The Richmond Home

Reading through my friend’s core family values and listening as they shared their dreams for their home my heart overflowed with gratitude. I could clearly envision a design for their home that would capture the warm hospitable vibe that they were going after, while also creating a space that would be enjoyed by family, friends and neighbors for years to come. “We want our home to exude hospitality and invitation,” they shared. “We also want it to feel lived in and put together. We’d like for folks to come into our house and to stop asking if we just moved here.” To make this wish become a reality I knew that we would need to make the home feel increasingly grounded through the addition of built-in bookcases, substantial furniture, and the layering of textiles and accessories. Drawing on the wife’s Italian roots, we would infuse some of her heritage in the space through detailed wood carvings, iron work and pops of color via tiles. The rooms that we focused on were the: entry, music room, dining room, kitchen, and living room; all on the first floor of the home.

Following our Consultation, I headed back to the office to start the Design Process; where I came up with two options for the living room and music room; as well as notes on the other rooms in the home. While the overall bones of this home are traditional I knew that the clients love splashes of color and are by nature, quite creative. With this in mind I proposed a bold paint color and design concept for the music room, a room where the wife shared how she envisions people coming over to talk and to lounge, possibly picking up a guitar or sitting down to the piano and spontaneously starting to play. It is a space that would need to be designed to foster music and community; so that’s what we did with the design - creating more seating through the removal of their sofa and the addition of two love seats and poufs. I also proposed having their collection of guitars hang from the wall, so that they could be easily picked up and played.

The living room by contrast, we decided to keep decidedly neutral with pops of color in the pillows, rug, and bookcase. Right off of the kitchen, this space likewise was designed for community and required additional seating and storage. Creating a space for family rituals such as a prayer altar, was quite important to my clients; so we made sure to include that. In the end, the clients were grateful for the vision cast by the design of their Richmond home. They planned to reference the plans as they move forward in the long-term process of designing their space.