Malvern Soft Modern

We get a fair amount of repeat clients at Design Manifest. Many homeowners decide to ask us back to complete a 2nd or 3rd phase of their home after living in their refreshed spaces for a few years. We’re no stranger to returning to homes we’ve designed before! What was new with Malvern Soft Modern, however, was that the purpose of our return to this familiar home: to reimagine it for a new family.

Having purchased the home featured in our Jefferson Drive Tailor Made post, our new clients were excited by the level of polish we had already achieved when designing the home. They approached us with two goals - to refresh spaces NOT included in the original project, and to reimagine rooms from the original scope to make them feel more like the style of the new owners. 

A few select spaces from the original 2015 project - Jefferson Drive Tailor Made

I had poured much of my young design career into this home, but for different rooms and for different clients. I knew this home so well - but now it belonged to someone new! It was both exciting and daunting to continue the project for a different family. The goal now was to translate the existing home into something that spoke more directly to the hearts of our new clients - all while expanding on the level of polish that had charmed these new clients into asking us back to Jefferson Drive.

The rooms in this project: Kitchen, Bar, Family Room, Breakfast Room, Dining Room and Living Room

The new clients were all about comfort. They wanted a home that felt finished but not fussy, calming and comfortable. "Soft Modern" was the phrase we kept returning to - a home that, while clean and polished, had organic warmth and layers of texture.

To start with, we wanted to take a look at the spaces we hadn't designed yet. The rooms with high priority were the family room, breakfast room, and bar area. As these spaces were open and connected, their design relied heavily on one another - with the kitchen right in the middle. Initially, our clients were unsure about tackling a kitchen redesign. We reviewed the pros, cons, and cost implications with them and ultimately they decided design the space the whole space holistically and renovate the kitchen. Their decision to rework the kitchen allowed much more freedom to transform rest of the first floor living areas - improving flow, function and visual connectivity.

The new floorplan of the kitchen, family room, breakfast nook, and bar. (Red indicates a now-removed counter)

This project was all about editing! In particular, we wanted to calm down any redundant architectural elements. The existing kitchen had a big counter that bisected the kitchen & family room, making it feel far smaller. Removing it made the family room feel much more connected to the kitchen. 

The view from kitchen to family room, before & after. Removing the counter allowed a better flow between rooms.

The home's distinctive architecture was the biggest challenge to work around. The family room had high ceilings criss-crossed with curved and radial beams, which dominated the space. Feelings on the ceiling details were mixed - no one was really in love with them, but it didn't feel worth the cost or effort to remove them. Instead, we kept the ceiling as-is and edited down other details in the space to tone down the architectural fussiness.

Before:

Fussy architectural details were getting in the way of achieving a calm modern flow. Removing the smaller millwork elements made it easier to find unity with the ceilings above.

Being selective about which architectural details we removed made the ones that we kept - like the ceiling beams - more special.

One epic edit was to simplify the fireplace, removing hearth tile, millwork, and a wide mantel to give more minimal silhouette. We added a limewash treatment to give subtle organic texture and a soft earthiness.

It was important to us to honor the distinct spaces here while making it feel more open and connected. We united the different areas with an earth-toned color palette, heavily inspired by the views from the outdoors from the home's many windows. Mixed natural textures came from yummy wood tones and several gorgeous slabs of stone (more on that later!). Here in the family room, we worked with a local artisan to create a one-of-a-kind coffee table from fallen forest wood and found a console table made from a massive root. Finding storied original pieces makes each project feel truly special!

Our clients loved a feather print featured in the first iteration of the home. It was fun for us to source the same artwork for them - this time, in a new size, frame, and context!

We opted for no decorative throw pillows - in this space, it was more about the layers of natural texture than fussy decoration.

The family room flows seamlessly into the breakfast nook and bonus area - a little peninsula of space, sectioned from the family room by a wall with an interior window. Previously used as an office nook, we pivoted to change it into a swanky home bar.

Our clients were down to embrace moodiness here, since the space had a lot of natural light. We wanted this little annex to be rich with texture and used a sexy slab of polished blue tempest quartzite as the design's jumping-off point.

The stone acts like a piece of art itself, with patterned tones of gray, tan, black & white - all bringing the DRAMA. We paired this showstopper slab with gorgeous white oak cabinetry, customized to accommodate drinkware on glass shelving with mirrored backs. (The base cabinetry boasts not one but two separate beverage fridges! )

We added sparkle via the brass hardware & light and selected a gold-leafed frame for the original abstract artwork by painter Jessalin Beutler.

Next, we do a 180 to take in the breakfast nook - a room surrounded by walls of windows, 7 in total!

This space did not need much layout work - the shape of the room meant that a dining table + L-shaped banquette worked perfectly. However, one of our clients was a tough sell on the banquette. Being of short stature, she had a lot of trouble getting comfortable on the previous furniture! We took great pains to customize a dining banquette that would provide many seats but would have comfortable proportions for two clients with very different heights.

Stylistically, we pulled many colors from the family room design since the two rooms were in view of one another. All of the breakfast nook colors can be found in the family room rug - but not in a way that's too matchy-matchy!

The kitchen continued our mission statement of "soft modern". To create a soothing space for our clients, we set out to eliminate clutter, working closely with the family to identify their needs and create an organizational plan that kept kitchen tools stashed away in the cabinetry.

Everything has a thoughtful home in this kitchen. The insides of each custom cabinet are full of inserts for organization. We concealed as many appliances as possible, including the 42" Sub Zero refrigerator. Between the refrigerator and pantry is a dedicated appliance area with pocket doors that live open and out of the way for the majority of the time.

This is naturally a darker space, so we took several steps to "brighten it up." We widened the window over sink to bring in lots of precious natural light. We added key decorative and task lighting. For our cabinetry, we mixed three finishes: a taupey-white for the stove & sink walls, a rich teal-blue for the island, and a rift cut white oak for the talls. The result is airy, organic and rich, all at the same time. All cabinets were fashioned in our new favorite cabinet style: inset with slab doors! This feels both clean and modern while maintaining the classic feel of a cupboard.

We really enjoyed the material mix in this kitchen! In addition to our white/oak/blue cabinets, we layered on a lot of lovely textures. Honed Carrera Marble was a soft and timeless look for our countertops and backsplash above the stove. We contrasted this with the warmth of reclaimed brick tiles on the sink walls. The natural brick texture felt original and storied - but not so old looking that it felt out of place. Woven paper cord on the counter stools added a nice texture that we then repeated in the breakfast room chandelier. Our textiles were a mix of handsome and soft with a mahogany leather as a seat cushion and delicate block print linen floral as a window treatment.

We love how all of the spaces tie together. Each room has it's own character and enjoys connection and contrast to adjoining spaces. These spaces are the heart of everyday living and we take great pride knowing how much our clients' enjoy it everyday!

The original DM design from 2015!

Something I've never done before is redecorate a room I've already designed - and in this home, it happened twice! As an add on, our clients asked us to decorate the formal living and dining room; two spaces from the original scope with the former homeowner. It was an interesting challenge to come in several years later and craft a new look to suit its new residents.

Since it had been decorated relatively recently, the goal was to use furniture & accessories to update the existing features like wallpaper and lighting that would be challenging (& wasteful!) to remove. We knew that thoughtfully selected furnishings would warm up the space and give it more of the "soft modern" vibe we were going for.

The same dining room, updated in soft modern majesty in 2025!

In the dining room, we kept the original wallpaper and chandeliers and added new furnishings to make it feel both special but approachable. Wood tones keep the room grounded and balance out the "blingy" crystal chandeliers. We custom-made a very cute walnut credenza to fit all of our clients' dining room goodies. Not only was it the perfect proportions, but being handmade, it's far better quality than a similar store-bought piece. Curved cane chairs felt comfortable and airy with nods to traditional lines, bridging the gap between casual & fancy. A solid paprika colored wool rug adds extra coziness.

Layers of earthy texture come from green stone lamps, a custom walnut wood sideboard, and a lovely botanical artwork. The new organic elements add warmth to the existing wallpaper & chandeliers

Before - Living Room 2015 - a cozy space for TV watching for our former clients.

After - Living Room 2025 - a softly layered sitting room for our new clients to spend time together

I think we deserve props for making a room feel completely different without changing the paint color OR the sofa!  When choosing new textiles, furniture, and accessories, we had two things in mind - a soft take on color that made sense with the rest of the home, and choosing frames that brought a lot more modernity to the room since there were existing traditional elements we were not removing.

Since the former layout worked well, we kept it nearly identical, swapping the old pieces with updated versions. Choosing rounded forms and organic textures went a long way in softening up the existing features. The sofa was left by the previous homeowners, and it was a fun exercise to use accessories to give it new energy. Our clients wanted a space for spending time together, and we gave them a cozy moment by the windows with a pair of blue velvet chairs with brown trim - the perfect spot to sit and visit with one another.

We designed these spaces to work well for our empty nester clients: comfortable and cozy for two, but sized to adapt easily to visiting kids and growing families. We love that each space is inviting, cozy and elegant. Like all of our designs, these spaces were driven by function, flow and practicality, yet filled to the brim with style as well. It was such a delight to design a second chapter for this house!

Photography by Marco Ricca

Design, Project Management and Styling by Design Manifest

Build by Buono Construction Group