AS INTERIOR DESIGNER Lauren Hood was winding down installations on her client Meghan Pyle’s home, she got a call from her saying they had just purchased a new home. “We weren’t intending to move,” promises Pyle, “but we had always admired this home from afar. It was built by Dixon Kirby in 2008, and when it was listed for sale, the opportunity was too hard to pass up.” The home was in move-in ready condition, but just needed some style updates including paint and new lighting.
With three young children under eight at the time, Pyle was looking for a home that appealed to her children but was also sophisticated and beautiful. “We knew going into it, and having just worked on their previous home, that any fabrics, furniture, and rugs would need to be durable and kid-friendly,” says Hood. They started with the children’s rooms, in fact, wanting to make the transition painless and exciting for them.
“My tendency is definitely more towards neutral and muted colors,” admits Pyle. “I love the white walls in most of our house and prefer adding color with wallpaper and accents like fabric and accessories. I can definitely appreciate colors in fresh flowers and enjoy adding colors in my wardrobe.”
With that in mind, the bold designs reside primarily in the children’s rooms, particularly her oldest son’s blue bedroom, with some of the excitement dripping into main rooms through art, fabrics, and accessories. But the den is one space where the color spill couldn’t be contained. “The green room is absolutely my favorite,” says Hood. Formerly an office and then a playroom for a short
while, the den has morphed over the years. “It’s perfectly suited for either adult cocktail hour or a family game night.
The rich olive walls and trim make it chic and snug.” Pyle adds, “I love the den and am grateful for Lauren’s suggestion to paint it entirely olive green—the walls, crown molding, ceiling, and built-in cabinetry. The framed painting is one of my favorite wall hangings.”
With Hood’s gentle nudging, the home came together in a dance of risky patterns and colors, and minimalistic and refined designs. “The house is spacious with high ceilings, so it needed layers to make it work for a young family,” explains Hood. “We added grasscloth, linen drapes, a custom wool rug, and a large sectional to the family room, and it was quite the transformation.” Hood injected color into this home without painting walls and trim, keeping most of the common areas bathed in Benjamin Moore White Dove, and instead added art, fabrics, and wallpaper to most of the rooms for color moments.
Speaking of moments, the dining room is sneaky bold with custom de Gournay wallpaper filling one side balanced by a bookcase wall full of children’s classics on the other. Like the rest of her home, Pyle weaves in a relaxed family feel with the occasional shell from a vacation or a handmade gift from the children. “Sometimes I find a Lego man strategically placed, likely by a seven-year-old,” she says.
In the end, this project spoke directly to Hood’s heart, too, with the mix of neutrals and colors, bold and calm, de Gournays and old books. “I lie somewhere in the middle when it comes to color,” says Hood. “I love a clean neutral room with layers of texture, but I also adore a room with bold colors and patterns. This home satisfies both personalities.”