Colonial Revival Home Blends Traditional & Modern Style

“Our Halloween parties tend to be our most elaborate,” McIntosh says. “In years past, we assembled a scene from The Wizard of Oz and had a pair of 20-foot witch’s legs stretching out from beneath the house. We also did a Scooby Doo theme complete with a 30-foot Mystery Machine. Our Christmas celebrations vary from year to year, but you can count on there being at least one large cocktail party and a few formal sit-down dinners. Thematically, those tend to be more traditional, but there is always a little twist!”

“Traditional with a twist” might be the perfect adage to describe the couple’s holiday hosting style, but it is also a spot-on description of their home. Located on a tree-lined street on a prominent corner lot, the Colonial Revival–style home was built in the 1920s and only had three previous owners in its lifetime. When they decided to put their own stamp on the place, they enlisted architect Hance Day Hughes and interior designers Cindy and Bridget Tiek of TIEK BYDAY to ensure that the updates and additions would feel seamless.

“The design goal was to turn a century-old structure into a modern, functional home with very minimal or no visible transitions,” McIntosh says. “I made it clear that under no certain terms could there be a step up, a step down, or any other obvious flooring transitions to ensure an easy flow for optimal entertaining.”

Hughes reconfigured the original footprint to create a circular flow between a living area, a great hall adjacent to the dining room, and a chef’s kitchen that allows the catering and waitstaff to remain behind the scenes during parties while prepping food and washing dishes. To keep these modern spaces tethered to their storied past, he integrated classic architectural features, including paneled walls, coffered ceilings, arched cased openings, and white oak herringbone floors among other custom milled details.

For the furnishings, Tiek and Tiek sprinkled a handful of patinaed antiques and quirky vintage finds into the mix for a hint of grit against the glamorous backdrop formed by marble tiles and slabs, lacquered walls, and streamlined cabinetry. Contemporary tables and case pieces fabricated from warm woods, heavy metals such as iron and brass, and other hardy materials anchor clean-lined upholstery in soft, luxurious fabrics such as velvet and mohair. To tie these disparate provenances, styles, and textures together, the mother-daughter design duo compiled a color scheme of slightly off-blacks and whites, grays, blues, and greens of almost every hue.