ROOTED
By Brandy Woods Snow; Photography by Ivy Ren
This article appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Home Design & Decor’s Triangle edition.
A French-inspired renovation layers comfort, history, and timeless design in this Wake Forest home.
When Amy and Sean Holderby first built their Wake Forest home in 2004, it was the perfect place to raise their young daughter. But nearly two decades later, the traditional-style residence no longer reflected who they had become. The couple were at a crossroads, but a trip to France several years ago inspired a new direction.
“We came back with a deep sense of rootedness and what home truly means to us,” says Amy, who owns Living Stone Building Company. “We faced a choice about whether to renovate or sell, and we decided to stay and fall in love with our home again.”
To help bring their vision to life, they turned to longtime friend and collaborator Susana Goss, designer and founder of Susana Goss Studio. The 2023 renovation spanned six months from start to finish, including eight weeks of construction and the careful sourcing of furniture and antiques. Though the kitchen had previously been renovated by Amy herself, Goss set to work on a few key areas: the owner’s bedroom, living room, dining room, and library.
The overall mission was to capture the patina of history and the coziness of Europe while making the home approachable, real, and deeply personal. Instead of following trends, the focus revolved around colors, textures, and meaningful pieces that added layers to the design and felt collected but not stiff. Materiality was important, imparting texture and ambiance, and included limewashed walls, micro-cement, exposed brick, metals, worn woods, and layers of linens, all of which combined to create a sense of age and authenticity. Darker elements, incorporated in every room, ground each space and create continuity.
In the living room, a custom micro-cement fireplace commands attention while collected antiques and well-loved pieces tell a story that feels as though it has been unfolding for generations. The dining room balances casual family meals with comfort, where a soapstone-topped table on vintage bistro legs pairs with French 1970s chairs, a nod to the Holderbys’ love of collecting. The owner’s bedroom evokes the quiet romance of a European boutique hotel, with color-drenched walls, exposed beams, velvet upholstery, and custom drapery concealing an awkwardly placed bank of windows.
For Goss, the goal was never to “decorate,” but to help the Holderbys uncover their version of home. One of her greatest challenges-turned-triumphs was sourcing new pieces that complemented the couple’s existing heirlooms. The result is a home that feels deeply personal, timeless, and inviting.
“Design is about storytelling,” says Goss. “It’s about rootedness and creating continuity between the architecture and the interiors so that everything feels connected. The peace, joy, and reflection of who they are is the true success story.”
For the Holderbys, they don’t see their love affair with their home ending anytime soon. “Home should be filled with joy, love, calm, and peace. We have that here,” Amy says. “Even two years later, I love every inch of our home and still walk through, marveling at what we created. This house is who we are.”