Just after they married in 1994, Dr. Bill and Ann Greisner took a trip to New Orleans, La., and, like many, were enamored of the city's style and spirit.
They admired rich colors and plush fabrics nestled in the tiny shops. They also spotted a gorgeous antique solid-wood circular table that seemed irresistible. The detailing was beautiful and, with seating for at least 12, it fit their top requirement for home design: stylish, but it also would provide a place they could share meals and fellowship with family and friends.
Oddly enough, they left town without the piece-and without either ever mentioning their mutual attraction to the table until years down the road.
"Both of us loved it," said Ann. "But it was too expensive! We never said a word to the other about it until we started talking about what to do with the dining room and then it was like, 'Do you remember that table from New Orleans?'"
"That's a true story," confirmed Bill. "The piece we ended up with is similar, although the piece we saw was antique."
That table was one element of style notes the Greisners had been taking for years, and that they shared with designer Mary Cynthia Knowles (known simply as 'Mary C.' to her friends and clients), president of Martin Durr Caldwell during their first consultation.
"I remember the first time we sat down to talk it was two hours!" said Knowles. "But we just had so much fun, and they knew exactly what they wanted."
The Greisners had collected over the years anything they saw and liked, and brought ideas to the consultation with Knowles, from which she identified trends and helped them develop an overall vision for the project.
"The style of the house is heavily influenced by a New Orleans style and certain elements are very traditionally Southern," said Knowles. "But one thing I love about this house is that you couldn't look at the house and know when it was done."
The home, which the Greisners purchased in 1999, is a modest brick, two-story in the Tanbark subdivision that was built in the early 1980s.
Knowles notes that homes built at any time generally have markers that can present challenges to a home update, but which aren't insurmountable. For homes built in the 80s, one example is the ceiling height, which is lower in homes built at this time. She cites 'design tricks' like choosing the correct shade of paint for a ceiling or the correct level at which to hang curtains, which provides a more timeless look.
Challenges were apparent to the Greisners when they bought the house, but they had other priorities in mind. They wanted to have a home and yard that was large enough to accommodate kids and company, but which was manageable, and they wanted it to be close enough to town to be convenient to the family and friends they anticipated hosting.
"When we bought the house I was three steps in, not past the stairwell, and I just knew it was the house," said Ann. "We knew we wanted to remodel at some point, though."
Before the home was ready for renovation, it had to be broken in by the couple's two children, Lucy, 10, and Will, who just turned 9.
"The kids learned how to roller skate, ride bikes, trikes, everything-in this house," laughs Ann. "And we didn't have to worry about the baseboards or the floors or the walls."
Though the home sustained its share of battle scars, one could say it has healed beautifully.
Entering the home, the first thing you notice is the staircase, which greets visitors with a brass pineapple-symbolizing, of course, the tradition of hospitality and welcome.
Just off the foyer is the dining room, which features the large, circular table that is a reproduction of the antique the Greisners spotted in New Orleans. Plush armchairs surround the table at place settings of family china, which, Ann notes, is ready for the Greisner's tradition of Saturday family theme dinners at which Bill, Ann, Lucy, Will-and any guests who may show up-attend dinner each week dressed for the various motif.
Across the entryway is the coup de gras of the home's New Orleans' flavor. Inspired by what Knowles calls a 'New Orleans smoking room,' and alternately referred to as the library or the 'red room,' it's declared by many who enter the house as thefavorite. It's the room where Ann writes letters and chats on one of the many antique phones she's collected; where Bill relaxes and reads in the antique rocking chair that's been passed through his family; and where the kids practice piano.
"It's a very warm room-by appearance and by temperature," said Bill. "I enjoy sitting in the red room particularly during wintertime when it's cold outdoors and we can have the fire going."
Lending warmth to the room are the walls, which are padded, tufted, and covered in a red damask, and the ceilings, which are hammered copper. Dark wood paneling also compliments the room's cozy feel.
"Sometimes we joke about throwing people in the room with the padded walls," said Ann. "But everyone loves it."
Another crowd-favorite feature is in the living room. While renovations on the home were often overseen by Ann, Bill worked on another construction project: his aquarium. With the help of Vinson Whitton of Most Valuable Pets, Bill has been building the salt-water community of corals, anemones, shrimp and fish for almost a year and a half.
"There are probably 30 to 40 invertebrates, plus maybe 7 fish," said Bill. "But I plan to add more."
Knowles, who has been a friend of Ann's since childhood and whose father, Joe Martin, decorated Ann's parents' home, loves the individuality of the home and the way the Greisners kept their priorities through the process.
"You know that Saab line, 'make your own road'," said Knowles. "I think that's just exactly them. Everything was done because it reflected something about them, not because it fit a style. Some of it is traditional and some of it isn't."
"We wanted it to be a house we're comfortable with and that we could entertain with," said Bill.
Ann agreed, noting, "We have overnight visitors sometimes two, three times a week. We've had church dinners, wedding receptions, showers, family dinners. And you know that saying about 'angels unaware?' Well, when you're entertaining angels unaware, you want to be able to entertain any kind of angel."
Design tips from Mary C.:
• Find a designer who will do what you want and if someone tells you that something can't be done, don't compromise on what you want, chances are you can find someone who can do it.
• Find and keep things that you like, whether they are pictures, fabrics or even collectibles that mean something to you.
• There are rules to design, but it has to be fun!
• Martin Durr Caldwell Interior Design provides design services across the state of Kentucky. Mary Cynthia Knowles has been featured on radio and television and recently completed a book on, as well as teaches a class on, design. Visit their Web site at www.decoratebydesign.com or call 1-888-N-TERIOR for more information.
Talk to me:
"I just love having so many phones in the house (they are all working). I mean, the phone rings and I can think for a minute, 'now which one do I want to pick up?'" said Ann, who is still looking for a 'boudoir' phone to put in the lavatory. The distinguishing feature being its lack of dial. Ann says, "If you're in there, you're probably not going to call someone up, but you can answer if you just can't stand to miss a call!"
Tall phone in red room
Dating to the 1930s, this brass phone does not ring because at the time, phone lines were 'party lines.' Just as the 'old days', it will make the other phones in the house 'click' to indicate that it is in use.
Black phone in red room
This black malakite rotary desk phone, circa 1958, was left in a cabin in Vermont in which Ann lived.
French phone
This is an original1920s 'French phone', which has been widely reproduced, but original versions can be distinguished by their heft-this one weighs in at about 15 lbs and is actually from Austria.
Payphone in kitchen
A favorite because it makes the 'cutest sound,' people often stop by the kitchen to put money in and listen, this phone was acquired through a Wisconsin company (Phonecoinc.com) that refurbishes old phones.