Happy May — and happy Opening Day of Homearama! Our showhouse opened to the public today, along with six other homes in the tour. Deep breaths. It’s been a whirlwind getting everything ready, but it finally feels great to share the finished spaces.
Since our last update — when we showed the office, butler’s pantry, and main bedroom as well as the en-suite bathroom and closet — and after pausing for the arrival of a new baby, we’re picking back up with the main living areas: the living room and the kitchen. As the floor plan shows, both of these are large, central zones on the first floor.
We painted the walls in both rooms Benjamin Moore Simply White and added layers of color through paint accents, textiles, art, and accessories — a navy fireplace column, a kitchen island painted the same navy, a colorful breakfast nook, bold artwork, and bright rugs and pillows.
We wanted the fireplace to anchor the living room, so we used Benjamin Moore Hale Navy for that wall. Lesli Devito painted a large portrait of Burger to add a playful touch — it’s a temporary stand-in where a TV will likely hang once the house is lived in. The coffee table and 9’x12′ rug are from West Elm, and the colorful woven basket is a HomeGoods find. The gray sofa, chair, and ottoman are from Green Front Furniture (the Smoke color of this model).
We chose a white wood mantle with a marble surround and hearth through a local company, and the gas fireplace operates with a convenient switch on the side — a feature that made us seriously consider updating our own fireplace at home. Little conveniences like that can quickly climb the priority list.
From the French doors looking toward the back porch you can see the pendant lighting over the seating area. In hindsight we wish the pendant’s electrical box had been centered over the coffee table, but we set electrical locations months before the furniture arrived. It’s an easy fix after the show, and a reminder of how many small decisions — seemingly thousands — add up to the finished home.
In the corner sits a console we scored at HomeGoods, paired with HomeGoods lamps and Target baskets below. The large-scale artwork is on loan, and the bench beneath the window is also from Green Front. A blue pouf came from our own stash — borrowed for staging — and we photographed the room before custom white shutters were installed throughout the house, which really complete each space.
The side table was a last-minute find at World Market, and the gold-based lamp was a DIY project from our book. The red planter for the fiddle-leaf fig is from Lowe’s.
The living room chandelier was one of the last pieces we selected. We’d been cautious not to compete with the gold accordion pendants in the adjacent kitchen. After seeing a clear glass chandelier in another room, we realized a similar fixture would suit this space. Our contacts at the Decorating Outlet modified one with gold hardware so it coordinated with the kitchen lighting.
Moving into the kitchen: cabinets are from a local shop, Affinity. Most of the base cabinets are a stock gray (a shade similar to Benjamin Moore’s Timber Wolf) while the island is painted Hale Navy to echo the fireplace column.
Two common questions we heard about the kitchen:
1. Why is the quarter round around the island wood-toned instead of painted? That’s a standard builder choice with oak floors because wood-toned trim hides dust and scuffs better. It can be painted on request if a buyer prefers a painted look.
2. Why don’t the cabinets go to the ceiling? Our first floor has 10′ ceilings, and full-height cabinetry to that height is uncommon and costly. The builder can add tall uppers if a buyer wants that upgrade, but most of his clients don’t opt for the upcharge.
Guests at a pre-show party commented that the kitchen looked much larger in person than on the blog — it’s true. The island measures over 11 feet long, so there’s even room to lie down across it for a quick nap if you’re feeling dramatic.
Stools are from West Elm, the gold accordion lights are from Shades of Light, the Wolf/Sub-Zero appliances were provided locally, and the cabinet pulls are from Liberty Hardware.
Countertops are White Moura marble with a leathered finish supplied by a local stone fabricator. To keep the glass-front cabinets from appearing cluttered, we styled them with white dishware sourced from Target and HomeGoods.
Affinity helped design the cabinet layout, prioritizing deep drawer bases for easy access and suggesting clever narrow solutions such as roll-out spice racks and vertical sheet-pan organizers. My favorite storage features are the large 30″ x 18″ cabinets at each end of the island — they were handy for staging materials and offer great hidden storage. The island also contains the dishwasher, a roll-out double trash cabinet, and additional organization.
We selected a classic, functional faucet and a deep single-basin sink — 30″ wide and 10″ deep — which is generous enough to hide props for scale when shooting photos and makes cleanup easy.
The backsplash is a white blend waterfall glass tile, which brings a polished, reflective quality to the room. Small styling pieces came from World Market and HomeGoods.
To the left of the kitchen is a breakfast nook we turned into a built-in banquette flanked by floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Frosted double doors lead into the walk-in pantry. We designed the built-ins so the top shelves remain reachable from the banquette, avoiding the need for a ladder and keeping everything accessible.
The nook plays like a casual china cabinet: everyday dishes, cookbooks, and framed photos look at home on open shelves. The backs of the bookcases are painted Timber Wolf Gray to tie into the nearby cabinetry. Cushions in a deep gray were added for comfort after the photos were taken.
The light over the nook is the Large Simple Dome from Shades of Light — it complements the stainless and silver finishes elsewhere in the kitchen without overwhelming the space with gold. Our rule for mixing metals: repeat each finish a few times across the room so the overall look feels intentional and layered.
The table was custom built to fit the nook exactly — 5′ deep by 6′ wide — stained to match the hardwood floors and finished with a glossy top. We originally explored other vendors but found this carpenter’s solution to be the right fit for budget and scale.
The pantry features shelving crafted by the builder’s carpentry team and frosted French doors that open into a recessed entry so the doors don’t block stored items or the hallway flow. A glass prism flush-mount light adds a bit of sparkle and matches lights used in the hallway and mudroom.
For scale, we included a photo with a person in the pantry — it’s generously sized and very usable. Instead of staging it with decorative items, we turned the pantry into a collection point for donated canned goods during the show. If you visit Homearama, please consider bringing a canned item to support FeedMore, the regional hunger-relief charity; donations can also be left at the show entrance or ticket counter.
We’ll keep these showhouse updates to about once a week while we share other home and family news. We toured the six other showhouses yesterday and look forward to sharing a House Crashing post with highlights soon.