This Chic Charlotte Abode Features The Best Of Modern Luxury
Dual seating groups capitalize on the scale of the grand salon, where doors by Sightline Steel Doors contrast with designer Amanda Swaringen’s ethereal selections, including a silk-and-nylon Stark rug. A pair of Thayer Coggin curved sectionals, upholstered in performance fabric, takes center stage.
Charlotte is a city long known for its traditional architecture and stately neighborhoods, chief among them the famously leafy Myers Park. Residential designer Frank Smith’s clients appreciated the inherent luxury of this classic enclave, though they weren’t fans of classicism itself. By contrast, the forward-thinking couple hoped to channel the international glamour of resorts they have visited in cities like Los Angeles, London and Dubai—recreating that plush sense of hospitality at home. “I had a clear vision of what we wanted in terms of flow, furniture and overall energy,” the husband explains. “What we were seeking was something often found in cities outside the South.”
Revered as an innovator (his trademark phrase is “What’s next?”), Smith sees himself as “a chameleon who tries to relate to my clients’ unique vision of home. I want their fingerprints on the design as well as my own,” he notes. “I am always driven to discover their distinct taste and definition of beauty.”
Home Details
Architecture:
Frank Smith, Frank Smith Residential Design Inc.
Interior Design:
Amanda Swaringen, Carolina Design Associates, LLC
Home Builder:
Bryan Gerrard, Gerrard Builders, LLC
To redefine Myers Park living, Smith first designed a façade that plays nicely with its neighbors. On the outside, the expansive house is sensitive to the surrounding context, brandishing a soft-white, lime plaster-coated masonry exterior paired with dark-finish aluminum windows and bronze steel doors. Both treatments honor the architectural flavor of the area, but their high-contrast application creates a harder-edged, contemporary feel. “We are continuing to evolve a more modern version of traditional while retaining the classical proportions,” Smith comments.
Interior designer Amanda Swaringen’s similar ability to bridge traditional and contemporary proved indispensable to the project, as did her past collaboration with Smith. “What drew us to our design team was their proven ability to work together,” the husband shares. A similar sentiment rang true with general contractor Bryan Gerrard, who has teamed with Smith and Swaringen on dozens of projects each. “Bryan’s craftsmanship stood out as exceptional,” the husband continues. “We were looking for a five-star experience, and that’s exactly the standard he delivered.”
A wall of Calacatta Lucca porcelain surrounds an Earthcore Industries fireplace in the primary bedroom. Visual Comfort & Co.’s Arden chandelier lights the Hickory Chair bed as pendants by Hudson Valley Lighting accent nightstands by Das Wolfe Design.
Residential designer Frank Smith conceived the home’s curved statement staircase, constructed by general contractor Bryan Gerrard and featuring hand-applied plaster by Eric Cockrell of Mudwerk. At right, a geometric credenza by Olivya Stone supports a John-Richard alabaster lamp.
A glimmering San Marco chandelier by RH illuminates the kitchen’s leathered Da Vinci quartzite slabs from AGM Imports, which were fabricated by Art of Stone. Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances are concealed within cabinetry by Hardwood Creations.
Two striking pieces by RH—a sculpted Strada table and a Harlow Calcite chandelier— anchor the kitchen’s dining nook before a grid of aluminum windows from Sierra Pacific Windows. A foursome of Olivya Stone tripod-style chairs completes the arrangement.
Dual seating groups capitalize on the scale of the grand salon, where doors by Sightline Steel Doors contrast with designer Amanda Swaringen’s ethereal selections, including a silk-and-nylon Stark rug. A pair of Thayer Coggin curved sectionals, upholstered in performance fabric, takes center stage.
Swaringen updated Jonathan Adler’s Bacharach swivel chairs using Kirkby Design’s Faze velvet in Blossom for the upstairs landing. Stark’s Clairo rug lends “dimension and movement,” the designer says, amid Cockrell’s custom plaster finishes and Modern History’s Aplique mirror.
To break up the length of the upstairs corridor, Swaringen installed panels of Candice Kaye Designs’ Feather wallpaper punctuated by Avenue Lighting’s Waldorf sconces. The custom-cut Karastan runner is from Hall’s Flooring.
A wall of Calacatta Lucca porcelain surrounds an Earthcore Industries fireplace in the primary bedroom. Visual Comfort & Co.’s Arden chandelier lights the Hickory Chair bed as pendants by Hudson Valley Lighting accent nightstands by Das Wolfe Design.
The primary bathroom exudes spa-like comfort thanks to a sauna and walk-in shower. Calacatta porcelain tiles swathe the space, which is floored with Studio Moderne ceramic tiles; both are from Walker Zanger.
A freestanding Clovis Goods Inc. fluted soaking tub rests before the same room’s slabs of Walker Zanger Calacatta porcelain. The Newport Brass Secant tub filler is from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery.
Dark-tinted plaster by Cockrell envelops the convivial gentleman’s lounge and game room, which boasts an Olhausen Billiards brass-base Maxim pool table from Everything Billiards & Spas. An RH Montesquieu Linear Chandelier in lacquered burnished brass suspends overhead.
Thayer Coggin’s Rewired sectional and Real Good Too swivel chairs establish the perfect setup for happy-hour cocktails and family movie nights alike. Mr. Brown London’s Figaro coffee table rests upon the Rosecore San Pietro rug from Hall’s Flooring. Draperies made of Villa Nova’s Jali textile frame the scene.
Swaringen absorbed her clients’ cosmopolitan preferences while remaining mindful that they’re the parents of three children. “I knew this house would be lived in by a young family; so, it needed to be practical, too,” she notes. Responding to Smith’s plans prioritizing symmetry, proportion and scale, the designer assigned each room a distinct character and function.
In the grand salon, two seating groups— comprising a pair of curved sofas and a deep sectional—define the free-flowing room, which offers axial views past steel French doors to the resort-inspired backyard, pavilion and pool. The bulk of daily activity happens within this lively, multipurpose room, which blends into an open-format kitchen featuring striking quartzite counters and a dining area accented by a mulberry-colored Kenny Nguyen silk painting.
To temper the scale and airiness of these spaces and establish a warm ambience, Swaringen collaborated with Eric Cockrell, a local artisan recommended by Gerrard, to apply bespoke plaster surfaces in a soothing tone. The tactile treatments grace not only walls and ceilings, but also fireplaces, the kitchen hood and the dramatically curved staircase Smith placed at the far end of the library.
The home’s upper level, meanwhile, is an exercise in serenity, with tone-on-tone wallpapered panels lining the expanse of the broad corridor leading to the couple’s immersive private retreat. Luxury European hotels—particularly the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris—inform the material and color palette of their personal suite. Resort-like amenities include lush linens, ornate molding, motorized draperies and a see-through fireplace that serves as “the focal point between the seating area and bedroom,” Swaringen adds.
Main-level leisure spaces continue that sense of escapism, as with the gentleman’s lounge evoking an elegant hotel lobby. Accessed from the grand salon via two sets of custom leather doors, the moody gathering space is “wonderful for entertaining but equally cozy and inviting for the nights you just want to curl up and watch a movie with the kids,” the designer observes.
For the clients, the result is “an elevated family home where we can truly enjoy each other,” the husband notes, adding: “It’s a place full of positive energy and meaningful moments.” And for a design team galvanized by what’s next, it’s the thrill of installing something state-of-the-art in Myers Park.
The primary bathroom exudes spa-like comfort thanks to a sauna and walk-in shower. Calacatta porcelain tiles swathe the space, which is floored with Studio Moderne ceramic tiles; both are from Walker Zanger.