When interior designer Katie Kirby first stepped into the home on Lovette Lane, the sunset was casting dramatic shades of pink, blue and purple all over the walls of the homeowner’s living and dining rooms. The house was designed by Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects some 20 years prior, and the new homeowners wanted to refresh some of the paint and decor without overhauling the good bones of the house.
The sweeping views of the Bay, along with the purples of the sunset that night, set the tone for where the designer and her clients would go next. “Those colors played off the homeowners’ amazing collection of art, and we decided to follow that purple hue,” she remembers. The interiors were dark and dated, and Kirby says she wanted to lighten the interiors so they matched what was going on outside.
Focusing on the gathering spaces of the home — the formal dining room, kitchen and wet bar, family room and powder room — Kirby replaced heavy antique light fixtures, mahogany trim and black cabinets with cream cabinetry, white oak trim and minimalist light fixtures that serve as works of art unto themselves.
Using wallpaper with a painterly treatment that perfectly mimics the Bay outside the dining room windows, and marble with interesting geologic expressions and depth of color, Kirby created a home that is full of color but reads as neutral all at the same time. The eye moves across walls and backsplashes but comes to rest on the sweeping panoramic views of what the homeowners moved here for: the watery horizon just outside.
Not sure marble is for you?
Kirby reminds clients that there are amazing sealants these days, and a marble fabricator can buff out any stains that bother you.
Dynamic Metamorphic
Kirby took her client slab shopping at Triton Stone to pick out marble, and says that’s where the kitchen design came to life. “We found this marble with the most gorgeous purple veining. We were both like, ‘That’s the one!’” While some clients worry about the durability of marble, Kirby reminds them that the sidewalks in Italy are made of marble. “Embrace the patina and stains. My grandmother used to say that is how you know your family had a great time!” The purple veining in the dynamic rock inspired the eggplant paint used on the kitchen island. The cabinets were not replaced during the refresh — just a fresh color palette and knobs from Rayford’s completed the look.
Sculptural Lighting
The fixture hanging over the breakfast table is a free-form, interactive work of art. Just play with the arrangement of the loops of LED rope, and you become the artist. The rope and brass fixture is by Luke and the table was custom made by Alexander Nicolson of Nicolson Woodworks in Mobile. “The pendants above the kitchen island have straight, hard lines, so this fixture creates a little softness,” says Kirby. The breakfast chairs are cane and oak, adding a warm and comfortable touch.
Integrated Style
Kirby did not want an undermount sink. Instead, they worked with Delta Stone to fabricate the sink and counter from the same slab. The light fixtures are by Urban Electric and the faucet is by Rayford’s.
Big Drama, Small Space
Kirby and the homeowner looked for a marble with movement and color for the powder bath, continuing the aesthetic established in the adjacent kitchen. “It’s like a Van Gogh painting,” she says of the dynamic basin that takes center stage. “It’s just like Starry Night with all the swirls of green and blue.” You can push the envelope a little bit in a small space, and so Kirby went for an almost black wallpaper with purple undertones and striations of color, creating what she calls a brief moment of wow that serves as an extension of your entertaining.
Tide Lines
The watery lines of the wallpaper look as if they were pulled straight from the Bay, merging layers of muddy blues and greens. The cabinetry in the adjacent wet bar, which connects into the kitchen, features the same dynamic purple-veined marble, but with a high-gloss lacquered cabinetry for added drama.
Kirby wanted a modern light fixture to contrast the traditional chairs, choosing one that is “airy but significant,” adding one more artful touch to the home.
