A home in McLean, Virginia, is transformed into an intimate space for a close-knit family.
They say there’s no place like home-and that was certainly true for these Northern Virginia homeowners who had grown up in the area. Their careers took them as far away as San Diego, but eventually, they returned home to the East Coast, this time as a family of four.
“The opportunity arose to purchase a home in McLean, Virginia, which is a really great little city with great schools,” says the homeowner. The property was located in a quiet cul-de-sac on nearly one acre of land, and offered them a sense of privacy that their previous home lacked. At nearly ten-thousand square feet, it also afforded the family plenty of space, but the owners knew it would be a challenge to make the home feel intimate and cozy.
For help, they turned to Chapel Hill–based interior designer Michelle Murphy of Demi Ryan. The homeowners previously worked with Murphy on a beach home in South Carolina, so they were confident she could make their dream a reality. Murphy began by reconfiguring the layout. “We took the whole house down to the studs,” she says. “We moved walls, changed staircases, and rearranged everything. It was a complete gut.” The goal, she says, was to “balance the home’s grand scale with a sense of warmth and intimacy. It was essential to create spaces that felt inviting rather than overwhelming.”
On the first floor, Murphy created a lounge off the kitchen for the homeowners to enjoy a glass of wine after dinner. Instead of a sofa, she opted for four swivel chairs set around a table, encouraging conversation. Upstairs, Murphy added a lounge between the two children’s bedrooms with a sectional sofa, a television, and a popcorn bar. “We wanted a space for the kids—one where they can watch movies together if they have friends over,” says Murphy. The lower level of the home is also dedicated to entertaining: a guest bedroom with an en suite hosts friends and family members who come to visit, while the game room features a billiard table, a shuffleboard table, and a ping pong table.
Murphy also infused the space with a modern yet traditional coastal aesthetic, the only main request from the homeowners. In the entryway, she used a palette of blues, both bold and serene, in the wallpaper and the rug; in the office, she lacquered the walls in a bright-blue hue; and in the dining room, she clad the walls with a blue ink-blot wallpaper. Natural wooden accents on the stairways and ceiling beams, breezy linen fabrics, and organic light fixtures add to the ambiance.
After an eighteen-month renovation, every space in the home exudes not just style, but also practicality. “It’s hard to pick a favorite room because it changes all the time,” says the homeowner. “I get settled into one area and then I rediscover another spot.” It’s a fitting sentiment, since the homeowners expect the home to be their “forever home”—one that their children, after they graduate, will continue to visit for years to come.
