From House To Home

Two sets of box bay windows frame the interior rectangle spaces as well as the idyllic view to the backyard, where a raised terrace is bordered with the blooms of trailing gardenias. Placed on either side of double French doors, they create symmetry both inside and out and look as though they’ve always been there. The style is decidedly French provincial, and the feel is clearly warm and inviting.

“I was never pleased with the size of this room, and I worked for five years on the plan to enlarge the space without making it look like an addition,” says homeowner and designer Stuart Walston. He and his wife, Starlette, built their European-style home 12 years ago and recently put the finishing touches on the redesigned spaces without losing sight of their original vision for a home that is casual and comfortable.

Growing up in the business (he took over the interior design firm Stuart Walston Inc. that his father had started 50 years ago), Stuart fine-tuned his personal aesthetic. Starlette was in complete agreement, describing her dream home as “relaxed and welcoming—nothing fancy or done up.” True to taste, the charmingly grand home maintains a rustic, old-world feel with touches of the South of France sprinkled throughout. For the renovation, Stuart took on the design phase and then turned to staff designers Brad Parris and Kristi Misback to help with interiors.

The family room was doubled in size with the addition of 20 feet, and a new master suite occupies the second-floor space above. The den’s original coffered ceiling was replaced with glazed beams to create continuity overhead, and the fireplace mantel from the living room was swapped with the one in the family room. Here, the gas fireplace reflects European design with the slanted firebox that is set back in.

Opposite the French doors, a wet bar was added. Red oak cabinetry echoes the rustic kitchen, and a half-door was custom-made to match the others in the house. Stuart repurposed a number of antique finds, using a scrolled gate to frame the entrance of the wet bar and refashioning another old iron gate as the coffee table.

In another seating area, four red-and-white-checked chairs sit around a card table that was made by Stuart’s father. The legs are wrapped in needlepoint, and a needlepoint chessboard at the center is protected by a glass top. Close by stands a tall lamp that was once a floor candlestand.

Plaids, checks, and small prints imbue the rooms with French country elegance.

“We moved the furniture that was in the den to the living room,” explains Stuart. “And we added the wall panels and painted the room with three shades of blue.” The subtle glazed finish adds warmth to the space that showcases a collection of art. “There is nothing formal here: a French wing chair, the piano, a hand-painted shutter that we found in Charleston, and an old chandelier that came from my parents’ home.”

On the second level, the new master suite and the daughters’ bedrooms were layered in beautiful fabrics and a muted palette of celery, blue, yellow, and coral. Plaids, checks, and small prints imbue the rooms with French country elegance.

Parris remarks, “The house always had that French feeling and reflected it before the furnishings. They have so many pieces that they’ve found on their travels that bring so much personality. It’s been a 12-year process; the soft, casual feel that evolved fits their lifestyle. It’s enjoyable.”