A 1920s-Era Bryn Mawr Home Gets a Family-Friendly Makeover

Shots by Rebecca McAlpin

Surrounded by lush gardens, this stately Bryn Mawr dwelling feels like it’s out of a fairy tale, with a newly revamped interior to match.

Positioned on a significant corner ton in Bryn Mawr, a stately manor house is surrounded by gardens that appear as if they sprang from a fairy tale. But there was a time when the within of the ’20s-era household felt disconnected from its magical surroundings. The kitchen area and household home felt closed off, a decided downside for the most latest owners, two attorneys with a few youthful young children and a fourth on the way.

The vivid and ethereal loved ones place, with a flat-screen Tv that doubles as artwork when not in use.

Infusing the inside with the exact same light-weight and lovely vibe of the gardens would require a lot more than a sprinkling of pixie dust. So the proprietors turned to interior designer Glenna Stone for a strategy that would make the household as gorgeous on the within as it was on the outdoors.

The pair anticipated investing most of their time in the kitchen, breakfast place and loved ones space. “Our aim was to develop a heat, open up and inviting natural environment exactly where we could cook dinner, bake, entertain and commit time as a household,” the proprietor suggests.

The existing kitchen area and breakfast area have been gutted. With an uncomfortable two-tiered island and banking institutions of dark, dated cabinetry out of the way, the floorplan could be opened up to make way for a mild, dazzling kitchen area and dining space conducive to gatherings of all types.

“Our consumers required a household-friendly structure that allowed them to truly enjoy and use the room on a every day basis with no sacrificing fashion,” Stone states. “They wished an open concept for two causes. Initial, it makes it possible for them to keep the young children in vision even though prepping and cooking, which is seriously a have to when you have small kinds. Next, the windows let so considerably great normal light-weight, together with views of the gardens—and they required to get entire benefit of that.”

Sophisticated and Livable

Based in Philadelphia, Stone is amongst the 70 nationally known designers whose work is featured in the just lately revealed espresso-desk guide Motivated Interiors. She’s recognized for a layout philosophy that is subtle and livable—and it exhibits in the Bryn Mawr task. Thoroughly clean-lined white cabinets are custom-made to match the family’s desires and provide a lot of storage. Knives are stowed in a specialized constructed-in block drawer, out of the arrive at of little arms. A dedicated drawer for spices is quickly available from the gasoline cooktop.

In the island, a pull-out cupboard accommodates a substantially-cherished stand mixer. The operator, an completed baker, has treasured it for several years. The island is topped in milky quartzite that retains its high-class appears with small servicing. It is massive sufficient to seat four, with comfortable leather bar-height chairs. “A snap to continue to keep clean,” the designer notes.

Nickel-and-glass hanging pendants deliver undertaking lighting with a streamlined fashionable statement. “Our clients required a white kitchen area that wasn’t stark, so we pulled in coloration through the backsplash and the chairs in the breakfast area,” Stone says. “Ultimately, it’s a kitchen that appears to be wonderful but is also very purposeful and can just take nearly anything their occupied way of living throws at it.”

Get All around

In the breakfast region, chairs painted muted blue surround a round wood pedestal table. A slab of deep, loaded walnut transitioning from the quartzite counter tops presents warmth and allows determine the location. “It’s the spot in which our loved ones gathers for most meals,” the operator of the Bryn Mawr property suggests.

An essential aspect in correctly setting up any renovation is deciding what options really should be preserved. This classic dwelling was blessed with timeless millwork that was embraced in the new strategy. “In the relatives area, the crafted-ins and window seat have been existing and truly so excellent in opposition to the backdrop of the gardens,” Stone suggests. “We just added window treatment options and a new cushion there. In any other case, they have been a gem.”

To improve the movement concerning areas, hardwood floors ended up laid throughout the room, replacing tile flooring in the family place. The archway between the kitchen area and dining home was widened to usher in far more organic light and sights of the gardens.

To aid the link involving adjoining rooms, the dining home partitions had been painted to echo the soft hues in the kitchen area and breakfast place. “This new opening is centered on a large window in the dining space,” the operator says. “The opening feels regular with the unique style and design of the home but also makes a connection among the kitchen area and the lawn and gardens.”

A sunny corner in the household home.

Consideration to Detail

In the family place, subtle textures and facts merge to give the room an elevated feeling that’s nevertheless approachable. A finely honed layout statement, the coffee table has rounded, child-welcoming edges, mirroring the breakfast desk in a viewer’s sightline. Its wooden is also lightly weathered. “You’re significantly less most likely to see have on and tear,” Stone notes.

Hung from ceiling to floor, the drapes are a gentle, ethereal and ethereal body to the garden vistas just exterior. A sectional sofa, upholstered in delicate navy blue, presents cozy seating for a escalating household. Upholstered stools are accented with nail-head trim.

To update the present fireplace, Stone developed a encompass of marble set in a herringbone pattern. Thanks to some technological magic, the Tv hanging over the mantle looks like a painting when it’s not in use. “The Frame tv is a gamechanger for the reason that it doubles as artwork when you are not watching Television set,” suggests Stone. “You can choose from an intensive gallery of artwork and modify up the show to go well with your temper or year, or you can find a most loved to feature all the time.”

As for the loved ones, they say the renovation has produced a property which is as inviting as the fairy-tale back garden that was the springboard for the design—a position in which they can reside fortunately ever after. “The redesigned area is the centre of all our every day actions. It’s the place we get ready our foods, eat with each other, do homework and invest time as a family looking through publications and looking at movies,” the owner suggests. “The design is open, dazzling and helps make the total dwelling really feel far more related. The transformation is seriously remarkable.”

Related: This Wayne Home’s Transformation Provides Shade and Whimsy to the Room