A serene feeling comes over visitors as they step into the marble-floored foyer with its soft, bunny-gray walls. From there, each doorway leads to several equally airy-hued rooms -— bathed in a muted pink, a subtle turquoise and a light, butter yellow. At first it feels feminine. But once it soaks in, it's obvious this is a calm that suits all. And it's a good thing, because homeowners Jenny and Ryan Andrews have three boys, twin 7-year-olds and an 11-year-old. Both parents are also busy entrepreneurs: Jenny runs her own interior-design business, Andrews Design, and Ryan owns a sports-marketing firm, Venture Marketing, so a soothing home base was the goal.
"With three boys and seeing fabrics all day, I just wanted something softer," says Jenny. "I wanted a place that felt like an oasis and that was calm."
When the Andrewses bought the 1955 colonial, it was full of dark-stained wood. With the help of Grace Street Home Additions, they expanded the great room and kitchen, brightening the space with Venetian plaster walls, French doors and windows along the back of the house — a view of the pool is essential when one's going for tropical, after all.
Sofa by CR Laine covered in Sea Blue ultra suede from Hinson & Co.; upholstered ottoman by Ashley Manor with hot pink "Caterpillar" Deck Walk fabric; sofa pillows and white flower pot from Mecox Gardens, East Hampton, N.Y.; Capiz shell chandelier from West Elm; commissioned painting of Figure Eight Island and Venetian plaster wall finish by Sunny Goode; coffee table from Ikea.
Objects of Her Affection
Flower accents pop up in chandeliers and fabric motifs. Jenny coveted a similar chandelier she saw made of Swarovski crystal, and Deborah Valentine of the shop V for the Home helped her find this one made of rose quartz by Canopy Design.
A traditional floral fabric by Schumacher softens the contemporary silhouette of the white-lacquer chairs from La Différence. Throughout the house Jenny pairs traditional elements with modern pieces, bringing both to a new level.
The opal glass-tile backsplash in the great room's bar area sparkles with blues and pinks, pulling in all the colors of the room. Tile by Walker Zanger from Best Tile.
Jenny can hold her own against men: She grew up with three brothers. Two live in Los Angeles, a place that helped inspire the feel of the house. A visit to the Kelly Wearstler-designed Viceroy hotel cemented the relaxed, tropical feel Andrews envisioned, but because her setting was Virginia, she mixed in local art and a few antiques with the contemporary-with-a-touch-of-glam look.
White-lacquer table and chairs by Calligaris from La Différence, chair fabric is "Lace" in aqua by Schumacher; Oly Studios settEe; Hampton Cashmere pillows; Benjamin Moore's "Blue Bonnet" wall paint; Atelier LZC bird print from art.com.
Fashion as Art
As a birthday present, Ryan commissioned local fashion illustrator Rhonda Corley to sketch the dress Jenny wore for her big 40th birthday bash.
Ryan and Jenny picked up a watercolor by fashion illustrator Mats Gustafson at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller in East Hampton. Gustafson's work has appeared in Vogue, ads for Tiffany's, Bergdorf's and others.
A figurative illustration by local artist Theresa Pollak, purchased at Reynolds Gallery, hangs in the dining room. Jenny and Ryan are active in the local arts community, and Jenny sits on the Canvas board at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Jenny went for simple window treatments — Roman blinds or in some cases nothing at all to help achieve a less-traditional look. Also, her goal of tranquility required pastel wall colors with just a few bold accents. "Instead of having color on the wall, I try to put it in the accessories, those things you can move around," she says.
Benjamin Moore "Pink Peony" wall paint; Ashley Manor sofas recovered in cream Schumacher raw silk; vintage glass coffee table inherited; Portuguese needlepoint rug from Stark Carpet; stools from Worlds Away, covered in Kelly Wearstler's "Modern Moiré" silk in glacier for Schumacher; white occasional chairs from Van der Wolks; antique mirror from V for the Home; cut-velvet pillow fabric from Osborne & Little; painting over mantel by local artist Tenley F. Beazley; "Kelly" floor lamp from Anthropologie.
Wallpaper in Small Spaces
Andrews added big style to small spaces with her choice of patterned papers. Osborne & Little's "Howlettes" wallpaper, in the master bathroom and walk-in closet (above), adds an elegant shot of color to a space with little natural light.
Doesn't look like a paper for a boys' bathroom? Look closely for the cowboys, oil derricks and football helmets in Paul Loebach's "Yee-ha!," by Studio Printworks.
The walls and ceiling of the downstairs powder room are covered in this blue-silver-and-white paper "Fern," by Studio Printworks.
Kelly Wearstler's hip "Imperial Trellis" in citrine for Schumacher brightens Jenny's home office.
After studying interior design at VCU, Jenny began working for local designer Barbara Grant, who had a firm, Barbara Ltd., in Carytown for many years. "She was tough as nails, but I was given my own clients from the get-go," says Jenny, who learned how to run a business from Grant. After her first son was born, Jenny went out on her own. Eleven years later, she has designed homes in Richmond, Washington, the Hamptons and Atlanta and done projects for clients as small as six pillows to as many as three houses (which began by just picking out wall-paper for a powder room).
The Benjamin Moore "Bunny Gray" walls in the foyer lead up the stairs to this quiet window seat with Victoria Hagan's "White Doves at Dusk" fabric on a structured balloon shade, which coordinates with the graphic "Up-Link" carpet by Stark Carpet. The chandelier is from V for the Home.
Textiles in Motion
Subtle animal-print themes emerge in the carpets, like this blue-leopard carpet by Bellbridge in the master bedroom.
Downstairs, a blue-gray zebra motif runs through the living room's Portuguese needlepoint rug from Stark Carpet.
The "Steele Embroidery" Lee Jofa for Kravet fabric on pillows adds a rhythmic curve to the solid family-room sofa.
Kelly Wearstler's "Modern Moiré" silk for Schumacher catches the light and alternates between blue and gray in the living-room draperies and on stool seats.
Everything is accessible to the boys; Jenny just keeps the number of a good upholstery cleaner nearby. Upstairs, the boys' bedrooms and playrooms are painted shades of blue with blue-and-white fabrics to match. High and low mingle in the spaces: Jenny is just as likely to put an Ikea coffee table in the family room as she is a white Schumacher silk ottoman in the twins' bedroom. Comfort and style aren't pigeonholed in this house.
