of joy living

If you were to gather into stacks all of the vibrantly encased books sprinkled throughout this newly renovated home, you would eventually need a rolling library ladder and reliable calf muscles. What you wouldn’t need is a more playful and telling window in to the colorful joie de vivre that Dr. Brad Bengtson and his wife Anna Bengtson embrace in both their family life and in design.

Ever adventurous with stylizing hue and pattern, the couple revels in a spirited palette. “I’m typically drawn to really happy design spaces that are also functional; places where we can do life, but are still beautiful,” said Anna.

This duality of purpose between the dynamic and the invitingly structured follows the family from their last home. In deciding to simplify their lives by moving closer to their son’s schools just over a year ago, Bengtson describes the choice as an incredible game changer.

“We’re such a busy family. We have two older daughters that are in Detroit and Nashville, as well as our two boys that are 13 and nineyear’s-old. This move really improves the quality of our lives,” she said of the roughly 2,500 square-foot decrease from their prior home.

To tackle the top-to-bottom renovation, the couple teamed up with designer Kathryn Chaplow of Kathryn Chaplow Interior Design. The designer has been a mainstay through several previous projects with the couple, including two other homes and the husband’s plastic surgery office — the Bengtson Center for Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery — where Anna is also the marketing director.

“They like life to be really fun. And, they’re able to enjoy that unrestricted fun in their home because the structure and order that Anna appreciates is already in place. So, in a way, it allows for the perfect amount of organized chaos,” said the designer.

To give the home a fresh floor plan and personality that belies its original 1964 birthdate, the couple and Chaplow worked with builders Dave Morren and Brian Miedema of Insignia Homes, and Todd Wiley of TruKitchens.

“Although we’re all from completely different disciplines, it’s just as good as it gets as far as the chemistry between client, designer and builder,” said Miedema in reference to the multiple projects they’ve now collaborated on together.

Drawing on that intersecting belief that a home can be both lived in and looked at, the homeowners wanted efficient spaces that were informal, without sacrificing style. What quickly emerges in this renovation is cosmo- politan comfort — a deft mix of low-key, yet witty sophistication and panache.

“They wanted to live in all of the real estate of this home and maximize the use of the space,” Chaplow said of the team’s decision to absorb the old formal living and dining rooms in to the new main level footprint for a larger kitchen, breezeway, storage spaces, garage entrance and new powder room.

In service to the couple’s desire for one large, cohesive living space with three high-functioning zones, the new kitchen layout provides a larger, open springboard in to the adjacent informal dining and family living areas.

Smoked white oak flooring - chosen for it’s durable and forgiving nature amidst dogs and kids - is seen throughout the bulk of these public spaces.

Grounding the kitchen, and over 13-feet in length, a Bianco Oro quartz island becomes the solution in defining one of the zones. Finishes including a Sub-Zero refrigerator, Wolf oven and custom Grabill cabinetry — with a punchy mix of metal hardware — all lead to the biggest splash found at the end of the space; the stylized butler pantry.

By utilizing square footage and a window once appropriated for the previous owner’s formal dining room, this truly captivating pantry houses a treasure trove of vivid glassware, Marvel refrigerator drawers and a collection of serve ware for entertaining.

“Anna and Brad have a priority where beauty and function are partners, and they simply love joyful spaces,” Chaplow said. With that philosophy in mind, it’s an easy leap to, why not also make the pantry beautiful? Just a quick peek upward at the graphic wallpaper on the pantry ceiling, and it’s obvious that there’s dynamic, upbeat life to everything in this home.

Newly-custom, white built-ins surrounding the family room’s updated fireplace read as an architectural element that could easily fit in to the original blueprint of the home. The homage to the traditional ends there and makes way for a current take on bookshelf design. A boldly patterned wallpaper is a shimmering

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backdrop for the owner’s collection of accessories and beloved books.

“We didn’t want things to give off a brand new, we just took the wrapper off, kind of feel,” the designer said of the decor. “So, we like to mix in art and other things that clients already have. It makes the space feel authentic.”

That authenticity is peppered throughout the home in the form of the children’s framed drawings, treasures from the much-loved Fishs Eddy shop in New York, and colorful finds from local shops as well.

The open transition from the family room to the sun room — located at the back of the home — also adds livable square footage to what is an earlier addition to the original home.

“We decided to keep it, and after shoring it up, reconfiguring the windows and adding a sliding door and staircase down to the backyard, this became a fun room for them,” Miedema said. A former three-season room, the builder added HVAC and also constructed a custom, lengthy bench with additional storage for a unique, kid-frequented spot.

While the first floor owner suite remains off of the kitchen, it is also the recipient of a truly covetous and completely remodeled owner bathroom and set of walk-in closets.

Perhaps the most challenging and talked about of the main level changes came in the reconfiguring of the once formal living room at the front of the home. Located just off an impeccably updated foyer staircase — one that’s punctuated with a crystal finial (a Chaplow signature) and lit from above with a Circa Lighting chandelier statement piece — the new breezeway and massive barn door-encased storage closets sing with form and function.

“The hallway closet additions were very specific to what they needed. Amazingly, you have this beautiful window that would usually be reserved for a space like a living room, but now it’s a wonderful way to make the hall feel special and surprising,” Chaplow said of the conversion.

An essential space for the family, and one with positioning to the other side of the foyer is the room lovingly dubbed “Mission Control” by the designer.

“It’s our dog’s room, my office, the laundry room — it’s where our boys do homework, and it’s why I love having really efficient spaces, because it’s where life happens,” said Anna of the major overhaul this multi-function command center received.

The second level, once five bedrooms for the previous owner’s six children, became a completely updated footprint when the decision was made to knock out two of the bedrooms for the husband’s office. TruKitchens also set about the reinvention of the main bathroom.

“They challenged me to incorporate modern amenities and lots of storage in the spaces I worked within,” Wiley said of the significant before-and-after found in the largest of the upstairs bathrooms.

The updates continue on the lower level where the curved descending stairs were reoriented and made straight, while freeing up extra space and creating a better flow in the process. The builders converted a portion of the lower level area in to a bathroom, a small launderette and an exercise zone.

By centering the seating around the television, the once long and narrow room took on a new life where a game table by the fireplace, billiards, ping pong and arcade games usher in a new era of entertainment. Previously the only entrance and exit to-and-from the completely updated pool, the lower level now functions as an enjoyable extension into the outdoor space.

Outside, the grounds went through a masterful redesign with help from Gary Kappes of Kappes Landscapes. The removal of a white metal pool fence and addition of an automatic pool cover meant that the indoor-outdoor lifestyle of the backyard wouldn’t require fencing after the owner’s obtained a special permit.

The prior choppy view suddenly opens to incorporate the perimeter wood line and newly added basketball court. A gas fire pit, casual dining area, and outdoor pizza oven provide spatial definition throughout the extensive terrace work.

By better connecting the house to its surroundings, the owners are now able to enjoy a complete inside-and-out reimagining of their dwelling. Through their penchant for fun and functional design, they’ve truly infused the lively nature of the family in to the framework and style of each room. A beautiful convergence of spontaneity in both aesthetics and in their home life make this renovation an imaginative and inviting oasis.

Resource Index

BUILDER Insignia Homes

INTERIOR DESIGN Kathryn

Chaplow Interior Design

APPLIANCES Bekins

CABINETRY TruKitchens

COUNTERTOPS Great Lakes Granite Works

DOORS Phillip Elenbaas Millwork

FLOORING Town & Country

LANDSCAPING Kappes Landscapes