Bright and Beautiful Tudor Revival

When change happens, it can be comforting to hold on to familiarity. Such was the case for Tavenner and Sean Roberts. After an unexpected career offer, the couple relocated their family to Dallas, leaving behind friends and their century-old Colonial in the coastal town of Rye, New York. Starting fresh, the Roberts sought a place that would embody their sentiments of home—something with old-house appeal in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. A Tudor Revival-style home, built in the mid 1990s and located in Highland Park, caught their eye. “Even though it wasn’t that old, it had the character of a historic house, and we loved the similar feel of the community,” Tavenner says. “Everything is connected by sidewalks. You could walk for miles.”

While the Roberts were quick to appreciate the location of the house and its authentic style, including the intricate moldings, vaulted ceilings, and wood-paneled rooms, they did have a few changes in mind to help them truly feel at home. They wanted to lighten up the traditional, dark, Tudor-style interiors, and they desired a designer who would not only honor the architecture but also highlight its fine points in a fresh new way.

While the Roberts were quick to appreciate the location of the house and its authentic style, including the intricate moldings, vaulted ceilings, and wood-paneled rooms, they did have a few changes in mind to help them truly feel at home. They wanted to lighten up the traditional, dark, Tudor-style interiors, and they desired a designer who would not only honor the architecture but also highlight its fine points in a fresh new way.

The couple turned to interior designer Mary Beth Wagner to tackle these requests and lift the mood. Known for her deft use of color and pattern, as well as her ability to find just the right tension between formal and relaxed, Mary Beth capitalized
on the details, redressing them in lighter finishes and infusing the spaces with soft shades of blue and green along with coral accents. “We didn’t need to add any frills,” she says. “Thanks to the architecture, there were plenty of details already there.”

To achieve the brighter finish, Mary Beth worked with her team to strip back dark paneling, bleaching the wood or applying a clear coat to show the natural finish in some places while painting trim and molding in others. “Our overall goal was to give the house a little edge but not so much that it conflicted with the architecture,” she says.

Starting in the foyer, the designer grounded the lofty space with a sleek, custom maple console that features leather shagreen insets and brass detailing. Above, a gold jagged-edged mirror reinforces the home’s balance of traditional and modern. Continuing the accord, she chose a mix of streamlined antiques and new furnishings, underscoring their accessibility with soft fabrics that signal a warm invitation.

Mary Beth overhauled the kitchen by removing a brick wall surrounding the range and replacing it with a custom steel-and- polished nickel hood set against pale blue tile. Ornate cabinet fronts were swapped out with shaker-style doors for a crisper look. And while she gave brighter touches to much of the house, she chose to keep Sean’s study dark as a nod to the original design.

Throughout the project, Mary Beth paid close attention to how the family would use each space daily, as well as when hosting guests. “There is no separate family room, so the living room had to serve a variety of purposes,” she says. For the space to meet multiple needs, the designer divided it in half with a double-sided sofa and then delineated the two areas further by hanging a chandelier over each one. Despite the division, cohesiveness is gained through color scheme, coordinating fabrics, a single rug, and the bleached paneled walls.

The dining room suits both casual and formal affairs thanks to carefully selected antiques and a pastel color scheme. Venetian plaster walls painted pale green, along with the pool-blue lacquered ceiling, create the ambiance of alfresco dining indoors. Sculpted flowers on the ceramic lamps and the floral Penny Morrison fabric on the window treatments add garden whimsy.

Carrying the fanciful sentiment into the breakfast room, Mary Beth used one of client Hunt Slonem’s works as a focal point—a canvas of butterflies that seem to alight from the wall. To ground the space, she opted for an X-base table from Formations with a light wood top. A Biedermeier chest serves as a pedestal for a blue, glazed Paul Schneider lamp, one of a pair commissioned for the room. And beadboard ceilings painted in a barely-there blue match the sea mist hue of the Madeaux drapery fabric.

With its architectural integrity, as well as all the intimations of blues and greens, the home looks as if it could easily be situated in the Roberts’s former town in New York. It’s those familiar details that made the family’s life transition as easy as a walk in one of the nearby parks.

How to Lighten Up a Tudor Style House

English Tudors are replete with architectural details that fill a home with richness and character. While the style is traditionally dark, there are ways to brighten it up while still maintaining the integrity of the house. Here are a few tips that designer Mary Beth Wagner used in this interior.

Strip back heavy finishes. Bleaching wood back to its natural state or refinishing it in a semitransparent glaze will shed light on the intricate dimensions of wainscoting, paneling, and trim while also letting the wood grain show through.

Mix it up. Grass cloth walls add texture while toning down weighty wood paneling. “I also used white and pastel paint colors to bring soft notes to rooms and to the beadboard ceiling in the kitchen and breakfast room.” Mary Beth says.

Complement and contrast. Incorporate furniture pieces with clean lines and brighter finishes. “I chose mostly solids in blues and neutrals,” says Mary Beth. “I also added rugs and fabrics that are equally light with floral designs and neutral backdrops.”

Add shine. Metallic accents, including mirrors, fixtures, and carefully selected lighting, ensure that no room is too dark
or oppressive, no matter how much paneling it has. Certain finishes, such as the lacquered ceiling in the dining room, also impart a reflective quality.

Choose modern art. “I avoided ornate gold or thick wood frames,” says Mary Beth. “Most of the pieces in the owner’s art collection
are edged with simple, white frames.”

By Cathy Still McGowin

See more from Mary Beth Wagner on her website and Instagram. 

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