A Family-Friendly New Build in Brookhaven Is a True Blue Beauty

Designer Courtney Walker plotted an entry brimming with allure with walls wrapped in Phillip Jeffries Rivets in Silver and iron doors by Womack Iron.

The office features picture window paneling designed by Source and angular chairs with brushed gold details from Huff Harrington Home.

Architect Linda MacArthur and builder Michael Ladisic utilized large windows to showcase the new build’s idyllic setting and welcome in natural light. The landscape design is by David Johnson.

Designed by Source in collaboration with Walker, the airy kitchen features brushed nickel fixtures, lucite-and-leather counter stools, and a runner from Moattar. 

Blue and gold reign in the bar where Phillip Jeffries Yacht Club in Whitewash Gold graces the walls and cabinets are painted Benjamin Moore Hudson Bay. An alabaster-and-brass fixture from Visual Comfort & Co. crowns the space.

Galbraith & Paul throw pillows, a blue resin-topped coffee table from Jerry Pair, and the splashy glazed coral lamp from Joseph Konrad dress up the living room.

A four-tier Vaughan chandelier from Ainsworth-Noah gets top billing in the lofty keeping room.

In the primary suite, the Mrs. Howard bed is framed by Le Chateau end tables and lamps from Erika Reade Ltd.

Flanked by Pindler fabric with cream pleated trim from Samuel & Sons, a soaking tub is poised for taking in the verdant view.

Designed by Source, the primary bath is encompassed in Calacatta Bella marble with an architectural bench and trim that imparts a romantic formality in the steam shower.

“We had two places to make her closet super fun,” says Walker of the choice to accentuate the ceiling with a large-scale floral from Thibaut and a bubbly light fixture by Julie Neill for Visual Comfort & Co. The bench is from WebbMarsteller.

Walker selected a sophisticated canopy bed and blush pink Kravet fabric for the curtains and accent pillows in one of the daughters’ bedrooms. A variety of seating provides places to kick back with friends or do homework.

The spacious bedroom of the eldest daughter features a chic seating area, with a sofa from Max & Company and pillows in an abstract Pindler fabric.

A bright and tranquil carriage house guest room welcomes visitors from near and far, with bedding by Jenny Johnson Allen through Peacock Alley.

Walker devised seating for a crowd in the covered outdoor living room, with upholstered swivel chairs and hospitable sofas from Logan Gardens.

“We joked that it’s good that she likes blue, or else this would have been a very difficult project,” says interior designer Courtney Walker of her clients, a wife and husband who shared a fortuitous love of the hue, which flows through their gracious new build in Brookhaven.

The pair sought a home that would comfortably fit their blended family of seven, with bedrooms for each of the five children and a restful suite for themselves, plus plenty of inviting spaces—indoors and out—to gather as a family and with friends.

The build, a collaboration between architect Linda MacArthur and Ladisic Fine Homes, began as a spec house intended for empty nesters, but it became the ideal place for the brood of seven to alight.

In its original iteration, MacArthur devised what she calls a “transformer,” with a second floor that resembles a half story from the street and could be finished if more rooms were needed. These spaces—now the children’s bedrooms and playroom—are loaded with charm. Angled walls are wrapped in wood paneling that evoke a finished attic feel, with 7-foot knee walls ensuring that nothing is cramped.

The front facade is elegant and approachable, with drama infused through steep gables, large-scale windows, and a swooped roof that echoes the slope of the lot. MacArthur drew the portico and dormers out from the edifice and applied a mix of siding and brick to impart interest and balance.

On the main level, a mix of open-concept spaces for gathering and tucked-away places for repose flow seamlessly for both busy school days and lively weekends with friends, with special attention paid to the relationship between indoor and outdoor living. A large folding window connects the bar, which is sandwiched between the living room and covered patio, to the alfresco dining space for easy sharing of drinks, snacks, and conversation.

The home’s blue color story, crafted by Walker, begins outside too. Throw pillows and host chairs in an angular print were the first accent Walker and her clients selected, and the tone flows inside from there. Walker customized block-printed pillows in the living room, where she plotted restful seating for the family of seven with two pairs of swivels and a charcoal-hued sofa.

In the kitchen, an oversize island with a 3-inch-thick Taj Mahal quartzite top fits just enough barstools to seat each of the children, though Walker says they often prefer to congregate at the walnut dining table, where priority was placed on comfort. “The homeowners wanted people to be able to finish their meal and not be itching to get out of their chairs,” she says.

The keeping room sports walls in a cornflower blue for a saturated take on the home’s signature shade. With its immense arched window and secluded locale, MacArthur envisioned it to be a quiet place to bask in the sunlit views of the neighborhood. “Brookhaven is one of those neighborhoods where people want to move in and never want to move out,” she says of the home’s plum location.

Walker reveled in shepherding the primary suite in a feminine direction, embellishing the paneled ceiling with a jewel-like polished nickel-and-acrylic chandelier and echoing the curves of the keeping room window in the linens and arched accent chairs. In the wife’s closet, large-scale floral wallpaper makes the ceiling come alive, and an ebullient light fixture is a prime companion.

Upstairs, a playroom is fit for all of the children, who range in age from tweens to teens, thanks to zones—a TV lounge, a study nook, and cabinetry to house games, art supplies, and books—that cater to everyone’s pursuits. The youngest daughter’s bedroom is an aberration in soft pink, with youthful yet polished furnishings that will be suitable for years to come.

Like the good fortune of the homeowners’ consensus on color, their move-in date, after being delayed by supply chain issues, fell just 48 hours before they hosted a birthday bash for the husband in their new home. Perfect timing.

INTERIOR DESIGN Courtney Walker, C. Walker Designs, (404) 256-1333; cwalkerdesigns.com ARCHITECT Linda MacArthur, Linda MacArthur Architect, (404) 843-6715; lindamacarthurarchitect.com BUILDER Michael Ladisic, Ladisic Fine Homes, (404) 495-0708; ladisicfinehomes.com LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT David Johnson, David Johnson Landscape Architect