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“Small rooms can pack a big punch,” says Janie Molster of Janie Molster Designs. “A few strong elements are all you need.” Graphic ceiling wallpaper in the dining room creates the groundwork for the color story, and the drippy gilded chandelier adds drama.
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More is more is more in this modish first-floor bath. The custom marble cantilevered vanity frees up visual space. The floors and walls are tiled with Arc Passion marble tile from Tilebar.
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With walls and windows wrapped in gauzy white curtains, there wasn’t a lot of room for art in the den, so Molster’s team hung the artwork from the ceiling on brass chains in front of the curtains. “It’s a great backdrop. There’s a reason most art galleries have white walls,” she says.
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A covered porch adds another living room. “We keep patterns to a minimum when working on outdoor rooms. You’ll never trump Mother Nature, so we prefer the color and pattern to be in the landscape,” Molster says.
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An antique rug grounds the more contemporary shapes in the living room. The curry spice colors pop with the palate-cleansing black and white fabric and art. The floral collage above the sofa is by design doyenne MarIan McEvoy through KRB.
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“Sexy” and “moody” were inspo words for the primary bedroom design. A sepia-toned scenic wallpaper wraps the room. The scalloped headboard was designed to extend beyond the bed to capture the bedside tables.
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Custom bed crowns and panels create snug little cocoons for the daughters’ room. “We designed custom headboards with extra height in this room with lower ceilings. It’s a bit of a visual trick to make things feel more expansive,” notes Kate Stikeleather of Janie Molster Designs.
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Thoughtful details, such as the marble-wrapped range hood, brass-clad drawers and limed wood finish on the island, abound in the kitchen. Stikeleather designed the steel hanging cabinet with etched glass doors.
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Molster kept things classic in the primary bath, specifying marble for the walls and floors. “I love staying in Old World European hotels where the baths are all in marble. It’s a timeless look,” Molster adds.
Natalie and James Dunton’s Near West End home looks like any other cottage in the neighborhood. Just past the manicured front lawn and charming porch, however, the steel front door suggests that what lies beyond is anything but expected.
“It’s very unassuming,” says Janie Molster of Janie Molster Designs, who helped the couple transform their residence. “But that clean steel element is a hint that this bungalow is a little bit different from the others. It’s a hint of things to come.”
Molster says the fully renovated home was a yearlong project that started with expanding the building’s footprint to accommodate the family’s two daughters and Natalie’s rapidly growing beauty business (she is a makeup artist and owner of Avenue 42 Salon). They considered moving and could have torn down the existing home to build something new to suit. But a neighbor — renowned Richmond architect and urban revitalization advocate Robert Mills — pointed out the home’s jewel box qualities. He assured them they could maintain its integrity while embracing a new direction.
The Duntons ultimately partnered with architect Jim Irby on an addition to the back of the home and brought in Molster’s firm, including Molster and Senior Designer Kate Stikeleather, to create the interiors.
Molster says the home’s charming exterior would typically lend itself to a Southern traditional, shabby chic or cottagecore aesthetic — but Natalie’s personal style called for something more elevated. Instead, Molster and Stikeleather incorporated a palette of rich brown and soft pink with brass accents; layered collages and quirky statues; lush, leafy wallpaper; and dramatic tile to create a design that might seem at home in a California bungalow.
The Duntons were heavily involved throughout the construction process, working closely with Molster to select materials, windows, finishes and more.
“Natalie understood the value of spending time and attention on those details,” Molster says. “We spent so much time on the architectural design work that we were really in sync with her tastes by the time we got to the interior design. Surrounding herself with beauty was a huge priority.”
The partnership between client and designer led to several bold design choices, such as cladding the powder room in a dramatic geometric pattern of black, white and pink marble tile.
“Sometimes we push clients to step out of the box and tell them to let us know their tolerance level,” Molster says. “With Natalie, every time we went bold, she said ‘Go for it.’ It was so exciting to work with someone who would take that leap with us.”
While the homeowners were open to big ideas, Molster says, the home’s intimate size and layout required a thoughtful approach to create distinct, yet cohesive, spaces. Color continuity establishes a bridge from the bright and airy kitchen and feminine girls’ bathroom to the cozy living room and moody bedroom.
However, each space has its own purpose and aesthetic, starting with the living room just inside the steel front door. An oversize botanical collage by former fashion and interiors magazine editor Marian McEvoy hangs above a tufted brown couch and scalloped golden coffee table. In the opposite corner sits a graphic white plaster sculpture by Richmond artist Deborah Valentine. The result is an eye-catching mix of soft, inviting curves and geometric angles.
A bold punch awaits in the dining room, where Molster covered the ceiling in an abstract modern wallpaper by Casamance. A golden teardrop light fixture from Oggetti drips to the angled wooden table below.
“We’re told that the way to make a low ceiling feel taller is to paint it white,” says Molster. “I think people are finally realizing that’s not always the case. Sometimes, creating a reason to look up makes the room feel taller and more expansive.”
I think of it as a small house with big ideas.
—Janie Molster
The dining room chandelier also evokes the rounded brass light fixtures hanging in the kitchen — a space defined by the sophisticated natural stone lining the walls, countertops and range hood. Accents of light wood and pops of pale pink provide further continuity across the home’s first floor.
Inside the primary bedroom, Molster and Stikeleather created a moody retreat with a scenic tapestry wallpaper that conjures the feeling of a forest at dusk — or the trees just outside. An upholstered headboard, dusty rose linens and sage green furnishings, plus a rounded leather waterfall bench, bring additional softness to the space.
With each room containing its own distinct style, it can be hard to define the home as a whole — but Molster says that’s the point.
“I think of it as a small house with big ideas,” she says. “The best compliment I can get is when someone can’t quite describe the aesthetic because it’s really somewhere in between.”
