Hallie & Mark’s Hip Slice of History

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Name: Hallie & Mark Burrier
Location: Frederick, Maryland’s historic district
Size: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, built in 1890
Years lived in: owned, 1 year
Even from the street, Mark and Hallie’s three story row house is a stunner. And perhaps even more stunning is the amount of work that the young couple has poured into restoring the turn of the century row home in just a year. While Hallie claims that there is still tons to be done, you would never guess it. From the sleek parlor to the whimsical backyard garden to Mark’s modern vintage art studio, every detail bears their chic contemporary stamp while remaining true to the home’s Victorian origin.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

The home has one of the prettiest facades on the block. It’s centrally located in downtown Frederick allowing both Hallie and Mark to walk to work. (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Angelique and

Saule, both of house tour fame, Hallie has a knack for blending the best of vintage and contemporary styles.

With artful vignettes every where you look, her background in retail visual management and his as an artist come as no surprise. Layering and bold eclectic style seem second nature to them particularly when it comes to pattern. Even the narrowest rooms and tiniest places bear something remarkable and interesting like a jolt of dramatic wallpaper or an unexpected textile pairing. I found myself feeling a bit giddier with each room I explored.

By the end of the tour I was struck not only by the incredible styling and the massive undertaking of restoring such an old home, but also by how well Mark and Hallie fit the two together. Their updates and decor choices were fresh and on trend in a way that perfectly complimented the rowhome’s architecture and Victorian era history. For example they dramatized the rooms that received little natural light such as the dining room with bold deep hue, and paired ornate antique furnishings with contemporary finishes for a look that reflects both a love of the contemporary and an appreciation of the past.

Check out the captions in the full gallery tour for more details of their fabulous home.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Style: It is a mix of everything that we like.

Inspiration: Dorothy Draper

Favorite Element: The Eastlake detailing on the front of the house and mansard roof made us fall in
love with the home. Everything on the interior over time will become us, but the exterior is so unique and artful, we fell in love with it right away.

Biggest Challenge: Working within a historic floorplan for modern needs is probably our biggest
challenge. It is a large home with many small rooms, so space planning is essential.

Lighting is also a challenge, with having to add wiring and fixtures and being limited on where we can run wire behind the plaster.

What Friends Say: At first they laughed at us for taking on such a huge project, but over time as
we have finished more and more projects they seem to really enjoy seeing what we are working on. Different rooms receive different reactions, which is what makes it fun. The living room is always a wow, the powder room gets a chuckle, and the Dining Room painted black is usually good opportunity for a “only you would…”
type of comment.

Biggest Embarrassment: Our mauve pink bathroom with a duck theme. Features duck wallpaper, duck border, duck handpainted light switch, and a custom duck stained glass window.

Proudest DIY: We added to the existing crown molding to embellish the tall ceilings in the living room, which was not easy with the plaster walls. We have done the wallpaper stripping and painting ourselves, but the crown molding was definitely the most challenging!

Biggest Indulgence: The Dining Room rug and drapes.

Best Advice: If you like it- buy it and then find the perfect place for it. We mostly design by just collecting things that move us. Then we bring it home and rearrange, rearrange again, and again until everything in the room feels balanced. As far as budget is concerned, if there is something that is perfect, I will splurge, and then make up for it by buying second hand items off craigslist, shopping vintage, and floor samples.

My favorite quote from Dorothy Draper is “if it looks right, it is right.”

Dream Sources: One month, all you can eat crepes, an unlimited budget and no transportation
worries in Paris. (Leaving plenty of time for shoe shopping of course!)

Other Inspiration: Being a visual person, I use everything as inspiration- my camera phone is full of photos of anything from a color I like, to a shape, to furniture placement, etc. I have a pile of magazine clippings, folder on the desktop of images. Before I work on a room, I always flip though all the photos for ideas or to look
for what is moving me about the inspiration. It helps me choose color and silhouettes that I know I will continue to love over time.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Resources of Note:

PAINT & COLORS

WALLPAPER & WALL TREATMENTS

ARTWORK
Jordan Crane , Souther Salazar, Ed Ruscha (www.edruscha.com), Mark Burrier, vintage Morris prints in Dining Room, Joe Jacobs , Michael Cho local & vintage art and illustrations from when we travel.

LIVING ROOM

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

BASEMENT

BATHROOM

MARK’S STUDIO

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Thanks, Hallie & Mark

Images: Leah Moss

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