Jessica: What a grand house! Was this a renovation project or a new build?
Rose: This new build in Perrysburg was all about it’s architectural style of Old World European— the owners had fallen in love with the architecture of the home and we designed accordingly to show off the special features.
Jessica: So you say the overall theme was the “Old World European” architecture, how was this conveyed through your design?
Rose: We used warm colors, rich woods and enhanced many of the interesting architectural details along with “traditional” styling to bring Old World European to life while still feeling current and livable.
Jessica: Thinking about the interesting architecture, I notice there are arches incorporated into the design in many ways and this motif seems significant; can you tell me some of the most interesting locations?
Rose: The arches are most noticeable in the large areas such as the window frames and some doorways. There are less noticeable arches in the domed ceiling in the entry, the cabinetry, in the gallery hall, the custom bookcases and the custom ordered hood over the range in the kitchen.
Jessica: Looking at the various custom cabinetry work you combined white and wood throughout—was the white to keep it current and/or create a sense of balance?
Rose: We chose the white trim and selective white cabinetry pieces to really enhance and draw attention to the beautiful wood in the cabinetry and wood flooring that we selected. We worked with Jennifer at Design Classics to create all of the details necessary to the kitchen design.
Jessica: Tell me more about this wood floor, isn’t it an exotic wood?
Rose: Yes, the wood flooring and stair treads is sapele (sah-pell-ee) which is a tropical wood native to Africa. It’s harder than most Maples, Oaks and American Cherry. With it’s rich red-brown coloring and beautiful graining patterns we knew it would be the perfect backdrop to the furniture pieces being kept by the family as well as those we planned to add.
Jessica: Other than the wood flooring you had some interesting tile work done as well, can you tell me more about that?
Rose: Of course! The tile was a lot of fun because we were able to add some more texture by layering different tiles together and creating our own patterns with the tile. The sunroom for example has a tile “rug” created by the pattern change and the metal liners in the kitchen backsplash give that an interesting texture as well.
Jessica: It really seems that each spot had it’s own personality while still staying true to the Old World European feel, how did you accomplish this?
Rose: It was very important to us to make sure we had a nice transition from one room to the next with the openness of the floorplan. Each space had it’s own features that we wanted to highlight and several of those were universal throughout (like the arches for example) and creating an even balance while maintaining some variation throughout was key.
Jessica: Is it safe to say that the details are what make this home so special?
Rose: Absolutely, the details are what reinforced the old world design to this newly built home. Some of the details we used were appliques, custom carpentry, several ceiling treatments including a domed ceiling, tray ceilings and coffered ceilings, larger base molding, custom tile and stone work…and the list goes on.
Jessica: Of all of the details do you have one that really stood out to you?
Rose: My favorite would probably be the stair detailing and the bannisters although I also really love the den with the built in bookcases and how we built the fireplace and mantle to be so grand.
Jessica: Good interior design is the kind that feels like it was meant to be there and sometimes those things aren’t noticed because they seem so natural—are there any of the details that were so necessary but may go unnoticed by some?
Rose: The lighting selections really enhanced the entire design and added another less noticeable pattern and metallic texture to the spaces. The window treatments, stonework and wood finishes really helped the architecture stand out and the upholstery fabrics helped tie everything together.
Jessica: It’s a great design overall, thanks for sharing!
Rose: I was happy to — it was an exciting project to see finished!
