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MAR/APR 2017 DISPLAY UNTIL 05/08/17 INTERIOR DESIGN / PALOMA CONTRERAS, PALOMA CONTRERAS DESIGN

CUE THE CONTRAST A DESIGN-SAVVY HOMEOWNER LOOKS FOR OUTSIDE GUIDANCE TO GIVE HER KATY HOUSE A MODERN EDGE.

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER SERGENT / PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAX BURKHALTER A chest from Area anchors this Katy home’s foyer, which showcases artworks the owners collected from the Marburger Farm Antique Show and pieces by C. Gregory Gummersall and Daniel Long, both from Artful Sol Gallery in Vail, Colorado. Chairs from Memorial Antiques & Interiors wear Schumacher fabric. The Aerin lamp and John Rosselli pendant are from Visual Comfort & Co.

he house was already very pretty, but there was a disconnect between what was there and how the client wanted her home to look and feel,” says designer Paloma Contreras, referring to the Katy residence of Lori and David Underwood Tand their two children. A design enthusiast herself, Lori was a longtime follower of Contreras’ widely read design blog and knew the Houston professional would be the right fit to help achieve the look she desired. “I wanted someone with a similar style who could take it to the next level and challenge me to make bolder decisions,” the wife says. Lori had worked with the design-build firm Partners in Building to distinguish the home’s architecture and interior layout, incorporating elements such as white stucco siding and a beamed cathedral ceiling in the great room, but she stopped short of fully realizing the interior design. Then, three years after the family moved in, “I had a fire sale on all of my old things and hired Paloma,” she says. Contreras credits her client’s great sense of style for providing a clear idea of the design vision: a high-contrasting black-and-white palette punctuated by graphic patterns, gold accents and modern yet sophisticated finishes. The first order of business was the master suite. “Since becoming a mom, I have never completed a master bedroom for my husband and me,” Lori says. “It was always at the bottom of my list.” Contreras gave the couple’s room top billing with a geometric rug by David Hicks, one of Lori’s favorite design icons, and hung two black-and-white Above: In the great room, designer Paloma Contreras introduced a Celerie Kemble for Henredon coffee table, purchased from Bunch & Shoemaker, which tops a custom rug from Rug Mart. Kelly Wearstler’s Pop bowl adds a visual punch.

Left: Contreras outfitted the great room with Mr. & Mrs. Howard for Sherrill Furniture consoles, Thomas O’Brien for Visual Comfort & Co. lamps, footstools from Memorial Antiques & Interiors in Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks Channels fabric from Lee Jofa and—atop white linen Verellen sofas—Scalamandre velvet-clad pillows fabricated by L’Atelier The Workshop. The Jonathan Browning Studios chandelier is from David Sutherland. In the dining room, Contreras paired a Karina Gentinetta painting with draperies in Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks Channels fabric from Lee Jofa. A chair in Schumacher fabric with Samuel & Sons trim from Culp Associates tops a rug from Creative Flooring. Designer Ashley Wetzel of Ashley Wetzel Design had previously selected the York Wallcoverings grass-cloth wallpaper from Design House.

paintings—among many the wife had accumulated over the designer once again mined Lori’s collection of black- time—above chests flanking the bed. “With the white walls, and-white paintings, this time placing a series of small works The dining room’s custom we needed something to ground the room,” Contreras over a chest in the foyer. And in what she calls a “lightbulb hostess chairs mingle with Suzanne Kasler’s Amsterdam explains. “Because everything else is modern, I also thought moment,” she brought a larger work from the family room side chairs for Hickory Chair in it would be nice to layer in a neoclassical shape using into the dining room to complement the Kelly Wearstler for Schumacher velvet, surrounding a table from Vieux Interiors. traditional chests as bedside tables.” As a dramatic gesture Groundworks Channels material selected for the draperies. Thomas O’Brien’s Elizabeth in the adjoining master bathroom, the designer used black- “This fabric is similar to the wall tile in the master bathroom,” chandelier speaks to the Aerin and-white mosaic marble on the tub wall, which plays off Contreras points out. “This is our unexpected moment.” lamps—both from collections for Visual Comfort & Co.—on a the adjacent room’s David Hicks rug while also dressing As a bonus, there was enough leftover drapery material Century buffet custom-painted up the area’s otherwise plain windows. to cover three footstools in the neighboring great room, by Sheema Muneer. The vintage Downstairs—where the open floor plan’s foyer, dining which adds another element of continuity. mirror is from Kuhl-Linscomb. room and great room are all in view of each other—the In the towering great room, Contreras continued to goal was to create a cohesive look. “We wanted each room amplify the home’s drama with rigorous symmetry. The roof to feel distinctive and special on its own, but we also knew line and fireplace create a dividing line between identical each space opens to the others—which meant they needed 9-foot-long white sofas, gilt-trimmed consoles topped with to tell a story and share a color palette,” Contreras says. To bronze-and-brass lamps, antique mirrors purchased on create a consistent scheme in the foyer and dining room, New Orleans’ Magazine Street and charcoal-velvet club chairs. The breakfast room features Roman shades in Lee Jofa linen trimmed with Schumacher banding. Arteriors’ Zanadoo chandelier lights a Knoll Saarinen dining table from AllModern, with chairs from Found. The kitchen rug is from Creative Flooring, and the cabinetry hardware is Sugatsune.

Above: Aerin for Visual Comfort & Co. pendants crown a kitchen island featuring Statuary marble from Cangelosi; the Kohler faucet is from Ferguson. C.A. Custom Design & Upholstery covered Lee Industries barstools—from Pizitz Home & Cottage in Seaside, Florida—in Nassimi vinyl. In the adjoining breakfast room, art by Bonnie Fuchs is also from Pizitz Home & Cottage.

Left: Benjamin Moore’s Harbor Gray coats the custom kitchen cabinetry by J-Kraft and complements the Statuary marble countertops and backsplash Wetzel helped the homeowners select. Left: Lamps from the homeowners’ collection top a custom console in the den. Art is by Michelle Y Williams from Area, and custom ottomans with brass nailheads wear Schumacher Gainsborough velvet.

Opposite: The den houses a custom-size New Yorker slipcovered chaise sectional by Quatrine, which holds custom pillows fabricated by L’Atelier The Workshop.

“THE DEN NEEDED TO REFLECT THE HOME’S OVERALL VIBE AND AESTHETIC BUT ALSO BE COZY AND DURABLE.” –PALOMA CONTRERAS Opposite: Contreras embraced color on the walls of a child’s room with Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue. The desk lamp is by Thomas O’Brien for Visual Comfort & Co.

Below: A white West Elm Parsons desk holds a Jonathan Adler bud vase in the child’s room. The framed art is from Wendover Art Group in Largo, Florida. Right: Tile from Mission Stone & Tile in Nashville covers a wall of the master bathroom, where Calacatta marble appears on the flooring from International Granite and Marble and on the countertops from Texas Custom Granite. A Visual Comfort & Co. chandelier overlooks a Victoria + Albert tub with Kohler fixtures from Ferguson, accented by a table from Memorial Antiques & Interiors. Lone Star Glass custom-antiqued the mirror.

Opposite, top: In the master bedroom, a Modern History chest mixes with a Suzanne Kasler for Visual Comfort & Co. lamp, art from Memorial Antiques & Interiors, a custom headboard covered in Schumacher velvet and Williams Sonoma Home bedding.

Opposite, bottom: A David Hicks rug from Creative Flooring inspired the look of the master bedroom, which is home to a Lawson-Fenning lounge chair and an Aerin for Visual Comfort & Co. floor lamp. G&S Custom Draperies used silk-taffeta from High Fashion Home to fabricate the draperies.

At the center of the room, an oversize glass-and-brass coffee table speaks to an equally large brass chandelier hanging above. “We needed to beef up everything to make it work in the large scale of that room,” the designer explains. Contreras opted for a more intimate setting in the den, making it the only public area that doesn’t showcase the black-and-white palette established elsewhere. Instead, she based the color scheme on a large charcoal gray sectional Lori had custom-made, while a colorful abstract painting from Lori’s collection serves as an equally compelling focal point on a wall. The designer punctuated the space with a white Eames lounge chair and ottoman, items the wife had always coveted. An organic coffee table made from a tree trunk in Mexico balances the white-lacquer console and blue-velvet ottomans behind the sectional. “The space needed to reflect the home’s overall vibe and aesthetic,” Contreras says, “but also feel cozy with durable fabrics that stand up to heavy use.” As Contreras proceeded from one room to the next until completing the home’s interior design, her client found comfort in the certainty of the designer’s choices. “She doesn’t waver, and that’s something I’ve always struggled with,” Lori says. “At first, my friends didn’t understand why I hired a designer; they said, ‘You can do this yourself!’ But it’s the best decision I ever made.”