A New Look with a Neutral Color Scheme

By Mimi Read
May 28, 2014
Laurey W. Glenn
With an ethereal palette of greens, blues, and grays, interior designer Susan Ferrier and architect Chris Tippett gave a young Birmingham family a new home built to improve with age. 
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Dining Room/Foyer

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

A salvaged-wood trestle table by Restoration Hardware, varied chair heights, shapely lanterns, and an organic print on the custom benches add curves and movement to the room's highly symmetrical architecture.

Signature Detail: For major drama, hang a pair of oversize lanterns with an outdoor feel over a dining table.

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Living Room

Soaring drapery panels in Stonewash Belize by Lee Industries frame the walls of windows. A collection of complementary, but not matching, upholstered chairs and sofas lends the room a more mature look.

Signature Detail: Treat distressed architectural fragments as art, or convert them into lamps.

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Kitchen

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

A Wolf cooktop set into a Calacatta gold marble-topped island makes the kitchen ultra-functional, while roomy armchair-like barstools give it polish.

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Breakfast Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

For the striking chandelier, project manager Jessica Moore had custom iron strapwork added to the Belgian linen Aquarium shade by BoBo Intriguiging Objects.

Signature Detail: Mix chairs and stools that have different heights and styles yet look harmonious together.

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Master Bedroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

This room's linens called for a bit of warmth and softness, so Susan painted the walls Copley Gray by Benjamin Moore, added a skirted sofa at the foot of the bed, and included curtains with a lively twining pattern.

Signature Detail: Use lavishly curvy accessories and fabrics with organic patterns to soften a scene and counteract angular spaces.

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The Exterior: Front View

Because of its pie-shaped end lot, this house has three street exposures. Architect Chris Tippett made sure each side had plenty of curb appeal with his arsenal of Carpenter Gothic details.

The soft green doors and window trim reference the slate roof. For an extra dose of character, Chris gave the high windows and transoms simple plank shutters, with the top and bottom ones playfully thrown to opposite sides.

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The Exterior: Entry

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

A big decorative bracket holds up the overhang and dormer that shelters the double front doors. Next to it, a rain chain captures the water from a recessed internal gutter in the roof and channels it into the ground.

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The Exterior: Side View

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Where the triangular lot comes to a point, the telescoping house is just one room deep, but it boasts its largest, almost wall-to-wall, window—a dramatic gesture that constitutes the back wall of the light-filled living room.

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The Exterior: Rear View

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

The back of the house has an animated roofline with lots of variation, including three different dormer types. Chris tried to give each room as many exposures as possible to increase light and maximize the views.

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