Color, Pattern And Whimsy Refresh This Classic Raleigh Abode

It began as a happy coincidence. For one lucky North Carolina family, a vacation to Bald Head Island was the fortuitous event that put interior designer Charlotte Lucas in their orbit. One sunny morning along the island’s tranquil shores, “We each kept hearing the same boy’s name being called, and we both thought it was for our own son,” Lucas recounts. With the mothers quickly realizing they had identically named sons around the same age, the two women instantly connected. What’s more: “Our personalities jibed immediately,” the wife recounts. “And I knew that at some point, we would definitely want to work with Charlotte on a project.”

That day arrived when the couple, who have four children, found their forever home in a lush, desirable enclave of Raleigh overlooking the Greenway trails and Crabtree Creek. Built in 2008, the redbrick Georgian abode already boasted ample square footage—just not in the right places. So, the owners engaged residential designer Carter Skinner to rework the structure to better suit the family’s needs.

With general contractor Duncan Ray on site executing plans, Skinner opened up the back of the house to create an expanded kitchen and new primary suite. Upstairs, three bedrooms became four en suite rooms for the children, while the lower level accommodated a new guest bedroom, exercise area and hangout space for the kids. The home’s exterior also received a facelift: in the form of a fresh coat of white paint, new fenestration and arched steel-framed doors that help downplay the façade’s bold Georgian demeanor. “The clients wanted to lighten it up and embrace a more timeless European feel,” Skinner explains. 

That desire to add character and patina was also carried indoors. “Although our house is fairly new, I wanted it to feel like it had more history,” explains the wife, who admires French style and wanted to thread a touch of Gallic classicism throughout the interiors. She admittedly “likes more curves than edges in design,” so the entry staircase was converted to a graceful curl, just as many of the abode’s standard cased openings were softened into arches. The wife even had a hand in designing the sinuous custom iron railing, whose petite fleur-de-lis motif bids a fond “bonjour” to all who enter. 

From the moment you step over the threshold, Lucas’ modern-meets-classic approach makes itself known. More specifically, the entry’s checkerboard floor evokes historic grand foyers, though there’s nothing old-fashioned about this one’s emboldened geometry. Allowing the dramatic tile to serve as the centerpiece of the space, Lucas opted for a subtle wallpaper depicting hand-painted swallows in flight. 

Though adjacent front-facing rooms saw little change architecturally, they were nonetheless transformed under Lucas’ sophisticated maximalist direction. The designer’s impeccable mix of vintage lighting, high-impact colors and arresting patterns proffers some of the home’s most distinctive moments. In the dining room, the scenic wallcovering’s exotic vines tangle into a luxuriant landscape within a moss-green backdrop. Across the hall, a symphony of saturated hues and fanciful prints, festooned with butterflies and blooms, animates the living room. “We wanted this space in particular to feel light, bright and feminine,” the designer notes. 

Further visual thrills abound at the back of the house, where Lucas let the verdant setting guide her approach to the sitting room. “We loved the way light floods through, and we wanted it to feel like a beautiful orangery,” the designer reveals of the treillage-adorned ceiling. The wife views the garden-inspired flourish as not just historically French, but deeply regional, too. “I think it adds a little Southern flair,” she shares. “We are in North Carolina, after all; so it’s a bit of a hat tip to the area and its resplendent gardens.”

Considering the wealth of elegant details, it might be hard to believe that four children and two dogs reside among them. “Making sure the home was both beautiful and livable was the true balancing act,” Lucas reveals. “The clients wanted some spaces that felt elevated for entertaining, but never too precious for everyday life.” Underscoring that outlook are family-friendly touches like a regraded backyard with a new pool to enjoy playful days under the Southern sun, much like those cherished times on Bald Head Island.

“As they move into their teenage years, we wanted our kids and their friends—no matter their age—to feel comfortable and welcomed here,” the wife shares. Thanks to Lucas’ chic, family-centric approach, it’s safe to say they can count on a full house.