Photography by Karen Palmer
An empty-nester couple in Town & Country was faced with a challenge: Even with their last child in college, they had decided against downsizing, but they needed help remaking their home into a place they’d love for the rest of their lives.
The husband and wife, who are from Colombia, were looking for someone who could also bring their love of the outdoors indoors. After noticing the work of Marcia Moore and Kathleen Matthews, the homeowners linked up with the designers, and the group set about creating sophisticated yet laid-back interiors. “They didn’t want it to look like the whole house was from South America,” Moore says of her clients, “but they wanted to incorporate a little bit of that aesthetic. They love eclectic stuff, so that was great for me, because I love that, too.”
One of the clients’ first requests, says Moore, was that the designers find a way to display the tiny cuttings their daughter, who studied horticulture and will soon be setting off for a new adventure in landscape architecture, is propagating.
Designing with so many plants was difficult, Moore says, because some of the plants couldn’t handle too much light, whereas others craved sunshine. “Especially with all the tiny ones everywhere and trying to get it all arranged where it’s nice-looking and not just a bunch of plants lined up on a shelf,” recalls the designer. But Moore knew that placing a shelf in front of one of the large windows in the living room would add interest to the arrangement, and she found the perfect one in open-design wood shelving by Hem. The smaller plants that don’t like direct light, or don’t need as much, live on the fireplace mantel painted to resemble burlwood. A potted palm in a corner opposite the shelf balances the look of many tiny plants with one big one and also hides a cat tree.
Humidity-loving plants such as orchids were incorporated into the new primary bathroom, which was gutted and rebuilt by McMillan Construction Group. Brown porcelain tile made to look like wood grounds the white tub; this same rich color is repeated in the dark walnut cabinets by Beck/Allen Cabinetry.
Before bringing plants into her design, Moore gauges the homeowners’ interest in caring for and watering them. “I have some people who say, ‘I love greenery, but I’m not going to take care of it. You have to give me fake plants,’” she says. “This client said, ‘No, you’re not putting any fake plants in here.’”
Photography by Karen Palmer
One exception: The home’s dining room, which faces north and has just one window—not ideal for plants. Moore says: “I wanted that room to feel like you’re on a screened-in porch where you can see all the greenery outside.” Her solution? A mural wallpaper from Dutch firm Daisy James featuring trees, ginkgo leaves, and other botanical elements.
The wallpaper was a bit of a full-circle moment. The couple originally found Moore after seeing a beautiful wallpaper in another client’s home on the designer’s website. They wanted something similar. “My husband wanted wallpaper and to really stand out, and that’s how we found Marcia,” the wife explains. “The dining room wallpaper is like an English garden, and I feel like I’m surrounded by nature. It turned out beautiful. Everything flows, with an outdoor, earthy vibe.”
