The one-story, ranch-style home was built in the 1960s, featuring
three bedrooms and two bathrooms. After the remodel, which was completed in two stages, it is now a four-bedroom, four-bathroom abode, divided into two separate wings. Phase one transformed a very large guest room into a pool room and bedrooms for the couple’s three children. “They wanted a pool room with a bathroom for their kids to spend time — and drip pool water when coming in from the pool — and also to use for family movie nights,” said Shannon. The second phase was a more elaborate remodel, which included the entryway, kitchen, dining room, mud room/laundry, the homeowner’s colorful aqua office and their primary bedroom and bathroom. “Jessica, who runs a successful business, needed a fun, inspirational but restful space for her to work and read. The aqua room with the built-in shelves and fun paper on the ceiling achieved this. She also wanted a big closet with an island for packing. She travels a lot, so this was a must have,” Shannon added.
To maximize the flow between rooms, Sarah transformed what was a small family room and office into that beautiful aqua room and master bedroom closet. She vaulted the ceilings and created an open floor plan, breaking up the space only to create specific areas. For example, she closed one side of the walkaround fireplace in the living room, which gave her the space to create the main bathroom and office. With Jessica’s husband, Joe, working as general contractor, the project became a rare collaboration among homeowner, architect, designer and contractor.
“It was a very personal project,” said Shannon, a close friend of both Sarah and the Honeggers. “We all wanted to honor the age of the house, and Sarah does a great job of that when she re-creates spaces. She gets every square foot out of a home, and my job was just letting that shine.”
Throughout the project, Shannon used meaningful heirloom objects from Honegger’s Texan childhood and items she has collected through her world-traveling career as a starting point for each room. The key was finding just the right piece for every space, said Shannon. For instance, setting a modern lamp to offset an antique painting in the dining room, or adding a neutral palette to highlight colorful accessories. “We managed to pull everything together to reflect the very unique family that they are,” she said.
“In everything we did, we hunted for the perfect way to blend style, color and scale,” explained Shannon. “Jessica loves color, so we sought to embrace that and keep it balanced. Color composition matters if you want to create a unified feel throughout the home, so each vignette must factor in what else is at play.” Upon arrival, this principle pops up immediately with the coral and aquamarine hues in the entryway’s Moroccan rug correlating to a sky-blue Georgia O’Keeffe print and orange inlaid ceramic tiles on a Currey & Company lamp.
Vignettes around the house may include African wooden sculptures, Guatemalan textiles, vintage ceramic lamps and live plants in whimsical pottery. “The word ‘global’ really has a big meaning in Jessica’s house, since she partners with women artisans from all over the world through Noonday Collection,” said Shannon, who also sources vintage finds from Round Top, famous for its antique shops, and citywide vintage stores.
“Shopping vintage is a good way to minimize your footprint on the world, and plays into that element of supporting artisans,” she said. “We really like to support local and global independent artisans where possible.”
The Honeggers desired a beautiful, functional kitchen for cooking and entertaining, and Shannon and Sarah delivered. The custom copper fixture from Brian Chilton Design once hung as lanterns in Jessica’s childhood home. They were repurposed to create a statement piece over the island, which provided the springboard for the kitchen redesign. Hovering over a waterfall quartzite countertop with white oak cabinets, the light fixture complements the kitchen’s natural warmth and organic touches.
“Lights should be the room’s eye candy,” said Shannon. “You want to notice them without letting them compete with everything else for attention. In every room, I want people to linger without being overwhelmed.” Shannon finished the kitchen backsplash in zellige tile, also used in the master bathroom for continuity.
Shannon found a bigger challenge in the living room, where she sought to effectively showcase Jessica’s years of travel while still allowing the eye to rest. Here, the home’s bright neutrals provide a blank canvas for vibrant artwork and accessories from around the world, showcasing an impressive mix of color and materials.
The main objective for the new breezeway addition between the lounge and master bedroom was to fuse beauty and function for Jessica’s new office space. The room had to be inviting, equal parts cozy and invigorating. Shannon added more local treasures — vintage mustard chairs from Maufrais on South Congress and an antique secretary — but an abstract pendant draws the eye upward to the room’s major highlight, a Matisse-inspired mural.
“I like to be unique with color rather than predictable. I like to pair things in unexpected ways,” said Shannon, noting the departure from the neutral palette in the breezeway. “Jessica is a color girl. Although sometimes I had to reign her in, we intentionally went crazy in there and wanted that room transition moment to be totally awesome.”
The master suite returns to neutral tones, creating a calm, peaceful place for rest. Over the bed, articulating sconces with rattan shades border a leather headboard from Citizenry, centered by an original textile print from Justina Blakeney. “You want to see a space and be drawn in,” said Shannon. “No one thing should dominate, but something should make you want to stay.
The bathroom’s zellige tile and quartzite countertops repeat elements from the kitchen to bring the whole project full circle, a nod to Shannon’s subtle blend of new and old, local and global, and her desire to design in a way that supports sustainability and fair trade — a perfect match for the Honeggers’ style.
Shannon Eddings Interiors
hello@shannoneddings.com | ShannonEddings.com
Sarah Bullock McIntyre Architect
512-921-4224 | BullockMcIntyre.com