As first seen in NC Design Online.
Every home design is a labor of love, and each presents its own challenges. However, some design challenges have more twists and turns than others. Linda Constable of Ambiance Interiors in Asheville has 30 years of experience creating warm, welcoming interiors that perfectly capture the unique spirit of each client. Her talent and years of experience helped immensely when she was asked to design two separate “forever homes” – for the same clients – on different sides of the country.
Images Courtesy of Ambiance Interiors ©
The clients, a husband and wife, had settled in Asheville, in “the Hilltop House,” as Linda affectionately calls it. They called on her to design that home, and then, to her surprise, they let her know soon after completion that they were relocating to California. They wanted her to help them relocate her design to their new home as well. North Carolina Design talked to Linda to find out about her inspiration for the North Carolina home, and about how she managed this unique situation.
“The clients’ North Carolina home was a Tudor-style house that was built in the 1930’s,” Linda recounts. “They fell in love with everything about it. When they purchased that house and did that project, they had no plans to leave.”
The Hilltop House project was such a great experience for Linda that she jumped at the chance to work with the homeowners again. “They were so much fun,” I was tickled when they called for the California project,” she reflects. “I have to say, moving a family and all of their belongings from one side of the country to another was a really interesting challenge for me. It took three trips to get it all done, but the way it all came together was so satisfying.”
Linda sought to use as many of the original furnishings from the Asheville home as possible, while transforming the overall design feel so that everything worked well for the California location.“ We created a very welcoming look to the home – a little dressy, without being too formal. The homeowners have eclectic tastes, which kept the design from feeling stuffy. Both the husband and the wife have a great love for nature, so we went with a color palette that was earthy and primarily had natural tones. Many of the fabrics and patterns used have natural elements to them.”
Linda wasn’t just focused on creating the home’s look, but on its overall feel. “The age of the house really worked well with the mood we created,” she notes. “The spirit of the house felt original, as though it hadn’t been remodeled at all. It also felt very settled, as though they had lived there much longer than they had. “
Transferring an entire design from one home to another – especially across the country – may seem like a nearly impossible task. While it did require some precise and thorough planning, Linda maintains that it wasn’t as difficult as one might think. “If you plan a space thoughtfully, and create a well-proportioned, quality design, you can certainly make it work for a different home,” she explains.
While she used many of the furnishings and accessories from the Hilltop House, Linda still had something original in mind for the new home. “The idea was never to duplicate the Asheville home,” she says. “It was to shake things up, and create something new. It was interesting though, because from the moment I saw the new house, I couldn’t help but feel that the souls of these two homes were related somehow. Everything seems to have worked out the way it was meant to.”