All in the Family: Bloomfield Hills

A full house can be livable & sophisticated

Having children changes your perception of real estate. Parents envision lawns with room to run, kitchens suited to after-school snacks, and basements with space for boisterous play and visiting friends.

That said, they also want sophistication. Such was the dream six years ago when a couple with two children purchased a 5,500-square-foot Bloomfield Hills home on nearly three acres. Family-friendly assets helped them look beyond the mid-’90s design and vibrant French country interior.

Color palette was an important factor in making the home their own. They wanted pale blues, soft gray, and muted light green for a calming mood. They also wanted a home that let them “live in every room,” that exuded “peace and tranquility and simple elegance.”

Birmingham-based interior designer Lucy Earl of Jones-Keena & Co. helped them create a new look. “This house is a lot about subtlety of color and repeating colors,” Earl says. “I think people have a natural color palette they’re drawn to.”

Furnishings were selected with an eye toward the “long haul,” Earl says, adding, “I want you to buy art [next] instead of replacing and reupholstering.”

To create a home that lives well, Earl urges clients to “make rooms a journey of living and to plan how they’ll use the space in every room.”

The result in this family home was a living room that shifts easily from piano lessons and plays performed in front of the fire to cocktail parties and reading. “It’s a very peaceful room,” the mother says. “There’s no TV in here.”

Resources:

Jones-Keena & Co.; 248-644-7515, jones-keena.com.

Braam’s Custom Cabinets; (248) 646-3395, braams.ca.

Woodward Framing, Bloomfield Hills; 248-335-9940.

PMP Marble & Granite, Troy; 248-740-1400.

Venetian Plaster Co., Oakland Township; 313-378-2823.

At Michigan Design Center, Troy:

Kravet/Lee Jofa/Brunschwig & Fils; 248-649-3020.

Pindler & Pindler Inc.; 248-649-6030.

Sarreid Ltd., through RJ Thomas Ltd.; 248-822-1300.

Arteriors, Amy Howard, and Hickory Chair, through Robert Allen-Beacon Hill Showroom; 248-643-0707.

Fabricut, through Marie-Howard Showroom; 248-649-3222.

Cowtan & Tout, through Rozmallin; 248-643-8828.

Visual Comfort, at Henredon Interior Design Showroom; 248-643-6264.

 

Photographs by Beth Singer // Floral styling: Flowers by Gabrielle, Grosse Pointe Park


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