GordonDunning Completes Small but Impactful Renovation

The clients had lived in the home for a while, and because it was originally built in the ’90s, the datedness was really starting to show in some spots. What started as a plan to redecorate the dining and living spaces as well as renovate the primary bath quickly became a larger scope when Dunning and Gordon walked in.

The designers knew that to fully update the home and create the best backdrop for their decoration plan—one that included beautiful antiques and pieces to become new family heirlooms—it would take more than some new furniture to achieve. Given the spaces were relatively small, they realized walls and storage needed to be added, and the formal living room had to be rethought.

The scope quickly evolved into adding on a powder room renovation, redesigning the entry, and changing all sorts of walls, millwork, lighting, and trim work in each space.

Aesthetically the clients wanted it to feel like a layered, designer, adult home and had come with few treasured items, with the exception of their china. Part of the fun for Dunning and Gordon was trying to find the just right vintage and antique pieces that, hopefully, would be passed along for generations to come. Some of these pieces include a beautiful antique French chest procured from Huff Harrington, a print from Nostalgia Fine Art, and bamboo chairs sourced from Scott Antique Markets and recovered in a deep rust mohair.

An antique French secretary from Chairish was chosen to act as a secondary workspace with the flip of a door. The dining table is new, but from New Orleans maker Doorman. Traditionalists and Southerners at heart, they all wanted to support a company that is making the treasures that will be passed down over the years without being stuffy.

The clients hadn’t been using the front formal living room whatsoever, so Dunning and Gordon decided to transform it into a cocktail room, the perfect pre-dinner drinks spot to gather. They designed a dual dividing wall/casing between the cocktail room and the dining room for flow and function—it now displays the client’s beloved china, holloware, and other treasures in the dining room, and on the flip side are books, small collections, and a bar.

For the primary bath, the designers created a wet room, eliminating a very strange layout with a corner tub and tiny shower. They brought in a sleek tub and a much larger shower, taking the glass to the ceiling to keep the warmth. In the powder room, they made use of the teeny space with a floating marble sink and a fabulous Ann Jackson blue fish wallpaper.

The relatively small but impactful renovation was just what the clients needed, adding real architecture to the home, which is now furnished with pieces that felt like the young professionals and young family that they are.

“It’s truly incredible what a few minor architectural changes can do for the function and aesthetic of a space. Adding the dual-sided walls between the dining room and cocktail room completely transformed how these spaces work for the clients. Paired with the addition of millwork, the rooms became an elevated entertaining space instead of a forgotten ‘walkthrough’ series of rooms,” says Lathem Gordon.