Text: Sherry Moeller
Photos: Gordon Gregory
Styling: Page Mullins
A spicy, cranberry pink hue greets guests at the front door and continues into other spaces, such as the dining room, taking color up a notch in this 1930s Colonial in Richmond, Virginia. “The pink color draws you through the house,” says Elly Poston Cooper, principal of Elly Poston Interiors. “It’s a happy, unexpected color,” also used on the staircase handrail.
In the design presentation meeting with the homeowners, who, along with their two young daughters, had just returned to Richmond after a stint in Nashville, the couple expressed that they were open to more color, if it worked. Cooper took that to heart and amped up the already colorful decor she proposed. “We didn’t change much but scaled up the color and were bolder with how we used it,” she adds. Because of the smaller scale of the Richmond home compared to the owners’ Nashville residence, most furnishings are new and scale appropriate.
“The house lives large, even though the rooms are more historically proportioned and small,” says Cooper. Starting fresh allowed the designer to introduce the colors requested, such as yellow, the wife’s favorite, as well as blues and pinks. Bringing in some patina with older pieces gives the house more soul and prevents it from feeling too new. “Adding a second archway to the living room and converting the laundry room to a butler’s pantry are the biggest heroes of this project,” Cooper says.
With coordinating arched openings, the living room now acts as a pass-through to many areas of the first floor and feels brighter with the new whole-house lighting plan and bonus sight lines into other rooms and the outdoors. “There’s a full loop of entertaining flow now,” says the designer. “A goal is always to maximize function through design,” she adds, as well as to make rooms feel collected and special with a mix of vintage and modern decor. “The owners are surprised by how much they use the living room now.”
The dining room with existing corner cupboard is painted in the cohesive cranberry pink hue, while pineapple-patterned window treatments and a wall mirror make the space read larger. To freshen up the kitchen, the perimeter cabinets are painted in a warmer white, and the island is finished in a colonial blue that carries into the butler’s pantry. “What I think about when decorating spaces is the storytelling aspect, which is so important to me,” says Cooper.
“I consider the different ways and the time of day the rooms are going to be used. It makes it easier to design thoughtfully.” For instance, when updating the office space, she incorporated two desks, which are used both for the daughters to do homework and for the husband and wife to work and take business calls. The Dutch door into the adjacent den provides privacy as needed. The snug den is dual-purpose, too, as a getaway space and a family movie night spot with its wall-to-wall sofa and matching chair. Yellow roman
shades complement the fabric in the furnishings, while deep blue walls envelop the room. Art by mostly regional artists, as well as displays of the children’s art, personalize each room. “Everything’s better grouped in a collection,” Cooper adds.
One of the last spaces designed, but also one of the more rewarding ones, was the primary bedroom. “The chalky blue wallpaper is more traditional than the owners expected but feels appropriate for Richmond,” the designer says. Monogrammed bedding, a narrow bench, and contemporary lamps balance the bedroom, making it less formal.
“The clients wanted spaces that packed a punch for entertaining a group but that also could be enjoyed by their young girls and their friends,” says Cooper. “By incorporating classic pinks, blues, and yellows into the design in a sophisticated way, the house feels like a reflection of them.”
