Private Paradise

Angela Bromenschenkel’s main goal in the dining room was to create a “dining in the garden” environment. The ceiling is painted in Sherwin-Williams’ Sea Salt to resemble the sky, while garden panels by Mary Frances Estock reflect scenes from nature. And when the French doors are open, “If you close your eyes and feel the breeze, you’re immediately transported,” she says.

Bromenschenkel created a house that was cohesive, yet had different spaces for different moods.

Thanks to landscape architect John Howard, a line of pleached European hornbeam trees welcomes guests as they approach the motor court, which was redesigned as a collaboration between Howard and architect Keith Summerour.

Though the home was less than 10 years old when the Bromenschenkels moved in, they were drawn to how Summerour used materials that made the home appear as if it had stood for decades. The stucco and limestone exterior, zinc pots and overhang and potted boxwoods reflect French Normandy style.

Originally the living room featured existing pieces in neutral tones, but Bromenschenkel quips, “It was about as exciting as a bowl of oatmeal. It needed contrast.” That meant reupholstering furniture in light-reflective fabrics and introducing a giant antique mirror framed by Myott Studio to make the space appear larger and more welcoming.

Custom polished-nickel hardware, a deep gray-lacquered island and a glass fixture created by artist John Pomp reflect light—casting the kitchen with a subtle shimmer and, as Bromenschenkel describes, a hint of sexiness when night falls and lights are dimmed. “The shiny materials created this narrative that yes, it’s a beautiful classic kitchen, but it also has a contemporary kick to it.”

Centered around a photograph of a beach in Southern Portugal by Christian Chaize through Jackson Fine Art, the breakfast room drew inspiration from natural elements. A turquoise grasscloth wallcovering by Phillip Jeffries mimics ocean hues, while windows allow for views of the surrounding trees.

Before Howard began working on the formal garden, there was red clay covering the ground—preventing anything green from growing—and a cracked stucco retaining wall. Howard clad the wall in stone and introduced gas lanterns, charming boxwoods and limestone benches. A horse statue by Corbin Bronze with a young girl mounted atop with outstretched arms reminds Bromenschenkel of her childhood. “I grew up riding and jumping, and that’s exactly what it feels like. It’s like you’re flying.”

With a mix of antiques and fresh finds on display, the family room serves as a quiet nod to designer Dan Carithers, who was both a friend and former mentor to Bromenschenkel (she worked for him in the late 1990s). “He used a lot of brown and white,” she says. “In fact, the antlers on our wall used to hang in his long room, so this space is almost like a wink to Dan.”

The library takes a masculine turn with tufted seating and rich blue-gray walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Witching Hour. The desk chair came from Bromenschenkel’s grandfather’s home in Holland. “It was a family piece that I wanted to give a new chapter, so I reupholstered it in Scalamandré’s Tiger velvet and placed it in the library.”

Thanks to Summerour, the Bromenschenkels are able to enjoy the outdoors year-round with the addition of a screened porch. Walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray emulate bark on tree trunks while custom Bevolo gas lanterns provide intimate lighting for the couple’s at-home dinner dates.

“When you walk in, the quietness envelops you and it’s like you’re putting a pause on life.” —Angela Bromenschenkel

In the master bedroom, Bromenschenkel created a “room within a room” by using glazed linens in a soft palette on a canopy bed, emulating the sanctuary-like environment she desired. “When you walk in, the quietness envelops you and it’s like you’re putting a pause on life.”

Farrow & Ball’s Pale Powder and tonal glazed linen draperies by Willard Pitt set a serene tone for “her” side of the master bathroom. The valence is reminiscent of the Dorothy Draper era, a period of design that Bromenschenkel greatly admires.

Designer Angela Bromenschenkel wasn’t looking to move ten years ago, but when she and her husband happened upon a quaint, French Normandy-inspired abode located just two streets down from where they lived in Haynes Manor, something ignited. Maybe it was the way it was perched atop a hill, trees dancing around, enveloping the home in a sea of green and offering the privacy that the Bromenschenkel’s then-home lacked. Or perhaps it was how the 9,500-square-foot home, though sizable, still felt approachable and welcoming—somewhere they could envision raising their twin boys. No matter the reason, it’s rightful to suggest the Bromenschenkels didn’t find their new home, their new home found them. “We thought, ‘Let’s just be wild and spontaneous,’” she explains. “The house had wonderful bones, a beautiful layout and so much potential for our family. We knew we could take it to the next level.”

And it didn’t take long for the homeowners to hit the ground running. After selling nearly everything from their former English cottage, the Bromenschenkels enlisted their new home’s original architect, Keith Summerour, for individualized updates, including the addition of a screened porch and enclosing a grill patio, which became a sunny breakfast room. With a colorful blue-green grasscloth wallcovering and white banquette, it’s reminiscent of weekends at the beach. “Our happy place in the summer is Nantucket, so I wanted to have a bright, fresh, happy place to start our day in,” says Bromenschenkel.

Though all of the spaces flowed well together, Bromenschenkel still wanted each room to have its own personality. The light and bright screened porch is a napping spot by day and date-night location by evening. However, the library leans masculine with tufted furniture and Benjamin Moore’s Witching Hour, a gray-blue, on the walls. “I got a kick out of the name and said, ‘This is the room where I’ll sip wine and tell quiet secrets to my girlfriends,’” says Bromenschenkel.

Outside, a major landscape renovation by landscape architect John Howard—which included the creation of a parterre garden featuring pea gravel paths with cobbled edges, dwarf boxwoods and hydrangeas—allows the gardens to become part of the interior storyline. “This garden space is now an inviting entry, a lovely place to sit and a major focal point from the adjacent interior rooms,” says Howard.

And with 10 years now passed, that moment of spontaneity resulted in everything the Bromenschenkels didn’t know they were looking for. “It’s so wonderful to reminisce on when we first came into this home and made it our own. We’ve raised our boys here and it has carried us through a magical time in our life.”

INTERIOR DESIGN Angela Bromenschenkel, (404) 993-9922 ARCHITECT Keith Summerour, Summerour Architects, (404) 603-8585; summerour.net LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT John Howard, Howard Design Studio, (404) 876-7051; howarddesignstudio.com