A Calming Color Palette
March 5, 2010 by Melissa Labberton
A Calming Color Palette
By Melissa S. Labberton
Color can set the mood, evoke emotion and bring back memories. (In fact, House Beautiful devoted its entire March 2010 issue to the color blue.) That’s why Sue Fenich and her design consultant and friend, Judy Ausink, felt that choosing the perfect color palette for Sue’s 1907 mock Tudor home on West Yakima Avenue was so important to the overall interior design.
Sue, a 52-year-old community volunteer, and her husband, Randy, a 51-year-old managing partner of Moss Adams, acquired the property in 1980. They loved that they were only the fourth owner and that the home’s 5,100 square feet allowed room for a growing family. Located in one of Yakima’s oldest and most gracious neighborhoods, the property encompasses just under 1 acre of land. As an added bonus, the 4-bedroom, 3-bath home came with a delightful guesthouse in the backyard.
The couple made updating their two-story home a priority from the beginning, hoping to have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, they never could have predicted the 1991 fire that started in an electrical panel, gutting the basement and causing extensive damage throughout the main floor. They lived with family for nine months until their home was made livable again by Frank Fitterer Construction.
But over the past several years, Fenich has remodeled and redecorated parts of the home, working by herself and with Auskink to refresh some of the original remodeling done almost 20 years ago. “Judy was very reassuring and supportive and helped me achieve my vision,” said Fenich.
The first step was choosing the home’s silver sage color scheme.
“A soothing color palette was chosen by Sue for her living room. That became a jumping-off point for the re-do of the kitchen, family room, hall and bath,” Ausink explained. “We were both in agreement that the same color scheme needed to be used throughout the home.”
Sue Fenich
For years, Fenich compiled an “idea book” full of decorating ideas that would work in her house. But it was a wrong turn on a trip to Bellevue that landed Fenich at Calico Corners, where she discovered the fabric that inspired her silver sage color palette. That fabric became her custom living room curtains, and coordinating fabrics cover furniture that she’s used throughout her home.
“Sue’s strengths include her ability to design gorgeous window treatments that are embellished with all the bells and whistles,” Ausink explained. Fenich chose an elegant Empire-style valence, patterned with tiny fleur-de-lis, for the large front window in the living room, which complements the plush sofa and contrasting wingbacks and Oriental rug. A pencil drawing of Fenich’s great-grandfather over the fireplace mantel makes a perfect focal point for a formal, but comfortable, room.
With two teenage children, creating a family room on the main floor became a priority, so the couple decided to remodel the first-floor master bedroom for that purpose. By opening up the old bedroom’s large walk-in closet, they created an office alcove adjacent to the warm and welcoming family room. Matching Calico Corner sofas from the same silver sage palette were coupled with side tables and accessories purchased from many local merchants such as Fiddlesticks and The Village Shop, and make the room a perfect place for casual entertaining with family and friends.
Although the kitchen went through a total renovation in 1991, Fenich felt it needed refreshing after so many years of wear and tear. “We wanted to bring new life to the worn out kitchen we spend most of our time in,” said Fenich. “Randy loves to cook, and I love to have friends and family over, so our kitchen had seen a lot of use and was just very tired.”
In 2008, the couple hired Kline Construction to take on the project. “The first priority in the kitchen was to update the space while using (the) existing cabinets and floor plan, without losing the flavor of an older home,” Ausink explained.
A second priority was to rebuild the existing island with new countertops and paint, making sure to allow for Randy’s new wine cooler. Keeping the same color palate in mind, new appliances, flooring, sink and hardware also contributed to the kitchen’s updated look. Painting and reglazing the existing kitchen cabinets — instead of replacing them — became one of the most cost-effective aspects of the project. Kline’s painters worked their magic on the original natural wood cabinets, transforming them with Navajo White paint and glaze. The result gives them an elegant, old-world charm.
A mantleless fireplace on the northeast wall of the kitchen proved the most complex piece of their remodeling puzzle. Fenich drew a sketch of what she wanted, and the contractor created a fireplace that looks almost exactly like her drawing. Now framed by an exquisite mantel and two bookshelves for her cookbook collection, the fireplace has a comfortable tiled hearth, which serves as a cozy place to sit and enjoy the warmth of the flames. They also added French doors that open onto a back porch and a stairway that leads to the manicured backyard and swimming pool, allowing for seamless summer entertaining.
Sue and Randy Fenich are far from done when it comes to updating their beautiful old home; in fact, Sue is already scouring decorating magazines in search of the perfect dining room.
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