A Growing Family Returns to 'Home Town' Life
Erin and Ben Napier help a returning resident and her family transition back from big-city lights to small-town living.
"They captured everything that I could ever want in a house — the flow, the colors, the space; everything just coming together and making it feel like a home." So said Ben and Erin’s latest client, Mia Walker, once she saw the finished product in this Home Town renovation.
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Mia, along with daughter Taylor (who’s herself about to become a new mother) and young son Bryce, are moving back to Mississippi after having been living in Chicago. They’re moving back to the slower pace of small-town living and to be closer to family.
What Mia’s looking for in a home is a place with sufficient space for the growing family, space to entertain, a large family-oriented kitchen and a master bedroom that’s a private retreat. “Mia's style leans traditional,” says Erin “but she also likes things that are simple and streamlined.”
The house-hunt, in this case, leads to two homes with decidedly different attributes. The Hamilton House is an unspectacular '40s-era three-bedroom that does, however, offer some advantages. It's in generally good condition, sits on a large lot and has direct access to an old and beautiful city park. The Tant House sits at 2,800 square feet and was built in 1955. It has a more storied history, but in its current state is not as well maintained and generally lacks in curb appeal.
Mia’s final decision presents both Erin and Ben with a project they can sink their teeth into. In the end, the result is a house that's informal and comfortable yet visually stylized and colorful.
Erin digs in, helping with everything from initial demo to creating a design for custom wallpaper. Ben, in addition to his usual project oversight and hands-on construction, personally crafts a narrow buffet table for the newly remodeled dining room.
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The kitchen becomes the stylistic star of the reno with its sleek, clean design, open feel and white palette offset with lower cabinets painted in a brilliant ocean blue. The updated and reconfigured kitchen features a new island, also built by Ben, using pine wood repurposed from the kitchen’s original wood paneling.
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Other highlights in this renovation include an oversized master closet and dressing room for Mia’s master suite and a gallery wall in the living room, featuring professionally framed original artwork by Bryce.
Todd Douglas/ Getty Images
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