This East Memphis Charmer Grows with Its Family
Want to see what it looks like when a house evolves with its owners? Tour this charming East Memphis home, where style meets tradition.
When Gwen Driscollβs longtime clients moved into their East Memphis home 15 years ago, their children were young and their tastes traditional. Gwen helped the family pull together a design that perfectly met their needs. They loved the house andΒ lived in it happily for years, raising their two sons in it. But as those young boys grow into young men, the family knew they needed the home to grow with them.
βBefore the renovation, they really didnβt have a playroom or any space that was designed for active teenagers,β says Gwen, interior designer and owner of Driscoll Design & Decoration. βItβs not that itβs a small house, itβs just an old house that didnβt have the extra spaces that we seem to need with the way we live today.β
Gwenβs challenge was to update the space in a way that expanded the familyβs living areas without detracting from the homeβs graceful architecture by T. Douglas Enoch Architects & Associates.Β Her side goal? To marry her clientsβ love of traditional design with their playful spirit and desire for a home that functions well with modern life.
Both the husband and wife are traditionalists, says Gwen. βBut she also has a very quirky, interesting eye, and thatβs one of the reasons I love working for them. She loves art and is always adding to her collection of art.β The wifeβs preferred palette includes purple, chartreuse and teal, as well as oranges and reds β not necessarily a traditional combination. She also loves graphic black-and-white textiles and art. βThat was really the essential design goal β to use all of those colors she loves and continue the design in the new spaces while keeping some of the original design, like the family room with its brick wall and fireplace,β Gwen says. βIt was integrating the design that weβd done years ago, refreshing some of the spaces that we didnβt renovate and then incorporating the new, renovated spaces with the existing design.β
The renovation included the addition of several new spaces, namely a playroom, media room and screened-in porch. βThe whole back of the house was added onto and renovated,β Gwen says. βAnd then some work was done with the plant room, the garage and laundry room.β The βplant roomβ is a hobby area-turned-showplace for the wife, who loves gardening and wanted space to store equipment and carry out her planting projects.
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To create the space, Gwen played on its botanical theme using unexpected colors and materials. The roomβs black-and-white wallpaper gives a nod to the homeownerβs love of all things floral while allowing actual flowers and plants to bring color to the space. βWe decided to put a graphic geometric tile that she likes on the floor, and we used a wallpaper that didnβt have a lot of color β because flowers do. But it is a large-scale floral. And thatβs absolutely one of my favorite spaces in their house, for two reasons: I think it looks fabulous, and itβs very functional for them.β
With its whitewashed brick walls, sky blue ceiling and deep, woven sofas, the new screened-in porch is another of the familyβs favorite areas. βItβs a fabulous space they use year-round,β Gwen says. βIt has a fireplace, and itβs really like another room for them. We furnished it with lots of really comfortable seating, and they spend a whole lot of time out there. Their boys even sleep out there when itβs not too cold. Itβs just a great space.β
Though the living room, family room, dining room and built-in bar arenβt new, Gwen worked to integrate the design of the existing spaces with the overall look and feel of the renovation. A new side entrance near the bar adds access from the driveway. The barβs soft blue hue β Mountain Laurel by Benjamin Moore β threads through the adjacent family room, with its warm brick hearth and comfy red leather chair.
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Although the living room has a slightly more urbane feel, Gwen worked to keep it playful and approachable. βItβs a very large room, but itβs not an overly formal room,β she says. βWe used that black-and-white silk fabric on the windows and lots of color in the textiles, and overall itβs a beautiful space, but itβs also a space they use.β The violet hues in the painting above the fireplace β a work by Carroll Cloar that the husband inherited from family β repeat throughout the room, bringing a gentle rhythm to the space. Thatβs by design.
βThe main thing when I think about them as clients is that theyβre both very warm, genuine, inviting people, and I feel like their home really reflects that,β Gwen says. βThey love color, and itβs not a boring house. Itβs a happy, fun, really unique β I use the word quirky β just not your run-of-the-mill house. And I think thatβs what makes it special.β
Thank you to Julie Wage Ross for todayβs beautiful images!
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Want to peek inside some other stylish Memphis homes? Check out StyleBlueprintβs Memphis Home & DecorΒ page.
