Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Redesign and a Pitch-Perfect Addition Revive a 1930s Home
This Virginia Colonial gets new life and energy with an iridescent palette, a light-filled addition and a ‘man den’
Take a 1930s Virginia Colonial home with great bones and charm, toss in some dated 1980s updates, add a client who’s commuting between Manhattan and Richmond, Virginia, a New-York based fiancee with ideas of her own, family antiques scattered throughout three residences — and you have some idea of the challenges that faced designer Heather Drew on this project.
What started as a kitchen redesign snowballed into gutting the entire house. Then, less than a year after the initial remodel was complete, the clients called again. They were expecting a child and needed more space. Could Drew design an addition for them? So she returned to the property to pick up where she left off and built a two-story addition on the back of the house.
What started as a kitchen redesign snowballed into gutting the entire house. Then, less than a year after the initial remodel was complete, the clients called again. They were expecting a child and needed more space. Could Drew design an addition for them? So she returned to the property to pick up where she left off and built a two-story addition on the back of the house.
For the decor, the wife wanted something “airy and feminine,” Drew says. The light-filled sitting area in the addition shines as a multipurpose room where the wife “works, where she reads, where she has friends over, where her little boy plays piano,” Drew says.
Antiqued mirror panels on the right wall reflect light and make the room feel bigger. Farrow & Ball’s All White paint covers the walls and trim. “Everyone looks good in it,” Drew says of the room. Most of the furniture was existing furniture the clients owned. Drew re-covered the upholstered pieces in new fabric. The silk rug came from the wife’s home in Manhattan.
Antiqued mirror panels on the right wall reflect light and make the room feel bigger. Farrow & Ball’s All White paint covers the walls and trim. “Everyone looks good in it,” Drew says of the room. Most of the furniture was existing furniture the clients owned. Drew re-covered the upholstered pieces in new fabric. The silk rug came from the wife’s home in Manhattan.
A small library off the sitting area houses the wife’s collection of art books. Cabinets provide more storage space. Silver-leaf wallpaper inside the custom-built bookcase reflects more light. Drew salvaged the hardware in both rooms from local stores. The spiral staircase leads to the guest bedroom and bath. The homeowners wanted the original wood balusters and handrail painted white so that the staircase seems to float.
Wallpaper: Gracie
Wallpaper: Gracie
In the library, a custom-made pillow with Vervain fabric sits on an antique French settee that Drew had covered in white linen.
A guest bedroom and full bathroom occupy the upstairs in the addition. Drew created the headboards during the redesign of the main part of the house and moved them into the guest bedroom once the addition was complete. The guest bedroom in the main part of the house became a nursery to accommodate the couple’s son. The addition, meanwhile, is private enough to work as an in-law suite.
Drew found an antique dresser and had it converted into a vanity for the guest bath.
See more vanity conversions
See more vanity conversions
Eight-foot ceilings in the living room of the main house caused Drew to “play with scale a little, add some subtlety and pattern to give depth to the room,” she says. She covered the ceiling in a wallpaper with large medallions and a subtle silver sheen. The wall paint color (Farrow & Ball’s All White) boasts an iridescent quality to enhance light as well.
The majority of furniture was already in existence. Family pieces “are very important to the client and very important to me,” Drew says. “Also, it’s about not filling landfills with pieces that are structurally sound. Every piece of furniture was re-covered. The only new thing in the living room is the coffee table.”
The majority of furniture was already in existence. Family pieces “are very important to the client and very important to me,” Drew says. “Also, it’s about not filling landfills with pieces that are structurally sound. Every piece of furniture was re-covered. The only new thing in the living room is the coffee table.”
The living room opens to a formal dining room. The table belonged to the homeowner. Drew found the chairs at a local antiques store and re-covered them in a fabric with medallions that echo the wallpaper pattern on the living room ceiling.
Drew stained the new flooring in the kitchen to match existing floors throughout the house. Marble countertops offer lively veining, while the marble backsplash conveys a subtle basket-weave pattern.
Drew had the outlets installed on the bottom of the upper cabinets so that nothing would impede the clean lines of the backsplash.
Drew had the outlets installed on the bottom of the upper cabinets so that nothing would impede the clean lines of the backsplash.
As a refuge from the airy and feminine decor, the husband wanted a “man den” that would be dark even in July. Drew modeled the space on a man’s suit, with wool and suede and leather making an appearance. She was thrilled to find the double-sided chair fabric by Schumacher featuring both plaid and herringbone patterns.
She painted the walls and bookshelves in a semigloss blue by Farrow & Ball. The ceiling is flat gray. The drapes are silk (like a fancy necktie), and the windows also have blackout shades in felted wool.
Learn about room-darkening window treatments
She painted the walls and bookshelves in a semigloss blue by Farrow & Ball. The ceiling is flat gray. The drapes are silk (like a fancy necktie), and the windows also have blackout shades in felted wool.
Learn about room-darkening window treatments
A silk tie also inspired the design for a bathroom off the man den. The vertical lines in the wallpaper (and in the shower tile) also play off the image of a tie.
Faucets and accessories: unlacquered brass, Waterworks
Faucets and accessories: unlacquered brass, Waterworks
Drew reconfigured the master bath to include a soaking nook with wisteria-covered wallpaper.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their young son
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: 3,155 square feet (293 square meters), plus an 840-square-foot addition (78 square meters); four bedrooms, four bathrooms
Designer: Heather Drew of Bella Designs Studio
The new addition features windows on all sides. French doors on this side open to a patio. Drew designed the exterior corbels and window trim to reflect details in the original 1930s brick house.