Putting down roots

No strangers to home construction, Miranda and Justin, for the most part, knew what they were getting into when they decided to build their third home together. “What we didn’t expect was the economy and inflation,” Miranda says, “so that threw a few wrenches in the plans.”

Fortunately, the team at Trove Warehouse linked Miranda up with a designer who would be sensitive to her budget concerns. “I shop there all the time and knew they had an interior design service,” she says. “I filled out a questionnaire. And they linked us to Erin Hackett based on her style.”

The marble on the countertops was extended as a backsplash giving the space clean, modern lines that balance with the more traditional cabinetry.

Shifting focus
As it was for many people, the pandemic was the perfect time for Hackett to re-examine her career. “I loved being a financial advisor but was always pulled toward my love of interior design,” she explains. “There was a shift in me during that time.”

Now, as owner of Hackett House Studio, the designer fuses her experience in finance with her passion for interior design.

“As a financial advisor, I was working with clients on their retirement plans,” Hackett says. “Now, I’m helping clients with what is usually their largest investment–their homes. Both are very personal and serious, so I am glad I can help guide my design clients on how to best work with their budgets.”

The home is a balance of traditional and modern touches.

Law of averages
Hackett was instrumental in helping Miranda and Justin get everything on their wish list, and stay within their budget, while dealing with steep inflation.

“The homeowners had an initial budget from their architect and builder,” she explains. “But I knew Miranda’s taste from her inspiration photos, so I knew some areas where we were going to need to stretch the budget.”

The tone for this home is set by steel front doors made by local fabricator, Edgework Creative.

“It’s all about getting to the average,” Erin adds. “For example, when talking about flooring—some tile might be twenty dollars a square foot, some might be five dollars. So, we get to an average of ten dollars a square foot for flooring, giving the homeowner some luxe tiles, while using cost-effective tiles in less heavily trafficked areas.”

The designer says it was the same process with the countertops, which was a good thing because Miranda fell in love with marble. Instead of sacrificing items on the couple’s wish list, the home got smaller. What started as a roughly 6,500-square-foot home was scaled down to approximately 4,500 square feet.

Frosted, fluted glass was used on Miranda’s office doors to provide extra privacy.

Knowing what she didn’t want
For Miranda, knowing what she didn’t want was just as important as knowing what she did want. “My last house was a five-level split. While I loved the height of the vaulted ceilings, there was so much wasted space,” Miranda explains, “and noise travels,” which can be an issue in a house with three boys under the age of five. Wanting to keep the open and airy feeling, the couple included ten-foot ceilings on the main level.

“And every house we’ve lived in, the powder room was right by the front door, and I knew I didn’t want that,” Miranda says. “The powder room is down by the mudroom, which makes so much more sense for us.”

A walk-in pantry provides an abundance of additional storage.

One item moved from Miranda’s never column to the must-have list, and that was her marble countertops.

“I did tell Erin the one thing I didn’t want in our kitchen was marble. And we have marble in our kitchen,” Miranda says with a chuckle. “I absolutely love it. It was a gamechanger.”

Wainscoting in the powder room is painted Dark Olive by Benjamin Moore.

Must have marble
Hackett begins her work with all her clients by looking at their inspiration images, often asking them questions about the photos. “What do you like?” and “What don’t you like?”

“If a client sends me a lot of images with marble, I’m taking note of that,” she says. “Miranda was very adamant that she did not want marble, but many of her inspiration images had marble. I will never push a client towards something they don’t want, so we went through the steps of selecting the cabinetry, selecting the range…”

Those entering the home from the garage pass through a convenient mudroom.

“And then I showed her images of countertops that looked good with her hard finishes. Next, we visited slab yards. We looked at quartz. But, of course, we were there—so we looked at the marble.”

“Ultimately, she fell in love with her marble. It was her call.”

The dining room built-ins flipped the more common practice of putting the darker cabinetry on the bottom and lighter on top.

The designer goes on to explain that people have this misconception that marble is a delicate, not kid-friendly surface. “That’s just not true,” she says. “Marble is used throughout the world. You go to Italy and France and you see it everywhere.”

Hackett’s clients often worry about marble staining, but she educates them on having their marble sealed. She says it is as easy as using an over-the-counter sealant every three to four months.

The homeowners opted for an open floor plan between their kitchen, dining and living rooms to accommodate their large, growing family.

Balancing styles
Miranda knew she didn’t want anything farmhouse in her design, so she was drawn to Hackett’s more “antique and vintage style with some modern touches.”

“Something we do really well is balance the traditional and the modern,” Hackett says of her design aesthetic. “It’s fresh with clean lines. The style of the home would probably fall under what the design community calls transitional. It balances masculine and feminine elements. It’s all just very balanced.”

Annie Selke grass cloth wallpaper covers the walls in the primary bedroom.

One area of the home where this balance is seen is in Miranda’s office, located off the entry hall. The urbane bronze paint color gives the walls a masculine, brownish-black color while the gold fixtures, artwork and furnishings bring in feminine touches.

Miranda, who does eighty percent of her work from home, says her office is one of her favorite rooms in the house.

The Arteriors Tilda chandelier was the inspiration for the master bath.

While she does have her favorite spaces in the home, Miranda loves every square inch they were able to create with Hackett’s design guidance. “I was pregnant during the majority of our move, and I was so thankful that a lot of the big pieces we purchased came with Erin’s white glove service. She made everything so easy and enjoyable. Hopefully we won’t be moving anytime soon.”