A 19th century home is revitalized with the infusion of confident strokes of color and a mix of contemporary and traditional design.  | Ten-foot ceilings and floor-to-celing windows provide ample wall space for artwork and an abundance of natural light. "The play of the color changes so much with a lot of natural light," notes the homeowner. | Living in Easton is “the best of both worlds,” reflects interior designer Steve O’Brien. “You get the ‘Small Town America’ feel, but it’s a place [from] where you can get anywhere,” which is important, since Steve’s business, Stephen N. O’Brien Interior Decoration, requires that he travel to major cities like Baltimore and Washington DC to meet with clients.
O’Brien and his wife Eileen Deymier lived in Easton in the nineties, and then opted for a waterfront home on Tilghman Island. In 2006, however, they decided to move back to Easton. “Living on the water is [considered] ideal, but it was isolated,” O’Brien explains. “Now we’re in the heart of town where you see the lights of your neighbors’ homes and you’re greeted by them.”
Deymier agrees. “I’m a little too gregarious for that contemplative, sit-and-stare-at-the-water kind of lifestyle,” she says. “I need a little more activity.” And as the current vice president of the Talbot Preservation Alliance, she is directly involved in the land use decisions that shape the town she now calls home again.  | LEFT: The entire home's palette was based on the upholstery fabric for two chairs in the sitting area just off the kitchen. RIGHT: The kitchen is Deymier's favirote room in the house. INSET: Open shelving throughout the kitchen allows various books, ceramics, and classic white tableware to be on display. | A STUDY IN COLOR
Perhaps the greatest expression of Deymier and O’Brien’s extroversion is the bold color palette of their home, which was inspired by a Brunschwig and Fils pattern that Steve found at The Washington Design Center and used on two chairs in the sitting room off of the kitchen. Just one piece of fabric had an array of rich, vivacious colors: from classic off-white and black to a sable brown, lime green, mustard, grey-green, and even an orange-red hue O’Brien refers to as “sangria”—all of these are found splashed throughout the home.
Deymier believes that moving into this house was like giving Steve the blank canvas he’d dreamed of. “I think he enjoyed really being able to do a color palette that he probably always wanted to do,” she says, adding that the home offers a way for Steve to communicate to his clients how color can really work in a home. He uses the great room as a kind of showcase for his business. “If you show someone a paint chip and say, ‘I want to paint your whole living room this color,’ it’s sometimes difficult to understand,” she says. “So the entire house is like a big swatch that shows how it’s really going to feel living with bold colors.”
Even Deymier went through a bit of color anxiety at times. “Steve did shock me with the green for the hallway [walls] at first,” she admits, “but now I love it.”  | LEFT: An abstracted mural cheerily greets quests in the entry hall. RIGHT: The fireplace—with its original mantel—is a prominent feature in what Deymier calls "our cozy winter room," which offers a perfect niche for her piano, while a television and stereo equipment are nestled away in a late 1880s antique Chinese cabinet. | TOUCHES OF WHIMSY
Choosing the paint color for the hallway wasn’t the first time that O’Brien had to convince his wife of a vision he had for an element of the house. “Essentially I was the designer and Eileen was the client,” says O’Brien. “[And] Eileen is no shrinking violet when it comes to her likes and dislikes,” he adds affectionately.
For instance, Deymier spent much of the summer staining their white picket fence black. “I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first,” she says, “but Steve told me he’d seen it at this Federal-style house in Old Town Alexandria, so we went and took a look, and sure enough, he was right—it looked very nice.”
When visitors walk into the home, they are greeted in the front entryway by a large painting of a cat. Inspired by a triptych O’Brien saw on the pages of Architectural Digest, the painting is a whimsical interpretation done by faux finisher Agnes Lemaire. He is reminded of Felix and Oscar, the couple’s two cats, whenever he looks at it. When O’Brien told Deymier of his plan—and the scale at which he wanted the piece—her first reaction was: “Our friends are really going to think we lost our minds now! We had just adopted these two cats from the Humane Society, and now you’ve gone and commissioned a portrait of them,” she laughs. But, trusting her husband, she agreed to it, and by the time the paint had dried, she’d grown to love it for its cartoonish quality. “My favorite thing is to seat the most serious guest on that side of the table that faces this giant cat face... they can’t help but smile.”
If there’s one thing Deymier has learned throughout the process, it is that infusing your personality into a design means thinking outside of the box. “The so-called ‘rules,’ as far as I’m concerned—like picket fences should be white—really don’t always apply,” she says.  | LEFT: A black and white Manuel Canovas produce-patterned wallpaper in the master bedroom is complemented by various papaya-hued elements like the linens and custom headboard with nailhead trim. RIGHT: The guest bathroom is luxurious and contemporary, with charcoal grey textured walls accented by rich Carrara marble. | A LESSON IN MODERN HISTORY
The part of the home to undergo the biggest transformation, however, was the second floor. What was once a warren of oddly configured rooms with little closet space is now a comfortable area with great flow—and storage to spare. With help from residential designer Suzanne Brigham, the couple completely reconfigured the area. The project had several objectives from the onset: to create a master suite with a luxurious bath, include his-and-hers vanities, add storage and a walk-in closet, and move the guest bathroom closer to the hallway for easier access, all while remaining true to the home’s historic charm. Once plans for these spaces were complete, the team called in builder J.H. Miller, Inc. to renovate.
“We tried to stay sympathetic to the original design,” explains Brigham. “[But] the bottom line is that especially with older homes, you want to make sure people can have a high level of function in the midst of all their lovely historic features.” In the end, the team of three accomplished all of their goals—in addition to creating office space in the attic for both O’Brien and Deymier—and did so while reproducing the original trim work and windows in the vernacular of the 1880s home. “I think it’s a very nice manifestation of the whole concept of bringing the house into the 21st century,” concludes Brigham.
O’Brien and Deymier were adamant that their home retain its historic character. “Every house has a personality, and you try to go along with that personality and your own taste,” says Deymier. With O’Brien’s style leaning toward the traditional—as evidenced by his large collection of antiques—and Deymier’s toward the modern, the end result is a beautiful blending of the two styles, with careful consideration paid to the history and character of the home, as well. “I call this house ‘soft contemporary’—it still allows me to mix some antiques with clean-lined pieces,” explains O’Brien. “It’s contemporary, but not minimalist.”  | LEFT: The great room provides generous space for entertaining guests. RIGHT: The dining area displays a stylish combination of traditional design and antique pieces with more contemporary furnishings. | SPACE TO GATHER
An open floor plan was key for O’Brien and Deymier, as they love to entertain. Even the backyard received a facelift via landscape designer Chris Johnson of Endless Summer Landscaping, with the goal of creating “a real oasis—a place to sit outside and really enjoy it,” says Deymier. With old dogwoods and cedars that were saved, a natural privacy wall created by a row of evergreens, and a flagstone path lined in brick, it is now a modern nod to quaint downtown Easton.
What O’Brien and Deymier find most interesting is that for a historic home, there is ample natural light and plenty of open space. “It has a kind of quirky appeal that we found pretty enchanting,” she remarks. The house is always causing her to imagine the home in the context of an earlier time. “It’s pretty amazing considering it looks like [the first floor] was built in this configuration: I always try to imagine who built it. I mean, who would have the idea to build such grand rooms inside of what is not really a grand house?”
O’Brien puts it simply: “It’s a great house that works well for two people who like to entertain and have weekend guests.” For Deymier, one of her favorite rooms is the kitchen. The colors, the light, and her view of the now park-like setting in the backyard make it irresistible. And, of course, she’s right near the backdoor, which is where the couple’s visitors often choose to arrive.
Annliese Scott is the Editorial Assistant for ChesapeakeHome. CONTCTS:
Endless Summer Landscaping: 410-310-5100
J.H. Miller, Inc.: 410-822-6480
Stephen N. O’Brien Interior Decoration: 410-770-5676
Suzanne Brigham Residential Design: sbresidentialdesign.com or 410-745-6877 |
