Family-Friendly Luxe on the Northshore

by Poki Hampton

WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE HOME of Shruthi and Dr. Pramod Menon in Covington, you exhale and relax. Although their tastes are opposite—he likes richer darker hues, while she leans toward light and airy—it is a sanctuary, creating a calm oasis which is both traditional and timeless.

“We moved walls and closed off what was the butler’s pantry into the kitchen, making a mud room and small office for Shruthi,” says Ellen Bajon of EMB Interiors. “By closing these walls, we created an inviting entrance and music room. A large contemporary painting hangs over an ebony-black piano. Two chairs with gilded frames provide adequate seating, but the show-stopper chandelier of gold-leaf branches and selenite rock crystal creates light in the evening.”

The spacious living area was enhanced with a honed marble fireplace. The fluid lines of the bookcase are mimicked in the two barrel-shapedchairs. The room is both elegant and family-friendly. The open archcreates a site line into the keeping room.

Traditional wooden stair spindles were replaced with painted iron, and the risers on the stairs were wallpapered in a textured diamond pattern. Everywhere you look in the living room is a different surprise. The fluid-lined bookcase is filled with beautiful objets d’art and topped with a gold-leaf sculpture from a California artist. A transitional marble fireplace in tailored, honed black marble that holds selenite rock crystal logs replaced the existing fireplace; it is topped with a hand-painted European painting.

Wooden beams were added to the ceiling, and the back wall was pushed out, adding French doors to give more light to the dining area.

Walls were moved to make room for the 10 foot cooking area. Thebacksplash is white marble mosaic with diamond-shaped inserts. Newcabinets in a soft gray were added and topped with honed quartzitecountertops. All of the kitchen hardware is live brass, which changes toa warm patina over time.

Mineral accents run throughout the house, including on the white-textured, curved front sofa, two metal intricate barrel chairs are in a textured metallic weave with soft grey, velvet-back pillows. A large onyx bowl sits on the gold metalbased cocktail table, which has a 5 cm. quartzite top. Two diamond-shaped crystal lamps with linen shades rest on a large, six-panel, crotch mahogany credenza behind the sofa. A beautiful linen-covered pedestal topped by a cutglass, brass and resin sculpture complete the room. The kitchen was the first room that the team of EMB Interiors created for the Menons. “We knew we didn’t want fussy, French or farmhouse, but didn’t know where to begin. We did know that we liked clean lines, and we needed comfortable livable spaces that would stand up to our three children,” says Shruthi. Beams were added to the 12-foot ceiling, and walls were removed to make room for the 10-foot-wide cook area. The backsplash is of white marble mosaic, dotted with diamond-shaped Light Emporador insets. The countertops and roomy island are in leathered quartzite, and the cabinet hardware is a live brass finish, which ages over time.

A pair of antique doors form the pantry entrance. “We left the original antique hardware on the pantry door to add interest,” says Ellen. The floors in the kitchen, dining area and keeping room are leathered marble stone. “We pushed the dining walls out and added French doors.” This area provides ample seating for the family and guests around a Theodore Alexander wooden table with metallic accents. The metal-legged chairs are covered in textured metallic linen. A contemporary chunky quartzite chandelier with bronze hangs over the table. “We gutted the keeping room and put in a new limestone fireplace and dove-grey bookcases that slightly contrast with the white walls,” says Ellen. Four swivel chairs are covered in a geometric patterned fabric and an Oushak rug anchors the room.

Black framed glass French doors lead into the media room. Built-in surround sound and a very large television are great for family movienight. The doors of the credenza behind the sectional sofa are whitepainted glass.

Ellen used the original footprint of the media room, but tweaked it by taking away the ornate detailing and added clean moldings. A comfortable sectional in high-performance fabric has plenty of room for movie night. The drum style cocktail table is of metallic cork with a glass top. As you enter the media room, behind the sectional is a mineral-painted, glass-front credenza incased in waterfall cast cement.

Dr. Menon’s music room brings in the dark moody and soothing hues of metallic deep charcoal. The custom fireplace is faced in metallic tiles; the walls are papered in a deep metallic subtle print and the coffered ceiling is painted in dark metallic charcoal. The glow of the room is created by a bubble glass inset table flanked by the club chair. An antler chandelier adds to the masculine esthetic.

The smoky mirrored bar area features custom cabinets with glass doors and black granite countertops and two wood and iron pendants hang above the bar area, and leather barstools with nail head trim complete the ambiance.

To blend into the media room, the bar area was painted white, and smoky mirrors were added to the back of the shelves. Mineral- accentedwallpaper was added, along with woodtoned metal pendant lights.

The master bathroom was completely gutted, and double vanities, extra storage drawers, wall-to-ceiling handmade tiles, heated marble floors, free-standing tub, and custom heated towel rack were added. The oversized shower is floor-to-ceiling marble tiles with a fog-proof mirror.

The master suite, which was originally Pramod’s office, was completly remodeled by the EMB team. “We turned the office into the spacious master bedroom and moved his music room to the other side of the house,” says Ellen. A hand painted wallpaper mural behind the king-sized bed brings the outdoors in. Contemporary crystal lamps sit on top of wood front chests. A sofa and leather recliner provide seating.

Washed wooden beams and a hand-painted mural were added in the master bedroom, which was once Pamrod’s office. The room is kept light and airywith natural fabrics and furnishings.

Pamrod’s closet, with lighted glass cabinets and lighted floating shoe shelves, was designed to resemble a men’s haberdashery.

The master bathroom was completely gutted, and double vanities, extra storage drawers, wall-to-ceiling handmade tiles, heated marble floors,free-standing tub, and custom heated towel rack were added. Theoversized shower is floor-to-ceiling marble tiles with a fog-proofmirror.

Back-to-back lighted bookcases filled with cherished mementoes and favorite books, along with the wall of closets, create ample storage for out-of-season clothing and luggage. Shruthi’s dressing area is light and airy, with a welllit custom walk-in closet. A bath area with two vanities, a soaking tub and an oversized marble tiled shower was added. “We walled the entire space with the metallic tiles, added cabinetry, heated marble floors and custom towelwarming racks. His closet is outfitted with custom burledwood, glass-front cabinets and lit floating shoe shelves to replicate a man’s haberdashery,” says Ellen.

The three-car garage is every man’s dream. “Pramod wanted to turn the garage into a beautiful room to house his cars. We added dark-charcoal paneled doors to hide tools and workout equipment. The floors are marble-veined vinyl, and the walls are painted a dark, moody charcoal color. A gunmetal, eight-LED-light, contemporary chandelier is the crowning touch in this extraordinary garage.

Charcoal sliding wood-grained panels were added to the garage closets to hide tools and exercise equipment. The marble-veined charcoal grayvinyl flooring was added along with an ultracotemporary chandelier tomake Pamrod’s dream garage.

“EMB Interiors made everything so easy for us. The house evolved over time with the team’s meticulous attention to detail. We now have a house that was individually designed for us, but we are a little sad that it is all finished, because we have made lifelong friends of Ellen and her team,” says Shruthi.