DREAM WEAVER
Elle Decor US|October 2022
For a Silicon Valley couple who craved a home with soul— and space for their four young children—Frances Merrill delivers warmth and whimsy.
STACIE STUKIN
DREAM WEAVER

Frances Merrill likes a challenge. So when her clients, a couple with four children, purchased a three-bedroom, 1929 Tudor-style home in the Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside, California, that sorely needed an overhaul, she couldn't resist. For Merrill-the Los Angeles-based founder of Reath Design who is known for her predilection for vibrant colors and for mixing patterns-it helped that her clients' purchase had charming, redwood-beamed ceilings and an enchanting cedar shake roof, among other details, and wasn't one of the soulless, newly built McMansions endemic to the area.

"I love the idea that they bought something impractical that had an innate history because they found it more interesting," says Merrill. The family wanted a house with authentic character and quirks that reflected the joyful chaos of their family life. Merrill compares her work to cooking, and for a project that required lots of reconfigurations, she went about gathering the ingredients for a family-friendly recipe with an elegant, muted palette inspired by the lovingly tended garden left behind by the previous owners. Merrill set out to bring that magic inside: "The blues, watery greens, and pale purples of the garden felt fresh, especially with all the browns of the wood in the house."

この記事は Elle Decor US の October 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Elle Decor US の October 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

ELLE DECOR USのその他の記事すべて表示
MORE, PLEASE
Elle Decor US

MORE, PLEASE

Eric Hughes joins forces with Standard Architecture to transform two neighboring homes into a sprawling family compound.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
SIZED TO FIT
Elle Decor US

SIZED TO FIT

Designer Nannette Brown reimagines a new-build apartment with unexpected depth, character, and texture.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
Play It Cool
Elle Decor US

Play It Cool

In balmy Texas, Ashe Leandro brings urbane style and a chill vibe to a home in a historic district.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
Mic Drop
Elle Decor US

Mic Drop

For former talk radio star Tom Joyner, Studio Roda creates an oceanfront pleasure pad with out-of-sight views and disco-era glamour.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
EYE IN THE SKY
Elle Decor US

EYE IN THE SKY

How do you cozy up a Manhattan high-rise? Call designers Hendricks Churchill.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
THE JOY OF KØKKEN
Elle Decor US

THE JOY OF KØKKEN

In Brooklyn, a writer transforms her kitchen into a space of warmth and connection, blending personal memories with Scandinavian design.

time-read
3 分  |
November 2024
CURTAIN RAISER
Elle Decor US

CURTAIN RAISER

ELLE DECOR partners with designers Christine and John Gachot to refresh an iconic lounge at a New York institution, the Metropolitan Opera House.

time-read
2 分  |
November 2024
The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.
Elle Decor US

The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.

Is it possible to simultaneously go back in time and leap forward? This was the challenge a couple set for themselves upon purchasing a salmon-pink 1869 house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Longfellow House, the National Historic Site that served as George Washington's headquarters during the revolution. We loved all the beautiful old details of this house, the homeowner says.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?
Elle Decor US

Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?

It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
Elle Decor US

And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.

If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.

time-read
3 分  |
September 2024