Junior League Show House does it right
The designers tried to envision what it would be like to have a dinner party in that space in the 1920s but with a brighter color palette. They painted the fireplace brick and egg-and-dart molding white and the walls in a color that Farrow & Ball calls Parma Gray. They had Benjamin Moore match a shade that is really a pale blue and used it on the ceiling, too. The white trim is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.
“I did all the lighting in white as well because we wanted the rooms’ architecture to stand out,” said Mrs. McMenamin.
Note the lovely tablescape with Mottahedeh plates in the Blue Dragon pattern.
The Writing Room
Achitect and designer Margaret Ringel Baker of Margaret Ringel & Associates found a way to transform an enclosed porch that had lost its arched window into a cozy writing and sitting room with an original wood ceiling.
“This is a letter writing/ reading room,” she said. “If you look around, you will see that I used items of different countries to decorate the room.”
There are Russian samovars, 2 million-year-old fossilized shells, a coat rack from England and an antique writing desk from Italy. The center round table features a scene hand-painted on slate.
“I wanted to combine things so someone could feel they could come in here and write a letter and thank people they met on their travels,” she explained.
It is a very elegant space. The designer started with the carpet but did not try to match its colors.
“I wanted to show people who come that you can use something you love without feeling it must match perfectly,” she said. “It’s a lesson on color.”
The Second-Floor Study
Sara Coax of Golden Fish Interiors anchored the small study with a natural fiber rug. “They wanted some of the hardwood to show so I had the rug cut and bound to trace the lines of the room.
“I also took the doors off the closets on either side of the window and made them into book shelves,” she said.
A desk from Mecox in Shadyside offers a spot to write on one side of the fireplace and a cozy reading nook chair on the other. She paired the desk with a contemporary S-shaped plastic chair.
The Second-Floor Urban Sanctuary
The twin room next to the study was reinvented as a kind of getaway by Sherry Savage of S.G. Savage Designs.
“I brought the outside in for this room,” she said.
She used a green and blue color scheme to mimic nature and placed large branches on a shelf by the window. That same window is framed by two closets whose doors were removed to show off shelves filled with objects of interest. The result is a tranquil space where green plants and unique artwork offer a simple respite from the world.
The Kitchen Suite
If the heart of the home is the kitchen, then Nancy Spears of Savoy Interior Design made the right choice by using a deep red seagrass wallpaper and black counters and backsplashes with veins of white.
“They are by Cosentino & Primo Marble and Granite. I need to get as much working space in this room as possible,” she said, noting that the space was originally three very small rooms.
She kept the feel of the old home without losing modern conveniences. The cabinetry, hood and trim was done by Allegheny Mountain Hardwood. “I used an art deco theme of black, red and white,” she noted.
The Speakeasy
Nancy Drew of Drew Designs Ltd. probably had the biggest challenge, transforming a dank, dark basement into the speakeasy it reportedly once was. She worked with the existing woodwork and beams and covered the floor in a strong luxury vinyl tile that looks like real wood planks.
“It is a floating floor supplied by Karndean, and it is impervious to water damage,” she noted.
Ms Drew went with a Jazz Era theme and used photographs by Charles “Teenie” Harris to decorate the walls. She added some pub-height tables, leather chairs as well as a bar and sink.
“The counters are by Vangura and are really durable and have a nice texture,” she said.
Show House visitors are also invited to stop by the JLP Boutique, where unique items and handcrafted works by local Pittsburgh artists will be available for purchase.
Tickets for the 2018 Junior League of Pittsburgh Show House are $30 at the door. It will continue through May 20 with these hours: closed Monday and Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Information: www.jlpgh.org.