Ami McKay’s projects exude almost as much warmth as she does. The president and principal designer of PURE Design Inc. creates harmonious spaces that skip the cookie-cutter and sink into the beauty that’s real life. The owners of this remodel trusted McKay to add personality to a previously traditional space, breathing new life into the home for their growing family.
“[The house] had great bones,” says the designer. “But it was very much like a spec home in the sense that it was well laid out, but it didn’t have that much character.”
Throughout the home, McKay played with materials and texture to update some of the more traditional elements. In the dining room, for example, white-oak millwork feels familiar but elevated. The custom table is set against a backdrop of wall molding that the designer describes as “inspired by tradition, but contemporary in its execution,” with a layered navy providing unexpected depth.
The designer and her team warmed up the starkly white kitchen by adding wooden tambour and open shelving to the cabinetry. Benjamin Moore’s Millstone Gray, found on the shelves and island, adds an earthy, slate green to the palette.
The downstairs living room is the cozy hub of the home, a “room for all ages,” with everything from a TV and chic bar for adult beverages to a play space for the littles. “Everything’s kid focused,” explains McKay. “Even when it was an ‘adult’ room, [the homeowners] wanted it to be for everybody.”
Vintage Turkish kilim rugs were repurposed into show-stopping stair runners, a specific request from the home-owners. They offer a cozy bridge between the shared spaces downstairs and more personal rooms upstairs.
Playful prints in the children’s rooms and flex room/ playroom—the oldest calls it “the park”—provide a level of whimsy perfect for a young family. Even the more serene simplicity of the primary bedroom keeps kiddos in mind. The en suite bathroom, McKay’s favorite room to remodel, features a soaking tub with a cushioned edge for mom to sit comfortably during little ones’ bath time.
Personal touches like the father’s family art and the Martinique Banana Leaf wallpaper in the powder room, leftover from the oldest child’s nursery, continue to ease the transitions between the more traditional and freshly modern.
In the end, says McKay, “It’s so much more than making a beautiful space. It’s creating an environment for people who are going to love their home and hopefully elevate the quality of their life.”
Home for Everyone
Build a balanced home to meet the needs of the whole family with these tips from designer Ami McKay.
Sometimes, less is more. “Start with a lot of options and then start pulling away,” says McKay. “It’s like dressing yourself: you love all these different pieces, but you can’t put them all on at the same time. Edit it so you can make certain pieces shine more.”
Create intentional spaces. The homeowners wanted the house to feel its most traditional, or formal, at the front, moving gradually toward the more casual and family-friendly spaces. McKay used this concept to inform furnishings and even color palette in each room, creating an intentionally different feel in different spaces of the home.
Understand use. McKay’s clients immediately dubbed the turret-like front room their “Christmas tree room.” So McKay made sure the resulting space could be used for that purpose every year. Understanding how a room will be used daily—or seasonally—is key to creating an end product that works as well as it looks.
