Smart Interior Design Transformed This Row House Without Renovation

Baltimore designer Jennifer Walter made strategic decisions to put a fresh spin on her client’s feminine, traditional home — no sledgehammers required.

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By: Lauren Oster

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Photo By: Katie Merkle

Putting a Fresh Face on Heirlooms Is All About Context

Jennifer Walter of Baltimore’s Folding Chair Design Co. is well acquainted with historic row houses in and around the city. As it happens, her own firm was born in one a dozen years ago. Commissioned to reimagine one for her client, she knew just what to do.

“The rowhomes, as we call them here in Baltimore, are small, two- to three-story stone or brick homes built anywhere from the ‘30s to the ‘50s. They are made to last, [their] walls are plaster, and each has its own bit of charm,” Jennifer explains. After 25 years, her client was ready for a full decor update — but she wanted that update to honor her rooms’ existing architecture and integrate additions. “She loves feminine details, loves pink and loves all the heirlooms her parents and family have left her over the years,” Jennifer adds. Her role as designer, then, was to recontextualize those oldies-but-goodies in a way that felt new. So, how does a transformation like that come together?

“With her love of pink and blue, we started the journey there of course. Rather than take on a more traditional palette with navy, we decided to add amber and lighter blues into the mix throughout the spaces,” Jennifer says. “Knowing we were painting her island and new kitchen built-ins blue, we selected the Rowe Furniture sofa in a rich velvet, first to give her a nice jolt of color in her living room — which, in these row homes, is often seen from the exterior and, of course, is entered into upon breaking the threshold from the exterior.”

Balance Old + New, Bright + Neutral Pieces

Jennifer offset the sofa’s visual weight and her client’s traditional pieces with a neutral, mixed-media addition. “The art piece over the sofa is from Scout Design. We needed a long and strong piece over the sofa but didn’t want to add more color because it felt very saturated over there,” she says. “The books added a neutral yet very textural pop to the room, and every one of us was in love and waiting for this piece to arrive.” As for that spectacular area rug, "Rug selection is like wedding dress shopping," Jennifer notes. "You have to put a few outside your comfort zone in the mix, because you never know what you might love."

The best way to suss out which heirlooms will work in a space is quite simple: Rearrange until it feels right. “Both of the end tables in this room are the client’s own. We had about 20 tables to work with, so we really had our pick of what to use,” Jennifer recalls. “However, not everything fit, so we did play with the scale of the lighting and accessories to make everything play well together. We also used two of the client’s own footstools and had them reupholstered in a Tonic Living fabric.”

Focus on Decor Updates That Feel Natural, Not Insta-Worthy

Infusing a home with up-to-date accents is a delicate process, and on-trend pieces that don’t feel true to you won’t feel right in your home, either. That was top of mind for Jennifer on this makeover for her client. “We took a nod from her existing aesthetic” — feminine and traditional — "and wanted to stay true to her style. Going too transitional with everything new wouldn’t have felt like her,” she says. “Every project we do looks different from the last, and each one of them is a true reflection of who our clients are, not who we are.”

Switch Out Countertops and Retile the Backsplash to Refresh Cabinets

The kitchen had been renovated a decade ago and the cabinets’ cherry tone was overwhelming the space. “The goals were to lighten and freshen the overall look,” Jennifer explains. First step of the makeunder: doing away with the dated, dark granite countertops. Then, “we selected subway tile from Annie Selke for the Tile Shop that had a touch of blue dotting in it. You can design the pattern any way you like, which gave us flexibility. The light cream ground of the tile immediately breathed life into the kitchen. The Calacatta gold quartz countertop added warmth without being too starkly white.”

See More Photos: 12 Ways to Add Instant Luxury to Your Kitchen

Add Character to the Kitchen With a Few Significant Curios

Two of this kitchen’s subtle but significant MVPs? The pair of shapely wooden pieces Jennifer mounted beside the kitchen counter to finish the new space. “The French vintage bread paddles were sourced by us at Golden Oldies in High Point, North Carolina, during a vintage market shopping trip specifically for this wall,” she says. Their treatment as decorative objects feels artistic and of-the-moment, and their fabulous patina and provenance complement those ultra-traditional cherry cabinets. Keep your eyes peeled at flea markets and antique malls for Old World relics that can serve as finishing touches in your spaces.

Refresh the Kitchen Island With a Glamorous, Oversized Light Fixture

Like well-chosen statement jewelry, the gleaming, curvaceous piece Jennifer’s team installed above the existing island gives it a whole new look. “Over the island and over the dining table we chose pendants from Circa Lighting,” she says. “We did one large gold leaf fixture over the island to add a modernity that seemed needed and then distressed metal fixtures in the dining area to maintain our slightly vintage vibe.”

Modernize a Dine-In Kitchen With a Crisp Banquette

Here’s where the major changes kick into the kitchen: Jennifer and her team swapped out the client’s dining table and chairs and created this gathering-ready installation. “Her goal was definitely to make [the space] feel more comfortable and inviting by any means necessary,” Jennifer recalls. “She also hosts dinners and friends, so ample seating was a must. Our banquette-plus-extra-dining-chair idea really hit home, and we were off to the races from there.” The blue hue she used here is a custom color mixed with the cabinetmaker’s painter to match the existing kitchen island — as if the pieces were made for each other.

The seat, in turn, features a Kravet fabric. “It was just the perfect blend of tactile and colorful prints that all seemed to work together,” she says. “We chose to do two long lumbars in a more traditional shape that seemed to add a little bit of her past into the banquette.”

Try an Installation in Lieu of Oversized Art

Jennifer found a set of nine classically inspired, playfully modernized Roman shadowboxes to adorn the wall above the banquette. “I love the mats and how each one goes a bit different in terms of the angles,” she says. “Most people will opt for a large piece of art in a space like this, but my thought is to keep the eye looking at the art over and over again. Each time you see this installation, you see something new. It also feels uniform and a bit chaotic at the same time, which kind of describes me, so maybe it just feels like a piece of me in her space.”

See More Photos: The Art of Displaying Art

Make the Most of a Home Office With Clean Lines and Warm Walls

The home office was a high-stakes part of the project, as the client uses it often and had very specific requirements. “It had to house books, it needed a desk with drawers, it had to have a soft rug, a privacy window treatment and also display her mother’s hope chest,” Jennifer says. “The room was only about 8’ x 8’ so that was a lot!”

The gorgeously variegated wallpaper gives an almost ‘70s-inspired impression of weathered wood and puts a sophisticated spin on blush. “We loved the texture of it so much. It has a tissue paper meets tree bark feel to it,” Jennifer explains. “The irregular stripe pattern hit all the notes for us with a blush rose, deeper browns and even a bit of green. The paper felt perfectly in line with the greater palette we were working with and accentuated her love for pink in a subtler way."

See More Photos: 65+ Small Home Office Ideas

Stow Office Supplies Out of Sight

“When sourcing for office furniture we often find it hard to get what we want. It’s hard to find a beautiful storage piece for a printer,” Jennifer explains. “Space was also a factor. Even though this is an office, we didn’t let it fall into that look. We always advise clients not to follow rules or specific pieces for their needs. We ended up putting the printer in the closet which was both close and hidden away. We added organization within to accommodate supplies behind closed doors. In the end, the room was both beautiful and functional.”

The chair was an 11th-hour replacement for a family heirloom that wasn’t going to withstand daily use in the office. It’s a midcentury-inspired West Elm piece Jennifer softened with a velvet pillow. (Check out a few more of her favorite desk chairs here, here and here.)

Install Heirloom-Worthy Floating Shelves

In this home office’s diminutive footprint, every inch of space matters — and every furnishing should be a stunner. With that in mind, Jennifer commissioned a desk and shelves her client will come to love every much as the family pieces she inherited. “Probably one of my favorite pieces in the home are the desk and shelves,” Jennifer says. “We chose the wood to complement the wallpaper. The woods alternate from maple to mahogany to get the “stripe.” We drew the simple Parsons table for one of our carpenters and explained the look we were going for. We also decided it would feel much more authentic for the “new” piece to be all tongue-and-groove fitment. There is no glue, no nails. Nothing but nature holding this baby together! The shelves were designed accordingly, and we sourced brackets from House of Antique Hardware for a very vintage look.”

Use Multi-Functional Pieces in Transitional Spaces

This Hickory Chair perch was originally upstairs in a bedroom, but Jennifer loved it so much that she gave it pride of place at the foot of the stairs. “It’s a really handsome deep reddish and gray pattern that we loved and were waiting for the right client to use it for,” she says. “The client often reads in this corner, so we placed a dual function magazine rack/table beside it. We couldn’t fit both, so this was a great find. Finding pieces that serve multiple functions is easier than ever, and we love to use pieces like that, especially in tight spaces. The silver jar atop the table is the client’s own, as is the large hutch beside it and most of the accessories in it. The twin artwork above this chair is from Creative Co-Op and was so reasonable!”

Use Off-White Paint With Warm Grey Undertones in Shared Rooms

“We used Benjamin Moore Wind’s Breath in the living room, kitchen, halls and stairwells,” Jennifer says. “The trim is Benjamin Moore Simply White. While I feel like it usually takes us months to find the right colors, this house seemed easier. Wind’s Breath was a perfect, slightly darker neutral, and it felt compatible with our selections for furniture.”

See More Photos: The Best Neutral Paint Colors for Every Room

Take Guest-Room Design Cues From Boutique Hotels

Jennifer’s client asked for her second bedroom “to be luxurious for guests, so we really went for it,” she recalls. “We pulled back the blue tint in this room to a much lighter shade so it felt light and luxe.” Arranging the homeowner’s hats on the wall contributed to that quirky welcome. The wallpaper and custom duvet cover, in turn, are Schumacher prints in complementary tones.

“We wanted it to feel very guest suite at a bed and breakfast-like. She wanted her guests to feel like they were checking into a hotel and be surrounded by texture and fresh air.”

See More Photos: 35 Tips for Turning Your Guest Bedroom Into a Retreat

Choose Sheer Drapes With Embroidered Accents for Bedroom Windows

Jennifer layered on even more texture with the sheer treatment she paired with the guest bedroom’s Roman shades; like the wallpaper and the duvet cover, the fabric is from Schumacher. “The embroidery gives it a bit of weight, and in this photo it’s blowing in the breeze. That’s what we all loved about it,” she says.

See More Photos: Choosing the Best Window Treatments for Your Home

Get Luxe With an Upholstered Bed

When you’re not shelling out for big-ticket updates like interior architecture and new flooring, consider devoting wiggle room in your budget to a custom-upholstered piece like this wingback bed, a move that can have just as much impact as, say, custom trim. “We designed the bed ourselves and had it built by Buildlane out in California,” Jennifer says. “They were wonderful to work with and took our napkin sketch, as they say, and really brought it to life.” The “light, almost denim-looking linen” fabric she chose for it is from Century.

Skip Matchy-Matchy Bedside Tables

Remember those 20 tables we mentioned downstairs in the living room? Jennifer made good use of one them up here in the guest bedroom as an artfully mismatched nightstand. What’s the technique behind that art? “We loved the petite book table our client had. Rather than try to match its style or wood, we opted for a brass and stone side table in a much more contemporary style,” she says. When pairing pieces like these, “keep scale in mind. The new table is larger, so we added the lamp to the smaller one to add height and create an optical illusion that they were the same. When mixing and matching, we like to go with different shapes so it seems intentional. Even stacking a bunch of vintage books up on one side or a stool with a table on the other works.”

Balance Masculine and Feminine Elements in the Bedroom

The primary bedroom, in turn, is a highlight reel of transformation techniques, beginning with blush walls that feel delicate and classic all at once. “The paint color is Benjamin Moore Vintage,” Jennifer says. “We must have hung 50 shades of pink and blush in there to get it just right, but this one was certainly a winner.” To build on the walls’ dusky-rose character, Jennifer hung delicate porcelain blooms on either side of the mirror above the dresser and laid out her clients’ parents’ intricate floral rug under the bed. Masculine pieces like the dresser and the tufted leather chair beside it layer the design and offset that delicacy.

See More Photos: Pink Blush: 10 Ways to Use This Timeless Color

Pair Whimsical Art With a Buttoned-Up Nightstand

That balancing act continues at the head of the bed, where the MadeGoods nightstand’s tweedy fabric and just-so piping reference a gentleman’s luggage suite. “We loved the leather details and striping so much,” Jennifer says. “They felt just a bit masculine in this otherwise feminine room.” The flight of fancy framed above it is a commissioned piece by Dawn Wolfe: “We told her the colors we were looking to use, and she created the artwork to match both color and scale. Dawn’s art can also be sourced at One Kings Lane and Anthropologie.”

Layer Patterns and Materials to Build an Enveloping Bed

The primary bedroom’s linens extend the color and style story Jennifer developed throughout the home. “In this room, we were creating a cave of sorts. We wanted the bedding to feel luxe, soft, layered like her entire house,” Jennifer says. “The amber velvet quilt from Amity Home was the starting point to really pull away from the blush and not go obviously pink toned in here. This room got the vintage rug from her parent’s home in upstate New York, so we continued pulling from that print. The denim sheeting seemed to soften the blue in this room, which was the only blue we really used. It didn’t feel overt.”

See More Photos: 50 Inviting Main Bedroom Color Schemes

Mix High and Low Decor, and Never Stop Mixing It Up

“The glass on top of this dresser is a mix of the small amber collapsed vases from HomArt and the smoked glass colored bottles from Zara Home (who had the best home accessories). We like to collect. When we see things we love, whether it be at an antique shop or Target, we gather it, and some day it will come back to be used. The other thing we recommend is sourcing from your own house. When we start a job, we always ask the client to gather and save every little thing they might have for us to select from. This client happened to have many objects to use — [and her] lovely glass trays, vases lamps, and perfume bottles were all arranged in her bedroom.”

That’s all reflective of Jennifer’s design philosophy. “We try to maintain the integrity of the home as much as possible. Many clients aren’t ready for a renovation, and in a lot of cases, it isn’t even needed. Our keys to transformative results are paint, wallpaper, built-ins and window treatments.” As this sophisticated haven demonstrates, they can work wonders.

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