High Point home is work in progress

Sometimes we forget that living in the Triad brings multi-metropolitan opportunities. It's easy to stay within a small radius and not venture to see what's down the road in other communities.

For Wanda Link, exploring the Triad resulted in some top-notch changes to the High Point home she shares with her husband, Chuck. The Links moved to High Point from Oak Ridge eight years ago. Wanda created a comfortable home, but she felt that it was missing a certain wow factor. And she wasn't sure how to achieve it.

Three years ago, she attended the Chateau de Noel, a holiday show house for charity in Greensboro, and discovered the work of June DeLugas, a Clemmons interior designer.

With pictures and notes in hand, Wanda set out to meet the designer. She drove to Clemmons on a mission to transform her house. It turned out that some changes would be minor, while the master bedroom renovation would completely alter the room.

Some changes were drastic with surprisingly little work. The Links had purchased a very large, very black cabinet to hold their den television. Its size dwarfed everything in the room, and the finish did not highlight any of the wood's details. DeLugas added highlighting with lighter paint, which diminished the piece's austere presence and emphasized the intricate trim work.

"Before, the details just faded in, and you didn't notice them," Wanda said. "It was just very, very dark."

Another change was taking away a nondescript painting that hung above the mantel and hanging sconces on each side. Leaning a mirror against the wall rather than hanging it and layering on it a painting in a similar frame along with accessories added interest to the mantel. DeLugas lightened the Links' room by removing a navy sofa, which was repurposed in a bonus room, and installing a comfortable cream sofa instead.

Adjacent to the den, the master bedroom became a serene retreat.

"We just love it. The walls were mustard, and the bedding was black before," Wanda said. "The den was done piecemeal, but it was fun to do an entire room at one time."

Now a soothing, monochromatic color palette provides a relaxing backdrop. DeLugas selected Powell Buff by Benjamin Moore in a pearl finish for the room.

"Benjamin Moore is the only paint that has pearlized crystals in this particular finish. They reflect the light for a more luscious finish. This is a trick designers know to make light dance through a house. But it doesn't work well for two stories. Like an eggshell finish, it shows imperfections like nail pops," DeLugas said.

Steve Womble of Twin City Cabinets was commissioned to create a customized armoire that holds clothing and the room's electronics. Old mirrored glass gives the furniture a vintage feel, but elements such as the pocket doors keep it contemporary in function. Because of the armoire's massive size, it had to be built in segments and lifted up through the Links' bedroom window.

"At first I worried because we had always had traditional dressers. I said, 'Where will our clothes go?' But everything has its place, and we have plenty of room in (the armoire)," Wanda said.

An original oil painting by Wendy Bilas of North Carolina is one of the additions to the room. Wanda can sit in her "quiet-time" corner and gaze at the painting. The bergere chair in a coral hue was made in High Point by Pearson Furniture. It is a reproduction of one she spotted in the Chateau de Noel that inspired her to call DeLugas.

"I had always wanted a chair like this," said Wanda of the wide-seated, wood-framed upholstered chair.

The custom-made, tone-on-tone bedding complements the Hickory Chair bed that is finished in a creamy weathered linen and completed with a gray glaze. Womble matched the finish for the custom armoire. Four architectural prints, also in the same tonal family, hang over the bed. A Hickory White small chest of drawers is tucked into a corner and provides a break from the lighter tones with its rich mahogany color. A mirror hung off-center above the dresser adds to the corner's interest.

"All the pieces we put in her bedroom were made in North Carolina. Our design firm supports furniture made in North Carolina first and foremost. And secondly, made in America," DeLugas said.

Although the rest of the 4,500-square foot house did not get the same type of transformation, many of the accessories were rearranged and tweaked. In the kitchen, DeLugas cleared off the kitchen island and then created groupings of accessories. Downstairs, the cozy basement den has leather furniture with masculine wall art surrounding the pool table.

Wanda calls her home a work in progress, but that is the norm for most homeowners, DeLugas said.

"Most homeowners put a plan together and work at it in stages. They will finish one room, then a year later call me to work on another. Every home is a work-in-progress, including my own," DeLugas said.