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(From left) Vann, 9, Michael, Carter, 12, and Blaire Wyatt, at home in their family room. The Bernhardt sofa is covered in Crypton fabric. The barrel chairs, from Hope Thrift, were recovered in Robert Allen’s “Hidden Temple” fabric.
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The parlor has a lush, tropical feel thanks to walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s “Barley Teal” and Manuel Canovas “Serendip” drapery panels.The glam pink setee was custom-made by U-Fab,and the bench is from HomeGoods.
Many of us love the beach, but few are willing to go as far as the Wyatt family to bring the beach to Richmond.
“I want to live like I’m on vacation every day,” says Blaire Wyatt, whose 1940s Cape in Henrico County was transformed into a colorful and airy beach escape over several months last year.
Just like planning a party or a vacation, it took work to achieve the perfect home for Blaire and Michael Wyatt and their two sons, 12-year-old Carter and 9-year-old Vann. In August 2015, the family moved into a rented house while months of construction began. The Wyatts returned to a home with a flipped floor plan: a roomy, marble-countered kitchen where the master bedroom and bathroom used to be, and a large addition allowing for a comfortable family room, a peaceful master bedroom, two additional upstairs bedrooms and an outdoor living room.
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The home’s former galley kitchen was transformed into a multipurpose office/drop zone/laundry room. Thibaut’s “Javan” wallpaper adds graphic punch.
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Blaire’s parents’ dining room chairs were recovered in Kate Spade’s “Posie Dot” in lipstick. The drapery panels were a consignment find, transformed by adding fuchsia banding. The rug is from One King’s Lane, the chandelier is from Shades of Light and the art is by Kim McCoy.
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Though it looks like a modest house from the street, the Wyatts’ West End Cape nearly doubled in size when a large addition was added to the back.
Three years earlier, as Blaire and Michael were shopping for a new home with their real estate agent, it was hard to see the potential of the two-story house perched on a hilly lawn with a sprawling backyard. “I remember thinking, ‘Huh. Why does she want us to see this?’” Blaire recalls. The neighborhood — with tree-lined roads and plenty of young children for their boys to play with — was just what they were looking for, but the 1,700-square-foot house was a bit tight for four people.
However, with the assistance of interior designer Casey Hawthorne (a fellow Tuckahoe Elementary mom) and contractor Scott Smith of Portico Classic Homes, the Wyatts’ dreams of a beach home in Richmond’s suburbs have come true. Bahama window shutters on the front of the home signal the coastal design, and entering through the front door, the first things you see are twin blue-green foo dog lamps on a dark wood console in the foyer.
The home is filled with turquoise and pink fabrics and the occasional Asian and tropical touches. There’s also a feel of 1960s Palm Beach, with metallics and bamboo patterns. In the parlor, a furry white ottoman with gold legs (bought at HomeGoods at a bargain) and a Midcentury modern pink bench from U-Fab let you know that you’re in a fun place.
“I want to live like I’m on vacation every day.” —Blaire Wyatt
The Wyatts inherited many pieces of furniture from their families, including two high-backed armchairs in the parlor refreshed with new upholstery. Deep turquoise velvet on the front and a geometric black-and-white print on the back give the chairs an appealing texture and look — while not costing a mint. And HomeGoods, both Blaire and Hawthorne note, is a favorite wallet-friendly spot to find baskets and other accessories.
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Blaire transformed her mother’s vintage wicker furniture with bright custom cushions and pillows made with fabrics found at Jo-Ann Fabrics.
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A new kitchen stands where the home’s original master bedroom and bath used to be. It features honed Carrara marble counters and polished Carrara subway tiles on the backsplash.The lights are from Visual Comfort, and the stools are from Serena & Lily. The wall color is “Classic Gray” by Benjamin Moore.
The walls are all a pale gray, all the better to spotlight colorful artwork, including two $15 watercolor portraits of the boys painted in Manteo, North Carolina, and a painting of their Nags Head home. The home’s former galley kitchen was ingeniously transformed into a hybrid laundry room/office/drop zone papered in fun leopard-spotted wallpaper from Thibaut.
“It was fun to work with somebody that was so open to color and willing to take a risk,” says Hawthorne. For her, the “jumping-off point” was the purchase of two undeniably ugly barrel chairs at a thrift store. The chairs were re-covered in a green, pink and turquoise Asian print from Robert Allen and now sit across from an off-white sectional sofa in stain-resistant Crypton fabric — a nod to the reality of living with two active boys. A porcelain elephant stool bought at an estate sale sits ready to hold a beverage, and a few feet away are the screened porch and the covered patio, with plush chairs and a sofa looking out on the backyard. The only thing missing is the ocean’s roar.
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Son Carter’s bedroom displays a cool surfing theme — the family spends a lot of time catching waves on the Outer Banks. The bedding is from Pottery Barn Teen. The art is by Kim McCoy,and the bed was custom-made in the Outer Banks.
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The generous and serene master bathroom features a clawfoot tub. A cowhide rug adds warmth underfoot and is a durable choice for the room.
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The beachy vibe continues in the master bedroom with a bamboo bed from One King’s Lane, cool white bedding from Home-Goods and drapery panels in a fresh and colorful floral print.
“The Wyatts and I worked on the design of that beach cottage feel for a couple of months,” says Smith, a building contractor since 2003. Then, after the family found a rental home a couple of miles away, construction started. “The winter was a little crazy,” he adds. “It got cold and then warm, cold and then warm. It almost was raining inside the house with the condensation on the walls.”
Fortunately, almost everything else went smoothly, and the family moved back in spring 2016, with just enough time to appreciate their new surroundings before summer — and a return to the Outer Banks, an annual tradition.
During the past year, Blaire has enjoyed giving parties and inviting overnight guests, and with more room, “it makes entertaining more fun,” she says. And now their home reflects their attitude, she adds. “We wanted something tropical and beachy and bright and happy. We like to live each day like it’s a party.”
