Inside

     Perhaps the biggest technical challenge of the whole project was the round dining room. Fortuitously, the general contractor, J.M. Sykes, Inc. Construction, had just opened a new division, Tidewater Architectural Millwork, that could fabricate the curved walnut doors, walnut-framed oculus at the center of the domed ceiling and the semicircular staircase that hugs the outside of the dining room wall. “Having such close coordination between the construction and millwork made it a whole lot easier to get everything lined up the way it was supposed to be,” says Jim Sykes, the company president.

     The understated grace and clean look of the interior design plays off the drama of the architecture. Warm neutrals and quiet sea glass colors reinforce the low-key elegance and timeless style. The dining room, in particular, is a design tour de force. Soft light streams in from the clerestory above the oculus and through a large wrought iron chandelier with hand-blown glass candleholders. The seven-foot round dining room table centered under it was custom-made. Straight drapery panels hanging from a curved iron rod add vertical emphasis to the semicircular wall of windows. The room is a prime example of how close cooperation among the interior designer, the architect and homeowners can benefit a house.

     In this case, the relationship was especially good, since interior designer Suzanne McCallen is Cindy’s older sister. McCallen, who lives in Nashville, says her big challenge in the dining room was “finding a chandelier with the proper scale for the space yet open enough that it didn’t take anything away from the oculus.” Knowing how busy her sister is, Cindy insisted on a formal client relationship. “I didn’t want my message to be at the bottom of the pile when Suzanne started returning phone calls,” Cindy says, laughing.

To keep with the McWaters’ desire for a home with the new rubbed off, McCallen suggested subtle techniques for aging the walls. She looked for fabrics with a vintage feel and grayed-down tones and even found a supplier for the antiqued mirrors placed in the master dressing room. Some judicious faux-finishing by artist Cathy Cox helped to complete the illusion.

     When the time came to start planning the kitchen and family room, McCallen asked her sister to describe how she visualized the space. Cindy immediately responded, “I want it to look like Ralph Lauren got shipwrecked in Wyoming.” McCallen nodded. “I got it.” In the family room, the rugged building materials, natural surfaces and comfortable fabrics fulfill Cindy’s fantasy of fireside comfort. So does a massive fieldstone fireplace that is the heart of her home.