Empty Nesters Give a Contemporary Kick to Their Home's Century-Old Charm

With kids off to college and a transition from the suburbs to the city in their sights, the fun- and color-loving couple who purchased this 1910 home in Richmond, Virginia’s Museum District were ready for big changes. They turned to designers Adrianne Bugg and Brandeis Short of Pillar & Peacock to realize their dream of a bold new family headquarters.

“The house is older and they wanted to completely gut the first floor – mainly the kitchen area in the back of the house,” Adrianne recalls. “They wanted us to design the entry/hall, dining room, living room, and kitchen/powder room/breakfast room. We also designed the laundry room upstairs and lightly consulted on a few other spaces.” Going big was key: “They were willing to be more daring with color, which we loved. I would call their style classic-yet-effervescent, relaxed [and] bohemian.” Ready for an inspirational spin through one of Richmond’s newest works of art? Come on in.

The team darkened the stairs’ newel post and handrail with Farrow & Ball Purbeck Stone, a mid-grey that accentuates woodwork details, and created contrast on the millwork and balusters with Benjamin Moore White Dove, a creamy off-white.

To transform the heart pine and red oak flooring to create an integrated new look, in turn, “we had to go darker on the floor stain than originally planned in order to cut the red in those two wood species,” Adrianne recalls. “We worked with the floor finisher to mix several stain options on-site; I think we settled on a combination of Jacobean and Ebony.” The takeaway here? A bit of fancy footwork might seem excessive, but it can make all the difference in your space.

Based on an abstract painting, this Lindsay Cowles wallpaper makes an elegant statement that repeats across this narrow powder room (and multiplies beautifully in the golden mirror mounted above the vanity). The olive tone in the wallpaper picks up in the framed landscapes hung across from that vanity — and their soft, looping shapes don’t compete with the art as, say, a botanical print might.

“The paint color was a custom stain to match Farrow & Ball Pitch Blue [a strong cobalt with black pigment],” Adrianne says. Narrow, Art Deco-inspired frosted glass sconces above carry on the warm metallic tones in the mirror, sink and cabinet hardware (and provide maximum functionality in an itty-bitty footprint).