When Edward and Laura Pack called local designer Ayten Nadeau to renovate their home, they weren’t chasing a particular style—they were chasing a particular life. One that ultimately landed them on the cover of The Wall Street Journal.
Photo courtesy of I-TEN Designs
Having met online and found a connection in 2020 after losing their respective spouses in the 2010s, the couple quickly bonded over a shared vision: to make this next chapter rich with experiences. “My husband said early on, ‘I want somebody to make new memories with,’” recalls Laura. Upon tying the knot in 2022, Laura sold her home and moved into Edward’s—only to realize they needed a fresh space for their fresh start.
Designing a home with this goal may seem like a broad task, but Nadeau was up to the challenge. After all, she knows a thing or two about new chapters. Born in Turkey, raised in Germany and now in the U.S., she’s spent most of her career as a flight attendant, giving her creative eye a certain je ne sais quoi that comes from a life well-traveled.
Based in Raleigh now for about a decade, she established her firm, I-TEN Designs, in 2017 for both commercial and residential design. She initially crossed paths with Laura, a designer herself, at interior design school at UNCG in the early 2010s—and when Laura reached out with the project, Nadeau was ready to dive in.
First, the couple, now in their 60s, opened up the space, gutting the downstairs to create a welcome flow. To amplify natural light, they painted the walls a crisp white and installed additional windows. Even the molding was pared back, allowing the walls to stretch higher and make the space feel more expansive.
The biggest challenge, however, was merging the duo’s lives. Edward brought over 90 pieces of art from his previous marriage, while Laura had her own cherished mementos. Along the walls, you’ll find a black-and-white portrait of Laura’s grandmother from 1925 juxtaposed with the golds and blues of Chris Roberts-Antieau’s “The Dance.”
Fueled by their love of hosting, the pair prioritized removing barriers by opening up the downstairs and redesigning the kitchen. Styled for seamless celebrations, the new island seats six—ideal for the amateur chef, whether he’s cooking with the grandkids or mixing cocktails for a crowd.
Photo by Kacey Gilpin Photography; courtesy of I-TEN Designs
Photo by Kacey Gilpin Photography; courtesy of I-TEN Designs
But the finished home didn’t just give them an excuse to host more fetes—it also snagged a cover feature in WSJ. Though not explicitly on their bucket list, the spotlight certainly aligned with the kind of new experiences the couple crave in this next chapter.
“We both just want to enjoy life and life together as long as we can,” muses Laura. So while you might spot subtle nods to art deco or midcentury-mod influences, nothing about this house is conventional. It’s a reflection of two lives woven together, piece by piece.
A dynamic furniture plan maximizes seating and flexible functionality in this small Five Points bungalow, where MA Allen Interiors reimagines the narrow rectangular living room to open up and unify the space to immaculate effect. To start, two large cased openings and a central fireplace on the opposing wall meant traditional and expected seating groups proved unfavorable, explains president and lead designer Allen. Thus, the design team implemented a corner banquette with pedestal table, a sofa centered on the fireplace anchored with a coffee table, and a chair pairing offset on the window wall, thereby creating three distinct zones and one large unified entertainment area. Here, we tap Allen for her inside tips on how to recreate the refresh.
Photography by Stacey Van Berkel Photography
Designer’s Tips Dark & Dreamy Don’t shy away from a darker wall color. Often it makes a space feel larger—as seen here, where walls coated in a rich navy felt neutral yet warming and made the custom upholstery fabric pop.
Don’t Force It If a traditional layout of a sofa and pair of chairs does not agree with your space, don’t force it. “Get creative!” implores Allen.
Well-Dressed “Don’t skip window treatments!” advises Allen. If privacy or lighting control are not issues, opt for a faux Roman shade and save the expense of the functioning Roman hardware. “But nothing helps a room look more complete than well-dressed windows.”
Better Together If you have a room with multiple seating groups, a custom-cut area rug that follows the shape of the room can be a great unifier.
A tone-on-tone color palette visually expands the volume—sans harsh lines—in this stylish Brier Creek Country Club sophisticated-modern open kitchen, where the existing footprint is maximized by reworking the dimensions and scale of the room’s main attraction: the island. Taking center stage, the designated gathering place is intentionally designed to at once downplay the fridge/hood and draw the eyes in as the wow factor in this simply edited and elegant open kitchen to an inviting refined-chic effect. We chat up interior designer Anita Bhattacharya, NCIDQ, of Otrada Design LLC for tricks of the trade on how to mimic the refresh. otradadesign.com
Vertical Vibes Don’t harsh the vibe. Extend the backsplash tile vertically up the wall to bring the viewer’s eye up toward the ceiling and expand the overall volume of the room. Benefit—a taller appearing ceiling. Better still? No horizontal lines!
Go Tone-on-Tone For a larger, more cohesive and refined look, keep the wall, tile and cabinetry palette simple via a tone-on-tone palette with color transitions to minimize lightness to darkness (aka sharp value) contrasts. This helps to reduce any one item grabbing your eye so you and your guests see the overall composition of the space.
Zero In To emulate this modern, inviting look, select a similarly sophisticated neutral wall hue, designate your island footprint and choose a contrasting-yet-timeless countertop color (white, black, taupe). Pop in some black sculptural pendant lights—and, well, good luck getting the guests to go home.
Life is better together—and where better to gather than in a formal-yet-inviting light-filled dining room. Here, locally sourced reupholstered vintage chairs serve as the design inspo for this cerulean oasis where art, floral fabric and brass bar cart surrounds collide to create the perf gathering space. We tap CEO Cate Holcombe of Raleigh’s Cate Holcombe Interiors on how to recreate the luxe look.
Photo by Anna Barzin
Designer’s Tips
Start Small A piece of furniture (in this case, the vintage chairs), a rug or artwork can spark the inspo that converts your blank canvas into a masterpiece.
Keep It Real Here, Holcombe’s team kept the chairs’ unique cerulean blue-and-cream-painted finish and reupholstered with a kid-friendly performance fabric.
Retro-fit To recreate the retro look of the chairs, start with a similar frame; grab two slightly varying shades of the same color and a small brush; alternate shades with each brushstroke to add depth and dimension; and use the carved details to guide the paint placement. And embrace the inevitable imperfections—they add character and charm!
Floral Fun Florals for… summer? Groundbreaking. Bring in gorge floral fabrics to tie together the various shades (as seen here with blue hues).
Kimarie and Eric Ankenbrand’s house is anything but traditional—but that’s why they love it so much.
Kimarie, the managing director and Raleigh lead at commercial real estate agency JLL, worked with Dallas-based Ashley Bell Interiors to style her California Modern-inspired home in Country Club Hills—built by Raleigh’s Allure Homes—into her vision of a humble abode that prioritizes character, personality and class. “The style is very different from what you normally see in Raleigh, but timeless at the same time,” Eric, a strategic accounts manager for Samsung, says.
The Ankenbrands started the project almost a year ago, with the coronavirus pandemic hitting towards the end of the building process. Luckily, their builder was able to keep working through lockdown while ensuring everyone involved stayed safe and healthy. Due to the pandemic, Kimarie had to work with their designer virtually, as well, as Bell couldn’t travel from Dallas to Raleigh to work on the house in person.
Kimarie says she drew much of the inspiration for the home from Instagram, particularly from the profiles of various builders, architects and interior and exterior designers based across the country. “You could design an entire house just by looking at inspiration pictures and following people,” she says.
Bell also helped Kimarie break with tradition in different aspects of the home. They mixed metal finishes in every room, excluded crown molding and a formal living room and made the laundry/mud room one of Kimarie’s favorite rooms in the house. Kimarie also paid careful attention to the bathrooms, which she had styled with creative tiles and elegant light fixtures. She says shopping online from different vendors, she found unique tile options that could be hard to find locally but were still priced within her budget.
Kimarie integrated many of her family’s personal items into the design of the home. A 7-foot hammerhead shark that her dad caught in Key West before he passed away in 2007 hangs on the wall of her two boys’ playroom. The shark, nicknamed “Sharky,” has hung in all of the four homes the family has lived in over the past five years. “Every time we move, the one thing I tell the movers that is irreplaceable is the shark,” Kimarie says.
A personalized vintage name art canvas hangs on another wall in the home, which Kimarie bought at a decor shop in Dallas. It contains the names of places that have a special meaning to their family, including “White Rock Lake,” “Idle Rich Pub” and “Mi Cocina,” the name of the restaurant where Kimarie and Eric had their first date. The personal pieces give the Ankenbrands’ house a distinct character that’s all their own.
While the family’s new house is certainly a beauty, Kimarie says the Southern hospitality they’ve received since moving in just three months ago is what really made them feel at home. “The neighbors we have met have been absolutely incredible,” she says. “The house itself is great, but the people and hospitality that have welcomed us to the street, neighborhood and Raleigh have been the nicest surprise.”
