A family of four wanted only one thing from their home; complete serenity. They wanted their living space to be somewhere they could retreat to. A place where the colour and chaos of the world was muted as soon as they stepped inside.
Where the family had previously benefitted from the natural zen surrounds of a beachside plot in New Jersey, relocating to a wooded cul-de-sac just outside of Philadelphia felt like quite a bit of a change. Particularly as their new home was draped in a granduer that doesn’t sit naturally with their style.
With that in mind, they headed to Melissa + Miller, entrusting the interior design team to bring the calming qualities of a beach home to their new abode in the suburbs.
“We stripped everything down,” Melissa Urdang Bodie, co-founder of Melissa + Miller tells us. And she means this quite literally. Opting for an open plan that’s more conducive to socialising, the design team started the project with the knocking down of walls. Room by room they broke down the boxy plan.
As a result, the main living functionalities now sit alongside each other in one airy, open space. There’s an oak kitchen and island that provides circulation and casual seating, the main living room complete with a feature niche bar and a cosy breakfast nook.
“In this project, opening up the kitchen and living room felt seamless and natural. This is due to our consistent colour palette amongst the rooms.”
And there’s much to be said for this palette of warm neutrals and natural finishes. Not only does it provide a uniform for the newly widened living space, but it also unites this room with the rest of the plan as the scheme rolls into the array of bedrooms and bathrooms that Melissa + Miller were also responsible for.
Ultimately this cohesion and harmony between the interior spaces instills the sense of calm that the clients were looking for.
However, in an effort to zone the open space, accent colours have been utilised. These provide nuance to the base spectrum of warm neutrals. “We added a pop of forest green in the breakfast room and some pale blue details in the living room.”
Similarly, textures work to elevate the scene and add interest to the scandi-inspired set-up. “This allows the eye to relax, and therefore the body,” Melissa concludes.
In addition, the simplicity of space and the design team’s commitment to stripping things back has allowed for the family’s collection of modern and abstract art to take centre stage in some of the interior spaces.
With an enviable collection drawn from the likes of Ai Wei Wei and Damien Hirst, the clients took direction from Melissa + Miller to decide where best to home each artwork.
“To be honest, due to the warm white walls, the placement of the art is nearly interchangeable – it looks good everywhere. However, we shifted pieces around quite a bit to find that perfect balance of colour, composition, space and air in each room.”
In terms of styling the space, Melissa + Miller looked to small artisans to find the most complementary designs for the home. This included the sourcing of “the perfect chair from Sarza, who sources furniture from South Africa.”
Project details:
Location: Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA
Project Size: 455 sq. m
Interior Architect & Designer: Melissa & Miller (see more of their work here)
Stylist: Kristi Hunter
Lighting: Original BTC; Visual Comfort & Co; Secto Design
Wallpaper: Designer’s Guild
Tiles: clé tile
Notable Furniture: CB2; Sarza; Maiden Home; Perigold; Design Within Reach; Lulu and Georgia
Rug: Nordic Knots
Photographer: Brian Wetzel
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