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“I like to let the architecture of the home speak,” she said. “I like the history even with all its imperfections.” ages people to think about the long-term and how the space can flex over time with the people living there.

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

ALEXANDRIA

– Tracy Anderson of Tracy Anderson Design works with clients to remodel and update their spaces.

Anderson is an expert at adding texture and vibrancy to a space, paying special attention to high-quality additions that will age gracefully.

No matter the style of home, she encour-

“I like to keep the big things pretty neutral,” she said. “Neutral sounds so boring but you can bring in trends and colors into accent chairs, light fixtures and window treatments. A beautiful wood floor or travertine floor is something that’s timeless. Picking quality finishes and surrounding it with the fun, that way it lasts.”

Big windows and natural light, she said, never go out of style.

She also focuses on texture and layering when finishing out a space.

This accent wall helps tie together the look of a coffered ceiling on this level of a home. This wall brings interest and a bit of texture to the space.

“It’s just texture over and over if it’s a light palette then use that herringbone backsplash, two-tone cabinetry, wood and painted mix so there’s something for the eye to be interested in as you go around. Even if it’s a soft contrast, there’s contrast there.” As she works, she tries to carry a theme through a space. If she begins with unique architecture on a front door, she tries to tie it into an armoire in a room or another furniture piece of the same style or color. She may add a cove or cabinetry to an area to bring in something new to the space and provide a different functional element.

She often adds history to a space, maybe by using a gorgeous reclaimed door for the pantry in the kitchen and then bringing that element to the look of a light fixture in the dining room.

“Bringing that around and tying it together color-wise, bringing in that history, then accent tables and lamps continue the story of ‘there’s age here,’ but yet it’s brand new –a copper hood doesn’t hurt either,” she said.

She may suggest a facelift for a fireplace, adding stone and then tying it into the front entry by adding texture on the entryway floor; it may be a different pattern but the two spaces play off one another.

“You have to connect your spaces – the wood, the color, the natural elements that tie it all together,” she said.

While a traditional coffered ceiling is deep and typically done in a room with tall ceilings, this modified version hides the eye from a crooked ceiling. To tie the look together are architectural elements on a large wall in the dining room and an accent wall.

Part of her job as a designer is to not only meld a look throughout a space or home, it’s to marry together the ideas of different members of a household.

She works with clients to understand their specific styles, opinions and wants and then combines the styles to create spaces that work for everyone.

“It’s an art to putting a home together

Anderson page 26 from page 25 beautifully,” she said. “All the wonderful HGTV shows that people watch, it doesn’t really happen that way.”

She does encourage her clients to start with Pinterest, creating files that appeal to them. Then, she does a lot of homework and research. If one partner opts for more modern stylings and the other wants shiplap, she works to mesh those ideas together. She may add texture to the space in the form of blankets and pillows and a wood floor, but placed in a herringbone pattern so one gets a little texture and one gets more of a modernism.

“It’s about finding the different applications to bring that in,” she said. “It may be a brick front entry floor that transitions to a board and batten wall.”

Even traditional ele-

To give this basement space architectural elements, designer and interest to the eye. ments like board and batten can have more updated applications; placing a modern version of a coffered ceiling and tying it in with a complementary accent wall can provide an expensive feel and withstand the passing of time. The width and how the treatment is applied to the wall, floor-to-ceiling or at chair-rail height, will impact the look of the overall space.

The key, she said, is adding architectural elements but putting in just the right amount of texture.

“You don’t want to see it everywhere you look or you’ve overdone it and it will feel trendy,” she said. Anderson page 27 from page 26

As Anderson works with clients, she asks them about their overall long-term vision for the house – and their budget.

“That’s going to drive everything,” she said. “Right now, costs are so high so we’re putting together projects in phases.”

The first phase may be the kitchen because that’s where people gather, but homeowners need to envision the full plan and how the space is going to look when the entire project is complete. If moving from a honey oak to new cabinets and flooring, the instant that’s up, everything else will look much more dated. So, beginning a project with the end in mind is important.

When it comes to planning for the end result, she encourages homeowners to think about how the space may grow with the family.

It’s easy to think about a bedroom or two for kids, but it’s another thing to think about adding a full bath or a laundry room on the main floor to accommodate people growing older in the house. There are opportunities to open up a wall and make new spaces but that has to be part of the plan early on.

“Everything always evolves,” she said. “I love the history of old homes and taking what were old, small spaces and creating them to be the new, open concept in a way. Creating that texture and saving that home and saving that character, I love that.”

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