A MOVE FROM MODERN
by Bailey Shelton | photos by Nolan Calisch
This home began as a textbook example of modernist design. Clean lines dominated every room, massive picture windows dominated the space, and most of the furnishings and details were in dark, cool tones. For some, this is a dream come true, but for the current homeowners, the space needed some warming up to suit the husband’s love of traditional home design. They chose Interior designer Catherine Marrano to make the home their own.
“It was just very masculine; lots of hard lines, not very warm,” the homeowner says. “We just wanted to make it feel more like us.”
Marrano began with the home’s ground level, with designs of eventually transforming the whole property. The main floor includes an open concept transition from the kitchen and dining area to the living room, where a sliding glass wall opens to the back patio and outdoor living area. To smooth out this transition, Marrano designed a custom cabinetry system to create a banquet bar for the dining room, which transitions into built-in shelving and a traditional fireplace that’s reminiscent of craftsman designs.
In the primary living space, or the great room, as the homeowners call it, rich colors and comfortable textures come out to play. Sculptures and artwork dress the space, with equestrian pieces to speak to the daughter’s horseback riding. Anna Afshar which Marrano commissioned using the homeowner’s palette of preferred colors. Another commissioned piece from artist Kyle Ragsdale lives above the bar in the dining area.
The jewel tones throughout the home were chosen to bring color and soul to the space without being too “of the era”. Green dining chairs, armchairs in the great room, and a Cognac chaise in the study were all chosen for their earth tones, bringing the outdoors inside similar to the landscape. The study was designed as part library, part office area where the homeowners could close the door for work calls or escape from the daily chaos of family life in the great room. The live plants throughout the home were a personal request and project of the homeowner, who works with plants professionally and wanted the real thing.
“It does take time, but I believe everything [Marrano] does is intentional. She wants it to feel individualized to your family,” says the homeowner.
Marrano used natural elements not just as a call to the homeowner’s love of plants but also as a transitional texture between the modernist structure of the home and the traditional elements she introduced. Rope chairs on the patio add a natural softness to the outdoor dining space, while side tables carved from the roots of trees dot the seating area around the pool. This theme continues throughout the main level, with textured wood softening the built-in cabinetry, performance linen on the couch creating a stone neutral anchor to pair with the jewel tones, and leather and natural light toned wood bringing further comfort to the office area.
“I really leaned into the layering and the mix of new and vintage elements to make it feel more collected over time,” says Marrano. “Both outside and inside, blending between architectural clean lines and the homeowner’s aesthetic meant the intent of incorporating natural materials, a mix of wood and stone elements, layered with warm textiles to soften the sharp edges.”
With their main floor complete, the homeowners spend most of their mornings together on the back patio, enjoying time in nature while the weather permits and watching the seasons change through the trees of the neighboring woods. Out there, they can enjoy the landscape that drew them to the property, while sitting comfortably in the home they’ve now made their own.
