Step inside the colonial home of Marc and Eileen Weller and see a soothing world of harmonious greens and blues. Set in an idyllic community in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the home’s location is a dream come true. “I love where we live,” declares Eileen Weller. “In fact, this is our fourth house in the neighborhood. We’re able to walk everywhere, get on the Capital Crescent Trail for a hike or bike ride, and access the highway in minutes.” With five children ages 4 to 11 (four boys and one girl), this family is active in every sense of the word and needed a home base that would suit their lifestyle.
The Wellers, who turned a hobby of flipping houses into a successful business in the early 2000s, partnered with interior designer Kelley Proxmire of Kelley Interior Design to achieve their ideal home. Weller met Proxmire while working together on the DC Design House, a fund-raiser for Children’s National Hospital in Washington. She had long admired the work of the Bethesda, Maryland–based designer, who had created more than 24 show houses over the past 15 years. Weller adds, “With our lives getting busier and busier, I was having a hard time trying to plan and execute my ideas and vision, so I hired Kelley. I loved her work and knew she would be comfortable with me being somewhat involved.”
The goal for the Weller home was simple: a house that was family friendly and livable. From the start, Proxmire, known for her play with color, encouraged the Wellers to go with a more sportive palette. “All of my other homes were very neutral,” says Weller, “and I agreed with Kelley that it would be fun this time to brighten things and mix everything up.”
The overall color scheme was soft in hue, but the designer gradually introduced deeper shades throughout the home. “We started in the foyer with light-blue wallpaper and painted the banisters white with navy blue posts and railing instead of black,” says Proxmire. The other rooms ranged from lighter blues and pale greens to medium tones, and even to the dark navy found in the family room and study.
For the Wellers, the shift from all neutrals to an unexpected mix of blues and greens captures the bright, comfortable atmosphere they wanted yet still feels quite sophisticated. Proxmire, known as the skillful color mixologist, says, “Looking from the dining room, through to the foyer, and on to the living room— there’s a flow of colors that don’t match but they harmonize.” And this same harmony exists among all the furnishings, fabrics, artwork, and accent pieces throughout the home.
Though all the rooms are special, the deep-blue family room features framed photos that commemorate the family’s heritage. Weller’s father immigrated to the United States from Ireland when he was 19 years old. “He left the farm he worked on, telling the owner he was going to New York where the streets were paved in gold,” she says.” He indeed made his fortune and returned to his homeland a few years later to buy that same farm. Today Weller’s brothers still run the farm, dubbed Ballinaroone Estates, in County Waterford. The Wellers visit the farm as much as possible.
They commissioned a local painter, Martha Spak, to do a piece for them that was inspired by a scene they often view of the sun escaping into the clouds in Kinsale, Ireland. Weller adds that the same greens and blues in this painting are now seen throughout her home, giving a nod to her father and filling her with a sense of peace.
“I guess you really can say it all starts at home,” says Weller. “I know it did for me, and we want the same for our children. We want our home to be a safe haven filled with love, security, and joy.”
Find more photos of this beautiful design in our Spring 2016 issue.
