Bonus: It's even great at hiding crumbs.
In Hillsborough, California, decorator Chloe Warner transforms a modernist glass box into a family house that is both beautiful and kid-proof. All it takes is pattern-and-color confidence — and 200 yards of sheer pink fabric.
In the living room, Warner conjures a fresh take on classic red, white and blue. The 14-foot-long vintage sofa is from the owners' previous residence. The chairs and smaller sofa are covered in a Groundworks fabric, and the wallpaper is by Jim Thompson. A Stark indoor-outdoor rug is topped by a custom Merida rug that was designed by Warner and inspired by inkblots. "I painted a watercolor, played with it in Photoshop and sent it off," she says.
Instead of a formal dining room, Warner envisioned a multipurpose space that parents and children could use for casual meals or game nights. To make the most of the room's 20-foot ceiling height, the designer installed floor-to-ceiling curtains in a Duralee sheer (the pink hue is called Flesh), suspended a pair of crystal chandeliers over the tables, and framed sections of Fromental wallpaper, which she hung high on the wall above the fireplace. Warner designed the custom tables. The Ethan Allen chairs are in a Lee Jofa linen.
"In a big house, you need consistent elements to keep things from feeling too chopped up," says Warner, who used animal patterns throughout the house, including the Stark Antelope carpet in the reading nook off the kitchen. The vintage sofa is covered in Jasper's Malmaison.
The kitchen was reconfigured by architect Charlie Barnett with oak cabinetry and Silestone counters.
"I'm obsessed with George Seller's Areté plaster chandelier," admits Warner, who hung one in the breakfast area for a pop of white against the travertine hearth. Serena & Lily chairs surround a custom table. Stark's Antelope carpet is great for "hiding crumbs," the designer notes.
"The master bedroom is everything a person could need to retreat from a busy life. It has a cocooned, tree house feeling," Warner says. Oly's Willa bed is topped with shams in a checked pattern by Chelsea Textiles and a lumbar pillow in a Lee Jofa linen. The chandelier is from Anthropologie, and the custom rug is by Merida.
In a sitting area adjacent to the master suite, the designer lined the space with Kinnicutt, a Sister Parish wallpaper "with a timeless, happy personality." The seat on the vintage bench is covered in Bob Collins's Spice Rose; the sofa is by Hickory Chair.
"The challenge was to give warmth and femininity to a clean but masculine jewel box," Warner says of the house, which was designed in the early 2000s by architect Jim Jennings. For the landscaping, Warner kept it simple: "We did nothing more than set up areas for dining and entertaining" around the pool, which was also designed by Jennings. The patio seating is by Janus et Cie, and the tile floor is travertine. Warner placed a Galanter & Jones heated love seat by the door to entice party guests "to spill out onto the patio on cool evenings."
"I was the class freak," says Oakland, California–based Warner, who studied architecture at Harvard. "I cared deeply about beauty, ornament and color. Now, I'm very confident in the power of decorating." Read more about her inspiration for this home here.
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This story originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
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