Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2005

 

Viva la difference

Couples can merge tastes to create a unique home environment

By STACY DOWNS
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Jane Piper enjoys overstuffed chairs. Eric Piper favors sleek seats.

She loves multicolored fabric. He prefers monochrome.

She recalls paint shades by names of fruit and flowers: Lemon Shine, Queen Anne’s Lace. He remembers them by number: Benjamin Moore 2020-20, Sherwin-Williams 6420.

The decor dissimilarities go on and on for the Westwood Hills, Kan., couple. And although they have enjoyed 25 years of wedded bliss, their home once told a different story.

The taupe walls inside their 1925 Tudor house were spare, save for a few framed black-and-white prints. All furniture was upholstered in black or beige. The only color to be found came from the dust jackets on books in the library.

“The house was bare for a long time,” says Jane Piper, owner of Central American Textile Co. in Westport, Mo.

“We couldn’t agree,” says Eric Piper, architect and a principal of Piper-Wind Architects in Kansas City.

Making a happy marriage of opposite styles is a common challenge for couples, especially for designers. Often one person in the partnership gets more of a say in picking out furniture and choosing colors. But when two strong-minded people each want a home to reflect individual tastes, both should win.

“It can’t be all one-sided,” says Jamey Bellamy, interior designer for Delaware Interiors in Prairie Village. “They should both really love their environment and feel comfortable and even excited by it.”

Bellamy often talks to husbands and wives separately so neither feels pressure or influence from the other. She has them answer a questionnaire about their tastes. Depending on their answers, there are two ways to go:

They discover a new look together. If a wife likes casual and the husband prefers formal, they will find middle ground.

They unite the two styles. For example, they will merge traditional and modern into an eclectic yet attractive combination.

“Straight and curvilinear lines can work beautifully together,” Bellamy says. “I love that effect so much.”

Without the help of a designer, the Pipers unintentionally employed those strategies in their home. They started collecting together. Jane bought an inkwell as a birthday gift for Eric, a green ceramics piece that launched them into hunting for other Arts and Crafts-style pottery. Now the pieces accent the family and living rooms.

But a major turning point came several years ago when Jane went on a mission trip with Presbyterians to Guatemala. She developed a passion for the native hand-woven textiles, admiring how patterns in the cloth indicate the villages where they are made. Cotzal cloth features intricate brocaded bird designs; Nahuala fabrics, double-headed eagles.

Jane became so thrilled by the colorful fabric that she started her business selling pieces in the United States. She also thought the complex patterns would be perfect for their home.

Eric wasn’t so sure. He had visions of the loud cloth on hacky sacks.

“I have a problem with pattern on pattern,” says Eric, immediate past president of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. But then again, he realized, these patterns were art.

Jane hung long textiles from wooden dowels on walls in their bedroom, foyer and living room. She used one as a table runner in the dining room. She placed small squares underneath pottery. She even incorporated hand-woven garments as art: A shawl is draped on the rocking chair in the library; huipiles, women’s blouses, are hung in spots.

Not only did the textiles add some much-needed color, but they also tied together disparate elements: The modern Barcelona chairs in the living room that Eric purchased at a bank liquidation sale in the 1980s, their pottery and cherry-finish furniture.

Eric now appreciates the hand-made quality and the effect it has in the home they share with their son, Ben, 17, and daughter, Elizabeth, 12. And friends say the look reflects both Pipers’ personalities.

“I find it like a museum because there’s always something interesting to look at,” says neighbor David Holmes, a psychology professor at the University of Kansas. “But it’s much more alive because they have melded and mixed them so well.”

Another neighbor, Nancy Ditch, says it’s still easy to tell which pieces are Eric’s and which are Jane’s. However, before all the pieces were blended together, the interiors seemed strictly masculine.

“The use of colors and fabrics really softens all of the black and white,” says Ditch, director of the executive MBA program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “The space looks warm and rich with the additions.”

Although they have successfully blended the public rooms in their home, challenges remain. The couple discovered they both love Oriental rugs, but where can they incorporate those in a home that already includes the strong patterns of Guatemalan textiles, American Indian rugs and Mexican saltillos (blankets)? And what about displaying Eric’s collection of antique tennis rackets stashed in the attic?

Maybe in another 25 years.