Hi Friends!! I am hoping you are all ready for the holidays and have time to sit down with a cup of coffee to go on an incredible home tour with me!! We were so excited to receive the Winter 2022 copy of Traditional Home’s Holiday edition! It was a very special project for us as it features our sweet Segreto Sr. Designer Leslie Simmons’s sister Lauren’s home!! They had so much fun working together and teamed up with designer Jennifer Martinez, the home was colorful, beautiful, and comfortable!! The photography by Julie Soefer certainly captures the home’s essence. I hope you enjoy the article share as much as we did working on this special home!!

This is this winter’s cover to look for if you would like your own copy! And now for the tour!!

“We wanted a house that’s warm and inviting,” Lauren says. “We envisioned a revolving door of friends coming and going, a place Adam and I can have friends over and so can the kids.” To set the stage, architect Ryan Gordon gave the family an open floor plan with a wealth of connections to the outdoors through expansive steel-frame windows and doors. Then interior designer Jennifer Martinez brought in an airy, neutral palette spiked with youthful color.

“Our previous house was very French country and had a lot of gray.” Lauren says. “I still love that look, but I wanted to be bolder, to take a few risks with color and pattern while still staying true to who we are.”

Inspiration came from Lauren’s favorite color, blue, which Martinez applied in different strengths and shades throughout the house. “The bright, happy turquoise in the dining room was the launching point,” the designer says. “That and the wallpaper in the breakfast room drove the rest of the decisions. It was important to have good flow with the palette because of the open floor plan.”

Pops of pattern on pillows and sofa trim in the otherwise neutral living room repeat the vibrant blue seen in the adjacent breakfast room. At holiday time, sapphire ornaments on the Christmas tree and fresh greenery on the mantel add to the rich color story.

Plaster walls throughout the home imbue a warm, handcrafted ambience that makes the new spaces seem timeless. The plaster finishes, the hand-painted wall mural in the dining room, and the painted floor design in the breakfast room are all by Segreto Finishes in Houston, where Lauren’s sister works as a senior designer. “There was a lot of sister love going on with my sister, Leslie [Simmons], and Jennifer’s sister, Katie, involved.” Lauren Says. “It makes the house even more special.”

While all the artisan craft impresses, the dining room in particular awes, “We watched the Segreto muralist paint every branch, every leaf, every flower by hand for 11 days. It makes this truly a one-of-a-kind space,” Martinez says.

A mahogany table, French chairs, crystal chandelier, and marble fireplace reinforce the classical mood of the mural while an abstract art piece in shades of vibrant pink injects a contemporary note that speaks to the energy of a young family.

The dining room’s jewellike turquoise shade repeats in the bar that connects the space to the kitchen, where blue once again recedes to a supporting role. Wipeable barstool seats in sapphire tones provide dots of color in a sea of elegant white plaster, painted cabinetry, and marble-on counters and the backsplash. “Lauren wanted the look of marble,” Martinez says. “She doesn’t care if it stains. Each mark is a memory.”

For less formal occasions, a playroom offers extra main level gathering space and a getaway for the four Allen kids. “They’re usually sprawled across the sectional,” Martinez says. “It’s a great place for them to watch movies as a family or play Ping-Pong or board games. It’s just a really fun space.”

Upstairs, Lauren and Adam can find serenity in their well-appointed primary suite. Plaster walls and old-world antiques play to Lauren’s country French aesthetic in a way that’s clean-lined and current.

Hand-painted finishes on cabinetry and swaths of marble in the bath add to the sense of luxury.

“It’s a blessing to go through the building-and-design process, come out on the other side, and be really happy with how everything turned out,” Lauren says. “Having our first Christmas in the house last year was so special. It was wonderful to share a laid-back Christmas morning as a family and just enjoy being together.”

Comfortable and casual, functional and pretty, the house fills the family’s wish list for a forever home. “With kids running all over the place and everyone feeling welcome,” Martinez says, “it’s such a fun house-a really happy house.”

I hope you all enjoyed reading this Traditional Home article along with me! It is always so rewarding seeing our clients and their family loving their new homes! We so love being apart of the process in helping to personalize, adding to what makes their house feel like home. Thank you so much for all of your support this year!! I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season full of smiles, loved ones and memories!! Talk soon in the New Year!! Until then, xo Leslie