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Photo by Berkley Nestler
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Photo by Kendall Mills
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Photo by Kendall Mills
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Photo by Kendall Mills
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Photo courtesy Alyssa and Hank Wilkinson
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Photo by Kendall Mills
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Photo courtesy Alyssa and Hank Wilkinson
Family Matters
A midcentury gem is recut to meet the needs of a 21st-century family
Alyssa and Hank Wilkinson’s home is a labor of love.
Since moving into their midcentury house in Highland Hills several years ago, the couple has restored, remodeled and expanded the spaces so the layout works better for their young family.
The initial phase focused on restoring the original structure. Numerous architectural elements were uncovered: large windows and sliders that had been hidden under plywood and crown molding, revealing a beautiful roofline, expansive overhangs and unique features such as a chimney with clerestory windows above it. They renovated the kitchen, converted the home from 1 1/2 to two bathrooms, updated all the floors, painted and added HVAC. Most of the work was completed by the Wilkinsons and Alyssa’s father, Zachary Mullins, working to ensure its completion before the birth of the couple’s first child.
After living in the renovated house, they realized an addition would be necessary if they were to stay long-term. Having experienced the space, they understood what worked and what needed to change.
Working with Jesse Gemmer of Acme Architecture, Alyssa — a principal of the Hint Spaces design firm — and Hank began a second round of renovations; adding a new entryway/mudroom and primary suite where the carport once stood, utilizing the concrete slab as a foundation. In the kitchen, a wall of five floor-to-ceiling windows overlooks a courtyard, which serves as an extension of the dining space. In the primary bedroom, a large window facing the courtyard creates another special connection between the indoors and the outdoors.
The third phase involved furnishing the house to create a layered, cohesive environment. Where the original remodel focused on hard surfaces, kitchens and bathrooms, the final renovation allowed them to select textiles, rugs, pillows and artwork.
Every detail reflects the contributions of their friends and family. Hank’s dad, Randy Wilkinson, a former furniture maker, crafted the kitchen island. Hank, Randy and Mullins handled much of the renovation labor, while Hank’s mother, Melissa Kimmel, made custom Roman shades and most of the pillows. “The care and effort invested by everyone involved is evident throughout the house,” Alyssa says.
The home’s transformation, marked by thoughtful restoration, a harmonious addition and meaningful furnishings, has created a truly special place for their family. —Amy Deal
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo courtesy Cathy Green
Cosmetically Speaking
A dated dressing room and bath reimagined with a colorful palette
The primary dressing room and bath at Foundry Manor, the recent Richmond Symphony League Designer Show House, showcased decorator Cathy Green’s passion for color and whimsy.
Previously, clashing bird- and branch-patterned wallpapers lined the adjoining rooms, which were otherwise lackluster except for a green marble bordering the floors and serving as a vanity top and shaped backsplash along the bathtub. “I wanted to work with it, not against it,” says Green, principal of Cathy Green Interiors, who employed a rich array of complementary colors in a palette pulled from the new wallpaper she chose for the dressing room.
The hues of the songbird-themed wallpaper dictated the pink-patterned window treatments and the blue vanity paint and accent wall in the bath, with those tones echoed in the bathroom’s wallpaper. With its playfully polka-dotted loose grid of bright colors on white, the paper complements the organic songbird motif while riffing on the crispness of the adjacent white window muntins and tiled tub. It also serves as a layer surrounding the tub’s marble backsplash.
A pale sky blue covers the dressing room ceiling, from which brass swag chains suspend white pendant lights that frame the curvaceous burlwood vanity mirror. With ample natural light in the space, the subtle brass fixtures add bright notes that resonate with the light brown branches of the wallpaper. Meanwhile, the bath’s bold magenta ceiling is offset by the delicate magenta floral motif window treatment.
Finishing objects including antique bottles, plants, a wicker elephant and small rugs that bring texture and additional strokes of color. A member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Green chose sustainable materials for this project. The new design showcases the variegated and veined green marble as the grounding material between the two rooms. —Elizabeth Wise
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo courtesy Sarah Hillery
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo by Gordon Gregory
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Photo courtesy Sarah Hillery
Addition 2.0
A renovation boosts the style and function of an outdated addition in Henrico
A proper home addition should add function, flow and style — not just square footage.
When Sara Hillery’s clients purchased a Henrico home with a dated, architecturally insignificant addition, they knew they needed to reimagine the floor plan to better suit their active family. While the addition was large enough to house the main living space, dining area and kitchen, its restrictive, choppy layout made it feel architecturally disconnected from the rest of the home.
Tasked with the tricky job of restructuring the entire footprint of the house instead of simply updating its aesthetic finishes, Hillery, principal of Sara Hillery Interior Design, teamed up with Lancaster Custom Builder to create a stylish and cohesive space suited for family living and entertainment.
“The primary goal was to open up the disjointed layout and improve the flow for a busy family while simultaneously injecting a strong architectural identity that the previous addition lacked,” Hillery says. “The clients needed a space that felt light, airy and stylish, but it had to be durable and family-friendly for day-to-day life with kids.”
Post-renovation, the kitchen layout is completely reoriented. Newly added French doors lead directly to the patio and flood the space with natural light, creating a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. To keep the sightlines clear, a flush oven vent was installed directly above the stove, drawing air upward while cooking without the need for a bulky overhead range hood.
The team used clever visual tricks throughout the home to mitigate the visual effect of the low ceilings in the original addition and make the space feel more expansive. “We introduced gorgeous barrel arches stretching all the way from the entryway to the back of the house to establish a strong, sweeping architectural spine,” Hillery explains. The use of vertical elements in features such as patterned wallpaper, wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling window coverings also draws the eye upward and gives the illusion of a taller ceiling.
“While the main areas are light and airy, we embraced moodier moments in the interior spaces that lacked natural light,” Hillery says. One such area is the addition’s newly designed vestibule, where the paneling on the custom bar and built-in pantry is painted deep blue.
“The style leans transitional, layered with fresh, spring-forward color and pattern to give it an exciting, vibrant energy,” Hillery says. Durable indoor-outdoor textiles and vinyl upholstery throughout the home add a touch of luxury while ensuring easy cleanup in a house with kids. —Lauren Schott
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Photo by Tony Giammarino
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Photo courtesy Wilson Lee Interiors
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Photo by Tony Giammarino
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Photo by Tony Giammarino
Piece by Piece
A Colonial Revival house designed to grow with its family
In 2016, clients hired Angela Wilson Lee, CEO and primary designer of Wilson Lee Interiors, to expand and design their home in Richmond’s Windsor Farms neighborhood. Since then, she’s worked with the family on numerous projects and is now embarking on another to continue curating a timeless legacy home that supports both their current and growing needs.
The first phases took place before the family moved in, expanding the original 1950s footprint by raising the attic roof to remodel a creative space for the kids and building a substantial multiroom addition to better support the family’s everyday needs. Later phases have further defined the family’s home, and since 2016 the square footage has more than doubled.
The interior spaces are niches that balance functionality and personality among the members of the family. The elegant foyer is warm and inviting, teasing notes of the different vibes that each space in the home will evoke. A pink-patterned ceiling above a red oriental rug accented with teal hints at the vibrant splashes of color and texture at play throughout the house.
Even the laundry room exemplifies this careful balance, in which a local artist’s colorful mural pops from an understated background. The lively foreground features local grasses, flora and winged fauna, while the likes of cardinals, bees, and monarch and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies bring fresh energy to the task room furnished with sleek, utilitarian wood and stainless steel.
Lee’s focus on creating balanced, calming spaces that are deeply personalized to each client is reflected in the story behind a stained-glass window featured in the family’s morning room, accompanied by a section of original exterior brick wall.
Instead of bricking over one of the wall’s original windows, it remains intact and incorporates a special historic touch. Lee stumbled upon a stained-glass window from an 1800s church at Caravati’s salvage yard. Even in poor condition, the window was clearly the perfect fit. The family not only took on the restoration project, but they also turned it into an educational opportunity for the kids. They visited the artisans at work at the local ES Taylor Studio, where they learned about restoration processes used to clean and preserve such invaluable pieces of history, and then placed the finished piece on display in their home. —Elizabeth Wise
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Photo by Sarah Walor, styling by Geraldine Duskin
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Photo courtesy Kelly Brown Interiors
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Photo by Sarah Walor, styling by Geraldine Duskin
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Photo by Sarah Walor, styling by Geraldine Duskin
Starting Over
Setting the stage for a new chapter of life
After his divorce, Rick Marcus was looking for a fresh start. He enlisted the help of Kelly Brown of Kelly Brown Interiors to transform his recently purchased house into a welcoming space where his grown children could feel comfortable and visitors could relax and enjoy themselves.
Marcus provided images of styles he liked, which Brown interpreted in a modern traditional aesthetic. The goal was to deliver a warm, tailored and timeless environment with masculine undertones.
The most significant change occurred in the kitchen area, where contractors removed the wall separating the kitchen and sunroom. Blue floral wallpaper and matching drapes drenched the dining area in a subtle, unified pattern.
A passionate woodworker, Marcus handcrafted a number of new pieces for the project. He worked with Brown to create unique items including a console table and large tray for the ottoman. The kitchen island, designed to resemble a piece of traditional furniture, was stained with a high-gloss finish, with the perimeter cabinets painted to contrast.
Nearly every surface on the first floor was updated. The team painted all the walls and added new millwork and paneling, closing off the area above the fireplace in the family room and replacing it with a flat-screen TV. Two bookcases flanking the fireplace, originally basic cabinets, were enhanced with custom-made crown molding, fluted side pieces and baseboards — all painted one color to unify the look and create the illusion of a built-in unit.
The overall design aimed for an eclectic feel, as if it had evolved over time. Marcus, who has three adult sons visiting often, wanted ample seating. The oversized ottoman, for example, ensures that anyone in the living room can comfortably put up their feet, underscoring the home’s welcoming and functional atmosphere. —Amy Deal
