Houzz Tours
My Houzz: A Basic Builder Home Gets the Glam Treatment
From blank canvas to decorated beauty, this home in Massachusetts changed a family's life in more ways than one
Stacy Curran’s transition from attorney to interior decorator began when she moved into her new house. After September 11, 2001, Curran, along with her husband, Patrick, and their two children, moved out of Washington, D.C., and into a new-construction home in Marshfield, Massachusetts. “The home felt like a complete blank canvas to me,” she says.
Using color, texture and customized details to make this basic builder home her family’s own, Curran took on the design challenges herself — installing wall molding, choosing color palettes and coming up with creative DIY solutions. And all that hard work has paid off: Now the family has a beautiful home, and Curran has a new career at South Shore Decorating.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Stacy and Patrick Curran and their children, Bobby and Ellie
Location: Marshfield, Massachusetts
Size: 4,200 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths
Using color, texture and customized details to make this basic builder home her family’s own, Curran took on the design challenges herself — installing wall molding, choosing color palettes and coming up with creative DIY solutions. And all that hard work has paid off: Now the family has a beautiful home, and Curran has a new career at South Shore Decorating.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Stacy and Patrick Curran and their children, Bobby and Ellie
Location: Marshfield, Massachusetts
Size: 4,200 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths
"The home looked massive to us, coming from our four-story, 2,400-square-foot townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia," says Curran. Color, textiles and custom touches on furnishings help differentiate each large room.
This 20- by 24-foot family room sits a step down from the eat-in kitchen. Nine framed sketches of rooms Curran designed hang on the wall.
White tufted sofa: Robin Bruce
This 20- by 24-foot family room sits a step down from the eat-in kitchen. Nine framed sketches of rooms Curran designed hang on the wall.
White tufted sofa: Robin Bruce
Curran used nonwashable flat paint on the walls for a deep, rich color. The oak floors have been alkaline dyed to a dark and uniform color.
Molding and trim paint: White Cloud, Benjamin Moore with Coventry Gray, Benjamin Moore; cherry dining table and credenza: eBay; wood floors: Minwax in Jacobean; rug: Jonathan Adler
Molding and trim paint: White Cloud, Benjamin Moore with Coventry Gray, Benjamin Moore; cherry dining table and credenza: eBay; wood floors: Minwax in Jacobean; rug: Jonathan Adler
New countertops, cabinetry and built-ins added customized style to the previously blank kitchen. "When we moved in, the home was pretty much a builder's basic," Curran says. "Although it wasn't quite love at first sight, I saw the potential, and we spent the next few years getting it where we wanted it."
A trio of cabinets and a V-shaped desk turn a kitchen corner space into a home office.
Curran installed this wall molding herself for more custom detail. A mirrored backsplash brings light and glimmer into the kitchen — one of the darkest rooms in the house.
She transformed tabletop lanterns found at HomeGoods into hanging candle chandeliers with chains and hooks.
Counter stools: BarStools.com
Counter stools: BarStools.com
Until she commits to selecting upholstery in this informal seating area, Curran is using gray accents created with swaths of fabric on the white muslin chairs.
Chairs: Boston Interiors; rug: Rugs USA; coffee table: Horchow; paint: Cloud White, Benjamin Moore
Chairs: Boston Interiors; rug: Rugs USA; coffee table: Horchow; paint: Cloud White, Benjamin Moore
Two-toned cording adds subtle detail between the front entry stair molding and the wall.
Wall paint: Winter Solstice, Benjamin Moore; stair railings: Appalachian Brown Semi-Gloss, Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Winter Solstice, Benjamin Moore; stair railings: Appalachian Brown Semi-Gloss, Benjamin Moore
Bold colors and graphics continue in the second floor children's rooms. A trundle bed decked out in pillows in Bobby's room can be transformed into a sofa.
Rug: Pottery Barn; bookshelf: Pottery Barn Teen; paint: Stem Green, Benjamin Moore; sports prints: Etsy
Rug: Pottery Barn; bookshelf: Pottery Barn Teen; paint: Stem Green, Benjamin Moore; sports prints: Etsy
Ellie spotted her desk at the town dump and had to have it. In a new bright pink, it makes the perfect accent piece in her feminine room.
Dresser, bed: Ethan Allen; chair, rug: Pottery Barn Kids
Dresser, bed: Ethan Allen; chair, rug: Pottery Barn Kids
In the guest bedroom, Curran created a canopy in rich brown and green fabric to create hotel-style luxury for an otherwise blank white wall.
An oversize graphic zebra rug in the master bedroom warms up the large space. “It was actually hard to get enough furniture in here,” Curran says.
Painted black consoles serve as bedside tables. Curran monogrammed the lamps with black felt. She wrapped the set of white lamp shades in black ribbon and did the same with the curtains.
Wall paint: Sleepy Blue, Sherwin-Williams; zebra rug: South Shore Decorating
Painted black consoles serve as bedside tables. Curran monogrammed the lamps with black felt. She wrapped the set of white lamp shades in black ribbon and did the same with the curtains.
Wall paint: Sleepy Blue, Sherwin-Williams; zebra rug: South Shore Decorating
Curran sits at a dressing table in the master bedroom. The family spends much of their time in here. "It's the room we share the most as a family, reading to the kids at night and watching television together," she says.
Although work demands meant the family had just one day to choose a home, they found this gem in Marshfield — equidistant between Boston and Cape Cod.
The family added a new pool to the big backyard after moving in.
Houzz call: Share your creative, colorful home with us.
Houzz call: Share your creative, colorful home with us.
Two gray curved loveseats in brushed cotton surround four 22- by 22-inch end tables, which can combine to make one large coffee table.
End tables: Lexington Furniture; paint: Iceberg, Benjamin Moore