Stacy Curran’s transition from attorney to interior decorator started when she moved into her new residence. Following September 11, 2001, Curran, together with her husband, Patrick, and their two children, moved from Washington, D.C., and into a new-construction house in Marshfield, Massachusetts. “The house felt like a complete blank picture to me,” she states.
Using color, texture and customized details to make this basic builder house her family, Curran took on the layout challenges herself — installing wall molding, picking color palettes and coming up with creative DIY solutions. And that hard work has paid off: Today the family has a home, and Curran includes a career at South Shore Decorating.
at a Glance
Who lives here: Stacy and Patrick Curran and their children, Bobby and Ellie
Location: Marshfield, Massachusetts
Size: 4,200 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms
Mary Prince Photography
Curran chose another accent color for each room, although Gray, black and white dominate in the house. A piece of cloth is draped over each couch’s center — the rooms were carried throughout by a detailCurran.
Two gray curved loveseats in brushed cotton surround four 22- by 22-inch end tables, which can combine to make one big coffee table.
End tables: Lexington Furniture; paint: Iceberg, Benjamin Moore
Mary Prince Photography
“The house looked massive to us, coming from our four-story, 2,400-square-foot townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia,” says Curran. Color, fabrics and custom touches on furnishings help distinguish each room.
This 20- by 24-foot living room sits a step down from the eat-in kitchen. Nine framed sketches of rooms Curran hang on the wall.
White tufted couch: Robin Bruce
Mary Prince Photography
Curran used nonwashable horizontal paint on the walls. The bamboo flooring are alkaline dyed to a dark and uniform color.
Molding and trim paint: White Cloud, Benjamin Moore using Coventry Gray, Benjamin Moore; cherry dining table and credenza: eBay; hardwood flooring: Minwax in Jacobean; carpeting: Jonathan Adler
Mary Prince Photography
Cabinetry New countertops and built-ins added design. “After we moved, the house has been pretty much a builder’s basic,” Curran says. “Though it was not quite love at first sight, I saw the potential, and we spent the next few years getting it where we needed it”
Mary Prince Photography
A trio of a desk that is V-shaped and closets twist a kitchen corner room into a house office.
Mary Prince Photography
Curran set up this wall molding herself for custom detail. A mirrored backsplash attracts light and glimmer into the kitchen — one of the darkest rooms at the house.
Mary Prince Photography
She transformed tabletop lanterns located at HomeGoods into hanging candle chandeliers with chains and hooks.
Counter stools: BarStools.com
Mary Prince Photography
Until she devotes to selecting upholstery in this casual seating area, Curran is utilizing gray accents created with swaths of cloth on the white muslin chairs.
Chairs: Boston Interiors; rug: Rugs USA; coffee table: Horchow; paint: Cloud White, Benjamin Moore
Mary Prince Photography
Cording adds detail between entrance stair molding and the wall.
Wall paint: Winter Solstice, Benjamin Moore; stair railings: Appalachian Brown Semi-Gloss, Benjamin Moore
Mary Prince Photography
Images and colors continue from the second floor children’s rooms. A trundle bed could be transformed into a couch.
Rug: Pottery Barn; bookshelf: Pottery Barn Teen; paint: Stem Green, Benjamin Moore; sports prints: Etsy
Mary Prince Photography
Ellie spotted her desk at the city dump and needed to have it. In a bright pink that is new, it creates the perfect accent piece in her room.
Dresser, mattress: Ethan Allen; chair, rug: Pottery Barn Kids
Mary Prince Photography
In the guest bedroom, Curran produced a canopy in bright brown and green cloth to create hotel-style luxury to get an otherwise blank white wall.
Mary Prince Photography
An oversize picture zebra rug from the master bedroom warms up the massive area. “It was actually hard to get enough furniture here,” Curran says.
Painted black consoles serve as bedside tables. Curran monogrammed the lamps . She wrapped the pair of white lamp colors in black ribbon and did the same with the curtains.
Wall paint: Sleepy Blue, Sherwin-Williams; zebra rug: South Shore Decorating
Mary Prince Photography
Curran sits at a vanity from the master bedroom. The family spends a lot of their time. “It is the room we discuss the most as a family, reading to the kids at night and watching television together,” she states.
Mary Prince Photography
They found this jewel in Marshfield — equidistant between Boston and Cape Cod, though work requires meant the family had to select a house.
Mary Prince Photography
After moving in, the family included the backyard and a new pool.
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