Graceful Retreat

Architect Bulent Baydar of Harrison Design planned the stately facade to capture the style and sophistication of an English country home, with material features including granite stone, Indiana cut limestone details and a slate roof.

The elegant foyer greets visitors with a unique twist on a classic—a soft gray and white limestone checkerboard floor.

The salon is flooded with natural light from expansive sliding glass doors and windows. Designer Karen Ferguson of Harrison Design deftly crafted intimate conversation vignettes with unfussy furnishings atop cozy neutral rugs for an approachable and welcoming result.

In the salon, wide stiles and rails-style custom paneling makes the extensive room feel more relatable, and in tandem with off-white walls, provides the perfect setting for the couple’s extensive art collection.

The ink-blue kitchen features custom cabinetry by Kingdom Woodworks, industrial-leaning black Waterstone faucets and brass hardware for a sophisticated effect. A lantern from Circa Lighting hangs above the bianco cristallo stone-topped island, which contrasts with honed black granite countertops around the perimeter.

The homeowners are avid cooks, so Ferguson included two kitchen sinks for easy meal prep, clean-up and hosting.

In the dining room conversation nook, chairs in pale green mohair are ornamented with bullion fringe and Fortuny pillows. Custom pink drapes in Villa Nova Torrin Fondant and Schumacher Faille Tape Cloud trim continue the soft hues.

“The pastel palette in the dining room is such a fun way to have a garden room that’s not fussy,” says Ferguson. “The lack of traditional, dark-stained dining furniture makes the space feel light.”

The garden-inspired dining room, wrapped in de Gournay wallpaper, feels warm and welcoming, says Ferguson. The owner’s dining chairs were recovered in performance fabric and accented with a pop of blue on the back panel. The rug is from Designer Carpets.

A handsome limestone fireplace with mantel from François & Co. grounds the primary bedroom, while French doors and a tiered chandelier from Circa Lighting elevate the space.

The gray and white primary bath calls to mind a black-tie affair with its mix of sophisticated touches. A Calacatta Gold tub with a gray limestone baseboard and custom paneling is the clear centerpiece.

The spacious primary shower is large enough for two and decked out in gold hardware.

A punchy green faux-horn credenza incorporates shades from the golf course view below the husband’s office. A desk from Hickory Chair and modern mohair cafe chairs from CB2 round out the room.

The homeowners are busy professionals who desire serene yet productive spaces to work. Each office features a Juliet balcony and so much natural light that the wife’s office “almost feels like she’s in a cloud of a workspace, one that rises to the stature of her professional life,” says Ferguson.

Like the salon, the office walls are custom paneled. The curvy sitting nook chairs are from Interlude Home. 

Downstairs, a bar and billiard room with access to a basketball court is ideal for casual entertaining. The curved coffered ceiling over the light taupe-stained oak bar adds intrigue, as do the satin brass and crystal pendants.

A horn chandelier from Ngala Trading crowns the billiard room, and a row of bleachers preserved from Candlestick Park in San Francisco before its demolition provides prime spectating real estate—and fodder for storytelling. 

Expansive outdoor entertaining zones flank the home, with a grill deck on one side and a pool, spacious bluestone patio and covered terrace on the other. “The plantings in the back provide a more relaxed feeling, and as you move further from the house they become more naturalized along the creek, which was an important design element the owners wanted to achieve,” says landscape architect Chris Holden of Land Plus.

Up a hill and over a rambling creek, the slate roofline of an English country-style home comes into view. The dual-gabled porte cochere is visible first, and through the gateway, the home’s facade—an edifice in weathered granite with elegant limestone detailing and a wrought iron balcony—is revealed. The small, formal cottage exterior belies the magnitude of the home’s 9,000 square feet and its luminous, serene interior.

This measured unveiling of the home is intentional and echoed inside, says architect Bulent Baydar of Harrison Design, who collaborated with interior designer Karen Ferguson of Harrison Design, builder Bill Grant of Bill Grant Homes and landscape architect Chris Holden of Land Plus. Off the foyer, hidden paneled doors disguise an elevator and powder room, and unfurling passages reveal tucked-away guest suites, including a tower with a separate entrance. The subtle unfolding inspires intrigue and enjoyment from the many visitors—children, friends and colleagues—the homeowners host regularly.

The thoughtful eye toward intriguing spaces is reinforced in the graceful interiors, helmed by Ferguson, and is evident upon entering the home’s airy foyer. Here, a gray and ivory checkerboard floor, sweeping elliptical staircase and soothing white walls in Benjamin Moore Silver Satin create a welcome lightness that forgoes the moodiness of traditional manor homes.

“The homeowners gravitate toward a cleaner palette,” says Ferguson, and the interiors derive energy and balance from strategically placed hues and materials that create a pleasing and cohesive visual map through the home.

Through the barreled paneled vestibule, the dining room evokes a lush garden scene awash in soft pastels inspired by lustrous, hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper. “Building off that paper with the unexpected gray dining table and pink, blue and green color palette, the room feels light and fun,” says Ferguson.

The soft blue in the dining room is echoed in the upholstered Highland House chair in the foyer and again on sitting chairs in the grand salon. Off the salon, it takes on a greater depth in the dramatic ink-blue kitchen, where honed black granite countertops, brass hardware and an antique mirrored backsplash mingle to create a sophisticated, tailored effect.

Satin brass finishes throughout are a unifying element, exuding warmth and brightness. Geometric furnishings, fixtures and architectural elements—from rounded archways to curved chair backs—add interest to lofty spaces.

The home’s connection to the outdoors is palpable too, with manicured landscaping and views of a meadow, stream and prestigious golf club. Expansive sliding doors on both ends of the grand salon unite the gathering space with the inviting exterior, and Juliet balconies off his and her offices beckon. “People have said that when they’re in this home, they feel like they’ve been to a spa; they feel rejuvenated,” says Ferguson. “And that’s how you feel when you’re with the homeowners. They evoke this grace that is so natural. They are uplifting, and the house reflects that.”

Graceful Retreat INTERIOR DESIGN Karen Ferguson, Harrison Design, (404) 365-7760; harrisondesign.com ARCHITECT Bulent Baydar, (404) 365-7760; harrisondesign.com LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Chris Holden, Land Plus Associates, (404) 238-9595; landplusassociates.com BUILDER Bill Grant, Bill Grant Homes, (770) 394-7007; billgrant.com