Harmonious Home

Summer 2024

June 13, 2024

Words by Susan Cannon | Photos by Laurie Kilgore

Stephanie Stroud Interiors hits all the right notes in an extensive redesign for a young, musical family.

If you can imagine, this was a hot mess,” says Megan, referring to the original interior of the home she and her husband, Josh, recently bought. They found the spacious two-story house, built in 1990, to be cluttered with tired design details, various outdated flooring in every room and a spatial layout that didn’t meet their needs. They also wanted a conservatory for their kids, who are avid piano, guitar and violin musicians.

Before purchasing the home, the couple had been neighbors with Caril Duncan, a designer at Stephanie Stroud Interiors. Sharing similar aesthetics with Caril, the homeowners decided to hire the firm to take on the complex renovation and complete redesign of their home, including all new furniture, lighting and surface materials.

“We have a pear orchard and farm near Paola,” Megan explains, “and since the home we moved from was much smaller, we decided to move most of our things down there.”

Though reconfiguring the first floor’s layout and confusing flow posed a challenge, the mission was a resounding success. The designers also loved that Megan was keen on achieving upscale uniqueness.

“She was super trusting and let us be creative and really embraced our ideas,“ Stephanie says.

When asked about her level of involvement with the designers, Megan says she found it very collaborative. She has a precise eye for detail as an engineer, and as an art lover, she possesses a strong visual sensibility.

“There were only a few ideas I had to sleep on, such as the scale of the dining room chandelier,” Megan adds, though admitting she loves the outcome.

Stephanie brought in Jim Kostusik, the owner of Redstone Homes, as the contractor. Nearly the entire main floor had to be taken down to the studs to reconfigure the interior spaces. Once they were working with a blank slate, the designers’ first step toward modernization was to unify the flooring with light-toned hardwoods installed throughout the home. They then stripped the entryway of distracting wallpaper, replacing it with attractive, floor-to-ceiling wainscoting. Other outdated features—such as the contrived wood detailing and the arched windows above the entrance and flanking coat closets—were also removed. To elevate the entry, the designers created discreet pocket doors for the closets and turned the single front door into paned double doors, adding the perfect touch of modern elegance to the large space.

As Caril, who had a large hand in the decorating, explains, “We like the blend of traditional elements mixed with modern style.”

Their selection of black for the classic banister and steps created a bold statement as well as a smart starting point for the graphic black hues that carry through all the main living spaces.

The alluring music room, located to the left of the entry, beckons visitors with its rich, dark-colored walls and shiny black grand piano. It exudes sophistication with cozy velvet seating, custom-built cabinets and a vibrant contemporary painting. The new cabinetry accommodates a bar on one side of French doors and a turntable and LP vinyl records on the other. However, the room perfectly serves two purposes, which is a testament to the designers’ clever problem-solving.

“The kids use this space on a daily basis for their music—more than even we do,” Megan explains. “But we use it as much for entertaining as the living room.”

Beyond the musical alcove, an impressively airy, grand-scale living room boasts two stories of floor-to-ceiling windows. The designers conceived a more modern space by removing the grandiose woodwork extending to the ceiling above the fireplace. They also eliminated the adjacent wall’s lit-up nooks and built-in cabinets in favor of a brand-new, custom-designed modern fireplace.

Because the living room flows into the hearth room and kitchen, the design team put extensive thought into modernization, detail, tone and texture, creating a sense of cohesion that is reserved yet elegant. They also incorporated high-quality surfaces and furnishings throughout. For example, the hearth room was pared back to showcase its newly plastered black wall as the key design element within the space.

Another masterful redesign, the new custom kitchen is truly next-level. Originally, the design was so busy that it needed the most streamlining. Thus, the designers reconfigured it by moving around cabinets and appliances and adding a large pantry/baking room with an extra oven behind a set of double doors. The copper-front oven—the only item used from the prior design—melds beautifully with the surrounding wood tones. It’s now a kitchen design that even a Michelin-starred chef would be lucky to have.

A few steps away is a newly created flex room that serves as Josh’s office by day and a poker room for him and his buddies by night. It can easily transform into a guest room with a full bath and a wall unit accommodating a slide-in bed. Josh brought in curated collectibles and found the large classic painting at auction, making the space a real reflection of him. A nearby small powder room—designed with statement-making wallpaper and a stunning, custom marble vanity—winds full circle toward the front hallway, conveniently tucked between the back stairwell and mudroom on one end and the dining room on the other. A chic mix of furnishings, standout lighting and specially embroidered wallpaper give the dining room a glamorous feel and major wow factor, impressing guests as it opens up to the entrance hall across from the music room.

Upstairs, the relaxing redesign of the primary bedroom—replenished with customized furnishings—carries over into the renovated primary bath, to which the designers also gave bespoke treatment. Each element was thoughtfully considered, including the tiled floor pattern that emulates a throw rug, adding interest to the elongated space.

In every detail, the project team parlayed a visual vocabulary of classic, timeless design that is also modern and rooted in the now. Their contemplative approach, aimed at bringing uniqueness with fresh and detail-oriented eyes, is something they and their clients relish.

This home’s transformation is beautiful and has an inviting sensibility that didn’t exist before—one that is harmonious and sure to amaze all who cross its threshold.

Interior Designer: Stephanie Stroud Interiors @stephaniestroudinteriors

Contractor: Redstone Homes, @redstonehomes