A dilapidated, dark, eccentric dwelling in Ohio became a chance for Monique Keegan to explore her own personal style, resulting in a one-of-a-kind home.

Nearly everyone who looked at the house was daunted by the mountains of possessions, the deteriorating condition, and the warren of rooms that comprised this 1924 "eclectic Tudor" when it came on the market several years ago in Granville, Ohio. But for Monique and Keith Keegan, who love to fix up old houses, the challenge to bring it back to life was irresistible. After pretty much gutting the house ("Come to a Wrecking Ball," Country Living February 2005; countryliving.com/keegan), the husband and wife have devoted three years to reconfiguring and reimagining the rambling 4,400-square-foot manse. While the Keegans had originally intended to resell the house, they fell in love with its treetop views, its sense of seclusion within the town of Granville, and its quirky charms, and after a year of work they decided to move in themselves. Along the way, Monique used the house as a kind of lab to refine her own interior design style and conjure a vintage-industrial, modern country approach to decorating. So appealing is the house to everyone who enters, it has spurred Monique to start her own design practice, Enjoy Co.

The Keegans named their home Stonehill for its materials and hilltop location overlooking the town. The original owner, an architect-engineer, moved an old farmhouse to this site, and then added on sandstone and stucco clad rooms as his family expanded.

Home Office

In Monique's office, her love for laboratory glassware and science memorabilia is evident. The lamp was fashioned from vintage industrial light fixtures.




Great Room

The former foyer, stairway, pantry, kitchen, and bedroom were melded into an expansive great room with a two-part kitchen, family room, and dining room. A loop wool rug from West Elm lightens up the deep browns of the custom-made leather sectional and cabinetry. Monique fashioned the coffee table from an iron factory table and soapstone slab.

"The house is earthy and dark. I like to play off the deep browns and grays with green and other light colors."




Cheery Nook

Once a dark bedroom brimming with discarded furniture, the spacious mudroom now holds a row of large beadboard lockers and this inviting U-shaped bench seat with a top that lifts up for storage. Monique used random-width boards, without caulking, to give the new walls old texture. Most everything is painted in Ralph Lauren's Winchester, a moody greenish gray that Monique says "looks different in every room and at different times of day." Monique added bright contrast with leafy pillows in fabrics from her friend Amy Butler. On an enamel-topped ironing table, an old sample board with spring-loaded clips displays autumn leaves, part of a changing selection of mementos to reflect the four seasons.




Serene Sitting Room

Serenity comes from Ralph Lauren's Dovecoat walls, a sisal rug, slipcovered furnishings, and verdant views. Monique snagged the stainless steel medical cabinet at a hospital auction.




Master Bedroom

For the master bedroom (previously a living room), Keith built the chunky cedar bed with the same material he used for the room's fireplace mantel. Old zinc Popsicle molds, sometimes pressed into service as vases, reside neatly beneath the footboard-bench, while a leather surveyor's case rests atop it.




Basement Studio

The walk-out basement/ground floor is now Monique's studio, filled with the kind of vintage cubbies, cabinets, and containers she loves to collect. A worktable from the Packard factory with a grocery-store paper and string dispenser, a hospital lamp, military munitions cabinets (with numbers), tin bread molds (on lower shelf of table), and a typesetter's cabinet are just some of the many repurposed storage pieces Monique has reclaimed for her studio.

"I love pieces where you can show repetition, and collections. The things I buy often look discarded and forlorn, and I start thinking, 'What can I do with that?'"




Study

The Keegans have left the original owner's study-library, filled with his books, drafting tools, and drawings, nearly intact.




Antique Cabinet

Monique particularly loves this antique seed-packet cabinet with glass-front drawers. She keeps everything from design samples to votive candles to flower-arranging supplies here.




Sleek Bathroom

Each floor in the house had its own full "apartment" with kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and bath, so the Keegans eliminated many of the redundant rooms. The master bath was originally a kitchen and a laundry room. They built in an Empire hall mirror on the left-hand wall and painted it to match the newly planked walls, unified with more Ralph Lauren Winchester paint. Limestone counters are inset with porcelain sinks and crowned with vintage mirrors. Old metal egg and fishing baskets stow towels.







photo credit: Don Freeman