Photography by Alise O’Brien
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The house was in an all-out rebellion. On the walls, reds clashed with bright greens, and the addition had split off into its own faction—it didn’t match the house at all. The new owners, a family of five, enlisted the help of interior designer Amy Studebaker, owner of Amy Studebaker Design (314-458-5339, amystudebaker.com), to convince the house to lay down its arms.
“[The wife] wanted it very soft, with lots of textures, creams, neutrals, and blues,” says Studebaker. So the designer began collecting fabrics and paint colors, organizing them by room. “I’d find pieces that I love and say, ‘This looks like it belongs in a hearth room. This looks perfect for the living room.’”
The wife had already picked out a soft gray for the kitchen cabinets, and Studebaker suggested that she use white Danby marble for the countertops and backsplash. The two cream-colored kitchen stools at the island were a find on a whirlwind shopping trip in Atlanta. Studebaker liked them because they were already antiqued and wouldn’t as easily show the wear they were likely to get from the owners’ three kids.
Then Studebaker turned to that unruly addition, the hearth room adjacent to the kitchen. On the walls, she used the pale gray from the kitchen cabinets, uniting the two rooms. Studebaker also brought in a 60-inch black coffee table. In the large room, with its lofty tray ceiling, the eye now had a place to settle. From there, the designer added a sofa from KDR Designer Showrooms in a taupe dark enough to conceal likely juice spills; other additions included a wooden chandelier, creamy white linen curtains, and chairs striped in blue, white, and taupe, plus oversize baby-blue pillows, creating a cohesive look that was still rich with texture.
In the living room, Studebaker had a simple directive: Add as much seating as possible. The owners wanted the room to work equally well for a formal function or a Super Bowl party.
Studebaker started with two blue-green couches from KDR and added off-white ottomans in front of the fireplace. Inspired by the Greek key pattern in the molding around the living room’s windows and doors, Studebaker placed Grecian-style white urns on the mantel and hung four gold-framed collections of intaglios around the fireplace. The husband found a TV that could hide in plain sight: When it’s off, it looks like a mirror. Studebaker framed the flat-screen in black and had it hung above the fireplace. She finished the room with a mirrored cocktail table and neutral jute rug.
In the master bedroom, Studebaker continued the blue palette with light blue walls, as well as custom pillows and a blue-gray duvet from LuLu Belles. On the filigree-carved Horchow nightstands, Studebaker placed large paintings of cranes standing among cherry blossoms against a green sky. The paintings are actually two swaths of hand-painted wallpaper that used to be in the home’s dining room. When Studebaker saw the paper, she knew it wouldn’t work where it was, but she saved it and had it framed, sure that a suitable place would present itself—because bringing warring factions into harmonious accord is the key to stopping any rebellion.
