“I start and end with: ‘Is it functional and is it pretty?’” explains interior designer Diana Wagenbach, founder and principal of Studio W Interiors. It’s a creative approach that served particularly well when she was engaged by a professional couple with two young boys at home to work on a project that started small and grew to include the complete reimagining of the home’s interior architecture and style. “This project originally had a very different scope,” the designer explains, noting initial conversations with the client were simply about the better utilization of what was then storage space above the garage. The more their discussions continued, however, the more the client came to share Wagenbach’s greater vision for the home, and the project grew significantly from there.
Having purchased the home 10 years prior, the homeowners had already completed a few interior projects, but updating only certain spaces had left the home, which was built in the mid-1990s, with a disconnected feeling Wagenbach knew she could remedy. “I love working on spatial layout,” the designer shares. “They had quite a bit of square footage to work with, but it needed to be organized better.” Like a puzzle, Wagenbach redesigned all the interior architecture plans to create better flow and more efficient use of the available space. An existing mud room that included the laundry was made larger by relocating the laundry to the upstairs – a more logical placement for the homeowners. The roof over the garage was raised, and the adjacent primary suite was reorganized to incorporate some of that newly gained livable space. And the existing two-story entry was closed in, adding warmth to the first level and creating the desired space for an office for the wife on the second level.
Achieving stylistic cohesion throughout the home was a major focus for the project, with some areas requiring a heavier design hand than others. The kitchen, for example, was among the rooms the homeowners had already remodeled, and Wagenbach notes “it still made sense, but needed some updates” to make it feel connected to the home’s new interior focus. The existing rich blue of the built-in cabinetry in the breakfast/pantry space can now be seen reflected in the undertones of natural stone in various spaces throughout the home, a soft echo of the bolder blue statement the homeowners already enjoyed.
With the couple’s young kids in mind, bringing in the durable yet beautiful materials an active household requires was top of mind for the designer as well. “I’m a huge believer in performance fabrics,” Wagenbach shares. “I always talk with my clients about investing in furnishings and materials that will last. And particularly for the clients with kids, performance materials are part of that investment.”
Style cues throughout were influenced by the homeowner’s love of Charleston and by the designer’s vision for a minimalist approach to classic Old World elements. From one space to another, the throughline of a soft color palette paired with natural materials creates a flowing sense of Zen. Patterns repeat in different treatments, and quiet refinement carries through the reimagined home. “It’s an interpretation of that Charleston/Southern sensibility,” Wagenbach reflects. “Coastal and comfortable, but sophisticated.”
Photography by Ryan McDonald.
Styling by Cate Ragan.
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