Fresh Start – Worldly and Whimsical

When you know you want a certain look for your home, it’s often about starting fresh and pinpointing your personal style. That was the case for a Northville family who worked with Cloth & Kind, an Ann Arbor-based interior design firm owned by Krista Nye Nicholas and Tami Ramsay.

“Our clients didn’t bring a whole lot with them. They wanted a warm, inviting, and cozy feeling,” says Nicholas, whose design studio is 11 years old and includes a 5-year-old showroom of highly curated, artisanal textile and wallcovering lines from around the world.

“They didn’t want what everyone had, which was neutrals and grays and tone-on-tone. They wanted more color and unique applications,” Nicholas says. The couple also knew that when you’re building a dream home, it’s a good time to figure out your design aesthetic.

The clients’ house was originally intended for the home’s builder, but he decided to sell it to the Northville family. With two daughters, the new homeowners wanted more family space and a theater, a game room, and a backyard with options for entertaining.

Nicholas and the team, including Guidobono Building Co. of Northville, made many interior architectural changes, most of which involved removing existing details like half-walls, tray ceilings, and interior columns.

The kitchen, for example, was open to the family room, but it was visually separated by curved half-walls and curved ceiling details. A new ceiling treatment features the addition of hand-hewn wood beams, and the charming banquette’s built-in bench makes use of the tall windows as frames for custom upholstered backrests. “It’s one of the family’s most popular places to lounge and hang out,” Nicholas says.

The designer was glad the clients were game for the kitchen’s wood upper cabinets and their rough-sawn finish. “They hadn’t seen anything like that,” Nicholas says. The island has the same wood finish, while a custom hood and wall tile with a beautiful diamond-relief pattern make the gathering spot special. “It’s my favorite kitchen of all the kitchens we’ve done,” Nicholas says.

A deep tray ceiling was reworked in the primary bedroom to include pecky cypress, finished with a soft wash to mellow the tone while still allowing its warmth to come through.

Cool tones add drama in the office, which is bathed in deep gray-blues. “We knew that our clients weren’t afraid of dark colors,” Nicholas explains. “Guidobono, who was wonderful to work with, helped source some great custom elements that we came up with, like the office’s live-edge floating desk.”

The firm’s signature design philosophy — which typically evokes age, charm, tradition, whimsy, warmth, detail, and worldliness — is evident throughout the home.

Nicholas’ passion and global aesthetic likely stem from the time she lived in India with her family when she was in third grade, while Ramsay’s passion comes from her days traveling and living in Argentina. “Spending time in India is where my love of color, pattern, and patina come from,” Nicholas says. “We like things that aren’t so new and precious.” The two designers source from the world over, including Europe, Africa, and India. When they travel, they intentionally look for vintage art and items with patina.

“Tami and I are also mad-passionate for details,” Nicholas asserts. She notes that an unexpected detail in the back powder room is the trim, painted in a cheerful turquoise hue. Vintage art, a customized mirror, and Katie Leede & Co. wallpaper add to the appeal.

In the primary suite, the drapery (Seema Krish’s Glitterati linen) has a gold glimmer to it. “It’s quietly elegant,” Nicholas says. She prefers to have a seating area in a primary suite and was excited that these clients truly use it. “They sit, read, or talk, and get away from the kids,” she says. A custom-designed rug overlay — featuring greens, blues, and ochers — was inspired by an antique Oushak rug. Bunny Williams Pheasant lamps are “perennial favorites of ours because of the unique sancai (tri-colored) glaze process,” says the designer.

In the primary bath, the design team selected shimmery gold tile (hand-painted, terracotta), while sheer drapery tiebacks were picked up in Morocco during Nicholas’ and Ramsay’s travels. Other mixed-in international pieces include a large antique Kuba cloth from Africa that hangs in the lower level.

The art of the mix is apparent throughout the home. Consider the second powder room, where Phillip Jeffries wallpaper, a marble Maitland- Smith mirror, and an off-center sink create a distinct look. “I fell in love with the mirror at High Point Market (North Carolina),” Nicholas says.

“It was never put into production; luckily I was able to score the sample, because I had designed the whole bathroom around it!” The live-edge counter is made by the same outfit that crafted the office desk. In the family room, a multi- bubble-motif light fixture adds eclectic appeal. “She likes the idea of something dressy and he wanted casual, so the light fixture is her and the beams are him.”

In the end, the family was thrilled to make a fresh start in the design department. “They had a melting pot of things that he had, and she had, but they had never really articulated their style together as a family,” Nicholas says. Now their home reflects not only their newfound passion for personal style and beauty, but it accommodates all their needs as a busy, fun-loving family.

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