They wanted a house where everyone could feel at home. A place where their expanding family would always want to gather for birthdays, baby showers, holidays, and any kind of celebration.
“When I first met the couple, who were retired and traveled a lot, they had just broken ground on their new home,” says Birmingham designer Katie Rodriguez. The husband and wife, who also owned a home in northwest Michigan and a condo in Florida, were transitioning from a very traditional house in Troy. They wanted this one, a 7,000-square-foot house near Quarton Lake, to be completely different from all the others, with a modern, open plan, beautiful finishes, and each room flowing seamlessly into the next.
“We started the project six years ago,” the husband recalls. “It was a tag-team effort.”
“Their daughter completed a design degree while we were in the process of building the house,” Rodriguez says, noting she was able to help her parents make decisions as they were presented by Rodriguez, Joseph Mosey Architecture, and Brandywine Construction. The homeowners fell in love with the Montana stone exterior they saw elsewhere, and Rodriguez helped them integrate that with the rest of the exterior building materials (roof, windows, brick, and paint).
“The important part was that the whole house should be integrated,” says the husband.
To make sure everything functioned and flowed together, Rodriguez started with the cabinetry in the kitchen, which was finished in a glazed taupe with pared-down moldings, so as not to be too busy. Plumbing fixtures and countertops were next. Then she laid out the wood flooring, a rich medium-brown oak that runs through most of the house.
“I wanted it all to connect,” the designer says. As for the finishes, Rodriguez really pulled them off, to her clients’ delight; they exude all the richness and warmth the couple was after.
In the kitchen, the beveled 3-inch by 6-inch marble backsplash above the Caesarstone quartz countertops creates a 3-D effect similar to a wood grain. To add even more texture, Rodriguez used a leathered granite for the island countertop.
“(THE DINING ROOM) REMINDS ME OF OPENING A TIFFANY JEWELRY BOX.”
— KATIE RODRIGUEZ
Flowing off the kitchen is the family room, with elegant chairs and sofas that are long and ample enough to lie on while watching TV or gazing at the fireplace. Orange ottomans offer lively pops of color amid a subdued palette of blues, grays, and taupe, and two rounded commode tables with storage inside, topped with rounded lamps, break up the hard angles of the room.
The family room leads into the breakfast nook, with a stunning rounded ceiling above its entryway and a chandelier positioned over a round table. While noshing on breakfast, the couple enjoys a view of lush landscaping and a lap pool.
There’s another drop-dead gorgeous feasting area, the formal dining room, with a floor-to-ceiling Quartzite Bianco Parana Honed fireplace, two chandeliers, and wallpaper with a pearlescent finish. The ceiling is hand-painted with a Champagne silver leaf finish for extra depth. “It reminds me of opening a Tiffany jewelry box,” Rodriguez says.
The couple, who loves to entertain, has a great wine collection and an even greater wine room that can hold 700 bottles. The handsome space can be viewed from a beveled window in the lower-level den, which features a TV-topped leathered-granite fireplace. “It’s my favorite part of the house,” the husband says. A nearly-life-size Terracotta Warrior the owner bought on one of his many business trips to China acts as a sentry.
Upstairs, their daughters’ bedrooms got the “Rodriguez treatment”; one room has herringbone wood-grain veneered walls that have been given a luminescent wash. Rodriguez says she loves to mix new things with old, and in this case she paired a beloved green velvet settee that had been passed down from a grandmother with two new purple velvet ottomans. “I love it when something has a memory of the past,” Rodriguez says.
Another daughter’s tastes are more modern, so Rodriguez went with whites, taupes, charcoals, and many textures, including a chain chandelier that graces the ceiling, for that bedroom.
Rodriguez used gorgeous lighting throughout the house, including in the powder room and master bath, to accentuate the luxe wallpapers in each.
The husband says this is definitely his favorite home of any the couple owns. “It’s absolutely beautiful — and at night it’s even more magical, (because) it kind of glows like a gem.”
Buyer’s Guide
INTERIOR DESIGNER
Katie Rodriguez, Katie Rodriguez Design, Birmingham, katierodriguezdesign.com
BATHROOM, POWDER ROOM
Cabinetry – Cole and Co., Herald Wholesale, Troy
Mirror – Custom, The Art of Custom Framing, Troy, And Birmingham Glass And Mirror, Royal Oak
Sconces – Fine Art, Lighting Resources Studio, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Sink – Native Trails, Herald Wholesale, Troy
Wall Treatment – Thibaut, Duralee (Rozmallin), Michigan Design Center, Troy
BEDROOM
Bed – Vanguard, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Bedding – Restoration Hardware
Bedside Chests – Vanguard, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Chandelier – Crystorama, Lighting Resource Studio, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Drapery – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Loveseat – Family Collection, Heirloom
Ottoman – Vanguard, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Rug – Antrim, Hagopian, Birmingham
Table, Occasional – Bernhardt, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Throw Blanket – Restoration Hardware
Wall Treatment – YORK, Duralee (Rozmallin)
Window Shades – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
BREAKFAST NOOK
Chandeliers – Eurofas, Lighting Resource Studio, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Table and Chairs – Hickory Chair, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Modern Gray 7632
Window Shades – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
DINING ROOM
Chandelier – Swarovski, Lighting Resource Studio, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Chairs – Marge Carson, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Rug – Due Process, Hagopian, Birmingham
Table – Century, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Wall Treatment – YORK, Duralee (Rozmallin), Michigan Design Center, Troy
Window Shades and Drapery – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
FAMILY ROOM
Accent Pillows – Custom, Pillows By Design, Grand Rapids
Armchairs – Century, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Ceiling Design – Joseph Mosey Architecture, Northville
Coffee Table – Henredon, Hickory Chair, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Drapery – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Fireplace – Custom Limestone Designed By Katie Rodriguez, Birmingham, Procured By Brandywine Construction, Birmingham, Work Completed By Atlas Cut Stone, Oak Park
Lamps – Currey And Co., RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Rug – KALATY, Hagopian, Birmingham
Sofas – Vanguard, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Tables, End – Century, RJ Thomas Ltd., Michigan Design Center, Troy
Wall Paint, Fireplace – Sherwin-Williams, Modern Gray 7632
Window Shades – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
KITCHEN
Cabinetry – Custom Cabinets, Design Ideology, Rochester
Chandelier – Savoy House, Lighting Resource Studio, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Countertop – Ciot, Troy
Sink – Elkay, Herald Wholesale, Troy
Stools – Henredon, Hickory Chair, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Stove – Wolf
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Modern Gray 7632
Window Shades – Custom, Decoroom, Michigan Design Center, Troy
WINE STORAGE
Cabinetry – Custom Cabinet, Design Ideology, Rochester
Flooring – VALENTINO Porcelain Tile, Cercan, Michigan Design Center, Troy
Wall Treatment – Montana Stone, Procured By Brandywine Construction, Birmingham
Double Doors – Cherry Doors, Procured By Brandywine Construction, Birmingham
EXTERIOR
Architect – Joseph Mosey Architecture, Northville
Builder – Brandywine Construction, Birmingham
Building Materials – Brick: Fort Mills; Stone: Montana Stone; Roof: Gaf Woodland, Woodbery Brown; Paint Trim: Sherwin-Williams, Well-Bred Brown 7027, Siding: Sherwin-Williams, Studio Taupe 7549
Landscaping – Twin Pines, Troy
Windows – Pella, Bronze
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