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Photography by Alise O'Brien
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a dining room tastefully decorated.
Aaron and Kelly were barely married when they sat down with an architect, interior designer, kitchen consultant and audiovisual technician to design their house. They had one basic requirement: It had to last them their entire lives. This was to be their forever house. "We wanted a house we could grow up in, one that was functional for two young people who were about to have a child but could make the transition to two teenage kids and eventually to just us alone," says Aaron (who requests that their last name not be used). For those golden years, the core includes an elevator shaft--to be installed later. "We are going to die here," Kelly adds.
For starters, the couple had the existing home on the Clayton lot torn down. Then, armed with their team of experts, they started detailing what their new home would be.
"We didn't really know what to do," says Aaron. "We worked with Mitchell Wall [Architects]. We had Nancy [Bridwell], the interior decorator; we had the AV people, and we had brooksBerry [& Associates Ltd.] there from the beginning. Since we didn't really know what we were getting into, it helped to have people who did know and could offer some direction."
Together they came up with a stack of three floors, each 2,200 square feet—a basic design termed a foursquare house with four large rooms on each floor, an architectural plan that has been used for centuries. The exterior is classic; the interior, a twist on traditional. Kelly was pregnant during the planning process; their first daughter was born two years ago and a second baby girl arrived just months ago.
"They wanted a house that was very personal," says Chris Berry of brooksBerry. "They didn't want a McMansion but they wanted adequate space to move around and have family and friends over."
While Aaron leans more toward contemporary design, Kelly prefers traditional. Bridwell of Bridwell Interior Associates opted for architectural details from the Arts and Crafts movement, such as archways throughout the house, high ceilings, simple millwork and hardware appropriate to the period; she worked closely with architect Tom Diggs, then with Mitchell Wall. The lighting design was created by Ken McKelvie.
"The house is kind of Arts and Crafts with traditional elements put together in a minimalist way," says Berry. "I think it makes them both happy."
The kitchen and powder room
Chris Berry was summoned to the earliest meetings. The couple picked out the cabinets and countertops before approving the final architectural plans. Berry, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (as are Bridwell and her associate Teresa Drury) and a longtime pro in making magic in kitchens and baths, started working on a plan that would last a lifetime.
"Kelly is not a cook," Berry says. "We did a lot of steering, saying, 'This would be appropriate for a young family. It would be nice to have two ovens.' This is not your typical young couple who goes into a starter house and thinks of moving up. They have jumped right in and this is their forever house. So we had to anticipate how things are going to be for them while they are a young family."
Details include a pot filler behind the Viking range, a butler's pantry complete with microwave, a second oven and serving space. A clean-up sink is set below a pair of flanking windows; a prep sink is located in the island. "It accommodates when the kids are old enough to start cooking with her," Berry says. "They will have barstools there for the kids to help."
The floor is porcelain tile (that looks like limestone), butting up against planks of hardwood cherry.
Of the five and a half bathrooms, Kelly wanted to be sure the first floor powder room could withstand the demands of little hands. Bridwell had a wainscoting of tile installed--a remedy for fingerprints on the wall. Berry had a vanity custom-made so it looks more like a console than a place to hold a sink.
The hearth of the house
Bridwell concentrated on the areas that would get the most use--the kitchen/breakfast room/hearth room. "Because the house is big," she says, "we started thinking about key areas that would be the most important, in terms of arrangement, function, fabric durability, openess and airiness." The color scheme is extrapolated from the cabinets Kelly and Aaron selected in the earliest stages of planning and also from the print in the draperies.
The living room and dining room
The one color specified by Aaron was dark red in the living room (the same shade used in his parents' dining room). To balance the two rooms, Bridwell took an opposite approach to the dining room. "The dining room was an offshoot of the living room," Bridwell says. "The living room was dark and dramatic, and the dining room needed to be softer." The walls are cream; the round dining room table is dressed in a glorious red-orange woven cloth.
"We kept looking and looking at the fabric, thinking about how we could use it," Bridwell says. "We thought of using it as the drapery."
The lower level
While traditional touches show up hither and yon upstairs, the lower level is a man's playground. The decor is modern: the floor--cork; the technology—advanced; the beer tap—refrigerated, right by the pool table. The 15-foot bar? Perfect for sidling up.
"They wanted it fun, very contemporary, very unusual," Berry says. "We designed the ceramic tile backsplash with the jagged top. It's just kind of playful. We put the pedestal in the center of the bar with the stainless steel and glass on the side." The bar top is tempered glass, custom-made in California. Behind it, a stainless steel countertop with the sink welded onto it. "It has a real sleek, clean look," Berry says. "All the doors are made so they don't need hardware. The buttons are actually the hinges. You just reach underneath to open the doors."
A screen drops down from the ceiling for movie watchers. Speakers are hidden. A smart house, complete with Creston Etch-A-Sketch controls, the lower level holds a closet full of wires. "If the two-by-fours don't hold the house up, the wiring will," Aaron says.
Throughout the house
When Bridwell was buying for the house, she was careful about where the big bucks were spent. "What we did try to do with the furniture was to focus on the costly items that they will keep for a long time and then fill in with other things that are not so costly," Bridwell says. For example, she accessorized a bookcase in the hearth room with items all from Pier 1. "Whereas the artwork is original," she says. "We wanted them to buy the best artwork they could."
However, Bridwell insists that the current decor is just a backdrop for years to come. "Most houses aren't finished; they just evolve," she says. "We're just proud if we can set the background and get people going ... This is a house they will grow in."
And grow old in. It's their house forever.
