When Lisa Nguyen relocated to Baltimore from Atlanta in 2006, she decided to buy a home in Federal Hill.
"I liked the quaint neighborhood [and] the diversity of people and restaurants," Nguyen said.
Nguyen, a 30-year-old medical devices salesperson, knew exactly what she wanted from city living — the stability of home ownership with the proper mix of excitement beyond her front door and a cozy retreat behind it.
She quickly found a two-story, red brick rowhouse that had been recently rehabbed and was "in reasonably good shape," purchasing the property for $495,000.
After replacing the roof and central air conditioning, and doing a bit of decorating on her own, she realized she needed some help with the interior's 12-foot-wide and 70-foot-long open layout.
She found help online from "Singular Designs," a business run by interior designer Mary Yeager. Together, the women began a collaborative effort to create the home of Nguyen's dreams — a contemporary space with urban decor that is eye-catching and sleek.
"Mary taught me to work outside the box," she said. "The [decor] is a good integration of what she recommended and what I chose."
Yeager, who has decorated her own townhouse for prospective clients to see, helped Nguyen shop for everyday accessories and integrate them into the interior with casual elegance.
With a nod toward her client's Asian background — and in keeping with the open layout — Yeager suggested a pastel shade of peach for the living and dining area walls, accenting with sprays of wispy silk flowers, such as soft white orchids, and complementing delicate white silk draperies on the large living room window. The color further brightened the space, blending well with an east wall of exposed, rose-colored brick while at the same time contrasting with dark, Brazilian cherry-wood flooring.
The wall covering in the kitchen is a soft brown, with faux grass cloth accenting white laminate cabinets and serving as a backdrop for three 2-foot square canvases of identically painted soft white orchids, hung at three different angles.
In the dining area, a long, narrow teak table is accentuated at either end with Louis Ghost chairs, a design by Philippe Starck that is a blend of both modern and traditional looks but fashioned completely in Plexiglas. Armless, white leather chairs sit at either side of the table and match the white leather of the contemporary living room sofa.
On the floor in front of the sofa, Nguyen shows off one of her favorite purchases, a zebra-print rug that makes a bold statement.
"I was deciding on which shade I wanted … and Mary said, 'How about a pink-and-white one?' … I find it sexy and fun, and [it] is one of my favorite pieces."
Believing in the power of repurposing pieces of furniture and accessories, Nguyen shows off an old wooden birdcage she found in a secondhand shop that she painted and hung from the kitchen ceiling. Likewise, on the home's second level, she has repurposed one of two bedrooms by devoting the entire space to a dressing room. Decorating plans for the rest of the second level and a full, finished basement are continuing.
Nguyen, the daughter of immigrants who fled Vietnam, said she is pleased with her new space.
"It was important to me to incorporate elements of my personality, my family history [and] a touch of funkiness while still balancing modern sophistication," she said.
"It truly has transformed into a space that is an extension of who I am and what I call home."
Making the dream
Dream element: Lisa Nguyen's two-story, brick row house in Federal Hill is on a tree-lined street keeping company with an entire block of renovated properties. A rooftop deck — one of hundreds in the neighborhood — offers city views.
Design inspiration: Noting that the curved and bulky furniture from her Atlanta apartment would never fit the dimensions of her new home — 12 feet wide and 70 feet long — Nguyen chose furnishings with what she calls "straighter, sleeker lines." An example is her dining room table, 4 feet wide and 7 feet long, crafted of teak and placed vertically in the room following the lines of the Brazilian cherry-wood flooring.
Surprise feature: Nguyen created the walk-in closet of her dreams from a spare bedroom. One wall is devoted to built-in clothes storage while the opposite wall features a large mahogany dresser with mirrored drawers that reflect the light yellow walls. A 1950s vanity, repainted black, sits in a corner beside a window seat. When asked if she plans to marry, she says, "Yes, but not yet — I'd have to give up my closet space!"
Personal touch: An entire wall in the living room is devoted to family photos. All in black and white and each framed in silver, they chronicle weddings, childhood pictures, family vacations, and baby poses. Especially poignant is the fact that her parents fled Vietnam with these family memories in tow.