Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Cool, Calm Edwardian
Evolving 3-Story Home Gets Beautiful Update for Modern Family Life
Lucy Mclintic, of the lovely blog Four Walls and a Roof, lives with her family in a 3-story Edwardian home bought five years ago when she was pregnant with her first son. Since then, her decorating goals have changed as a result of curating her own blog and the addition of a second baby boy. Come see how Lucy has respected the original character of the San Francisco house, but made it her own modern family home. (And check in on her blog as she tracks the remodel of her kitchen and two bathrooms.)
When Mclintic got married, donations to a local art gallery were made instead of a registry, and the huge painting over the sofa was bought as a result. With the bold painting, rest of the room is fairly neutral and calm.
Some bold pattern was infused with a zebra rug to lift the room out of the land of the ordinary. A mix of modern, retro, ethnic and baroque pieces are a result of Mclintic's admitted indecisiveness, but they all work well together. The Louis chair was brought in to add curves and decorative detailing. It will be recovered in turquoise velvet soon.
The family spends a lot of time in the tiny playroom alcove. Yellow accents in the pillow and Charade poster work well with the neutrals and seem befitting a playroom that needs to transform into an adult space in the evening. The chevron rug brings energy into an otherwise plain space and makes the room look bigger.
The dining room has been evolving steadily. All the millwork was painted white. Belgian Linen drapes from Restoration Hardware dictated a matching shade of Iced Marble from Benjamin Moore. The gourd lamp was picked because it was exactly the same shade as the walls, creating a monochrome scheme.
A couple of years later, the room felt static and needed a fresh burst of energy. A Nelson saucer lamp and round mirror were added.
The round shapes made a huge difference. But the room still felt like an extension to the hallway. Given that the family spent so much time here working, eating, doing arts and crafts, they added shelves to separate the two spaces.
Before her youngest arrived, both kids' rooms and the guest room were redecorated, which allowed experimentation with brighter colors, pattern and wallpaper.
Her older boy's room needed to be a true reflection of his personality and be stylish while incorporating red, his favorite color. The blue wall was inspired by two things: Carrie's redecorated apartment in the "Sex and the City" movie, and an apartment in Elle Decor that had electric blue walls and red lacquered furniture. With white furniture and shelving against the electric blue and red accents, the room took shape.
Using some inexpensive pieces such as a red metal storage locker from IKEA and lighting from Urban Outfitters, Lucy achieved a high-end look without spending a lot of cash.
The nursery got a mod vibe with geometric wallpaper. The blue was already in place from when her first son was in this room. She decided to go all out with patterns and chose the gray zebra rug from West Elm. The cute bird decal is calming and can be removed when the baby grows older. By selecting a very simple color scheme, multiple patterns can be combined without the space looking too busy.
This room was originally an office. When baby number two was on his way, the room took on double duty as a guest room, too. A complete redecoration wasn't required, but since the new baby was going to be a boy, Lucy had to get a girly, floral nursery nursery out of her system, and the guest room was the perfect opportunity!
The room with four windows so the garden view was brought into the room by applying a Sanderson wallpaper with branches and leaves. The antique bedside cabinets and the light fitting from Etsy echo the blooms on the wallpaper perfectly.
Lucy created a restful, neutral bedroom with rich textures.The painting above the bed — another wedding gift — determined the gold tones and the few pinky-red accents for the room.
This room's five windows makes it incredibly light. Its five windows can make it boiling in the summer and freezing in winter, so a big challenge was finding window coverings that moderated the heat, looked great in large quantities and were affordable. She settled on silk shades along one wall and draperies in the same fabric, all with heavy linings, on the other wall.
More:
A Sweet Southern Makeover
A Kitchen for Family — and Serious Cooking
See more Houzz tours
More:
A Sweet Southern Makeover
A Kitchen for Family — and Serious Cooking
See more Houzz tours