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After the existing hardwood floors were sanded and
given a darker matte finish, the decorating fun began.
For her part, says Turner, she appreciated the opportunity
“to break out” creatively. “Some of my clients are a
little more buttoned up. I’ve always used a lot of color,
but in this project, they bravely embraced bold color
and pushed me beyond.” Early on, designer and client
walked together from room to room, paint deck in
hand. “I already knew they loved color – navy blue, olive
green, paprika red – as well as whimsical art,” Turner
says. But rather than create a riot of different colors,
she unified the scheme with a neutral backdrop of “cool
taupe-ish gray” – Benjamin Moore’s Sleigh Bells, to be
exact. “That was the main wall color throughout, with
other color laid in through furnishings, accessories, and
art.” The homeowners prioritized “flashes of wallpaper,”
which, for budgetary reasons, were deployed strategically,
generally one wall per room.
Though the couple brought along a few pieces of furniture
from their previous home and incorporated some
items with an Asian bent inherited from Matthew’s
family, a substantial number of the furnishings were
purchased new. About three weeks after the Navarros
bought the property, an ice storm brought a tree down
on top of the detached garage, virtually demolishing it.
The expense of rebuilding put a dent in the furniture
budget. Turner rose to the occasion, bypassing the
high-end vendors and custom workroom she frequently
They wanted a house that was
nourishing, cozy, and grounded.
uses in favor of affordable, ready-made furnishings from
such sources as West Elm and CB2.
Turner anchored the mid-century-inspired living room
with a pair of chic turquoise sofas from Joybird and a
modernist chandelier by lighting designer Rico Espinet,
picking up the orange hue in the room’s stained glass
windows as an accent color in the rug, pillows, and
other accessories.
She did encourage her clients to splurge on the second
floor stair landing, which is centered on an original
stained glass window. “First I suggested wallpaper on
the ceiling, but it was not enough of a statement,” Turner
says. “Then I said, ‘Why don’t we just wallpaper the
entire landing? It’s a hub of activity when you’re getting
up and bathing the kids and rushing out to work. It will
be a happy place on your way out the door.’” The cheer-
ful red and white wallpaper from Ogden and a bubble
chandelier with a vintage 1970s vibe bring a lighthearted
feel to the space.
Another inspired stroke, in keeping with Turner’s philosophy
of decorative uplift, is the tranquil dining room,
where a vintage Chinese-style table and chairs from
Matthew’s parents are set on a swirly rug that “makes
the room feel like a koi pond,” Turner says. Brooke, who
generally prefers new furniture to vintage, was initially
uncertain about the dining set. “I thought it might look
too stately, but Keita was like, ‘Oh no, this is amazing!’
The room wound up being really beautiful.”
In the primary bedroom, Brooke lobbied for a citron
yellow bench at the foot of the bed, an offbeat exclamation
point in a mainly blue room. Other standout
moments occur in the nursery, where a seriously
playful dark blue wallpaper from Hygge & West,
illustrated with copper-colored jellyfish, establishes a
marine-inspired theme, with a round ring-patterned
rug from Ikea that suggests a pool of water. “All we
need is the fishing pole,” Turner says.
It was during her early career as an overworked young
fashion designer that Turner realized the subtler benefits
interior design can confer. “I had a revelation in my
twenties, when I first came to New York,” says Turner,
who grew up in St. Louis and moved to the East Coast
originally to attend Rhode Island School of Design. “My
job was fast paced and stressful, and I needed an oasis
from that pressure cooker,” she recalls. So she threw
herself into revamping her rental apartment. “I used
some Danish modern pieces my parents had held onto,
repurposed and reupholstered things, found stuff at
flea markets and made it my own.” That’s when Turner
realized what good interior design could do. “It pulled
me out of a place of anxiety and relieved the stress of
working for corporate America.”
Now, says Turner, she begins all her projects with a deep
dive into what new clients are really looking for. “I ask,
‘Do you want to become more productive? The whole
home can help with that, not just your office. Are you
looking for serenity, a place of refuge?’” It’s all doable,
Turner says. “Your home is one area of your life where
you have control.”