Rivers Oaks colonial gets bold makeover
Homeowner takes colorful approach to her River Oaks renovation
No one will ever accuse Bailey McCarthy of being afraid of color.
Her home isn’t filled with pale neutrals or anything that could be considered muted — instead, it’s a happy riot of bold hues, patterns and designs.
There’s the peacock-blue bar, a master bedroom with walls covered in olive-green silk Donghia, glitzy gold-leaf tile in the master bathroom and a dining room transformed into a magical jungle.
“I appreciate more restrained and neutral palettes, but it’s not how I roll,” McCarthy said. “As much as I love bright colors, my signature color is olive or hunter green, so that’s definitely throughout the house. There are also powder blues and orangy reds and light pinks.” She and her husband, Pete McCarthy, bought their Colonial Revival home in River Oaks and spent two years renovating before moving in a year ago.
McCarthy, a Houston native and University of Texas graduate, had renovated the home she and her husband shared in Chicago while he was in law school and she was working as an interior designer.
When they returned to Houston, McCarthy saw a hole in the local retail market and in 2012
opened Biscuit Home on Westheimer, featuring her own line of luxury bedding. She designs 100 percent cotton sateen bedding, in sizes from cribs to king-size, as well as a linen accent line.
She also maintained a design blog and quickly was spotted by House Beautiful editors. A smaller feature as a “Next Wave” up-and-comer eventually led to a major feature on her home in the magazine’s current issue.
“It’s definitely traditional, with a twist. I like the tension between the styles,” she said. “It makes it interesting.”
Some might think that having your home taken over for a two-day magazine photo shoot would be disruptive — not McCarthy.
“I’ve been collecting the magazine for years,” she said. “It was a pinch-me moment.”
While McCarthy was confident in her interior-design skills, the couple knew they needed architects to guide them through structural renovations.
They hired Curtis & Windham Architects, who specialize in classic design, hoping they’d help her make the home less traditional and more modern, she said.
“They taught me so much,” she said with the slightest giggle. “I wanted something more modern, and they taught me why the traditional design was cool in a different way. They were so patient and gracious about what they knew and giving me information about that they thought and working with my ideas.”
While the home was built in the 1930s, a more modern addition on the back came in the 1960s. Curtis & Windham helped strip out the modern side so it would blend with the home’s true traditional nature.
Plumbing and wiring were updated, and on the first floor, the layout was kept intact.
The couple had collected quite a bit of furniture in their seven-year marriage, so the home wasn’t too hard to fill.
The living room is a playful mix: a light-blue sofa flanked by bold yellow armchairs. Bright floral-print draperies and a bright-pinkish rug pull in all of MCarthy’s favorite colors.
Green washes over the master bedroom, with those silk-covered walls, green-print bedding and a green rug. A Damien Hirst print hangs above the bed and armchairs, and accent pillows go wild in leopard print.
The master bathroom is elegant and sleek in Italian marble, with eye-popping accents of Davlin gold-leaf glass tiles.
McCarthy gets a bit sentimental talking about the rooms of her children, 5-year-old Grace and 3-year-old Harry.
“My daughter’s bedroom is so special and princess-y, delightful,” she said of the space bathed in pink and blue with a canopy bed draped in a blue floral print.
McCarthy had some advice for anyone entering a big home renovation: Make sure you really like your architect or contractor because you’re going to spend a lot of time with them.
Another thing: If you tire in the middle of your project, take a break and return to it when your energy is back.
“Our guest bedroom was the last room I thought about, and I was tired and thought I just have to go for it,” she said. “It was so ugly, and I ended up redoing it a few months later. I wish I’d just painted it white until I had a new surge of creativity.