WATERCOLOR DREAMS

A PAINTERLY FLORAL FABRIC INSPIRES A NEUTRAL PALETTE INFUSED WITH SOFT COLOR IN A READING TOWNHOUSE.

- Marni Elyse Katz

INITIALLY, THE OWNERS OF THIS NEW CONSTRUCTION townhouse in Reading, recently married empty nesters who work in tech, set about populating their just-purchased home on their own. It wasn’t long, however, before they brought in Christine Tuttle. “They were buying things piecemeal that weren’t making sense together,” the designer says. “They realized they needed a professional eye to hone the concept.” That Tuttle streamline their acquisitions was important because neither wanted a cluttered home. “The first floor is a long, open room, running from the dining room in the front to the living room in the back,” Tuttle says. “Everything needed to be cohesive.”

Furnishings also needed to be flexible. “Between them they have five kids in their 20s who all have significant others, so they needed to seat 12 comfortably,” Tuttle explains. Her design should be cozy for two and accommodate everyone during the holidays.

As for aesthetics, Tuttle says, “They were drowning in a sea of beige.” Tuttle painted the walls in Benjamin Moore’s Edgecomb Gray and devised a light, neutral color palette accented with soft, watery hues. “I pulled colors from the wife’s wardrobe—teal and rose,” Tuttle says. “They both love washed-out colors.”