Junior League of Detroit Designer, Showhouse

Slide title

Write your caption here

Button

For the Junior League of Detroit 2022 Designers’ Show House in Grosse Pointe Farms, interior designer Wanda Brown turned the primary bedroom and bathroom into a World Travelers Peaceful Retreat. The elegant space was designed with empty nesters in mind who love to travel and have stayed in some of the best resorts around the world. “I wanted their bedroom to reflect the beautiful places they stayed in and to make them feel like they were still on vacation when they got home,” she says. “It’s not hard to do with the view out this window.”

Slide right or left to view

Before After

Slide right or left to view

Before After

Brown also set out to create an open and airy space. “I wanted it to feel like a great vacation spot, whether in the South of France or South Florida, with the beautiful view of the water,” she says. Incorporating classic design elements let her enhance what was already there. “The room needed a little more architectural detail and a ceiling is an awesome opportunity to do something special,” the designer explains. “I kept the crown molding and added trim molding around the border of the wallpaper insert with a metallic finish that makes it feel like a coffered ceiling. People said it looked like suede.”

Other distinctive touches include new lighting to highlight the photography collection borrowed from a client that reflects the avid photographer husband she envisioned in the space. One image features a tour boat from Traverse City named the Naughty Paw that reflects the waterfront location. “When you look out the window on most days, you see lots of sailboats,” Brown says.

A fireplace was another welcome addition. “We live in Michigan. In a bedroom, you can cozy up to the fire and enjoy it,” says Brown who added more warmth with her material selections. “This suite was dubbed the precious metals suite. All of these precious metals began to appear. The copper tones, pewters, golds and silvers all blend together to bring interest to the room.”

Since the existing hardwood floors could not be modified, Brown chose a rug from Stark Carpet that blends seamlessly with the whitewash finish. Additional textures come from a rattan leather-wrapped headboard, the Theodore Alexander bookcase with a shagreen finish and a console dresser with a stone front. Even the linen draperies have a metallic thread that adds visual interest.

Button

Original art by Michigan artists from TRA Art Group fills the room with unique images. Their placement also makes a statement like a sunset diptyque by Nancy Denne that would normally go together. Brown decided to break up the pieces instead to go behind a chair and above the bed where a sheepskin throw and accent pillows in a French jacquard fabric join an embroidered runner on the night table that soften the space.

A traditional bench from an estate sale was redesigned and reupholstered and the fireplace surround was refinished and painted in a soothing shade of white. The comfy lounge chair in a light color wears a performance fabric that is easy to clean. A table lamp with a directional light for reading was a real crowd pleaser during the tour.

A seating area by the window offers the perfect spot to start your day and watch the sunrise. “You can sit there with your morning coffee and read the paper or work on your computer,” Brown says. “People gravitated to that space; they loved it.”

Brown brought special elements to the primary bathroom where structural changes could not be made including a custom runner made from broadloom carpeting with polypropylene fiber. “It’s very soft and luxurious and you can get it wet,” says Brown. “The animal skin bench is also very durable and the special paint finish applied to the walls gave the tile new life.” Designer touches like these made the bedroom and bathroom ultra-luxurious.