The Saunders’ living room is a direct reflection of the couple’s personalities and tastes. It is elegant, yet does not take itself too seriously. A neutral palette lets the art and accessories shine: a sly pillow from Fornasetti, horn lamps from Arteriors, and a collection of juju hats sourced online from all corners of the globe.
If you want to know Alexandra and Brock Saunders, step through the front door of their stately brick Colonial and prepare to be delighted. The interiors reflect the young couple’s style through an interplay of treasures and textiles in their favorite colors, telling the story of their interests and travels.
Homeowners Alexandra and Brock Saunders, with their daughter, Gigi, in a sunny corner of their kitchen
Alexandra and Brock both grew up in Richmond, graduating from Collegiate School and the University of Virginia, where they were casual acquaintances. They also both happened to live in New York as young professionals. Once they reconnected at a mutual friend’s wedding in May 2012, the rest, as they say, is history. Marrying in January 2015, the couple almost immediately decided that after nearly a decade in New York, they were ready to come home to Richmond. In addition to wanting to be closer to family, they knew the Richmond food, beverage and art scenes had really taken off.
“I liked Richmond even before it was cool,” Brock says. “I would have moved back here no matter what. And now, in the last five years, it’s become a different city. All the things we miss about New York, we get here.”
The couple fell in love with the 1933 home on Cary Street Road, and they moved in during the summer of 2015. Though the house didn’t need structural work, particularly with a recently renovated kitchen, furnishing it was a different story. “It’s such an intimidating and overwhelming thing to furnish a whole house,” Alexandra says. You want to do it right, you don’t want to spend a fortune, and you want to love everything.” She enlisted the help of childhood friend Kim Childs, a designer and purveyor of vintage furniture and accessories on websites such as One King’s Lane. “I’m really lucky because I can fully trust her,” Alexandra says.
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A bubble chandelier from Oly is a showstopper in the ethereal dining room. The silver ceiling was painted by Diane Williams of Art to Di For, and the pink velvet window treatments were made by U-Fab. The previous owner installed the Nina Campbell wallpaper.
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The home’s previous owner converted a former garage into a spacious and stunning kitchen. Homeowner Alexandra Saunders says the exposed brick reminds her of her time spent living in New York.
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The classic brick Colonial was built in 1933 and sits on nearly 1 acre in the city.
Childs says the previous owner’s impeccable taste in paint and wallcoverings was a great place to start. “The home was a blank canvas, but a beautifully conceived blank canvas,” she says.
The room that is perhaps quintessential Alexandra and Brock is the living room — a space the couple was skeptical about initially that has turned out to be everyone’s favorite. “In this room especially, I feel like we did a really good job of communicating Alexandra and Brock’s personality in every aspect we chose,” says Childs. There’s an anecdote or intention behind every piece, and Childs’ signature mix of high and low is the secret sauce. Comfortable and stylish seating includes a Swedish Gustavian sofa from Chairish, a reupholstered settee found on Craigslist, and antique chairs reimagined in cut velvet and fun Scalamandre prints. Art and accessories throughout the room continue the story that nothing in the home takes itself too seriously.
“We really use this room, and it feels like all the thought we put into it was really worth it,” Alexandra says.
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The settee was a $50 Craigslist find, reupholstered in a plush lavender velvet by U-Fab, which also made the window treatments. The painting is by Amanda Talley.
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The Saunders are avid art collectors and are drawn to colorful and not-too-serious art that makes a statement. Painting by Ashley Longshore
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Neon mixed-media art by Meryl Pataky
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A set of four face paintings by Hayley Mitchell
The young family also logs a lot of time in the cozy den just off the living room, where the walls are lacquered in Benjamin Moore’s “Day’s End.” They bought the couch and drapes from the previous owner, so with the “high-anxiety pieces” in place, Childs could have fun choosing pillows, styling the built-ins surrounding the fireplace and selecting lighting for the moody-blue room. Childs says every piece of lighting in the house has been thoughtfully chosen. Alexandra says that Childs made her realize that “lighting can be art.”
“I liked Richmond even before it was cool. I would have moved back here no matter what.” —Brock Saunders
Perhaps the most remarkable piece of lighting-as-art is the Oly Studio cloud chandelier in the dining room — another room the couple calls a favorite. A silver-leafed ceiling done by Diane Williams of Art to Di For adds drama to the existing Nina Campbell wallcoverings. Childs and Alexandra joke that the drapes in here are their “fabric babies,” so great is their love for these textiles. “We only had three windows, so we wanted something big and bold,” says Childs of the lush velvet beauties. Lamps that are nearly 4 feet tall adorn a Bernhardt sideboard, and Alexandra’s budding collection of Francisco Fornasetti plates adds another element of unexpected delight.
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The Saunders purchased the large velvet sectional and drapery panels from the previous owner and kept the walls the same color, “Day’s End” by Benjamin Moore. The light fixture was a score from the Decorating Outlet, and the print is by street artist Mr. Brainwash.
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Daughter Gigi’s nursery is sweet, but not too girly. Black trim and a modern crib give it a cool-girl vibe. The framed Hermès scarf hanging over the changing table is baby’s first gift from Mom.
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A guest room features detailed window treatments, accessories made from Kelly Wearstler’s Channels fabric and a fun chandelier from Target.
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Neutral colors keep the master bedroom serene. The bed is from Restoration Hardware and the settee was purchased on Chairish. The framed textiles are from St. Frank.
Upstairs, the couple’s master bedroom features a muted neutral palette with pale blue accents. “Every other room is so playful and fun, so I wanted this room to be full Zen,” Alexandra says. A guest room with crisp bedding and an upholstered headboard features more “fabric babies” — cut-velvet drapery with Kelly Wearstler trim.
Daughter Gigi’s nursery is another space Alexandra adores. “There’s something about nurseries that’s just so magical and fun,” she says. The walls are painted in a large-scale, brushy buffalo check in Palladian Blue, also done by Williams. Accents of lilac and pink add distinctly feminine touches, while dark trim adds a cool-girl vibe. A framed Hermès scarf over the changing table is what Alexandra calls her first present to Gigi. “You spend so much time in here — especially the first six months — so it’s nice to be surrounded by beautiful things,” she says.
The Saunders family is happy to be home. “We haven’t looked back,” Alexandra says. “We loved New York, but our family is here, and the Richmond lifestyle is amazing.”
