Imagine Design

Windows are almost always the thing I want to celebrate first in a room. I truly can’t think of a home where I’ve ever wished for fewer of them.

In this kitchen, the prettiest light was right here, along this wall of windows overlooking the porch and landscape beyond. Before we reimagined the space, the breakfast table sat more awkwardly between the kitchen and the seating area, so moving it to the windows changed everything for the better.

It made the table feel like a true destination instead of a pass-through spot. Morning coffee, casual meals, homework, a glass of wine while dinner is cooking. All the everyday moments suddenly had the best seat in the room.

And because we were not using pendants over the kitchen island or counters, we had the flexibility to do something I love here instead: two pendants over the table.

It’s such a good look. A little more interesting than a standard ceiling light, less expected than a chandelier, and so useful for defining the breakfast area within a larger kitchen.

A good reminder that sometimes the biggest improvement is not adding more, but simply moving the right pieces to the right place. t pieces to the right place.

Design: Imagine Design
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I have to say, I love a room where the architecture does half the decorating for you.

This light-filled family room is part of an addition to a beautiful Mediterranean-style home in Chevy Chase, DC. The arched doorways and windows feel as though they’ve always been there, bringing the kind of softness, rhythm, and character that only good architecture can give a room.

Our goal was to let those details lead, and then layer in furnishings that made the space feel warm, welcoming, and truly lived in. A blue checked sofa, a pair of collected chairs, patterned drapery, vintage artwork, warm wood tones, and quiet layers of texture all work together to create a room that feels polished but never formal.

The result is the kind of elegance I’m always drawn to. Comfortable, timeless, full of character, and not at all precious. Just a thoughtful, layered room designed to be enjoyed for years to come.

Make sure you swipe to see the before and after and a few glimpses of other photos in the project.

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This one feels special to share not only because it’s the debut season for this little scullery on the Eastern Shore but because the homeowners are dear friends.

The house itself is a beautiful waterfront vacation home in Oxford, Maryland, but when we started, it needed a full rethink. Not just fresh finishes, but a better way of living in it. We wanted it to be the kind of house that feels easy, gracious, and ready for a full summer of family, guests, sandy feet, long dinners, and last-minute cocktails.

This scullery was carved from the existing floor plan as part of the larger kitchen renovation. By reworking a small adjoining room, we were able to expand the main kitchen and create this hardworking secondary space: part prep area, part storage, and pretty enough to be a focal point on its own.

A checkerboard marble floor, warm wood cabinetry, brass hardware, framed art, and a few well-placed serving boards make the room feel special, not purely utilitarian, which is always the goal. Practical, yes. But never an afterthought.

And now, with summer upon us, the house is finally ready for its first full season in its new life with its new owners.

Stay tuned, we will have lots more to share from this project including a beautifully reimagined kitchen.

Design: Imagine Design

I think the number one reason people hire a designer is that they are overwhelmed by the number of decisions it takes to decorate a home. And the number two reason is they are afraid of making a mistake.

And honestly, I understand that. I have been doing this work long enough that I am usually pretty confident making decisions, but every once in a while a house comes along that makes even me pause.

This was one of those houses.

This room is in a 240-year-old home in Old Town Alexandria, a house long recognized as an important part of the city’s architectural history. That kind of history is extraordinary, but it can also feel a little intimidating. The challenge was not to erase the past or make anything feel new. It was to honor what was original and important, while making the house livable for a young family with three children.

In this room, that meant removing heavy drapes and carpet so the original wood floors and beautiful window surrounds could breathe again. The clients’ barrister bookcase, filled with antique books and topped with architectural pieces. We added the vintage screen in the corner to bring down the scale. The art is a mix of traditional and more contemporary pieces, and the rust velvet sofa keeps everything from feeling too serious.

In the end, this one room required hundreds of decisions. What to keep. What to remove. What should feel old. What could feel fresh. Where to add color. Where to be quiet. That is always the balance I strive for: honoring the history without turning it into a museum where everything feels too precious to touch.

I like to think that if someone who knew this room centuries ago walked back in today, they would still recognize its spirit. But it also works for the 21st-century family growing up here now.

This was a family home 240 years ago, and it remains one today.
The best old houses are not frozen in time. They keep evolving.

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I’ve always loved a custom window seat.

I find that rather than placing furniture in front of a beautiful window, a built-in seat makes the window part of the room. It adds craftsmanship and character, which is especially nice in new construction where those little architectural details can make a house feel more layered and collected.

Practically speaking, it creates extra seating without taking up much floor space. And maybe best of all, it gives the room a little destination: a spot for reading, napping, daydreaming, or just enjoying the view of the garden.

Here, in this family room addition, we kept it simple with a custom cushion, Belgian linen pillows, and brass sconces on either side. Practical, pretty, and exactly the kind of detail that makes a room feel lived in. 🌿🪟

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This primary bedroom has become a favorite place to unwind, which honestly might be the best compliment.

It helps that the room had enough space for more than just a pretty bed. We were able to add both a sofa and a reading chair in the corner, so it really lives more like a quiet retreat than just a bedroom.

The soft botanical wallpaper set the tone, and one of my favorite details is how the fabric on the drapery and Roman shades aligns with the pattern of the wallpaper. It gives the whole room this calm, wrapped-in-the-garden feeling without making the pattern feel busy or overwhelming.

We kept the larger pieces quiet — the upholstered bed, pale nightstands, white bedding - and then pulled that soft green from the wallpaper into the chair and ottoman. A few warmer moments with brass, dark wood, and flowers keep it from feeling too pale or too precious.

It’s serene, but not empty. Pretty, but still comfortable. And clearly, it’s doing its job if they want to spend time here.

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This dining room is such a beautiful reminder that dark, moody color doesn’t make a space feel smaller. It can make it feel more expansive, more enveloping, and so much more memorable.

Here, the walls, trim, and ceiling are all wrapped in the same deep green, creating a rich backdrop for everything else in the room. The antique wood tones feel warmer. The crystal chandelier feels brighter. The artwork, rug, and collected pieces all stand out against the deep color.

That’s the magic of committing to a color. Instead of adding drama in little bits, the whole room becomes the atmosphere.

And in a historic home like this, that kind of confidence feels especially right. It honors the architecture, gives the antiques a backdrop, and makes the space feel as if it has always been this way.

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One of my favorite measures of a successful room is how it feels when we come back years later.

This family room was phase one of what turned out to be a much larger project. Since then, we’ve been back several times as the house has evolved, working on a glass-walled indoor-outdoor room that opens completely to the garden, the living room, and the entire primary suite. But this was where we started.

The goal here was relaxed, casual, and a little California in feeling, while still making sense in a traditional East Coast home. The soft neutral upholstery, warm leather, oversized tropical plants, natural wood coffee table, and collected layers all helped give the room that easy, indoor-outdoor feeling.

So when we walk back in, now years later, the original room still feels fresh, current, and completely right for the house, that is when I know we hit the mark.

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interior designer

I’m so excited to share some first photos from a recently completed project, and I just had to start with this moody little home bar.

This room was the original galley kitchen in the sweetest 1950s Cape Cod. When the family needed more room, we helped rethink how the house could live. The new addition gave them a beautiful, functional kitchen and family space, but just as important, it allowed this narrow pass-through to become something much more special.

Instead of treating it like leftover space, we turned it into a moment.
The new arched opening softens the transition into the dining room and makes the passage feel intentional and architectural. The deep blue color drench quiets the narrowness of the room and lets the cabinetry, walls, and trim read as one cohesive envelope. Mesh metal cabinet fronts add texture and a little old-world bar feeling, while brass hardware and plumbing bring just enough warmth and polish.

I of course included the before and after, because who doesn’t love seeing a year or two of planning, decisions, construction, and problem-solving turn into a four-second reveal? If only it were actually that easy.

I also included a few views of the new kitchen. The addition gave this family the space they needed, and it gave the original galley kitchen permission to become something much more memorable and unexpected.

That is often my favorite kind of renovation. Not just adding square footage, but reimagining what the existing spaces can become while never losing the original charm of the home.

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You know how a great pair of jeans somehow goes with everything? Deep blue can work the same way with your upholstered furniture in a room.

That is one of the reasons I love using blue as a neutral when designing a home.

In this family room, the custom blue sofas give the space depth and structure, but they don’t make the room feel overly “colorful.” Instead, they make all the warm neutrals work harder: the natural wood coffee table, the brass lighting, the woven dining chairs, the cream drapery, the textured rug, the leather, the collected art.

It is color, but it behaves like a classic.

And when the tone is right, blue has that same easy quality as denim. It works with almost everything, adds a little richness, and keeps the room from feeling flat.

To me, that is what makes a room feel layered and livable. Not decorated in one perfect note, but collected over time, with each piece making the others feel better.

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