How this family’s dated Montco property became their dream house

The Mediterranean-style stucco home in Montgomery County was ringed by maple and oak trees. A tri-level deck with a hot tub and covered porch faced a sylvan pond on an adjacent property.

Inside, the house had oak flooring, Amish-crafted red oak kitchen cabinets, two fireplaces, and a family room with a beamed cathedral ceiling.

The almost 5,000-square-foot home Casey Lyons and her husband, James, purchased in 2021 also had a basement with a sauna, gym, full bath, and a great room opening out into a patio where their two young sons could play.

On the second floor were four bedrooms and three baths and abundant closets fitted with drawers and shelving. Previous owners had installed a sophisticated sound system to play music.

The 1988 structure was dated, though. The kitchen had “peachy” squares of tile for a backsplash, Casey said. The 1½-acre property was attractively landscaped, but the outdoor decks were stained a worn rust color.

To give the first-floor living spaces a contemporary look, Casey reached out to interior designer Val Nehez through a mutual friend. Nehez remembers, “Casey asked me, ‘Can you make me love this house?’”

Nehez, owner of Studio IQL, and her senior designer, Ulli Barankay, were up to the challenge.

In the kitchen they kept most of the cabinetry but replaced one wall with white subway tile and open shelves. They installed a white marble island, new globe light fixtures, and curved black faucets. Mustard-colored chairs surround a white table.

“We turned a Lancaster County country kitchen … into a Southern California kitchen,” Nehez said.

With two active boys and a chocolate lab, Casey has to clean the chairs once a month. Still, she said, “I love the color.”

In the center hall, red oak entry doors, adjacent closet doors, and the staircase were painted dark green to match the slate floor.

The dining room decor was inspired by a large abstract painting of white swirls on a green background from James’ family’s art collection. The walls are hunter green, and the “Flock of Light” curved metal chandelier from Design Within Reach complements the swirls in the painting.

Nehez found upholstered chairs for the walnut table, which Casey had custom-made by John Duffy, owner of Stable Tables in Flourtown.

The dining room’s vintage apothecary cabinet and heavily carved buffet had been in her previous home.

A copper plate and new mantle were added to the living room fireplace to make it more distinctive. The stone fireplace in the family room was whitewashed to blend with the white walls and emphasize the height of the cathedral ceiling. Furnishings include a tan leather sofa in the family room and white chairs, and a green velvet sofa and floral-pattern rug in the living room.

Outside, the decking was painted a moss green to blend with the surrounding foliage. The back wall of the covered porch was covered with glazed green tiles. The porch features a maroon-and-white-striped sectional and blue, beige, and purple lantern-shaped lights. “It’s a beautiful place to sit” and admire the pond and the changing colors of the leaves in late autumn, Casey said.

Some furnishings came from Material Culture, an antique store in Germantown. Other items and lighting came from Minima, a contemporary lighting and furniture store in Old City. Nehez said items were selected to “reflect the owners’ taste.”

She and Barankay chose black porcelain fixtures for the powder room and wallpaper patterned with black and white zebras on a red background. In a happy coincidence, after the powder room remodeling was completed, the designers found a print of two zebras in the families’ art trove, which they hung in the hall nearby.

As is their custom, with some exceptions such as the dining room painting, they waited until all the furnishings were in place to hang the art.

Finding the right piece to blend in, Nehez said, is “like finding the perfect pair of earrings after getting dressed.”

Since the remodeling Casey, her sons, and husband “have a space where we can cook, watch, television, and dance,” she said, in a home she now loves.

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