"We were truly touched by the personal and complete attention you devoted to us in preparation and presentation. I was overwhelmed when I realized the display of lovely fabrics, trims, furniture and accessories were all for me. My joy and gratitude are still overflowing! The fabrics are all so happy, so pretty, and so well coordinated."
"As you near completion of your work, it is most important that Beverly and I let you know the finished product surpasses all of our expectations. We are very pleased with every aspect of your decorating, from furniture, to pictures, to placement of bric-a-brac and everything else."
Melanie F. - Rocky Mount, NC
Penn C. - Charlotte, NC
PRESS
NOVEL NOTIONS
An uncommon translation of traditional style allows a color-loving homeowner to highlight heirloom pieces in a fun, fresh way.
Call it rebelling against parental influence, or simply self-expression, but after taking ownership of her childhood house in 2005, May Barger, along with her husband, Carroll, and their two children, embarked on an extreme home renovation and daring redecoration.
"I wanted to claim the home as my own and give it my own flair," says May, who enlisted designer Nancy Taylor Lynch to help personalize the interiors. "My tastes are modern and eclectic, but I have some wonderful family antiques that I wanted to use. I love color and wanted it everywhere."
Fearlessly gravitating toward exuberant hues, May and Lynch transformed potentially staid, formal rooms in the traditional French-style house in Gastonia, North Caolina, into chic, youthful ones. From the outset, sassy pinks and greens energize the foyer and the heirloom pieces it houses.
"We loved that shocking pink and lime combination and it became our starting point." Lynch says, "But, it's also the mixture of old and new that makes the interiors work. Hanging May's mother's gilded mirror in the foyer and using an abstract painting behind an antique sideboard keeps the look fresh."
GRAND AMBITION
Ambition counts more than size in this modest suite. Grandeur comes to this bedroom and bath by means of a stately bed and hand-painted cornices that compliment flowing silk panels. A pretty paint scheme, fine antiques, and ornate accessories complete the look.
"Luxurious" and "dramatic" are words that come to mind when describing this Charlotte master suite. Yet the bedroom and bath started as so many do: just plain spaces with 8-foot ceilings. Ordinary wouldn't suffice for the design team of Nancy Taylor Lynch, Christi Bowen, and Olivia Morgan. The designers wanted to create the illusion of grandeur "by extending the eye vertically," Lynch says.
The first larger-than-life move was the choice of the stately dark wood bed with a burnished gold canopy. The bed's commanding presence sets a regal tone. Grand touches continue at the windows, where custom hand-painted cornices lend architectural detailing. The cornices crown lush ball-gown like drapery panels that abut the pale yellow ceiling. Painting the ceiling this surprising color helps draw the eye upward, making the ceiling appear taller.
Walls swatched in a soft robin's-egg blue team with the yellow ceiling for "a lovely and somewhat unexpected contrast that supports the bed's starring role," Lynch says. "The blue hue flows into the bath, where it shifts from paint to two wallpapers; an English floral print and tone-on-tone stripe. Ornate accessories and antique furnishings further engage the eye. "You can put a lot of luxury and interest in a small space," Lynch says.
ALIVE WITH COLOR
Energetic colors and a prized collection of dog-related antiques set off classic furniture and exquisite window treatments.
This is a region known for well-decorated houses, yet it would be a challenge to find one that speaks of Southern style more fluently than Nancy Lynch's Gastonia, North Carolina home. Nancy, an interior designer with her own firm (Nancy Taylor Lynch Interior Design), let her love of color and well-made furnishings inspire a home for herself and her husband, Mike. Her talent and enthusiasm resulted in rooms that are pretty and refined, yet without a hint of fussiness.
Even in this home filled with quality pieces and intricate details, color comes first. "I've always loved color," Nancy says. "So that immediately set the stage for the house. I want a room that lifts your spirits the moment you enter - colors that make you feel as though you are in a garden."
Florals - in careful moderation - play a role in this happy mix. Nancy balances the luscious floral patterns she favors with textures and solids in bold colors, rather than pastels. " I may showcase a particular print," she explains, "by using it on a chair or pillows versus a wall of draperies. You can get much more impact by doing that."
KITCHEN DUETS
Kitchen Design by Matthew D. Rao, CKD
Interior Design by Nancy Taylor Lynch, Allied ASID
...Another kitchen also warms the heart of its house. North Carolinian Nancy Taylor Lynch has been an interior decorator for over twenty years, but this is the first house she and her husband Michael built for themselves. "We needed space for visiting children and grandchild," she says, "and plenty of room for entertaining."
The designer understood not only the funtional purpose of each room but the way she wanted each to look. "I like to combine old and new so that the result is what I think of as 'evolved.' Now, I knew Matthew Rao of SieMatic. I asked him to help, and we complemented each other."
Roa explains the partnership. "We worked together on the kitchen of one of Nancy's clients, and we got along really well. When she was ready to do her own house, she called and said that what she had designed for it - including the kitchen - was an old-world feeling, very French."
The kitchen is bracketed on the short ends of its rectangular shape by a casual dining area and butler's pantry. "The pantry is my favorite element here," Rao says. "I saw it as and enclosed closet, framed by an arch, in the negative area under the stairway. I thought it would be a practical space for pantry storage. Nancy took it from there."
FRENCH FLAIR
Unexpected color and pattern update the classic furnishings in a cozy eat-in kitchen.
Comfort and beauty don't have to be mutually exclusive - at least when designer Nancy Taylor Lynch is on the scene. For the dining area in her Gastonia, North Carolina, eat-in kitchen, Nancy focused on color and timeless pieces in creating a family dining area. Her five essential elements:
1. Lighting: A burnished bronze fixture hangs low over the pine table, casting a warm light and producing a comfy country french effect.
2. Fabric: A richly detailed print with fruit depicted in full color contrasts perfectly with a rusty-red solid and a blue-and-white plaid.
3. Seating: French chairs, reupholstered in contrasting fabrics and filled with generous padding, offer inviting resting spots for a busy family to gather around the table.
4. Window treatments: The tailored valance frames three print panels like pieces of art. Tasseled fringe provides softness and dimension.
5. Personal touches: The homeowner's collection of transferware is on prominent display in the side hutch.