Working With Pros
Inside Houzz
Inside Houzz: Bye-Bye, Bland Bachelor Pad
Texas newlyweds blend their styles and celebrate lake views with the help of an interior designer found on Houzz
Mary Ellen Hamel and Randall McIntyre’s marriage began with a dilemma. How would they combine years of furnishings and accessories into McIntyre's home, where he’d spent 20 years living as a bachelor? “It was a hodgepodge of different things with no cohesive theme,” Hamel says.
They tried shopping for pieces together, but McIntyre picked things without a design plan in mind, and Hamel had trouble making decisions because she didn’t feel confident without a design plan. “I didn’t know if it’d look good or not,” she says. “I don’t have the expertise, and I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money and it not look right. We needed some direction.”
An interior designer who didn’t work out for the couple suggested they use Houzz for design ideas. They then used the site to search for professionals and found designer Allison Jaffe’s profile. They read her short biography and liked that she had degrees in neuropsychology and interior design. “That intrigued us. We could tell she was really smart,” Hamel says.
Here's how Jaffe helped transform their space:
They tried shopping for pieces together, but McIntyre picked things without a design plan in mind, and Hamel had trouble making decisions because she didn’t feel confident without a design plan. “I didn’t know if it’d look good or not,” she says. “I don’t have the expertise, and I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money and it not look right. We needed some direction.”
An interior designer who didn’t work out for the couple suggested they use Houzz for design ideas. They then used the site to search for professionals and found designer Allison Jaffe’s profile. They read her short biography and liked that she had degrees in neuropsychology and interior design. “That intrigued us. We could tell she was really smart,” Hamel says.
Here's how Jaffe helped transform their space:
AFTER: The first thing Jaffe did was reorient the space so the sofa paralleled the waterfront and gave them a new focal point. The three then chose fabrics, paint colors and new furniture pieces. The brown sofa, rug and some antiques are all that remain from the previous layout.
They thought about removing the beams altogether, but Jaffe found out that it'd be more cost efficient and striking to wrap them in wood veneer. “We were basically trying to get away from the Miami Vice look of the house,” Hamel says.
They thought about removing the beams altogether, but Jaffe found out that it'd be more cost efficient and striking to wrap them in wood veneer. “We were basically trying to get away from the Miami Vice look of the house,” Hamel says.
Reading chair, bench: Norwalk Furniture; coffee table: Stockton Hicks Laffey
They wanted to bring in color, and thought of making the fireplace wall an accent wall in blue. But after playing around with an online wall color simulator, they realized that with all the windows, they could pull off three of the walls' being blue.
The couple chose a color that complemented the blue in the rug and reminded them of the blue waves they had seen in Hawaii on a ferry ride.
After choosing fabrics, they picked out furniture pieces and accessories to reupholster.
The couple chose a color that complemented the blue in the rug and reminded them of the blue waves they had seen in Hawaii on a ferry ride.
After choosing fabrics, they picked out furniture pieces and accessories to reupholster.
AFTER: Jaffe added a new buffet table and took the drapes to the ceiling with new fabric. She then incorporated 1920s art deco lighting and a bright art piece made entirely from colored electrical tape.
Art: Ed L. Boyd
Art: Ed L. Boyd
Jaffe also redid the powder room. She started with a wallpaper from Cole & Sons and convinced the couple to have a custom vanity with a marble countertop.
Mirror: Jonathan Adler
After photos by Kent Metschan
Mirror: Jonathan Adler
After photos by Kent Metschan
The bland colors, art and furniture would all go, especially the rustic round coffee table that McIntyre had shortened by chopping the base. “That went to Salvation Army,” Hamel says.
The sofa originally faced the fireplace, which Jaffe noticed cut off the view of the lake.