In this new-build home, the team at Charlotte, N.C.-based Lauren Nicole Designs found a welcome opportunity to stretch in new stylistic directions. “Charlotte is typically a more traditional marketplace, yet it seems to be shifting to include more modern tastes with newer projects as of late,” said Lauren Clement, owner and lead designer of the firm. “I pushed my design envelope to be more modern throughout the home, so this project was both very fun and exciting to do.”
Family-Oriented Design
The clients were looking for a contemporary home, that while modern and clean would still be warm, comfortable and approachable for their friends and family to enjoy. As well, with two kids, a dog and an extensive network of extended family and friends, every aspect of the design had to be durable.
Clement can personally relate to that criteria. “As a mom of two, I know that unless you can sit on it, wipe it off, climb on it and use it every day, the beauty factor doesn’t last,” she said.
The kitchen is home to one of the designer’s favorite features of the family-oriented design. “I absolutely love the slab-front inset doors of the cabinets. Their sleek appearance and vertical striations really contrast with highly figured veining of the full-height quartzite countertop and backsplash. From most anywhere on the main floor of the home, it’s possible to see the peaked book-matched pattern of the backsplash and it is truly a showstopper.”
The homeowner wanted a small office adjoining the kitchen. To accommodate this request, Clement disguised the door to the room to match the cabinetry. Located to the right of the range, when closed, it does not disrupt the flow of the cabinets.
The primary bathroom is a spacious, polished retreat in the family-oriented design of the home. Floating vanities, a sophisticated neutral palette and natural surfaces maintain the modern look. A floor-to-ceiling glass wall provides a window on the shower enclosure; its entrance is out of sight, preserving the clean look of the room.
While different color schemes and graphic wall treatments give each of the guest baths and powder room their own identities, rectangular vessel sinks, pilar faucets and cabinet hardware used in each of the baths provide an underlying unifying theme to the family-oriented design.
