the designer says.
“Interior design has to be a collaboration. There has to be some kind of way that I can get into the client’s mind or persona or their style and reflect it in their space, so it’s identifiable as theirs and not mine.” With this SouthPark project, though, Bossard had no difficulty striking a harmonious relationship with his client. “My client jokingly refers to herself as a ‘frustrated designer,’” Bossard laughs. The homeowner adds, “I could design my own home, but John takes my ideas and makes them look one hundred times better than I ever would on my own. He’ll teach you things you wouldn’t know. I truly believe it’s because of that collaboration that my house looks like me and not somebody else.”
This particular home, which was built in the 1990s, has been evolving since the couple purchased it in 2002. Renowned architect Milton Grenfell, most notable for his classical, traditional work, designed the home. “The architecture is French provincial and feels very warm and cozy,” says Phil Goodwin of Goodwin Custom Homes. Goodwin worked on the home’s kitchen and master bathroom renovations. “It’s truly a reflection of the homes in the south of France with its symmetry and classical design.”
Over the years, the homeowners have enlisted the help of several notable Charlotte designers, architects, and landscape designers to help bring the home to its 2020 iteration. The previous owners had barely touched the backyard, so the homeowners brought in the late John Byrd to design the stunning oasis in the backyard.
“I wanted the yard to reflect the architecture of the house,” the homeowner says. “The house is very classic and symmetrical and formal. John designed a yard that mirrored that.” Most recently, landscape designer Linda Greenberg was brought on board to embellish and update it.
Inside, close friend Neal Johnson, who had worked on t he couple’s Sea Island, Georgia, home, was tasked with creating the first layer of interior design, which began in the dining room. “It was a difficult room to design because it has no windows,” the homeowner says. To create instant interest, the homeowners commissioned friend and renowned artist, the late Terry Reitzel, to paint a dramatic landscape mural of Charleston. “I’d looked at every Gracie paper, but I thought we ought to have something totally unique in here,” the homeowner says. “My husband is from Charleston, so we wanted scenes that he remembered seeing as a child.” The result is a striking and wholly unique piece of art that elevated the one-time dark dining room.
But the real makeover took place in the kitchen, a dark and dated space that was in dire need of updating. “It was an early ’90s, compact kitchen with a very small layout,” Bossard says. He teamed with kitchen and bath designer Caren Bistany, architect Don Duffy, and Goodwin to renovate the space. “I told John, ‘I’m all about pretty,’” says the homeowner. “I’m not one of these clean and spare design people.
Our jumping-off point was that gorgeous marble I found in Atlanta. I saw this marble that had a thread of that gorgeous Venetian blue-green, and I flipped. I had to have it.” The addition of new custom cabinetry and a wide steel-framed window above the sink not only flooded the space with light, but it also opened up the view to the backyard.
The adjacent room to the kitchen needed an uplift, too, as it was rarely used. “I hated that I felt separated from everyone while I was in the kitchen,” the homeowner explains. “I wanted to have a space where my husband could relax and watch television and still feel like he was in the kitchen with me.” Bossard reworked the space, which the homeowner previously referred to as a “hodgepodge of stuff,” into a welcoming seating area that complemented the adjacent dining nook. Bossard added Roman shades with fabric from Michael S. Smith for Jasper Furniture & Fabrics to tie both spaces together, while a cozy banquette by Hickory Chair swathed in Lee Jofa fabric, a Julie Neill for Visual Comfort lantern, and a cerused oak table by Bunny Williams complete the dining area’s look.
The homeowner’s eye contributed to the design throughout the home and led her to purchase the pair of loveseats in the living room, which she found during an auction at Christie’s. “I’m constantly scouring online auctions,” the homeowner laughs. Bossard adds, “[My client] is so passionate about decoration and design that it is part of her normal vernacular. She has a great eye for design, but she knows her limitations.” Having noticed how dark thelight into the space. A stunning multicolored prism chandelier by AERIN for Visual Comfort pulls together those subtle colors.
Each room is a slice of the homeowners’ styles, featuring pieces they’ve collected over the years or newer items they’ve recently become smitten with. “I am always shopping and looking online at auctions to find things that I love and want in my home,” the homeowner says. “I never want someone to walk into my home and not know it’s ours.” Mission accomplished.