This new build redesign is full of cozy vibes and functionality for a young NoVA family but also has a few surprises that make you stop and say, “Wow, I wouldn’t have expected that.”
That was the goal for Kristin Harrison, founder and principal designer with Bungalow 10 Interiors, when she set out to redesign her McLean home.
“Our house is sort of old-world British vibes meets laid-back California style,” Harrison says with a laugh. “We kind of created our own style by combining a few different things and making it feel cohesive.”
Harrison and her husband, Will, wanted the home to feel light and airy throughout. But at the same time, they wanted special pockets of moodiness built into the mix.
Creating Fun Jewel Boxes
Harrison worked to create these fun jewel boxes in areas of the home that are a little more tucked away.
For example, the butler’s pantry. Painted Sherwin Williams’ Grays Harbor — a deep, rich bluish gray color — the butler’s pantry exudes a darker, more masculine feel.
Highlights of the pantry include shelving with brass railings to display extra cookware, a butcher block countertop and unlacquered brass hardware.
The powder room is another moodier space in the home.
“For this room, I wanted to think a bit more outside of the box,” Harrison says.
Having a very clear vision of what she wanted the sink to look like, she found a family-owned business in Turkey that could create it for her.
The business sourced the stone, built the sink, and shipped it to her doorstep within a few months.
The struggle then became finding the perfect base to complement the custom sink.
Harrison connected with Julian Adams, a local woodworker who had some reclaimed wood from a demolished church in Charlottesville.
The wood was used to craft a gorgeous base for the marble sink, which added the most magical touch to the room.
“People always comment on it because it is just so raw and living. It’s beautiful,” says Harrison.
Finally, a vintage Louis Philippe brass mirror was added to really help bring the powder room to life.
Kitchen Functionality
British cabinetry was a big inspiration for Harrison when it came to designing the kitchen.
“A lot of times you just see a bunch of cabinets everywhere, but the design is not always mindful about what the cabinets are actually being used for,” she says.
Harrison wanted to ensure functionality was a key consideration.
She worked with Unique Kitchens and Baths to come up with a concept that worked best for how the family moves around the kitchen.
“That was really step one,” Harrison says. Step two was finding the perfect cabinet color.
Harrison searched for a color that had a bit of a chameleon effect to keep it from being too trendy.
“I wanted a color that when you look at it, you don’t actually know what color it is,” Harrison says. “A lot of people do gray cabinets, but with mine, people are always like, ‘Is that a green or a gray, or a taupe?’”
In the kitchen, she used Elba Blue Honed marble for the countertops and backsplash and the island.
“Marble ages but kind of ages the way you would hope that it would, versus something more polished that is going to show every nick, knife mark, and scratch,” says Harrison.
The sink faucet, pot filler, and cabinetry hardware in an unlacquered brass further accent the kitchen.
Implementing Raw Materials
The choice of using so many raw materials was not by accident. In fact, Harrison tries to incorporate raw materials into all her projects.
“They really do just get better with age,” she says. “They can get banged up or nicked and you don’t really have to worry about it.”
And with three children under the age of three and a large dog, this comes in handy for the Harrisons.
As part of the design, she created a breakfast nook where the family enjoys meals and morning coffee with lots of natural light pouring through the windows.
“From the reclaimed pine wood table to the cane backing on the chairs to the jute rug, once again, it’s really just raw material on raw material in this room,” says Harrison.
Moody and Masculine
In the study, Harrison said her vision was for it to feel like a cool, little parlor, and be another jewel box space.
“My husband sometimes works from home, so I wanted to create an area for him where he could work or even just enjoy a glass of bourbon with a friend,” Harrison says.
Shelving behind the desk made for the perfect place to display some of the interesting vintage pieces the Harrisons have collected in their travels around the world.
“My husband’s dad worked for a few presidents, so he had some memorabilia that we also have displayed here,” Harrison says.
The decision to continue the dark paint onto the ceiling drenches the room in color and helps give it a more finished look.
“We added a Troy Lighting chandelier, which just looked very ‘cigar room’ to me. I thought it brought a cool masculine touch,” she says.
A leather office chair, two mossy green armchairs, and a few bronze and brass additions put the final touches on the study.
Blending Materials to Add Texture
Harrison upgraded the primary bathroom. “The bathroom was pretty big, so I just envisioned this really long, clean looking cabinet,” says Harrison.
She found one in a raw white oak that blended nicely with the Bardiglio gray marble countertop to help add some texture to the room, along with white vertical shiplap.
While the bathroom features a luxurious freestanding bathtub, the star of the show is the arched all-marble walk-in shower.
“I wanted to do an arched shower to make it look a bit more custom,” says Harrison. “The way the marble wraps around the doorway turned out so beautiful, and it’s really like a hidden gem.”
She also changed the primary bedroom as well as the dining and living rooms to continue that bright and airy feel throughout the home.
“For the primary bedroom, we really just wanted something calming and clean for resting and relaxing,” says Harrison. “I tried to pull in elements from the rest of the house for this.”
Ultimately, Harrison says her favorite room of all is the sitting room just off the entryway.
“It’s funny because originally, my husband said it was never going to get used, but it just gets so much natural light and it turned out to be the most calming, relaxing area,” she says. “I love it and we use it all the time.”
Feature image by Angela Newton Roy Photography
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