You can take the girl out of Connecticut, but you can’t take Connecticut out of the girl. This explains how Mairin and Chris Epp came to be living in a Colonial-style home in Austin—sort of. As soon as he saw it, seventh-generation Texan Chris fell in love with the saltbox house in Wilton, CT, where Mairin grew up, and it inspired the home the Epps built in Austin in 2012.
As the Epps family grew they decided to expand their home. “The city of Austin is a lot of things, but ‘easy’ is not one of them,” Chris says. “The project consisted of purchasing the neighboring property, demolishing the old house that was on that lot, merging the two lots together, pulling utilities to the new home, tree mitigation, and most surprisingly, the addition of a commercial-grade fire-suppression system to the entire house.”
And of course, there was the matter of decorating the expansion. As it happened, the owner of Watermark Homes by David Bratton, the company building the addition, could vouch for an ace designer: his wife, Bambi A’Lynn. “I was brought into the project when the Epps started their addition,” Bambi says. “However, once we started there were many things in the original home that we completely redid—so essentially it turned into the entire house.”
The addition, with its 20-foot-high ceilings and great room that opens onto the rear patio and pool, needed to feel cohesive with the existing part of the home. “The Epps’ main goal was to balance form and function: keeping with the consistent Colonial theme—rambling rooms, unique nooks, era-appropriate palette—and making it functional for their family of five,” Bambi says.
In true Colonial saltbox fashion, the sitting room is just off the center hall entry, opposite the dining room. This corner is a sampling of the pattern juxtapositions that enliven the home. Find a similar rug here.
Sticking to a curated palette ensures that the layers of pattern seem harmonious rather than cacophonous. At the same time, the addition of the lavender ottomans provides a perfect pinch of variety. Find the Montreuil Sconces here.
Dark blue lacquered built-ins signal that this room is designed for business, but the frond-print curtains and the animal-print rug keep things from becoming somber. Find a similar rug here.
To do that, Bambi kept to a palette of blues and greens for much of the home, “just punching it up a bit” for the addition. While the living room’s sofa is upholstered in a staid tweedlike blue, for instance, bold coral piping revs up the sky blue of the great room’s sofa. The living room’s window seats are covered in a small-scale gingham; a large-scale diamond motif adorns the great room’s armchairs.
Pattern is prominent in just about every room. Even the laundry room has leafy green wallpaper and a diamond pattern painted on the floor. “From the very beginning I felt the look Mairin was after and knew exactly which ‘hero’ fabrics and wallpapers to start with and build upon,” Bambi says. Stripes and animal prints grace the rugs, and chinoiserie vases and jars are sprinkled throughout. The addition of Delft tiles to the living room’s fireplace reinforces the sense of tradition, as do classic furniture details such as English roll arms and spindle legs.
Bambi is proud not only of the end result but also “that I was able to [gain] the client’s trust almost from the beginning. I think the only thing I did not ‘sell’ was a fabric canopy for the master bedroom—which might come at a later date,” she adds with a laugh. “The Epps’ trust and enthusiasm brought so much joy into the design process. Seeing them enjoy their new surroundings and living life comfortably is the whole goal.”
The brown palette of the dining room is an outlier amid the rest of the home’s blues and greens. The large-scale floral print of the wallpaper, however, is consistent with the overall style. The curves of the Choros Chandelier contribute a hint of whimsy. Find similar Windsor chairs here.
Expanses of pale solids, from the white pitched ceiling to the blue upholstery of the bed, maintain a restful mood amid the patterns of the primary bedroom.
This bedroom’s classic furnishings should see the Epps’ daughter through her teen years (with or without the oversize Miffy doll). Find a similar chandelier here.
“One of the first features the architect presented in his plan was the folding set of French doors so the great room could open up to the back patio/pool area,” Bambi says. “The Epps like to entertain, so being able to open up the space really helps the flow when having a larger gathering of friends.”
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