Cozy Opulence

By Madoline Markham
Photos by Rebecca Wise

Mallory Arnett has known one particular house in Lockerbie since it was built in 1985. For years it was where she visited her grandparents and would beg to get to spend the night, and then a few years ago it became a canvas for her interior design taste when her parents bought it and decided to make it their own.

For decades the house was filled with antiques and traditional designs, but when it became theirs, Mallory’s parents wanted to give it a less formal look of their own. In the end, Mallory worked with her mom to mix antiques in with a pop of modern and plenty of patterned fabrics to create a look Mallory calls “cozy opulence.”

After getting a degree in fashion, Mallory worked for Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic line in San Francisco for several years, where she learned she had a knack for tastefully mixing patterns, and that’s just what she did in this family home as well. Most of her design work started with elegant drapery fabrics that were the foundation of each room’s color palette, and to each, she added complementary patterns. Along the way, she worked closely with designer Grant Trick to create draperies, pillows and bedding, as well as Paige Albright Orientals to select rugs and Fixture & Finishes in her bathroom and lighting selections.

Today as Mallory walks through the house she’s reminded of her early memories of walking through the house when it was under construction and no railing was yet up and of the growth chart that still marks her siblings’ heights over the years in the kitchen—and also a newer set of memories she’s made within the same walls as the designer behind Maison Luxe Interiors.

Kitchen

Black soapstone is the statement maker of this space as is crawls up the walls with a scalloped edge behind the vent hood. Over on the left, you can see a bird print on draperies that brings the outdoors into this space where the family spends so much time.

Dining Room

This room is one of the most traditional in the house and hence most reminiscent of Mallory’s grandparents’ style. The table and chairs were theirs as well as the lace tablecloth Mallory says adds a coziness to the space along with new curtains that line floor-to-ceiling leaded glass windows.

Guest Bathroom

Mallory designed the scalloped cut of this Calcutta Vagli marble from Triton Stone and selected Henry by Waterworks brass fixtures to complement it atop a dress vanity. To complete the elegant look, she found a bow-topped gold mirror at Maison de France Antiques in Leeds.

Guest Bedroom

Mallory’s grandmother had this canopy bed designed, and growing up, it was Mallory’s “princess bed” when she spent the night in the house. To add even more flair to its classic design, Mallory added peach-gathered fabric under the top of the canopy.

Boy’s Bedroom

A 48-star flag from Unique Black Sheep behind the bed is a focal point of this room where Mallory’s nephew stays when he visits, but the room’s look started with the portrait of a boy above the desk that was Mallory’s grandparents’ and a rug with navy and red that was in her grandfather’s office for years.