Houzz Tour - Andrew Suvalsky Designs

Houzz Tour: Sunny Colors Lighten
a Century-Old Home
Brightness and elegance without a trace of stuffiness bring the individuality of a seaside Rhode Island
home into the light
By Lawrence Karol
T
he state of Rhode Island has always had an independent
streak. It was the first of the original 13 colonies to declare
independence from British rule and the last of the colonies to
ratify the United States Constitution.
So it somehow seems fitting that Andrew Suvalsky’s design
for this home in one of the state’s seaside communities
takes a bold, stand-on-your-own approach. Each room has
excitement in its color play, yet there’s a quiet elegance
throughout each space without the feeling of formality.
Suvalsky says he often uses color to “punctuate a classic
environment.” There are a lot of beautiful exclamation points
in each of the rooms you’re about to see.
Swedish bench:
Cupboards &
Roses; tapestry:
Madeline Weinrib
rug, ABC Carpet
& Home; sconces:
O’LampiaMeant to
evoke a playful sense
of spring at nighttime,
the living room has
sheer blue drapes that
serve as a backdrop for
jewel-toned furnishings.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A weekend retreat for a couple and their 2
college-age children
Location: A seaside community in Rhode Island
Size: 4,200 square feet
That’s interesting: A mix of Americana and European pieces
gives the home its own sense of generalized history.
The classic center entry hall is a big, open space. Suvalsky
wanted there to be a moment of color and a graphic
presence here.
“While I do like the eye looking all the way through to the
backyard, I also wanted your eye to stop, so we needed
something large,” he says. This simple but graphic rug hangs
from the ceiling to the floor, “so it’s not just an overscaled
piece; it also acts as a backdrop for the bench.”
The cherry floors are original to the house.
Although this is a year-round house, Suvalsky chose to
bring summer colors into the living room. “I wanted it to feel
fresh and sunny, but without the clichés,” he says. “We used
blue, green, yellow and white in a way that adds a kind of
punctuation.”
Pair of sofas, blue sofa, wing chair: custom designed by Andrew
Suvalsky; rug: The New England Collection; sofa table (foreground):
Center 44; green lamp on sofa table: Antiques on Old Plank Road;
coffee table: Circa Antiques; wall lamp: O’Lampia; metal side table:
Restoration Hardware; drapes: Sharon Poirier
Since the green is used only for the chairs and one lamp, it
breaks up the overall golden tone of the room. The scale of
the striped chair “is bold enough to almost be architecture,
and it sort of matches the boxes on the rug,” the designer
says. There are a lot of windows, so Sulvalsky softened them
with white drapes, which keep them from becoming the focal
point of the room.
“The blue sofa is the only really traditional element,” he says.
“We used the hard pieces, like the coffee table, to bring in a
rusticated wood and some metals that add an elegance to the
room without being formal.”
Suvalsky says that his clients like history, and that freed him to
bring in pieces from different periods. He subdued this baroque
turned-wood chandelier by wrapping it in a single, thin shade,
which keeps it in step with other elements in the room.
“We used the colors and patterns of the rug as the foundation
for the room,” he says. “While the blue in the rug is its own
thing, we brought it out with the antique peacocks from India
and the lamp, which was made from an antique jug.” Suvalsky
often takes found pieces like this and has them electrified.
The chair colors are evocative of other pieces in the house;
the ones in a lighter hue are covered in a heavy-gauge linen
that goes well with the wall color.
Suvalsky reclad the fireplace surround with a blue-green
slate. “It’s something you would expect in a house of this
vintage and geographic location, but it’s a more modern,
eclectic piece,” he says. The deep blue and black painting by
Jean-Francois Guzranyi adds a slightly more dramatic palette
to the room.
Table: Holly Hunt; chairs: custom by Benjamin Noriega Ortiz; buffet,
chandelier: Circa Antiques; rug: The New England Collection
Swedish side chairs, tile-topped side table (partially visible in
foreground): Briggs House Antiques; green vases on mantel: Milieu
The 100-year-old house was built in a classic shingle style
that’s often imitated in new homes today. From the street
approach, its exterior hasn’t changed at all.
Some remodeling was done to the rear — decks were added
from the first to the third floors to take advantage of the views
— but those modifications aren’t visible from this vantage point.
The sunroom overlooks the backyard. Suvalsky likes to paint
vaulted ceilings, transforming them into a real feature in the
room. “There’s a huge expanse of lawn, so I decided to turn it
on its head, and we used a grass-green color in a semigloss,”
he says.
The traditional rattan furniture is paired with a red rocker and
an antique lamp. “I like to bring in a more unexpected color,
and then you just leave it there and don’t make more of it,”
he says. “It punctuates a more classic environment. And the
white table snaps your eye to attention.”
Sofas, rocking chair, throw pillows: Maine Cottage; rug: The New
England Collection; drum table: M.S. Antiques; white side table:
West Elm; tripod floor lamp: Pamela Lerner Antiques
The master bedroom is a large room; the wide-stripe rug has
a boldness that almost creates a room within a room.
The chair is a custom piece based on a midcentury armchair.
It sits alongside other furniture that’s more country Swedish.
“It has a more rustic finish but a classic form that balances
everything nicely,” says Suvalsky.
The son’s bedroom has a more overtly traditional feel and a
straightforward color scheme reminiscent of sea and sand.
Headboard: Real Gustavian; bedside tables: Gustavo Olivieri; lamps:
Center 44; rug: Shades of Light; drapes: Sharon Poirier
“It kind of reminds me of how a house in the ‘40s or ‘50s
would have looked at the time, but from a current viewpoint,”
says Suvalsky.
In the master bath, “that
yellow and white beehive
hamper is the thing that
really makes the room,” says
Suvalsky. “You have all these
beautiful traditional materials,
like the Carrara tumble tiles,
but it’s great to have a graphic
element. Pieces like that take
a room from something that’s
two dimensional to an exciting
three-dimensional picture.”
Lamps: vintage bamboo; chair: vintage, Edward Wormley; English
dresser: vintage; night tables: Pottery Barn
The couple repurposed a sleigh bed they had in another
house for their daughter’s bedroom. It fits perfectly in this
nook, and after it was reupholstered it had a whole new
personality.
“The idea here was to create a room that was more
energetic,” says Suvalsky. “It leans more toward a midcentury
design, but the mix of objects and the white keeps it more
youthful and fresh.”
The wallpaper in the guest
bathroom has a traditional
yet playful aspect to it. “The
mirror is a casual piece
because of the material, but
it’s more formal in form,”
Suvalsky says. “That’s a
common theme you’ll find
throughout this house.”