Architect Sophie Piesse had a challenge on her hands. She was tasked with creating a modern, industrial, one-story dwelling on a steep, wooded 0.6-acre lot in the historic district of downtown Hillsborough. Not only would the architect have to overcome the landscape of the lot in her architectural plans, but she would also have to adhere to the guidelines set forth for all historic homes in the district.
“On a steep lot, [designing a one-story home] can be tricky, but it gives a wonderful tree house feeling off the south and east sides of the home,” she says. And while some architects might view the historic requirements restrictive, Piesse embraced them, allowing them to influence the architecture and materials.
To achieve the homeowners’ modern industrial aesthetic, Piesse utilized steel and wood accents with pops of color on the exterior and interior. “The home has a quiet entry from the street,” she says. “You get a hint of the color, the materials, and the style, but then you enter it and the main space opens up in every direction and definitely hits that wow factor.” Inside, the open floor plan features pecan and walnut wood accents—sourced from trees cut down during the home’s construction—on the fireplace cladding, entertainment mantel, kitchen island, dining table, and primary bedroom headboard wall. “I love the fearless color use—splashes of orange that carry from the outside in, playing off bold blue inside and out,” she says.
The homeowners also enlisted designer Lauren Branch of Kèfi Home Interiors to work on the furnishings. “Given that there was one great room that included the kitchen, dining, and living rooms, we wanted to create a space that was contiguous in style and color, modern but welcoming and warm,” says the homeowner. With that direction, Branch coupled the contemporary architecture of the home with organic wood finishes as well as vintage and secondhand items to add warmth.
The dining table made by Raleigh Reclaimed is crafted from the two-hundred- year-old pecan tree on the property and sits atop a vintage 1950s rug. In the family room, a large, curved velvet sofa with midcentury legs by Room & Board provides “a lovely softness to the room and helped to bring in some balance with all the straight lines,” adds Branch.
With the help of Piesse and Branch, the home is exactly what the homeowners envisioned. “They love the home and tell me every time we talk,” says Piesse. “It is so important to exceed clients’ expectations and create something that they truly love living in, and it was a joy to create this together.”