Defining a personal style may be the toughest aspect of home design. Style evolves and changes over time, and often it’s difficult to figure out what it really was at the first location. Some designers have a knack for expressing a customer’s personality perfectly. For many others, the evolution of a customer’s design help make the home a house.
Lucy Penfield of Lucy Interior Design worked on this Tudor at Edina, at a suburb of Minneapolis, for 12 Decades. Over that time, the customer’s style changed radically. Though the West Coast wife enjoys art and color, the East Coast husband has a more traditional design, and also their 12-year-old daughter loves lively designs. Penfield made a more customary principal floor incorporating neutrals and rich colors, and then created a vibrant modern weathered teen sofa downstairs, successfully mixing all of the customers’ styles into one amazing house.
at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple and their 12-year-old daughter
Location: Edina, Minnesota
Size: 5,000 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
That is intriguing: Penfield had the floor of the cellar dug down by a foot to increase the height of this space.
Lucy Interior Design
The vibrant and contemporary downstairs lounge was designed as a location for the customer’s daughter to hang out and have sleepovers, also for the family to enjoy occasional movie nights. This addition was designed after the main floor was already set up, and the customer decided to go mad with color. The palette of blue, tangerine, lime green and fucshia was motivated by a watercolor of her daughter.
The customer loved the idea of this resting window chair, therefore Penfield enlarged the window and added remote-operated window shades.
Window seat paint: Whales Green, Benjamin Moore; ottomans: from Morocco; sectional: custom, A. Rudin, Romo cloth ; side tables:House Eclectic
Lucy Interior Design
The cellar had just southern- and western-facing windows, therefore natural lighting was restricted. Penfield made every color stand out and improved each little bit of light by painting all of the walls and trim from Benjamin Moore’s Super White.
Paint color on built-in: Dark Steak, Benjamin Moore
Lucy Interior Design
A little kitchen and bar area was set up for late-night snacks and entertaining. A pint-size fridge holds all of the necessities, and a stainless steel countertop and backsplash make for easy cleanup.
Lucy Interior Design
The first cellar was a dingy and dark area with unfinished concrete flooring and a 7-foot-high ceiling. Windows were set up at every available angle to increase the light and the perspective.
The white walls and cabinetry at the sofa area are punctuated with cheerful accessories and trim in vibrant hues. The white shades allow lots of light inside, while their contrasting trim provides definition.
Lucy Interior Design
The gloomy Moroccan bathroom downstairs is one of Penfield’s favorite spaces in the home; it had been motivated by a recent visit to Marrakech. “The hunt-and-gather process for furniture is my favorite,” she states. “I really like to pull from journeys — thus the Moroccan-inspired tile wall. I had just returned from a two-week culinary experience in Morocco, along with the colbalt blue was everywhere”
Accent wall: Waterworks; vanity: custom, painted Super White, Benjamin Moore; flooring tile: Waterworks concrete, Blue Note; wall sconces: habit
Lucy Interior Design
The cheerful laundry area was the first room to be redesigned, and it moved all other rooms on the basement flat. New countertops and cabinetry, colorful built-ins and a painted concrete floor changed this area. A cute set of drapes hides drying laundry when guests come over. “She loves doing laundry now,” states Penfield of the customer. “Who wouldn’t?”
Paint color on built-in shelves: Raspberry Pudding, Benjamin Moore and Cocktail Hour, Hirshfield’s
Lucy Interior Design
Upstairs, the house has a very different vibe. The major living spaces fall closer in line with the house’s traditional Tudor construction. Limestone countertops, a copper hood and dark wood cabinetry give a much more sophisticated style to the upstairs kitchen. The antique maps on the walls have been chosen to commemorate significant locations from the customers’ lives — schools, grandparents’ houses and hometowns are all represented. “We wanted to weave a story,” states Penfield. “I love the way that it reveals a cross-country history”
Backsplash: Waterworks marble mosaic; hood: custom copper; chandelier: iron, Dennis + Leen; countertops: Cambria limestone
Lucy Interior Design
The decor evolved to reflect the couple’s different styles and backgrounds. “I think as a newly married couple, we are safer — perhaps pleasing each other and endangering,” states Penfield. “I think the East Coast conservative side spoke louder in earlier years.”
Hand-crafted accessories, high quality textiles and also a more subtle palette fall in line with the house’s traditional architecture. The house’s first smaller windows did not let enough light into the main living spaces, therefore Penfield assisted design an addition on the south side, which accommodates the family space and wraparound windows.
Area Shade: custom hand-knotted wool, Nepal; ottomans: custom with raffia and jute fringe, Samuel + Sons; coffee table: Woodland paint and glaze
Lucy Interior Design
The household is active and loves to entertain, therefore Penfield used practical materials, all-weather fabrics and durable finishes for all the major living spaces. Halfway through the home’s renovation, the family decided to get two cats, therefore Penfield integrated cat-friendly fabrics into the area as well.
Table and chairs: McGuire; walls: textured plaster, Otto Painting Design; couch: A. Rudin, Clarence House cloth
Lucy Interior Design
Since it took over a decade to finish this house’s design, the appearance in each room evolved over time. A brand new love for color was finally extracted, and Penfield integrated subtle punches into more neutral configurations. Red fabrics in the living area and kitchen add visual interest, while the chocolate and turquoise toile bedspread balances manly and feminine influences. “I really like the balance of yin and yang, that can be shown in color and layout,” Penfield states.
Bedding: China Seas Pagoda toile; bed framework: custom; table lamps: Hwang Bishop; seat: classic
Lucy Interior Design
The master bath includes a balance of old and new, sticking with traditional fixtures and patterns but enjoying with more contemporary color palettes. “Adopt the architecture, but don’t let it choke you,” states Penfield. “We’re always respectful of this architecture but then had some pleasure to let our character shine.”
Roman shade: Conrad Shades, Clarence House cloth ; side table: Waterworks wicker drum; flooring: limestone planks