Ellicott City house gets a fresh, modern update
rooms. She added small transom windows above the existing windows in the dining room. She raised the height of openings between rooms by two feet.
“Her best idea, really, was raising the two doorways,” Jarrett says. “We have nice [high] ceilings, so this let everything come up.”
Reich also installed half-round molding two inches below the room’s existing crown molding and painted it all white, making the crown molding appear much larger.
“It gives it a very impressive Summers says.
In the dining room, Reich chose blue floor-to-ceiling drapes with a rounded geometric pattern. The walls were painted by Baltimore-based artist Kelly Walker of Artstar Custom Paintworks to look like a royal blue silk wallpaper.
The room’s existing furniture, a traditional hutch, chairs and a table, remained.
A sisal rug softens the dining room’s formality. A modern giclee print, which Summers bought from the online art dealer Horchow, plays off the blue tones in the room.
“The modern piece of art behind the table gave the room a nice juxtaposition,” Reich says. “I like to find balance in a space by using something that’s not necessarily expected.”
It’s a theme repeated in all the rooms, and ultimately it helped shift the way Summers and Jarrett use the updated spaces.
The living room had become dated and less used with time.
Reich installed picture-frame molding to create a traditional feel and painted the room a light pewter. This provides a muted backdrop for the room’s signature item: floor-to-ceiling drapes of alternating slateblue solid panels and white geometric patterns.
“One of the secrets is you have to look at a room and think of what you want to be the standout,” Reich says. Throughout the home, she and Summers would “work an entire room around something that would get us excited,” Reich says.
The living room is Jarrett’s favorite: He often uses one of the leather chairs for reading. The changes created a relaxing, light-filled space and a comfortable entertainment area that Summers and Jarrett use more often.
Reich’s redesign also changed the way the couple uses the first-floor master bedroom, which is off the dining room.
They kept their original bedroom furniture, though Reich rearranged it. She chose a dark beige color for the wall and updated the bed linens to make the room feel more intimate.
She added additional seating to the room, something it had lacked before. Jarrett often uses an oversized sofa chair on one side of feel,” the bed for reading or relaxing.
Changes to the home’s study didn’t change its use — Summers works from home at least once a week in her role as a technology manager in enterprise data at Wells Fargo — but it did become Summers’ favorite room soon after its completion last year.
The room’s wallpaper, a charcoal-colored textured pattern of cumulus clouds, is Summers’ and Reich’s favorite decorative finish.
But, Summers says, “what’s really wonderful about this room is there are so many workstations.”
A floor-to-ceiling custom-made cabinet in a ceruse oak finish, which gives it a slightly weathered look, provides storage space and a spot for her computer. She can spread out papers on the clean-line, midcentury-inspired desk by Julian Chichester, which sits in front of the cabinet. Its vellum finish provides durability. A third computer workstation sits in what used to be the room’s closet. A chair and small table to the side of the room provide another place to sit.
The room’s signature is a distinctive modern antique brass-and-glass chandelier from O’lampia Lighting. Its arms reach out at odd angles and varying lengths from the base, and not all the glass globes are the same.
“It looks really fresh to put a modern fixture in a more traditional space,” Reich says. “I like throwing lots of beautiful things together.”
The refinished half-bath next to the study is a testament to this approach. Reich created the marble sink, which sits on a simply styled brass stand, from a remnant. The metallic finishes draw the eye, from the wall custom painted to resemble marble stone tiles to the metallic silver painted ceiling.
In the two-story foyer, Reich placed a new marble top on an existing black chest of drawers. She placed an abstract glass lamp and a mirrored tray on top.
“Little things like that you can switch up in your space to give them a whole new feel,” Reich says.
As the five-room redesign wrapped, Summers started eyeing the next round of rooms ready for a refresh. With their youngest daughter out of the house, her room could use a redesign along with new furniture before out-of-town relatives visit for Thanksgiving. And the family room, which suited Summers until she looked around with fresh eyes, could use a fresh coat of paint and some furniture updates.
She will turn to Reich once again for help in creating a modern traditional vibe throughout.