A Whimsical Breakfast Room Gets Tented With Warm Textiles

The Dalton-Bell-Cameron house, built in 1914, was one of the most unique homes in High Point, North Carolina. Built in the Craftsman style, the house was quite different from its more traditional Victorian and Colonial neighbors. But the pioneering structure was stricken by two major fires—one in 1997 and the other in 2012—and by 2017 it was in such a forlorn state that the city ordered it be to be either repaired or demolished.

At that point, the High Point Preservation Society stepped in to save it, just prior to it being sold to Rick Lewis and his wife Margaret Bell Lewis, who had once lived there as a child. Following the purchase, the Society and the Junior League of High Point moved quickly to help with the goal of restoring the home. To assist the new owners with some of the restoration costs, they decided to raise funds by creating a showhouse in the historic home, enlisting a diverse group of 21 extraordinary designers to bring the interiors back to life.

The Breakfast Room is a sophisticated, inviting space for everyday dining. The designers used the vaulted ceiling to create a whimsical tented room with a wisteria Bailey and Griffin pattern from Duralee. A Ngala Trading hand-stripped leather chandelier hangs overhead. The print heavy fabrics and upholstered elements in warm lilac, golden yellow, and pops of watermelon blend with soft neutrals to ground the space.

In our recently released aspire design and home Showhouse Issue, we sat down with Liles Dunnigan & Zandy Gammons to learn more about their creative process in designing the Breakfast Room for this project.

aspire design and home: How much time did you have to complete this room, start to finish?
Liles Dunnigan & Zandy Gammons: With this showhouse, we actually had quite a bit of time which was nice. We saw the room during the first phase of construction and able to imagine the space with a blank slate. We took a more whimsical approach which felt right for the space.

aspire: What was your biggest challenge? Did you have a Eureka moment during the process?
Liles & Zandy: We decided we wanted an element of drama in the room. This ended up being a tented ceiling which we designed the room around. Our original selection for the fabric was back-ordered, so we had to go back to the drawing board and find another selection. It is not an uncommon scenario as it pertains to design jobs, and luckily after a lot of searching, we found the perfect replacement.

aspire: What did you and your team accomplish that you thought would not happen in time?
Liles & Zandy: We had a lot to squeeze into a short install window and our room was a popular spot for traffic moving in and out of the home. Installing our tented ceiling was a bit of a challenge, but that is part of the thrill of a showhouse.

aspire: What was your inspiration for this room?
Liles & Zandy: The room really grew from the idea of a tented ceiling and the selection of our window treatment fabric and the beautiful Ngala light fixture. This really set the tone for our inspiration and we pushed ourselves are far as the color pallet.

aspire: Did you step out of your comfort zone for this project, and if so, why?
Liles & Zandy: Yes, the color pallet of the room is something that we really wanted to push ourselves on. The lavenders, black, and neutral tones were something we were excited to blend with a pop of whimsical color that tied everything together. We selected a rug from Nashville Rugs that had a lot of deep browns in it with a bit of lavender.

aspire: Despite the fact that there were so many designers involved, there is an inherent cohesiveness to the home. Did you all converse/collaborate? Or was this a completely individual process?
Liles & Zandy: I feel like this was mostly individual and I loved seeing all of the creativity from all of the different Designers!

aspire: Is your preference for a showhouse a small space or large space? Does one or the other provide a better opportunity to stretch your creativity?
Liles & Zandy: We really love the small spaces. It is fun to make a high impact in a smaller space and get creative with it and try to push people’s imaginations with what they can do in their own home.

aspire: Describe the town of High Point in one sentence.
Liles & Zandy: High Point is a small charming Southern Town that has been the hub of the furniture industry for years.

This or That?

aspire: Paint or wallpaper?
Liles & Zandy: Wallpaper
aspire: Hardwood or rug?
Liles & Zandy: Hardwood with Decorative Rugs!
aspire: Beach or Mountains?
Liles & Zandy: Beach, although we are really wanting a good Mountain Retreat Project right now.
aspire: Saturated Color or Black and White?
Liles & Zandy: Saturated Color
aspire: Brunch or Dinner?
Liles & Zandy: This is tough… probably dinner
aspire: Midcentury or 18th Century?
Liles & Zandy: Midcentury
aspire: Draperies, shades, or nothing?
Liles & Zandy: Draperies
aspire: 2001: A Space Odyssey or The English Patient?
Liles & Zandy: The English Patient
aspire: Week at the spa or Week of Broadway shows?
Liles & Zandy: Spa all the way!

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