The Insider: Fun Furnishings Personalize Young Family's Windsor Terrace House

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“Let’s make this fun” was the prevailing attitude when Brooklyn-based interior designer Emma Beryl Kemper took on the comprehensive kitting out of a Windsor Terrace row house for a pair of new homeowners. The three-story brick house, dating to the early 20th century, had been freshly renovated just before being sold, so Kemper was more or less able to go straight to painting and furniture shopping.

“It was a matter of decorating and making the house feel warm, comfortable and personal to them,” said Kemper, who is also the author of an illustrated book, “House Rules: 100 Ways to Feel at Home,” published last month by Union Square & Co., which covers the basics of interior design from mood boards to color schemes to the realities of DIY. “It’s the book I wish I had when I started,” said Kemper, who founded Emma Beryl Interiors a decade ago.

Her clients, who have two young kids, were “open and easy,” Kemper said. “They were drawn to mid-century elements and wanted things to feel a little funky and a little different, so I used some unusual silhouettes and bolder colors.”

For sourcing, Kemper relied mostly on accessible outlets like CB2, Room & Board, Crate and Barrel Kids, and West Elm, along with a fair number of purchases from Etsy.

“It’s a great house, with high ceilings, some original floors and an amazing backyard,” the designer said. “It’s a shame it doesn’t have more detail.” But it does have some, including the vestibule door and staircase with spindle balusters and a lovely newel post.

Kemper created a gallery wall with family photos marching up the stairs from public space to private. “They can keep adding to it,” she said.

Of the front parlor/living room, Kemper said, “I wanted this space to set the tone for the rest of the house, because it’s first thing you see when you walk in.” The clean-lined sofa was one of the few pieces the homeowners had and wanted to keep. “We kept the rest of the pieces streamlined, adding patterns here and there. We wanted colors that felt rich and, since all the rooms are connected, that played nicely together.” Hence the cool palette throughout the parlor floor — blue in the front room, a striking purple bar in the middle, green in the back.

Kemper added some funk and whimsy with accessories like a round custom ottoman that ties all the colors together, and a curvy standing Caprani lamp from Vakker Light. The nesting coffee table, found on Esty, can be pulled apart and easily moved to give the couple’s young children more play space.

Farrow & Ball’s Preference Red, which tends toward purple, makes the custom millwork unit, designed by Kemper, especially eye-catching. “They entertain a lot, and this bar creates an official party area.” The bar has a built-in wine fridge and houses a record player, display shelves, and integrated lighting.

A rustic reclaimed wood table brings warmth to the pale green dining area at the rear of the parlor floor, where there are original moldings and floors.

The banquette is a reupholstered vintage piece, the chairs are from Anthropologie, and the parchment-shaded light fixture from Raven Hill.

Kemper supplied leather stools from CB2 for the counter in the adjacent kitchen.

A Schumacher leaf-print wallpaper, and electric-red paint make a standout of the parlor floor powder room.

Kemper sought “calm-feeling colors and neutrals” for the pale green primary bedroom, whose walls are clad in a leafy grasscloth, also from Schumacher, and added crown and base molding to boost historic character.

In a nook off the bedroom, where built-in closets existed along both sides, Kemper curtained the opening, introducing a mustard color to tie in with the bench at the foot of the bed, in lieu of a solid door. “It feels like a high-end store dressing room,” she said.

Two kids and four built-in bunks, which were there but painted white, make for very good sleepovers. “We decided to paint the whole room blue to make it feel more custom,” Kemper said.

Natural elements like the woven straw floor covering make the space feel more sophisticated, Kemper said. Arched cabinets from Crate and Barrel contain storage baskets that look neat even when stuffed with toys.

[Photos by Nick Glimenakis]

The Insider is Brownstoner’s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design/renovation project, by design journalist Cara Greenberg. Find it here every Thursday morning.

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