Q&A with June Shea, AIDP What is transitional traditional? “The term transitional is about 10 years old. People used to have either one or the other and in between was called ‘eclectic.’ Transitional is increasingly popular today. What I do is take a traditional house and move it step-by-step to a modern space.” Why hire a decorator? “My job is to offer ideas and solutions you wouldn’t think of yourself and to build up your confidence. I push clients out of their comfort zone. And, my personal goal is not to have things that are ordinary; it only takes a few more steps to find something really special.” What is one transitional trend now? “Sheen is a really big. Luster on fabrics, wallpaper, paint and even on furniture such as the mirror commode in the Wright powder room, which sparkles with gold and silver.”
Shea is president of Shea Studio Interiors in Springfield. 703/891-1570, www.sheastudio.com
end_blockquote³ The smartly decorated interior of Brad and Leslie Wright’s McLean house exudes comfortable elegance. It’s modern, it’s conventional, it’s really a mix of both.
You can’t quite put your finger on the style. “Transitional traditional,” said decorator June Shea, president of Shea Studio Interiors. Traditional and modern are at polar ends of the decorating spectrum and transitional is the wide swath in between.
“It was an old house that was made to look new,” Leslie Wright said. “That was a bonus.”
When the Wrights first opened the door to the 5,000-square-foot classically laid-out craftsman bungalow, they loved the open floor plan.
You can just as easily meander across the spacious foyer to the dining room, martini glass in hand, as you could plop into a living room chair.
“The goal was to lift up the interior incrementally and make it more modern,” said Shea. “Transitional is all about mixing it up.”
Mrs. Wright wanted a powder room that said: ‘Wow!’
“The question was how can we take the essence of a traditional antique gold chandelier, which Wright loved, and push it forward, make it more now and less your grandmother’s powder room,” Shea said.
A transitional metallic striae and bronze splatter block print wallpaper was step one, matched with a bronze ceiling and champagne-colored rug with sheen. A modern chrome light bar fringed with crystal prisms, over the sink, complemented the chandelier in an unexpected wonderfully way.
“I could take tea in this room,” said Shea. “A lot of style is packed into a small space and it works.”
The library, Brad Wright’s office, was a plain white-walled room with built-ins, shutters and French doors. He wanted something light, friendly and a little avant-garde.
“He wanted to convey an open door feeling that wasn’t stuffy,” Leslie Wright said.
Today, a red cheetah print on the tufted Ottoman lounge is strikingly traditional yet adds a touch of whimsy. Rusty red wallpaper with an au courant take on a traditional paisley-shawl pattern decorates the walls. A pale blue-green ceiling gives the illusion of sky and aqua green wallpaper behind the bookcase conveys a depth.
“It’s elegant, fresh and comfortable,” Shea said.
The Wrights, their 19- and 22-year-old daughters and friends, spend a lot of time in the family room-kitchen that comprise one open living area, so it had to be cheerful, homey and intimate.
Shea chose neutral colors “with some oomph” — pale aqua, mocha, beige, taupe and a hint of caramel — for the carpet, window treatments, upholstered chairs and oversize movable bench stools that formed a medley around the fireplace.
A traditional cherry end table that is a modernized version of a regency or empire bookstand, communes with a funky, silver-colored round metal end table. A coffee table in the room center has a modern bronze metal base topped with ivory travertine.
“Textbook transitional design,” Shea added.
Cherry kitchen cabinets and a gold-and-silver granite island are traditional — but oversize decorative ceramic fruits add a modern flavor. And, there’s nothing traditional about the clear glass orbs with mini white fabric shades suspended on long pendants.
“They say, ‘someone here has guts,'” Shea said, “and they pushed the kitchen out of the traditional zone.”
“Everything we did in the house was to create comfort,” Leslie Wright said. “We didn’t want to live in a museum.”
Shea is president of Shea Studio Interiors in Springfield. 703/891-1570, www.sheastudio.com
end_blockquote³ The smartly decorated interior of Brad and Leslie Wright’s McLean house exudes comfortable elegance. It’s modern, it’s conventional, it’s really a mix of both.
You can’t quite put your finger on the style. “Transitional traditional,” said decorator June Shea, president of Shea Studio Interiors. Traditional and modern are at polar ends of the decorating spectrum and transitional is the wide swath in between.
“It was an old house that was made to look new,” Leslie Wright said. “That was a bonus.”
When the Wrights first opened the door to the 5,000-square-foot classically laid-out craftsman bungalow, they loved the open floor plan.
You can just as easily meander across the spacious foyer to the dining room, martini glass in hand, as you could plop into a living room chair.
“The goal was to lift up the interior incrementally and make it more modern,” said Shea. “Transitional is all about mixing it up.”
Mrs. Wright wanted a powder room that said: ‘Wow!’
“The question was how can we take the essence of a traditional antique gold chandelier, which Wright loved, and push it forward, make it more now and less your grandmother’s powder room,” Shea said.
A transitional metallic striae and bronze splatter block print wallpaper was step one, matched with a bronze ceiling and champagne-colored rug with sheen. A modern chrome light bar fringed with crystal prisms, over the sink, complemented the chandelier in an unexpected wonderfully way.
“I could take tea in this room,” said Shea. “A lot of style is packed into a small space and it works.”
The library, Brad Wright’s office, was a plain white-walled room with built-ins, shutters and French doors. He wanted something light, friendly and a little avant-garde.
“He wanted to convey an open door feeling that wasn’t stuffy,” Leslie Wright said.
Today, a red cheetah print on the tufted Ottoman lounge is strikingly traditional yet adds a touch of whimsy. Rusty red wallpaper with an au courant take on a traditional paisley-shawl pattern decorates the walls. A pale blue-green ceiling gives the illusion of sky and aqua green wallpaper behind the bookcase conveys a depth.
“It’s elegant, fresh and comfortable,” Shea said.
The Wrights, their 19- and 22-year-old daughters and friends, spend a lot of time in the family room-kitchen that comprise one open living area, so it had to be cheerful, homey and intimate.
Shea chose neutral colors “with some oomph” — pale aqua, mocha, beige, taupe and a hint of caramel — for the carpet, window treatments, upholstered chairs and oversize movable bench stools that formed a medley around the fireplace.
A traditional cherry end table that is a modernized version of a regency or empire bookstand, communes with a funky, silver-colored round metal end table. A coffee table in the room center has a modern bronze metal base topped with ivory travertine.
“Textbook transitional design,” Shea added.
Cherry kitchen cabinets and a gold-and-silver granite island are traditional — but oversize decorative ceramic fruits add a modern flavor. And, there’s nothing traditional about the clear glass orbs with mini white fabric shades suspended on long pendants.
“They say, ‘someone here has guts,'” Shea said, “and they pushed the kitchen out of the traditional zone.”
“Everything we did in the house was to create comfort,” Leslie Wright said. “We didn’t want to live in a museum.”
