“It feels full of life. Sometimes you just
need someone to tell you it’s okay to have fun with your house.”
The family’s trip popped up in other parts of the home as well,
like Hannah and Heath’s bedroom, which is doused in the same hues—buttery yellow, Kelly green, baby blue, bright white—pulled from a Sicilian hotel they had visited. Coleman interpreted the look through delicate trellis wallpaper and striped curtains.
The playful scalloped headboard (a takeaway from a Casentino castle stay) came about from a template the designer whipped up
for Hannah to pull off a DIY version on her own, complete
with welting.
In the kitchen, Coleman continued to lean into cost-friendly solutions, this time by working with the existing features. She refreshed the original cabinet fronts with light blue paint, and warmed up the black-and-white checkerboard floors via a pair of Matilda Goad scalloped rattan pendant lights and a vintage oak hutch. In a nod to the home’s original era, the duo hung atomic-print window shades over the sink.
When Coleman unearthed a set of mid-century Italian dining chairs identical to those the Carpenters had sat on daily at their temporary perch in Tuscany, it spurred another hands-on makeover. She carried the dusty jewel-tone palette from the adjacent living room to the dining room, painting the chairs a glossy red and finishing them with brown-and-white–checked Schumacher fabric.
Emboldened by the chromatic upgrades, Hannah showed Coleman an image of a pink sitting room, while mood boards for the den were being mocked up. “Meta said, ‘Let’s paint it pink.’ I loved that. And it has been a party in that room ever since,” says Hannah. To artfully (and practically) disguise clutter, Coleman suggested an upholstered storage ottoman for a coffee table. The space still lacked a bold pattern (somewhat of a signature), so she selected a whimsical vintage equestrian-themed fabric to frame the windows.
Above, from left: Bed Frame, Hannah Carpenter; Vintage Table Lamp and Nightstand; Cecil Throw Blanket, Wallace Sewell; Tapestry, Etsy. Flush Mount, Wayfair; Wallpaper, Sandberg; Babouche Paint, Farrow & Ball; Wool Sisal Rug, Sisal Rugs Direct.
Westhighland White Paint, Sherwin-Williams; Painting, Tat London; Vintage Sconce.
Above: Recycled Glass Paint, Sherwin-Williams; Cushion Fabric, Ottoline; Bistro Chairs, Anthropologie; Pendant Lamp, LeKrazyHorse. Right: Blue Pearl and Succulent Leaves Paint, PPG; Rattan Wave Pendant Shades, Matilda Goad; Roman Shade Fabric, Ottoline; Runner Rug, The Cloth Shop.
I wanted our home
to feel more like
us, and we really aren’t minimal.”
Coleman wasn’t deterred. “There’s a lot of creativity in limitations,” she says. “Sometimes you get stumped when you have every option open to you. When you have limitations, it kind of forces you to come up with better solutions and think outside the box.”
The collaboration kicked off with the living room. Shortly after Hannah decided to really commit to color, she went for a mustard velvet sectional from Interior Define. Coleman brightened up the hue by opting for soft green paint and a deep blue plush rug underfoot. Whitewashing a few Ivar cabinets, then adding round-bun feet from Pretty Pegs, made for an impactful IKEA hack. Finally, the scrappy designer tracked down geometric retro brass sconces and red-and-white windowpane curtain fabric, both inspired by the family’s stay at an Abetone hotel with red plaid furnishings. (“Hannah likes plaid, and I love the idea of doing it in an unexpected way,” explains Coleman.)
Hannah and Meta Coleman, a Salt Lake City–based interior designer whose projects are vivid visual proof of the power of fearless pattern-and-color mixing, became fast friends over Instagram. Coleman took note that the home didn’t seem to capture the family’s witty character, so she reached out and asked Hannah if she wanted to collaborate. “Hannah has a great eye, and she knows what she likes,” says Coleman.
The pair started feverishly texting for months—Hannah sharing inspiration from her time abroad, and Coleman translating those moments into livable spaces. “Meta is great about asking how a space is used before making any design choices. She always wants a home to function well, not just be pretty to look at.” The catch? It had to be done long-distance. (Coleman flew out just once, more than a year into the project.) There was also a tight budget to consider, and, while certainly bold and colorful, the final result had to appeal to the family’s tween and teen brood, who are allergic to anything
too precious.
TKTK Caption
Dining Table, Article; Vintage Dining Chairs; Chair Cushion Fabric, Schumacher; Cabinet, Urban Outfitters; Rug, Rug Vista.
Cool Cantaloupe Paint, PPG; Vintage Ceiling Lamp; Curtains, Schumacher; Sofa, Interior Define; Ottoman, Hannah Carpenter; Rug, Nordic Knots.
“
Dining Table, Article; Vintage Dining Chairs; Chair Cushion Fabric, Schumacher; Cabinet, Urban Outfitters; Rug, Rug Vista.
—Hannah Carpenter
—Hannah Carpenter
“It feels full of life. Sometimes you just need someone to
tell you it’s okay to have fun with your house.”
“I wanted our home to
feel more like us, and we really aren’t minimal.”