Text by Bethany Adams
Kate Hartman and Kelly Neely of Chickadee Interiors know that creating spaces that reflect their clients’ personalities is paramount. So, when they were offered the opportunity to design three separate bedrooms for teenage sisters, their first priority was uncovering the girls’ distinct styles. Toward that end, they met individually with Abby, Maddie, and Katherine, daughters of Annie and Chris Brown, to pore over Pinterest boards and build the foundation for their personalized spaces. “When they moved in, this was [Annie and Chris’s] first priority,” notes Kate. “They wanted the girls to feel like they had a space that was their own.”
Highlighting personal style was especially important when designing the rooms of twins Abby and Maddie, whose interests inhabit opposite ends of the spectrum. A room brimming with lace would have been contrary to the personality of Abby, whose tastes lean toward a sportier aesthetic. “She requested blues and greens,” Kate says, noting that the 10th grader wanted to steer away from pinks and golds. Forgoing a frillier theme, the designers opted for bold pops of color, sleek lines, and eyecatching patterns reflective of a cool and confident nature. The fuzzy rug was a special request as well, and layering it on the already white floor helped the colors in the room to really shine.
In contrast to her twin’s room, Maddie requested a color palette rich with soft rosy tones and streaks of gold, preferring an overall atmosphere of feminine charm. “She was very involved and excited,” says Kelly of the teen, who asked to keep the embossed wallpaper that already covered the ceiling. A tufted blush headboard and a duvet cover with ruching fit for royalty are balanced by modern lines like those found in the vanity table and nightstands. Other requests included the flower-inspired chandelier, which creates a contemporary focal point in a room dripping with elegant features.
Ceilings can be easily overlooked during the design process, but this bedroom shows that they can also be the star of the show. The embossed wallpaper shown here raises the elegance of the room to another level, tying in gold details like the bedside lamps and adding an antique touch.
Because Katherine’s tastes are similar to Maddie’s, the designers paid special attention to highlighting the subtleties of her preferences while designing her bedroom. “She really likes purples and pinks, but the other room has a lot of pink in it also, so we wanted to keep from overlapping in style so that they had two very defined, different spaces,” Kate says. To solve the problem, the designers pulled on common features in Katherine’s inspiration pictures, like a depth of grays and minimalist designs in place of overtly feminine pieces. The result is a space that feels perfectly balanced, with delicate pink watercolor patterns offset by cool neutrals and clean geometric lines.
The seating area connected to Katherine’s bedroom features fabrics by Sunbrella and Crypton, which were chosen specifically to allow for use by all of the family’s daughters—including their 3-year-old. “We were trying to pick fabrics that would let them live in that space and not worry about spilling,” says Kate. “So [we chose] very family-friendly fabrics.”
The three styles come together in a sitting area that shares space with Katherine’s bedroom, resulting in a spot where all of the sisters can gather and have fun. The artwork in the sitting area features not only the pinks and purples of the nearby bedroom but a variety of shades that inject the space with a little bit of each girl’s personality. From soft gray to rich gold to sleek chrome, each daughter’s style is represented. It’s the perfect culmination of an attempt to help each of these girls feel at ease and at home in a new place.
STYLE IDEA
Get creative by selecting pieces that can serve double duty. Kelly and Kate chose to create a room divider with cubbies that double as storage space for games and other items while providing a bit of privacy for Katherine.
