A cozy Tudor home gets a bright new outlook thanks to a room-by-room application of luminous color and pattern.

Front Wreath

Many Tudor-style houses, American favorites from the 1920s to 1940s, are charming yet dark - their heavy ceiling beams a little overbearing, their small leaded windows light-restricting, and their wrought iron and stonework a bit ponderous. But with a thoughtful renovation and inspired decorating, the young family who made this c. 1920 Tudor in Westchester County, N.Y., their home created an inviting house filled with soft color and reflective surfaces that capture and enhance the light.




An Inviting House

"The rooms were small, and we needed every inch," says the wife, "so we tore out built-in bookshelves and paneling in the living room, removed the plaster and Sheetrock encasing the fireplace, and painted the dark beams white, which instantly brightened the room." Before they knew it, they were on to the other rooms in the house, and with the help of interior designer Stanley Hura, they brought uplifting color, texture, and pattern throughout.



Entryway

The entry is transformed for the Thanksgiving holiday with a display of mercury glass set aglow by the reflective wallpaper from Zoffany, Jamie Young lamps, and a Venetian glass mirror. The console table is by Oly.



The Living Room

The soft gray-green tonality unifies the multi-layered decor of the living room. A chocolate velvet Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams wing chair, and black-framed mirror ground the lighter colors.




Color Palette

A single palette employed throughout the home transitions adjoining spaces, with greens coming to the fore in the living room, oranges in the dining room. The painting by Oly, with its large scale (good for a small room) and natural hues, helps anchor the wall opposite the fireplace.




The Kitchen

Structural

As the homeowners were having central air-conditioning installed, the contractor, Doug Mooney, found that the long cabinet wall could be pushed back three feet, which allowed them to turn an L-shaped kitchen into a full rectangle, making it more spacious.

Walls

"I agonized whether to do paint or wallpaper," says the wife. "I fell in love with a Farrow & Ball vine-and-leaf pattern that echoes the trees outside."

Lighting

The best of old and new: A skylight was added to invite in the sun as well as the changing seasons. Vintage chandeliers are an unexpected choice that give the kitchen glamour.

Cabinets

Says the wife, "I liked the clean lines of white for the cabinets," which instantly lightened the kitchen. Extending the Wood-Mode cabinets to the ceiling built in a lot of storage. She added country detailing with a plate rack, raised panel doors, bin pulls, and a farmhouse sink. She wanted the island to feel like furniture, so it was made of limed oak with turned legs.

Surfaces

Easy-to-maintain surfaces prevail: The counters have the look of soapstone and honed marble, but they are actually highly durable CaesarStone; the slatelike floors are porcelain tile from Artistic Tile.




Windows

Windows are layered with bamboo shades from Hunter Douglas and silk draperies from Chris Stone, hung from bamboo rings by the Antique Drapery Rod Co. A Robert Allen ball fringe mixes the greens, browns, and oranges of the living room for a unifying dollop of color and texture.




Vintage Lighting

Vintage lighting adds a touch of the unexpected to the dining room. The gilded wrought-iron chandelier with white ceramic rosettes, found in a local antiques store, plays off the gilded wallpaper and white trim. Don't be limited by the period of your house; the wife wove in both modern and antique accents.




Fabrics

Fabrics in pillows, throws, window treatments, and upholstery can be mixed with abandon to make a living room luxurious. On the Lillian August sofa, which mixes a hemp frame with olive velvet seat cushions, an embroidered persimmon silk pillow by Cowtan & Tout and richly tasseled damask pillows by Zoe, along with a 1920s color-block quilt, create a lively dialogue of color and pattern.




Serendipity

This china cabinet in the entry, found at Safavieh on a rug-shopping foray, happened to match the walls perfectly. A tufted chair, formerly in the bedroom, looks right in its original apple green velvet.




The Dining Room

The renovated dining room is a jewel box of color.






photo credit: Keith Scott Morton