Happy May — and happy Opening Day of Homearama! Our showhouse opened to the public today, alongside six other beautiful homes in the event. After a busy pre-show season and a pause for a newborn, we’re excited to resume the tour in the main living areas: the living room and kitchen. As the floor plan shows, these are two of the largest zones on the first floor.
Both rooms are painted Benjamin Moore Simply White, which gives a crisp, neutral backdrop for the bolder elements we added: a navy fireplace column, a matching kitchen island, a colorful breakfast nook, bold artwork, and vibrant rugs and pillows. Those pops of color help define each area while keeping the overall palette fresh and cohesive.
We wanted the fireplace to be the focal point of the living room, so we anchored that wall in Benjamin Moore Hale Navy. Our friend Lesli Devito painted a playful portrait of Burger that currently hangs there — the TV will likely go in that spot when the home is sold, but we loved the cheeky touch for the show.
The coffee table and the 9′ x 12′ rug are from West Elm; the colorful basket is a HomeGoods find. The gray sofa, chair, and ottoman are from Green Front Furniture in the “smoke” color. These larger neutral pieces let the navy and colorful accents shine without overwhelming the room.
We selected a white wood mantle with a marble surround and hearth through a local company. One of our favorite small luxuries here is the gas fireplace that turns on with a simple switch — a convenience that’s made updating our own fireplace more appealing than ever.
From the French doors that open to the back porch, you can see how the space flows. In hindsight we wish the pendant fixture were centered over the coffee table — electrical placements were made months before furniture arrived, so this is one of many small lessons learned during the process. Filling a showhouse under a tight timeline reveals how the accumulation of tiny decisions creates the finished result.
In the corner sits a console found at HomeGoods, paired with lamps also from HomeGoods and baskets from Target. Large-scale art is on loan, and the bench beneath the window is from Green Front. We borrowed a blue pouf from our own house to round out the seating. These photos were taken before the custom white shutters were installed throughout the home, which provide a polished finish to each room.
The side table was a last-minute find, and the gold-based lamp was a quick project pulled from our resources during the final styling rush. Small touches like planters and lamps help make the room feel lived-in and intentional.
Choosing the living room light was tricky — we needed something that wouldn’t compete with the gold accordion pendants in the kitchen. After seeing a Clear Glass Chandelier in another room, we realized a similar fixture would work well here. The chandelier was modified with gold hardware to tie into the kitchen pendants so the finishes feel intentional and cohesive between the two spaces.
Moving to the kitchen: cabinets are from a local shop called Affinity. Most of the cabinetry is a stock gray similar to Benjamin Moore’s Timber Wolf Gray, while the island is painted Hale Navy to echo the fireplace column across the room.
Two common questions we get about the kitchen:
1. Why is the quarter round around the island wood-toned instead of painted? That treatment is a standard builder choice with oak floors because it hides dust and scuffs better. It can be painted if a buyer prefers a painted look.
2. Why don’t the cabinets go to the ceiling? Our first floor has 10′ ceilings, and full-height cabinetry at that height is uncommon. Many buyers decline the extra cost for such tall cabinets, though custom upper storage could be added as an upgrade.
People who toured the house often told us the kitchen looked much larger in person than in photos. For scale, the island is over 11 feet long — plenty of room to work, gather, or, yes, even nap if anyone’s inclined.
The stools are from West Elm. The gold accordion lights are from Shades of Light, appliances are Wolf/Sub-Zero, and cabinet pulls are from Liberty Hardware. Countertops are White Moura leathered marble installed by a local stone company. To keep the glass-front cabinets looking clean, we styled them simply with white dishware from Target and HomeGoods.
Affinity helped design the cabinet layout to maximize practical storage: deep drawer bases for easy access, a roll-out spice rack, and a vertical organizer for cookie sheets. One of my favorite features is the large 30″ x 18″ cabinets at either end of the island — they were perfect for storing staging items during the show. The island also houses the dishwasher, a roll-out double trash cabinet, and abundant storage.
For the sink and faucet we chose a classic, functional Mirabelle-style faucet and the deepest single sink available from the stone fabricator: 30″ wide and 10″ deep. The backsplash is a white blend waterfall glass tile that adds a subtle, polished shine to the space.
To the left of the kitchen is the breakfast nook, transformed into a built-in banquette with floor-to-ceiling bookcases on either side and a wraparound bench. The frosted double doors hide the walk-in pantry. The built-in shelving allows easy access to items even on upper shelves without needing a ladder, making it practical as well as cozy.
The nook backs are painted Timber Wolf Gray to echo the nearby cabinets. Cookbooks and curated objects create a casual display that feels like a modern, approachable take on a china cabinet. Cushions were later made for the banquette in a deep gray that ties in with the island stools.
The Large Simple Dome light above the table references the stainless finishes in the kitchen without adding too much gold. Our approach to mixing metals is to repeat each finish a few times throughout the space so the look reads as intentional and layered.
The custom table in the nook was built to fit the space precisely — 5′ deep by 6′ wide — stained to match the hardwood floors in Jacobean and finished with a glossy top coat. It’s a size you won’t typically find in stock and was a worthwhile custom solution.
The pantry features custom shelving from the builder’s carpentry team and short frosted French doors that don’t interfere with storage or hallway flow. The glass prism flushmount light used in the pantry is echoed in the nearby hallway and mudroom to create continuity.
We left the pantry intentionally unstylized and invited visitors to donate canned goods for FeedMore, our regional hunger-relief organization. If you visit Homearama, feel free to bring nonperishable items — donations can also be dropped off at the show’s front entrance or ticket counter.
We’ll keep Homearama updates to roughly once a week amid our regular home and family posts while we finish touring the other showhouses. We toured all six yesterday and plan to share a House Crashing post soon with highlights from those homes. Stay tuned for more photos and details in the coming weeks.