Start Simple

This Houston home gets an update in the kitchen, dining area and bath with classic farmhouse features.

When designer Ashley Moore of Moore House Interiors began redesigning this Houston home, she knew the best approach to creating a timeless look was to keep it clean and simple. “When you are doing a renovation or new build and you are picking those hard selections, I always go neutral because it’s so easy to change your colors as the seasons change or as your style changes,” she says. As spring turns to summer, it’s easy to transform décor by switching out a few key bold pieces amid the neutral background.

BACKGROUND BASICS

Because of the open concept in the kitchen and dining area, it was important to Ashley to pick tones that made the entire area look cohesive. The same flooring flows from the kitchen to the dining nook—a light gray wood look-alike tile. The illusion of wood adds a little farmhouse flair, but the tile keeps it modern. “They didn’t want it to look too country,” Ashley says. Plus, the tile freed up some of the couple’s budget to invest in their quartzite countertops, which have the elegant look of marble but aren’t as fussy and have much easier upkeep. “They did not want to see wine spots on the countertops,” she says. (For more on countertops, see page 24.)

NEUTRALS AND COLORS

In renovating a home, the kitchen is typically the first room to receive a major makeover. Ashley ditched the couple’s former yellow cabinets and replaced them with bright white ones—mixing closed cabinets (for all of the clutter we don’t want everyone to see) with glass fronts (to display all the pottery and dishware the homeowners have collected throughout their travels). Ashley even decided to do glass-front cabinets in the kitchen island, which balanced the display so there was a mix of high and low. As their family grows, they can switch out the breakable glassware for more toddler-friendly décor, like cookbooks. The end result is a calm yet cheerful space that can grow with the needs of the family.