It is not often that homeowners truly take the time to zero in so precisely on what they want in their next home. Finding a home that suits all of your needs is difficult even if you have the gift of time. But clients of Katie O’Neal and Betsy Anderson of Betsy Anderson Interiors spent years looking for the perfect next home and found it in the Glenwood neighborhood of Raleigh. With incredible woodwork, extensive trim detailing, manicured landscaping, and spacious rooms, the meticulously maintained home was simply irresistible to the home buyers. There was only one thing left to do: make it their own. “The fact that they were already happy with the beautiful home they lived in reflected their understanding that a new home had to more than meet all their needs and expectations,” O’Neal says. “This house did just that. The home was wonderfully maintained, with the added luxury of a private, beautifully landscaped yard.”
Having met O’Neal and Anderson before they even purchased the home, the homeowners knew without a doubt that the pair would be their first choice to transform their new house into a home. “I originally met Betsy and Katie through our children, but had followed their work prior to that,” the homeowner says. “I knew I wanted them to design our new home, so we didn’t even interview other designers.” She adds that what attracted them to Betsy Anderson Interiors was their talent for creating spaces with texture and depth. “Betsy and Katie’s aptitude for incorporating family pieces that were meaningful to us, alongside new and fresh furnishings, was especially exciting to my husband and me. They possess an incredible eye for detail and for carrying their vision throughout the entire home in a way that makes perfect sense.”
The team discussed the vision for the home, which included a sophisticated use of color and an elegant look with an approachable, family-friendly style. “Although beautiful, the home’s classically Southern red-brick exterior, neutral interior color palette, and polished wood furniture was too similar to their previous home,” O’Neal explains. “They wanted something new, so we worked together to create a fresh, vibrant interior plan, taking advantage of the abundance of natural light the home offered.”
Working off of inspiration from the dining-room design, O’Neal and Anderson created a soulful flow throughout the first floor of the home, incorporating blues and greens with white as the neutral. “For me, it all started with the dining-room wallpaper selection,” the homeowner says. “It was the very first thing I saw on that presentation table when we walked into our first design-review meeting, and I immediately fell in love with it. It became the springboard for the entire first floor.” As O’Neal explains, part of the design process at Betsy Anderson Interiors includes having all the spaces in a home connect while also giving each space distinction. “We often achieve this by repeating one color throughout the house and using different paint finishes to highlight trim and molding,” she says. “Color was a fundamental part of this project.”
While the dining room is bold with many distinct standout elements—chief among them being the hand-painted wallpaper by Designer Guild—the living room is elegant and understated with softer blue elements that pull strength from the rooms around it. The kitchen is mostly neutral white, but weaves-in daring green moments echoed in the halls beyond, and the rich, traditional wood-paneled walls of the study seem to be a revelation when paired with luxe blue draperies and textural furniture pieces.
The homeowners, of course, had their own important pieces to incorporate into the design of most of the rooms, and weaving them together with the fresh new design elements was something that was old hat for O’Neal and Anderson. “It was very important to us to be able to integrate things we had collected over the years, including furnishings that had been passed down to us through generations,” the homeowner says. “The designers were exceptional at accomplishing just that, pairing our pieces with new ones in a way that just made sense.”
O’Neal and Anderson designed the whole home with these directives in mind, and created spaces that are the perfect combination of comfortable for the family and inviting for entertaining. “Size and comfort in selecting and placing furniture are fundamental when trying to maximize seating and still achieve a feeling of space,” O’Neal says. “This was achieved by selecting the most important pieces while keeping in mind how they best fit the room. We knew that this young, energetic, social, and civic-minded family would want a home that reflected their desire for great family time and the ability to open their home to friends and guests.”
The design team used existing and important pieces, updating some with new fabrics as part of their natural process. “When accessorizing a home, less is more. However, use more of less,” O’Neal advises. “Good art is important, and a mix of style and periods is always a sign of sophistication. We aren’t afraid to mix mediums—oil, sculpture, and pottery, among others.”
Of course, when designing a whole home and installing new rooms, there is always the challenge of living among the disarray, which the homeowner has come to know well. “The kitchen re-design was the hardest, I think. It’s challenging to navigate living in the space as it’s being re-done, but the most rewarding and exciting part for me was watching the space transform,” she says. “If I was forced to pick a favorite room, I guess it would be the dining room. It is simply a showstopper! Cooking delicious food and entertaining family and friends has always been a central part of our lives. The way that Katie and Betsy completed our home just amplifies those things and makes them even more of a joy for me and my husband.