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Interior designer Susan Jamieson of Bridget Beari Designs transformed the traditional foyer into a contemporary design statement with a chevron tile floor, graphic stair runner by Stark and a metallic wallpaper from Threads. A sculptural bronze and acrylic LED chandelier from Avenue Lighting and a painting by Ron Johnson add modern flair.
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The eclectic dining room features walls lacquered in Bridget Beari Colors Big Boy Blue No. 50, an antique Moroccan rug from Eliko and Arteriors’ Royalton glass and brass chandelier. The paintings are by Diego Sanchez. The adjacent game room features a billiards table and a mica-textured accent wall.
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In the sunroom, interior designer Susan Jamieson painted the ceiling blue (Bridget Beari Colors Mei Mei No. 51) to mimic the sky. The doors are painted black (Bridget Beari Colors Caesar M49) to frame the view outside.
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The formal living room features a set of chairs repurposed from the Morrises’ former basement game room. The fireplace was refaced with plaster to give it a more modern look.
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The sleek new kitchen features custom cabinetry by Cabinetry & Construction Inc. painted in Bridget Beari Colors Lexicon M26 with Caesarstone countertops. SkLO float pendants in custom colors add personality and whimsy.
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The comfortable family room is furnished with chairs from Lee Industries covered in fabric from Kravet. The sectional is from LaDiff and the coffee table from Verellen. The art is by Bill Fisher (left) and Raegan’s mother, Dianne Williams (right).
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The remodeled master bath features custom cabinetry by Cabinetry & Construction Inc. with a marble countertop and mirrors from Made Goods. A platform tub was removed to make way for a large shower.
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The remodeled bar area features a new trefoil window and custom cabinetry. The pendants are by Arteriors. The backsplash features mirrored tile from Ann Sacks.
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The master bedroom fireplace was modernized by Cabinetry & Construction Inc. and is flanked by built-in floating shelves and storage chests.
A brick Colonial isn’t what first comes to mind for a couple who describe their style as California casual, but with the help of a talented designer who saw potential in their home’s proportions, Craig and Raegan Morris achieved a complementary balance of classic and contemporary.
Before they made an offer on their Short Pump home in 2015, the Morrises called in Susan Jamieson of Bridget Beari Designs, who had turned their previous home’s basement into a theater, bar and wine cellar. The family — including son Gary, 10, and two adult sons, Grant, 27, and Eric, 25, who are out of the house — loved it so much they wanted to replicate that kind of fun entertaining space on their main floor, even if it meant relocating.
The 1992 Colonial had the right layout — six rooms on the first floor, including a spacious kitchen that flowed into a family room and sunroom — but its decades-old floral wallpaper, pink marble floors, and scalloped bathroom sinks presented a challenge. “It was the height of ’80s decorating in a house that was built in the ’90s,” Raegan says.
Jamieson, along with contractor Rob Wright of Cabinetry & Construction Inc., stripped the home of its dated finishes (think dark wood trim, dentil molding and shiny brass fixtures), all the while conscious that going too contemporary wouldn’t jibe with the home’s facade.
The home’s new foyer sets a playful tone with a sculptural LED chandelier and marble tile arranged in a chevron pattern. “It’s still Colonial on the outside, but on the inside we broke free of that,” Jamieson says. “Walking in the front door changes your attitude.”
To the left, the blue-lacquered dining room gives way to the former library, now a game room featuring a sleek stainless steel pool table. The walls are covered in dramatic flocked-trellis wallpaper on three sides with a mica-textured accent wall on the fourth.
Moving farther into the house, the view from the kitchen, through the sunroom and screened porch out to the pool, was a key selling point — despite the room’s dated layout and cherry cabinets. “Any reasonable person would’ve looked around and went ‘Ugh,’ but I was like, when this is all done, I want to sit right here with my coffee every morning,” Raegan says.
“It’s still Colonial on the outside, but on the inside we broke free of that.” —Susan Jamieson
Stainless steel appliances — including a six-burner Wolf range with custom steel backsplash — neutral cabinets in Bridget Beari Colors Lexicon M26, and rectangular Ann Sacks tiles installed vertically, create clean lines. Structural changes included shifting the doorway to the dining room and extending the length of the island to open the area up. Spherical glass pendant lights by SkLO, which Raegan calls the jewelry of the kitchen, add a finishing pop of color.
In the adjacent sunroom, Jamieson used paint to draw the eye outdoors. The blue-green ceiling imitates the sky, while the darker walls and glass doors outlined in black serve to frame the scenery beyond them. “There was a conscious effort to bring the outside in so that when you’re in the kitchen you’re still seeing the pool area,” Jamieson says.
The most perplexing element of the original floor plan was a wet bar off the family room: with mahogany built-ins and a large window at its center, it felt like a misplaced Lego piece distorting the room’s orientation, Raegan says. Initially unsure of such a prominently displayed bar, the couple found that reducing its footprint and installing poured-concrete countertops, a trefoil window, and shiplap cabinets made from repurposed barn wood restored their confidence.
Upstairs in the master bedroom, the brick fireplace was redone in a plaster technique meant to resemble concrete, with stacked cannon balls in the hearth. Simple floating shelves installed on each side, and matching built-in dressers, create symmetry. In the master bath, an impractical deck tub was removed to make way for a large shower and walk-in closet, and carpet was ripped up in favor of tile.
“You can’t overload a space with too many design elements,” Jamieson says. “You have to know how much the house can take, and how much you can add.”
Budget Savers
Faux Finishes: Contractor Rob Wright covered existing fireplaces with drywall then finished them in plaster to give the look of concrete or white stone, at a fraction of the cost of the real deal.
Repurposed Pieces: Craig and Raegan found ways to incorporate pieces from their previous home. The four chairs in the living room came from the basement game room of their previous home.
Family Heirlooms: Many paintings throughout the home are by Raegan’s mother, abstract artist Dianne Williams, while furnishings like the dining room table and accompanying drum table were passed down from Craig’s grandparents in the Bay Area.
