An American house centred around a shared love of fabrics
It's a classic movie plot: boy meets girl at high school, boy and girl start dating, move away to the big city (New York, in this case) to get started on adult life before eventually circling back to where they're from to settle down and raise a family. It's a classic for a reason and in the case of Elle and Greyson Clymer, their story follows a similar path, leading them back – “12 years later (after having bounced around in six apartments, a wedding, getting a dog, starting a business and having two children)” – to Kansas City and this impressive, Georgian-style house.
Moving from an apartment to a large suburban house is a daunting decorating prospect, so, once Elle and Greyson had appointed an architect and contractor, she reached out to a dear friend for help with the interiors: Stephanie Woodmansee of Henry & Co – the interior design business which Elle founded with Stephanie in 2013 and which Stephanie has carried on by herself since Elle moved to this house in Kansas City. “Elle and I had worked so closely together for so long,” explains Stephanie, “so it was pretty exciting when I got the call and she wanted me back on board.” What followed was, in Stephanie's words, “an 18 month renovation with many surprises along the way”.
These were not bad, structural surprises – the house was built in 1916 and had good bones – but rather delightful things to stumble upon such as “original pocket doors hidden in a wall separating the living room from the now library, and beautiful original marble tiled floors hidden under wall to wall carpeting”. There was the small matter of renovating the entire kitchen, primary bedroom suite and redoing all the plumbing and electrics in the house, but then it was onto the decoration and Elle and Stephanie did not hold back.
The house is a wonderland of patterns, fabrics and colour, tempered by a few neutral spaces, while others go all out. “You can tell we clearly love pattern,” laughs Stephanie. “There are so many amazing textiles out there and how many times do you get to decorate your home? My perspective is that life is short, so use as many fabrics as you can.” That perspective is on full display here, from the moment you enter the house. The hallway walls are lined with Schumacher's ‘Brentwood Stripe’, while the sunroom mixes Lee Jofa's iconic ‘Hollyhock’ on the walls with a sofa covered in Quadrille's ‘Arbre de Matisse’, bone inlay chair covered in a remnant of a Muriel Brandolini fabric and no less that seven different fabrics across the varying cushions – though one is covered in the fabric version of the wallpaper.
Bringing that many prints into a house and making it work is impressive, but somehow, Stephanie has also managed to make the house feel restful too. This in part has been achieved by furnishing the house with antiques. “Elle had so many treasures from her grandmothers,” explains Stephanie, “along with finds from flea markets and antique visits so we had a lot of things to start to create the character of each room. As we began to introduce antiques and find discontinued fabrics on Etsy or Ebay, it helped establish a foundation.”
It has also helped to establish a feeling of a house that is very loved, very personal and most of all, lived in. Amongst all these incredible fabrics, there is a true sense of home and comfort. “Stephanie has a way of turning my somewhat crazy, somewhat horrible ideas into something brilliant,” jokes Elle, continuing, “doing design work is way more fun with her. She is full of amazing ideas, and our ability to collaborate is something I value very much.”
It is clear how personal this project is to both parties; of course, for Elle, it's home but it was also another chance to work with her former business partner. While for Stephanie, having a “dear friend” as a client made it all the more special. They're not done yet, however. Elle has tapped Stephanie to decorate her East Hamptons house next but, as Stephanie says, the work in Kansas is never truly finished: "we are still constantly replacing things, updating things, and repairing things to the “old girl”, but we feel she deserves it."
Henry & Co: henryandcodesign.com
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint1/22In the entrance, an antique table takes centre stage with a Vaughan light above it.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint2/22The walls are covered in Schumacher's ‘Brentwood Stripe’ with a Le Manach fabric cut and used like a trimming around the top.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint3/22The light in the sunroom was Elle's grandmother's. It was left in her old house and so Elle's husband reached out to the new owners and bought it back as a gift for her.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint4/22A console table found at Round Top antique market holds lamps from Visual Comfort.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint5/22The family room is painted in ‘Blue Smoke’ by Benjamin Moore, against which Stephanie has layered Michael Smith's ‘Jasper’ fabric via the roman blinds.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint6/22The fireplace mantle is a Jamb design, while the mirror is from RT Facts.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint7/22
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint8/22Even the kitchen has a touch of pattern, found in Carolina Irving's ‘Patmos’ on the back on the stools. An antique runner adds further colour.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint9/22Stephanie found the dining table – which sits on an antique rug – on 1stDibs and the chandelier was already in the house. The chinoiserie cabinet was a Chairish find.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint10/22A Gracie wall covering provides a backdrop for an antique mirror in the dining room.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint11/22The Napoleon chairs were a 1stDibs find, which Stephanie covered in a Schumacher stripe on the front and a favourite Muriel Brandolini fabric on the back. A Clarence House fabric was used for the window treatments, made by Luther Quintana (whose work features in nearly every room of the house).
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint12/22The walls and blinds in the office are both in the same Quadrille fabric, with a Kathyrn Ireland design on the ottoman (again upholstered by Luther Quintana). The sofa was the client's own, reupholstered in a rich Schumacher velvet. A light fitting from 1stDibs hangs in the middle of the space.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint13/22Art collected over the couple's lives lines the stairs. The runner is a custom design made with Eliko Rugs.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint14/22The primary bedroom is papered with a Muriel Brandolini fabric, while Quadrille's ‘Volpo’ lines the back of the bed, from The Federalist.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint15/22The chaise was covered in Lee Jofa's ‘Ikat de Lin’ by Luther Quintana.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint16/22An adjacent dressing room has custom walls by Aleta fabrics with a Kaleen rug on the floor and Urban Electric light fitting.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint17/22The bathroom is a calm, neutral space with a bathtub from Waterworks.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint18/22Another Jamb mantle anchors the bathroom.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint19/22In one of the children's bedroom, the chair is in fact a nursing chair from Target but recovered in a Zak & Fox fabric, with a Quadrille fabric-covered stool from Bunny Williams alongside it.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint20/22The bunk beds are from Crate & Barrel with Pottery Barn bedding.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint21/22Ballard Design headboards are covered in a Raoul fabric in the other children's room, with Muriel Brandolini used in the bedding. The walls are papered in a Marthe Armitage design.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint22/22Waterworks fittings and a custom Raoul Textiles shower curtain make the daughter's bathroom a sweet scene.
