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“You only have one chance to make a first impression,” decorator Patti Ryan says. “For River Promise, I wanted to reflect [homeowner] René [Wenleder]’s vibrant spirit and panache.” Schumacher’s Celerie Kemble Creeping Fern wallpaper adds a bit of “glitz.” Decorative artist Stephanie Green of Painted Richmond handpainted and stenciled the floor in the foyer.
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Large-scale floral drapes, a valance with scalloped edges and a yellow wicker chaise lounge add charm and flair to a corner nook in a guest room, a perfect place for napping.
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Saturated with pattern and the color pink with sparks of blue, the Clarencehouse Tibet Print in the center room instantly instills a “feel-good vibe,” Ryan says. Stephanie Green painted the client's existing coffee table to resemble blue lapis.
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A vintage cabinet was moved from the kitchen to a spacious second floor hallway and updated with Benjamin Moore Majestic and Gossamer blue paint and folk art motifs. A pair of Martha Washington chairs flanking the cabinet are upholstered in Quadrille Les Indiennes fabric.
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To complement the existing ceiling wallpaper in the parlor bay, Ryan chose Schumacher’s classic Chiang Mai Dragon fabric for the Roman shades and upholstery. The ceiling fixture is by Currey & Co.
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The custom sectional in the family room is upholstered in Designers Guild Kalutara, the wallpaper is Schumacher Zebra Palm, the swivel chair is by Bernhardt, and the coffee and gaming tables are vintage pieces updated with paint.
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Old and new come together to channel a Victorian parlor. The bone inlay coffee table is by Made Goods, the white Swedish side chair is by Bliss Studio, and the club chair is by John Derian for Designers Guild.
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Saturated in color and pattern, the guest bedroom ceiling is painted with Benjamin Moore Naples Sunset, the wallpaper and window treatments are Thibaut Central Park pattern, and the bedding is John Robshaw.
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The walls, woodwork and ceiling in the sunroom are drenched in a custom high-gloss paint to match the Thibaut Crypton fabric on the sofa. The tufted ottoman is upholstered in Designer Guild Matara Apple faux leather, the striped rug is by Dash & Albert, and the Legend of Asian lamp is topped with a shade covered in No. 9 Thompson Watercolor Ikat.
The best homes are chameleons, adaptable to life’s changing circumstances and occasions. They’re places where we can put our feet up without worrying about damaging furniture and where we can welcome guests for formal affairs. Perhaps most of all, we want our homes to be where family members feel comfortable visiting and, with luck, where they return to gather over long spans of years.
River Promise, the name René and Rudy Wenleder gave their Gloucester property when they purchased it in 2005, has become such a home. But it didn’t start out that way.
“We were looking for a place on the water [in 2000], and someone directed us to this house,” René Wenleder says. “We didn’t even get out of the car. I said I didn’t want a Victorian[-style home]. We circled around, and we left.”
Five years later, the couple returned, on the advice of their real estate agent. “We walked the property, and it sold us on the house,” she says. “The location was everything we had been looking for.”
Over the next 13 years, the couple transformed the rectangular 10-acre lot, which has expansive water views, by adding more than 100 trees and numerous flower beds. While there were some changes inside the house, which was built in 1987 with classic Victorian elements, most of the interior decor work didn’t happen until after 2018, the year Rudy died.
“I didn’t really make this my home until then,” Wenleder says. “Now I wouldn't trade this Victorian for anything.”
Working with Patti Ryan, principal of Patti Ryan Design, Wenleder began to transform the home from an occasionally occupied river residence to her primary dwelling. The goal was to create a light, bright environment with comfortable, usable spaces for the Wenleders’ three adult children and six grandchildren. The home now highlights her extensive art collection and embraces an eclectic mix of pattern, color and texture.
“[René] wanted me to have a fresh perspective, so she didn’t want to show me her past houses, but I really couldn’t understand her aesthetic,” Ryan says. “I finally asked her to show me a favorite article of clothing from her closet. She pulled out a Lilly Pulitzer pink-and-white jacket.”
Ryan created floor plans based on Wenleder’s needs, determining which pieces of furniture could be kept in place, repurposed to a new location or moved along. Bedroom sets from Owen Suter’s Fine Furniture were left intact, but a cabinet acquired years ago at the bygone Alexander’s Antiques and Auctions was repainted, embellished with folk art motifs and moved upstairs from the kitchen. Bright wallpaper in a variety of styles is found in nearly every room of the house, except the dining room, where the faux plaster painted look created by Wenleder and one of her daughters stayed. Victorian-style patterned wallpaper on several first-floor ceilings also remains, a nod to the home’s aesthetic.
“Victorian [style] can be oppressive, dark and serious,” Ryan notes. “That is the opposite of what René is and the opposite of what we want to have happen when her family comes to visit.”
The house invites light-hearted enjoyment at every level. The area in the parlor bay is elevated by a painted floor that looks like a colorful sunburst. Another painted floor, in a bathroom, appears to be a pond with stepping stones and pops of air bubbles from below. Throughout the house, an engaging game of animal “I Spy” is possible, with songbirds, tigers, flamingoes, parrots and dragons romping on wallpaper and fabrics.
The luxe layers are intentional. “I know her children work very hard, and I wanted to create a vacation home that looks like a posh resort hotel,” Ryan says. “I want to take them out of their everyday lives. Still, there’s performance fabric on every piece of furniture in there.”
“Wet bathing suits can be on everything, and the carpet is easy to clean,” Wenleder says. “I want it done where the kids can just be themselves and do what they want to do. Everything looks nice, but it’s not a museum.”
Adult family members love to congregate in the chartreuse sunroom, where windows open three walls to the water beyond, while the grandkids are often found upstairs in a large room that has been thoughtfully divided into areas devoted to television viewing, couch lounging or table games. The family is usually together for two weeks every summer, taking advantage of all the Ware River has to offer.
“We have boats and Jet Skis and crabbing,” Wenleder says. “The cousins like to be with one another. [My husband and I] were both from Miami, and we came to Virginia with the intention of going back to Florida, but we loved Virginia so much, we stayed.”
Now, Wenleder says, she can’t imagine being anywhere else. “I feel like I can get away from the rest of the world when I’m here. When I’m in Richmond [visiting family], I can hardly wait to get back to the calm. It’s still my getaway, even if it is my permanent home.”
