apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's pretty and simple but I just feel like the home is lacking a real personal feeling. There are plenty of cookie cutter, modern homes in Virginia that look exactly like this and just feel boring.

i agree with both.

As long as you love it . . it's beautiful. I do have to say . . . that buttery yellow in the bathroom made me gasp a little. In that lovely sunlight it's just stunning!

So many tours on AT have better bones. I think that their aesthetic would look world's better with hardwood. On carpet it looks too "new construction desperately searching for character." And the bedroom? yes. yawn.

I love it - and I find the bias towards bold, bright colors on AT rather distressing. Not everyone wants to have a house full of "in your face" color!

Nice individual pieces (I like the blue dishes, for example) and there is an artistic touch evident in the arrangement of the pieces in the hutch, but the overall impression is lifeless. There is way too much Pottery Barn and not enough color on the floors. Antique rugs (introducing deep reds and blues) would help tremendously, as well as grouping furniture for intimate conversation.

Although AT seems heavily slanted toward MCM, I do think that traditional colonial can be done in a way that many would appreciate.

While some of the individual pieces are really nice, I agree that on the whole, this home is pretty dull. I don't think, Start Princess, that AT's "bias towards bright, bold colors" really factors in here. Colors or no, the home is lacking in character and personality, as if it were a model home. Really, even a Pottery Barn catalog is more exciting than this.

Whoops - I apologize for goofing up your username, Star Princess:)

I don't think AT has a bias towards "in your face" color, unless you're focusing on Color Month. It's so MCM biased though, that it's warped my aesthetic.
I know that town that the house is in, there really is no other option besides model home duplicates. You go to a friends house and know where the bathroom is because your house is the same layout. The place was fields and horses 20 years ago and now it's planned communities and shopping centers. It's hard to work with a home like that.

I love that embroidered bedspread, and your bathtub is lovely!

Beautiful home and so perfect in the mid-Atlantic area of the country. I love that they buy antiques, have family heirlooms and add things from their travels. It makes it so personal, warm and welcoming.

I think many commenters are off base — it's nice to see a different style that works with a modern lifestyle. The airiness around the furniture and objects (and the complete lack of clutter) should be inspirational to us all!

I can't put my finger on it, but this home is missing something. One step forward might be investing in real pieces of art.

It's a lovely traditional home. I think this type of house, by definition, looks less "finished" than a contemporary one, because every piece is assembled one-at-a-time; you can't just go to Target and Ikea with a shopping list. I have no doubt that over the next 10 years, the home will acquire rugs, art, and the "character" some commenters feel is missing. What's here now is a great start.

P.S. What's up with the new House Tour format? I have to go to the thumbnails and scroll up and down for every picture -- MUCH less user friendly than before.

though i'm sure many do, i do not share the preference for MCM, and i love, love, love, tone on tone and muted colors. whether the actual HOUSE is cookie-cutter or not does't bother me either. my home is new constructionand they all look the same. it's what you DO with it that makes a statement and makes it a HOME. i didn't FEEL anything. it wasn't interesting to me at all.

obviously, the homeowners are proud of it - and they should be, it's their home - i was bored, unfortunately.

It is refreshing to see another on style showcased on AT other than MCM/Modern or color-crazy. I like how the homeowners kept everything spare.

If the spareness was intentional, and the homeowner wanted to make a serious attempt at a colonial.contemporary mix, the homeowner might want to incorporate a symetrical furniture arrangement in the downstairs living room, centered around the fireplace.

I find it very dull.

I'm with Lisa (Montreal). I'd like to see this house fast-forwarded 10 years. I'm buying a house with a Colonial Williamsburg vibe that I hate but will have to live with for a little while, so I was really hoping to see something a little more inspiring and less like a Crate and Barrel catalog. Is it even possible to infuse a little Ikea into Williamsburg?

I agree that it's refreshing to see a different look posted, sometimes these house tours can lead towards the modern and not everyone is in love wholeheartedly with that look.

It's nice to see the editors posting something that isn't modern, but this is disappointing. The house is quite pleasant looking, but it looks pretty much just like every other middle-class suburban mid-Atlantic home. Not particularly inspiring.

I would advocate the inclusion of more traditional homes, but I think the bar should be set a little higher. The furniture is mostly stock catalog furniture, the curtains are plain, and the walls and floors are bare. They need artwork, rugs, and curtains.

typwc - Yes, you can combine Ikea into Williamsburg. I personally love so many different styles that it's hard to choose just one. Traditional done right can have a beautiful simplicity that can pair nicely with modern minimalist.

On another note, I agree that this house is a work in progress. Did anyone else notice they have only lived their for a year? It takes time to create a beautiful house. It's more fun to let your house evolve with you than to decorate all at once and be done until the next overhaul. Then it will always be a reflection of who you are right now and not who you were 5 years ago when you redid it.

I know these folks put their hearts into this, and so I want to be gentle, but I do have to agree with most of the posts that say it's lacking something. Most of the homes I see, whether I like them or not, usually gives me something to think about, something to agree or disagree with, and therefore something to talk about. There's just no "talk about" quality with this one. A house can be formal, and lived in, and still have a couple of surprises thrown in. It's not always about getting it "right;" it's often about trying something (different) to see if it works or not.

I love it. The bedroom could use artwork or something big and showy, but the rest of it looks great. It seems much more livable (for me at least) than much of what I see on AT.

typwc -- Colonial architecture and contemporary furniture look great together. They're both spare and relatively small-scale.

Just because a house is old doesn't mean you HAVE to have doilies and cow wallpaper and dried flowers hanging from the rafters.

I think this house uses subtle color and antique pieces instead of overwhelming art for a clean look. This is a great example of how a young couple with a liking for spare decor can make that look work for them--it's an inspiration for other young people working on their first "grown up house."

I've mixed MCM with primitive and colonial antiques in my home with great success. In the living room, an antique black windsor rocker hangs out with a Danish modern upholstered armchair, which both sit across the enormous Paul McCobb coffee table from a very simple veneer-wrapped boxy sofa, all atop an antique, threadbare oriental rug. There's even a faux bois lamp on an old industrial steel table somewhere in there, and all of this is surrounded by windows covered in very traditional dobby stripe curtains. In my 1928 Dutch Colonial. Whew. Does it match? Hell no. It better than matches - it speaks to who I am. Though re-reading that, now I understand that I may sound a little imbalanced. Meh. I like it just fine.

The bathroom is great. Very cheerful and nicely done. I agree with Lisa about colonial architecture and more modern furniture working together. I love Hepplewhite furniture and, to me, it's very reminicent of Danish modern with long, tapered legs over clean style.

I love the wall colors and some of the elements of this home. I like that it's traditional and it definitely shows careful editing and arrangement. Overall, I agree with those who felt it was missing something. To me, it felt very "suburban model home"...elegant, soothing palette, nice pieces, but no personality showing through.

I am sure that the comments would be a lot more positive if all the same pieces and arrangements were in a more charming house, like a 1930's cape cod. I can imagine it is very hard to work with new construction homes. I think they have done a great job. I love the airy, vintage feel. The antiques, like the chest in the entryway, keep it from looking Pottery Barn to me.

While it isn't my style, I think this house has merit to it. I have a lot of friends just buying houses and starting out & am often ill-impressed with their decorating- or lack there of. They have a more colonial/traditional style like this, so this house would be a good inspiration to them I think. While it (to me) lacks a punch, I know that they probably wouldn't be too fond of my house lol! I guess I don't know much about this style because it's so 'not me,' but I've seen enough failures at it to know that this place is at least on the right track!!

I also agree with the 10yrs later posters- I think given more time that this place will garner a lot more 'character' and wit.

have to say what bugged me the most was the poor quality of some of the photos in the full house tour. were they taken with a cell phone?

the bathroom is gorgeous! that yellow. that tub. perfection. also i love rocking chairs so bonus points there. overall the house is not my style but it is a nice start. best of luck in your newish space!

I like the simplicity here in furniture & decoration, and admire the color choices, but I think the wall to wall carpet negates any Colonial feel. Bare wooden floors, especially dark ones, would help.

I had the same reaction to the buttery yellow in the bathroom as the poster above. It's very nice. I get lots of inspiration from AT but I'm not a fan of MCM and never have been. Unfortuantely for me...I now live in a MCM home that was not my choice, but it's where I'm planted for the time being. I recently moved from New Orleans (49 years there) so I'm used to lots of color as backdrop and in art in old homes with antiques (or new homes built to look old) that have lots of architectural interest. That said, I know that most folks aren't used to saturated colors in traditional environments so I understand the soft whites and lack of color in this home is a preference. I think the space this couple created is lovely and speaks of their personality and like all of us they will grow and evolve over the years. I, too, would love to see this home in 10 years. They have a great base to build upon. Congrats on a beautiful home.

We've seen 'Grannie chic' is this great-grannie chic?

I agree with the other commenter about the wall-to-wall carpet which kind of detracts. I think the owners might check out Darryl Carter's book "The New Traditional" for a more inspiring take on a traditional mix of new with antique.

That Sheraton hutch is utterly beautiful, esp. with how the owners have arranged the interior pieces. I also love the the Windsor (?) chair and the light and color in the bathroom.

I do agree, though, with one or two people upthread -- hardwood floors would add a lot to this aesthetic. Also agree with storklady that this is a great base for this family to keep building upon as they continue to add to their collection.

nice bathroom

I love the candle sticks and vases on the mantel. As others have said, the bathroom is beautiful.

I saw a lot of homes on the DC area when I was house hunting, and I think they did a great job with there townhouse.

I really like that AT is featuring a traditional home, but feel this wasn't the best example. It's a nice home, but not unique or polished enough for a house tour.

Many of the rooms needed a rug to pull the furniture together (it's all currently floating on a sea of beige carpet)--orientals in deep jewel tones would be appropriate and add a little warmth and life. Ditto for the window treatments (I think heavier drapes in richer materials and colors would be more interesting than the white sheers everywhere). I also don't know why the blogger was raving about all the antiques. I only spotted a few older pieces. A lot of the furniture and decorative objects have a '90s Crate & Barrel/Pottery Barn vibe. The walls feel too bare. They need art. And plants!

Overall, this house tour just bored me. The bare, minimalist meets colonial thing they're going for just doesn't work with either their house or their things. It reads as more unfinished than fresh. And using so much beige and white is SO common with new construction, colonial-style houses that I'm not sure why the blogger thought it was impressive. I grew up in the NE and it looks like a lot of cookie-cutter suburban homes I've seen. So this strikes me as very conventional and 'safe' more than worthy of emulation.

But I'll say that I thought the bathroom was nicely done. the buttery yellow on the walls is very pretty.

Oh, and while I agree that some of the furniture, etc. might look better in an older, more interesting house, I don't think that's an excuse. Minimalism works for a place with 'good bones' because then you're not distracting from the interesting features of the house, but it just reads as unfinished or lacking when the house itself is a featureless box.

i'm sorry but i go to these house tours to get inspiration. there was no character to this house. it looks like any suburban townhome. yawn . . . please!

That is an amazing DC map on the living room wall. Love it.

I do have to agree with other comments here: I think it is very open minded of AT to include a cookie-cutter house, but just because the bones are cookie-cutter doesn't mean that the decor has to be. You can tell there is a lot of time and love put into this home but it sadly lacks personality and character.