Cate Dunning and Lathem Gordon of GordonDunning, a Georgia interior design firm, were hired to renovate this five bedroom, three bathroom, 3500-square-foot house in the Palisades. We asked Dunning and Gordon to walk us through the eye-catching space.
Bold color seems to be central to your vision for this home, like the red velvet chairs and the royal blue island.
The clients are bold, effervescent people, so it seemed fitting that their home should reflect that. Layering unexpected pattern and color was a central theme to the project. The equestrian judging chairs (with the pattern fabric on the seat in the living room) were one of their treasured items, and we designed custom cushions to accent their already interesting shape. The bold red chairs are actually upholstered in a performance silk velvet, making them as durable as they are chic. The island was something the family really wanted [in order] to accommodate daily life but also impromptu wine nights with friends, and we had to work to squeeze the inches out of the renovation to make it happen. The bold blue was the icing on the cake.
What is your favorite type of tile in the house?
It’s hard to beat a classic marble basketweave, and we love how it grounds the primary bathroom.
Did you have any considerations when it came to maximizing natural light?
We were careful not to “overtreat” any windows in the home. Where privacy and light control were paramount, we sought to incorporate treatments with the simplest forms while maximizing the impact of color and pattern. The reading nook is a special little space that we squeezed out of a corner of the primary bedroom. The wife is a romance novelist. The whole family is composed of avid readers. There are two dogs that can snuggle into the integrated crates or overlook the backyard to keep an eye on the squirrels. It seemed important to be able to flood this space with light and embrace the view. The kitchen overlooks the neighborhood’s epic sledding hill, and this contributed to the scale and placement of the giant window over the sink as well as the range hood being positioned in front of a window.
What’s your favorite wallpaper that you put in the house?
How do you choose between the rhinos and the punchy green dining room paper?
Do you have any tips for making a room look bigger?
There is not a one size fits all solution, because many solutions can help a space feel bigger. Hanging draperies just below the crown instead of just above the window casing makes a tremendous difference. Cloaking a room—walls, trim, and ceiling—all in the same hue really expands a space.
Please complete the following sentence: All great light fixtures must have _______.
A dimmer.
