The House
Merrilee McGehee’s home is in a constant state of creative flux. “One time my husband, Pittman, came home, and I’d swapped the living room and the dining room,” she says. “He may have been thrown when he walked in, but he’s gotten used to change.” In short: Merrilee, an interior designer and artist, likes to keep it fresh. She’s constantly coming up with design surprises — kooky wall murals, unpredictable paint colors and brave pattern mash-ups — to keep her clients (and her family) guessing.
Her own 2,500-square-foot 1940s bungalow in Austin, TX, is a laboratory for her just-do-what-you-love style. “A 1960s credenza, an antique chest and modern art in the same room? You bet,” she says. Luckily her family is happy to be along for the ride. “Pittman doesn’t always get my ideas, but he trusts me, even when they’re really out there,” she says. “And the kids (Clementine, 6, and Finnegan, 10) love that our home is never boring.”
