I’ve worked with these clients ever since I opened my doors in 1998,” says designer Gray Walker, as she lists out the number of homes she’s worked on for them, including two beach homes, a mountain home, and three primary residences. The homeowners originally purchased this house, a Georgian colonial with a slate roof, because they loved the traditional layout and its location on a quiet street close to Uptown. The couple didn’t make any changes initially—“We didn’t even paint,” says the homeowner—but once they had a child, they knew they needed to expand the home’s smaller footprint. Walker worked with the homeowners during the first renovation in 1999, which saw the addition of a breakfast room to the existing kitchen, and, above it, an owner’s bathroom on the second floor. “We basically connected the back of the house to the detached garage,” says the homeowner.
Nearly two years later, the couple gave birth to twins, which prompted yet another renovation—this time, the addition of a playroom. “As we had children and they grew, the space needs changed,” says the homeowner. “We added on to make it suit our family.” Another room that needed renovating was the kitchen, which was small and outdated. The homeowners wanted more than just extra space, though. “They wanted the kitchen to feel like a living area, because it’s where they live as a family,” says the designer. To that end, Walker designed the kitchen island to resemble a Louis XVI antique table and added a Kentucky cypress ceiling that runs through the kitchen, breakfast nook, and formal breakfast room. Across from the island, a mirrored door leads into the pantry; in the breakfast nook, built-in cabinetry displays the homeowner’s heirloom silver and china. “We were very purposeful when we planned the kitchen,” says the homeowner. The home underwent its most recent transformation in 2023.
After the twins went to college, Walker and the homeowners freshened up the downstairs rooms with bold new colors and textures, like the pair of tropical print panels from Paul Montgomery that hang in the living room and the rainbow-hued runner from Stark in the entryway. They also moved around existing pieces such as the paintings the homeowners collected from galleries over the past thirty years and some of the antiques, many of which have been sourced from New Orleans. “I like for things to feel glamorous,” says Walker. “I believe you should pull out your great things every day—your silver, your china, your beautiful flower vases. You can create your own little fantasy island in your home.”
Throughout the years, Walker and the homeowner have bonded over a shared appreciation of beautiful art and antiques—one of the many reasons they’ve worked so successfully together over the past three decades. “Gray is immensely talented and creative,” says the homeowner. “She loves antiques and what they bring to a home, but she also loves the juxtaposition of modern elements. And she listens to my voice. She wants me to find something that I love, something that I look at for a number of years, and be happy that I made that choice.” With this latest transformation, the homeowners have done just that.
